Supermarket Made-in-their-Kitchen offerings

[rotuts]

there are threads about subscription menu's fresh food sent to you to prepare    there are various  FastFood outlet threads.

 

Ill offer  Supermarket Made-in-their-Kitchen offerings that a few of my local supermarket offer.  As far as i can tell , one local family owned chain  ( RocheBros )

 

offers something new ( to my eye at least ):  fresh packed dinners / veg  you either microwave  or bake in your own oven.

 

here are various prepared foods  both dinners and individual items this store offers :

 

 

individual dinners you heat up are on the two middle shelves.   the Turkey dinner I sometimes buy is one shelf up  third item from the L or 4th from the R.  its quite good

 

 

the other side of this counter.  everything made in this store.

 

 

this is the individual selection area of stuff they make.   this is more expensive than the packages stuff in the first pics. this is a cold case

 

 

they have a weekly rotating hot selection around the corner from the chilled foods you've just seen.  its early in the day and they only have the hot sides out.   they have

 

2 - 4 hot entrees   that are sold by the lbs and 2 - 3 items they carve to order  :  turkey breast some days , meat loaf  , a roast.  again similar prices to the chilled items 

 

sold a la carte

 

this is what i find interesting and is brand new here :

 

 

 

 

the items you see above are in oven / microwave safe packs.    you follow the instructions for oven or microwave and it cooks at home. they are seasoned.  some have

 

pats of butter in the packs.

 

in the first of these three pics there are Oven/Bake roasts and a stew   they take several hours in your oven.

 

ive only gotten the individual turkey dinner that gets heated up ( carefully ) in the microwave.

 

but the micro-bag  or oven bag  items are very intriguing      someone is thinking outside of the box.

 

of course its easy to Poo-Poo this sort of food.  but its a lot better than fast food or take out Id bet   and all the above is made or assembled in this store.

 

I find ideas like this very interesting.

 

 

Edited November 7, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

one more thing :

 

they have a ' wings - bar '  which is as you'd expect   6 types of wings made in this store that you scoop up and take home

 

but new is this :

 

 

that same area in the mornings  , and its set up when they open  is a sort of breakfast bar.   on the right are packages  EM's w the usual McM's fillings

 

these started out at 2.99  now 3.75 in a fancy box rather than foil as before .. 10 times better than McD.  of course that's not hard to accomplish

 

but its the same ingredients but they make it rather than Agra-Con

 

what's new is  plates you fill up for a dinner style breafast :  french toast , scrambled eggs , omelets , bacon , sausage.   its sold by the LBS and

 

ends up being fairly expensive    this store is located in a wealthy area.   the prices are cheaper than going out and aside on what ever damage  scrambled eggs

 

suffer on this warming table   it suits the needs of the people in this area.

[Anna N]

 I think you're very fortunate to have access to food such as this. Our supermarkets of course offer similar things but I found most of them to be very unsatisfactory. Even Whole Foods proved to be so very disappointing in their ready to eat selections. Yet they seem to do a good business so perhaps it is something about my taste buds.  

[rotuts]

Indeed.  I personally have only gotten the Turkey Dinner  and i prefer MarketBasket as the same items are just cheaper there.

 

Im not a WHoleFoods fan.   I did try some items while I was in CA a long time ago and found them way over priced, and not very interesting.

 

RocheBros  does a very fine job with what you see above.   its in a wealthy area , many people work long hours and Im pleased

 

someone high enough up on this local chain has done a very good job with the above.  the BreakfastBar and the Micro/Oven-at-home area is fairly new.

 

the ingredients on the Several-Hour-in-your-own oven are the same you might buy in the fresh produce and meat section.

 

I do have a weakness for a TurkeyDinner    ......

Edited November 7, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[dcarch]

Are their kitchens inspected by Department Of Health?

 

dcarch

[rotuts]

im sure they meat or exceed any sort of bureaucracy  The Commonwealth of Massachusetts can think of trowing at them.

 

MA is good at that.  the Legislature's members distant Uncles and Third Cousins need and expect dependable work from their elected Kin.

