Food Heaven in VA: Wegman's

When friends need to be dropped off or picked up at Dulles, I always volunteer, for one reason: Wegman's! Those of us who live on the Maryland side jealously listen to our Virginian colleagues who lavishly talk about their Sunday shopping at Wegman's. When we glance at the fridge in the office, our boring turkey sandwiches, or tupperware leftovers look miserable next to those beautiful sushi trays or the pretty sandwiches made with cute little breads. So much so that, I generally end up going out to buy something else than look at my turkey sandwich who is suicidal after sitting too close to the pretty food with the great "Wegman's" logo on them.

This Wednesday, after breakfast (this is important, because if you go to Wegman's on an empty stomach, you are bound to leave your paycheck at the cashier, not to mention bringing hime more food than you can eat in a whole week even though you just tried to get a "taste" of a couple of things.

A trip to Wegman's should be enough to put a smile on any foodie's face, so with the low humidity and nice summer temperatures, I am in my car with the sunroof open, music on, and I even choose to bypass the tollroad and go through the neighborhoods to make it even more of an adventure.

When you get to Wegman's, the biggest challenge is to decide where to start... I always check out the produce isle first, the variety is good, but with my fridge packed with fresh local produce from the farmer's market, I am able to leave this section only with 2 nectarines that are on sale. Bahar 1 - Wegman's 0. Then, I head to the wine and cheese isle knowing this will be another section I can hold on. With the taste of the goat ricotta still in my mouth (read my blog entry on June 14, Reston Farmer's Market) and a cellar full of variety of nice summer wines, I am able to glance and march on. I love the selection and variety at the cheese section, however, I find the prices too high when compared to some other markets, plus when I can get fresh cheese in the summer, I tend to slow down my "packaged and shipped" cheese consumption to a minimum except for special cravings such as manchego or pecorino romano (to go on my fresh roasted vegetable pasta sauce). So: Bahar 2 - Wegman's 0, yay!

When I move on to the deli and bakery section, I know I'll be in trouble pretty soon, and as expected, I am mesmerized by the variety of offerings. The full-size cakes are too large for one person (fans cheering for Bahar!!!) and I find it hard to pay $5 for a small personal size. By the time I reach the bread/bagels section however, I reach for the bag without hesitation, and start filling: "Oh, those pretzel rolls look good, should I do the one with salt or without?" (I end up getting the one with the salt but after scraping off as many crystals as I can - I know this will go really well with the ham I scouted while passing the deli section, and I remember seeing a "real" dijon mustard jar in the fridge the night before) "Oooo, the asiago bagel has herbs on it, gotta try that for sure!" "Rosemary roll? Gotta have one of those! Fresh mozzarella, tomato, and basil drizzled with olive oil... yumm" "Uh-oh, normal size croissants that have a coppery glow as opposed to the fake and dull yellow tint, gotta get one of those!" "Hmmm, what is that bagel that seems to have a crust which almost looks like frosting? I don't want it if it is sweet" It turns out that the bagel is called "marco bagel" which makes me get it before I even know what it is (my beloved dog was named Marco,) then I find out that it is topped with a rice flour "frosting" for lack of a better term, which is supposed to make it crunchy. Score: Bahar 2, Wegman's 1. With a paper bag full of freshly baked breads, I am able to by pass another one of my favorite Wegman's things: vanilla muffin (light, heavenly, powdery -sugar that is- cloud-7 muffin). As I wave, a noise in my head lingers: "you will be back..." While I contemplate whether to go back or not, I reach cookie-vana, and I forget it all!!! Let me tell you how:

Last Christmas, when I was housesitting at another friend's place, I found those incredible apricot purses (that's what I call them). There were only 2, and they were the best sweet thing I had had in a long time. I'm not a cookie person, and am not fond of the big, sugary, and chocolately American cookie (except for when I am stressed out or haven't had anything to eat all day that is). I am more of a small, delicate, European cookie type of gal. In any case, those cookies were the perfect little cookie in my book, and I was sure I could get the recipe or the store name when my friends got back. To my disappointment, they didn't even know of those cookies (another friend was visiting the week before), so I was not only disappointed, but also embarassed to have asked about (and eaten) those cookies. Still, I never forgot those little cookies noone kknew of, and have been looking for a sign or a crumb hoping to trace them back to their origin...

Today, when I came across them watching me from behind the glass, I swear they winked at me (and maybe even said "hellooooooo! we are here!!!") I was so happy, I was ready to dance in front of the bakery window, but instead, I asked for a box of them patiently, and danced back to my cart...

It was still not lunch time, but the employees were bringing all the fresh Chinese foods, so I told myself I'd go look at the selections. One of the disadvantages of living alone is, you don't get to sample as many food as you like when you go out or order takeout. When I am crave for Chinese, I generally want to try about 10 things, but mostly endup with two or three. Here, I thought I could try a little bit of a number of things - big mistake! When you have 10-15 different selections, and "try"a spoonful of a couple, you have a full plate. I was very good until I saw the ribs, but then, I knew I had to make a plate... One rarely can get only one or two ribs, and even a half rack can be too much for someone who wants to fit in her shorts! In any case, I filled up my plate with a sampling of goodies and went upstairs to eat (and watch the scenery). Score: 2-2 now. I must admit it was good to sit down and satisfy my Chinese variety craving for a little while, but in the end, I wasn't too happy with the food overall. Skip the tasteless spring rolls. Ribs were overly sweet and fatty for my taste. But the brown rice was fresh and nutty, and the grilled veggies and the tofu was interesting. I think I'll stick to my neighborhood Chinese next time.

Eating at Wegman's is always a good idea, it stops you from giving in to many other temptations. For me, sushi was the biggest attraction and I almost gave in couple of times... but in the end I was able to walk away proudly and say "repeat after me: next time. next time. next time" Score: Bahar 3, Wegman's 2. Still, I had 2 more missions to go: that ham I saw on the way to the prepared foods section, and the hummus bar with olives. And of course, when you get hummus, you can not not have the Wegman's pita - in my opinion, it is one of the best packaged pita around. Fresh, tasty, and wholesome (wheat that is).

Before heading to the cashier, I checked out the beer selection (verdict: poor) and ended up with 3 bottles of flavored seltzer instead (score: Bahar's ahead)

By the time I was back home, I was ready to prepare a whole spread over the counter, but still was successful in pacing myself: first the pita bread with the two types of hummus (accompanied by crunchy pickles and moroccan cured olives) and a huge glass of seltzer water with lime. About half an hour later, the pretzel roll was toasting on the toaster (good way of warming up breads without changing their texture) as I impatiently waited with an assembly line of dijon mustard, honey cured ham, and thinly sliced cheddar cheese. Man, this sandwich was a such a perfect combination, I was already craving for another one after the fisrt taste (good thing I had bought only one roll)... Instead, I decided to put it on the menu for a European bistro restaurant I am working on. And of course, as soon as the sandwich was over, my heavenly apricot purses were warming up on the toaster... There is something about the first taste of desired and long-awaited foods in your mouth. When you bite into them, no matter where you are, you are transferred to the first time you had those foods, and you can't help but close your eyes hoping to freeze that moment for a couple seconds. It is like a loved one coming from a long journey... It is like hugging a friend... And sometimes, it is like rejoining a long gone but never forgotten lover... Mmm, mmm, mmm... That kind of feeling... Good thing I didn't give in to the beer or the wine at the store... Victory - should I declare?

Not yet... Because, the following morning, there was the croissant... The good croissant I have been on