 

it is unclear to me who inspects , if anyone does , the Uncles and Cousins.

Edited November 7, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

here you go :

 

who inspects food service kitchens in MA

 

 

[rotuts]

as Food Service interests me  , being an obligate eater , 

 

have Supermarkets in your area evolved to have the sorts of things If posted above ?

 

the ' Breakfast fill your own plate ' and esp.  the ' your oven or microwave ' meals are very new here.

 

I can't imagine RocheBro thought this up themselves     .....

 

Im pleased to see this sort of creative thinking.

[chefmd]

Pentagon City newly opened Whole Foods near me has the following:

• Fresh baked breads, cookie bar, cakes and donuts
• Hot bar, organic salad bar, ramen, fresh sushi and artisan pizza
• The Basin, our 82 seat barroom, featuring a seafood menu, local wine, beer, spirits and signature cocktails
• Smoothie and coffee bar featuring draft nitro cold brew

They have very small meat and seafood department which is very disappointing to me but ready made meals section is large and "bar" is always packed.

[rotuts]

@chefmd  

 

thanks     

 

for no rational reason Im allergic to WF     not to say Id admire some of their innovations , just not Asparagus Water.

 

however , if you see they have 'cook in your own oven or your own microwave '

 

id be interested.  those are new to me.

 

ive noted that BigChains have larger and larger ' Organic ' sections etc

 

but few have what Ive seen ar RocheBros  re   ' meal in our bag , your oven/micro '

 

thanks !

[Anna N]

 I am picturing the occasional time when I am in the Whole Foods store. The carts going through the checkouts are, for the most part, not crammed with fresh meat and produce but with convenience items.  I am sure some shoppers must be buying fresh food but they must shop at a different time perhaps.  

[rotuts]

my YellowCard ( Carte Jaune )  is soooo out of date Im unable to visit WF

 

and yes I have one.

Edited November 7, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[chefmd]

@rotuts I am usually getting fish from Whole Foods.  It is difficult to get reliably fresh fish in Arlington VA.  My trusted fishmonger in Harris Teeter was transferred to another store to improve their fish department.  It resulted in an immediate deterioration of our HT fish supply.  Ethnic groceries can be hit or miss for fish as well and kinda out of the way on a week day.  DH will not eat fish that has a whiff of a fishy smell and frankly I am with him on that issue.  Soooo.  WH is my go to place after work for fresh fish.  Next time I am there, I will take pictures of ready made meals.  

 

[rotuts]

@chefmd  

 

I agree with you completely on Fresh Fish , an almost extinct item these days in most of the USA if not other '''advanced lands [ sic ] ''

 

I grew up in CA   one town over MenloPark  was Cook's SeaFood  this one :

 

http://cooksseafood.com

 

in the trips I took to visit my parents , I got to know this place well   the fish was so fresh it almost wiggled.  it smelled of the deep sea and not fish

 

prior to that I lived on LongIsland  and there was a fishmonger there that went into the Fulton Fish market every or every other morning to get Fish.

 

I can not find that sort of fish here where i live.

 

I miss it tremendously  

 

if WF get you the fish you enjoy , Excellent.

 

how do you  update your Yellow Card ?

[chefmd]

@rotuts Yellow Card?  Like vaccinations?  I do not worry about that.  I just flash my husband's credit card and that opens Whole Foods door for me 

 

When we are at the Beach House, there is a local store Nick's.  They have very fresh local Maryland seafood (rockfish, crabmeat) and not so fresh seafood from elsewhere.  http://www.nicksofcalvert.com/

They also have a lot of prepared food, made in the store.  I will take pictures of that as well.

[rotuts]

wow

 

look forward to the Pics

 

they will of Course  Kill Me

 

one  has to Move Along some way

 

why not after a Pic of Fresh SeaFood ?

[BeeZee]

Rotuts, Wegmans (generally in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast states) does have a similar offering, MRE (with some re-heating or cooking). Their produce is generally pretty good quality and I know my father made use of these meals (meat/veg/starch) when Mom was away, since there was a store 1/2 mile from his office to pass on the way home. They have "EZ Meals" and various things packaged to cook at home. The trays are unfortunate, as it looks like std issue airline settings.

https://www.wegmans.com/products/packaged-meals-entrees-and-sides/entrees.html?do=prod-search;i%3D1;q1%3DEntrees;q2%3DEntree;sp_c%3D18;sp_n%3D1;x1%3Dcategory;x2%3Dsubcategory;callback%3Dangular.callbacks

 

[rotuts]

nice

 

thanks

 

a billion years ago , when a was a young slave , there was a Wagman's a walk away.   

 

I was impressed then.

 

they seem to be moving to MA  three stores so far.

 

they have bought a JCPenny's in my Local Maul and plan to move that into a Wagman's Local My Way

 

Ill take a peek when that happens

 

[GlorifiedRice]

Wegmans does this and Giant of Pa is also starting to do this.

However NO ONE can beat Shady Maple Farmers Mkt in East Earl, Pa for their Deli offerings

[kayb]

Here in the Mid-South, Kroger is ubiquitous. Lately, they've started upgrading and/or building some new, more upscale stores in some locations. They have a greatly expanded deli with, among other offerings:

• a sushi bar (decent sushi, not great but not bad)
• a Chinese take-out bar (beef and broccoli, General Tso's chicken, couple of other entrees, fried rice, noodles)
• a "Mexican" food bar (I use quotes because it appears to be only vaguely Mexican)
• a wings bar
• an extensive salad bar with four different soup offerings
• a hot counter with a couple of entrees and five or six sides, as well as fried chicken
• a cold case with all manner of salads, as well as grilled veggies, etc., that can either be eaten cold or warmed back up
• an expanded cheese section with a really good (for this part of the world) selection of cheeses, and they'll cut the size chunk you want
• a massive olive and antipasto bar
• and the sliced deli meat/cheese section will make you a sandwich to order and sell it to you by weight.

There are some packaged meals like premade sandwiches and salads. 

 

There's also a fairly decent, for this part of the world, seafood section, and a decent (for a supermarket) custom meat section.

 

There are some tables, but most people appear to be picking up stuff to take out. I've picked up lunch or dinner there more than a few times.

 

[GlorifiedRice]

Im still waiting for Wegmans to bring back the Salt and Pepper Mussels on the Hot Bar

[BeeZee]

1 hour ago, GlorifiedRice said:

Im still waiting for Wegmans to bring back the Salt and Pepper Mussels on the Hot Bar

I've hit paydirt at lunch time - usually around the holidays - with what looks like catering over-runs on the hot bar, sort of like crab-stuffed mushrooms type of stuff, IIRC. I'm a regular consumer of soup at lunch time, but sometimes will get hot bar.

[Shel_B]

On ‎11‎/‎7‎/‎2016 at 11:54 AM, rotuts said:

as Food Service interests me  , being an obligate eater , 

 

have Supermarkets in your area evolved to have the sorts of things If posted above ?

 

The markets here have been doing this for years.  Large chain supermarkets, small grocery stores, specialty places like the organic market, and even our local butcher puts out some dishes and sandwiches every day.  The quality runs the gamut from poor (although rarely) to excellent items made with organic and heritage ingredients.

[rotuts]

nice

 

but have the done  packets ( from their own ingredients )  for the micro or the Oven ?

 

you cook them at your own home ?

[JeanneCake]

On 11/7/2016 at 3:41 PM, rotuts said:

prior to that I lived on LongIsland  and there was a fishmonger there that went into the Fulton Fish market every or every other morning to get Fish.

 

I can not find that sort of fish here where i live.

 

I

 

Our local fishmonger closed up shop when rents became too exorbitant in our town; but now he runs a "shore to door" entity. So I can still get the amazing fish he sold, but I can only get it on Tuesdays and Fridays.  It's worth planning ahead.  I'm north of Boston (the fishmonger is out of Gloucester) so if you're interested in his info, PM me.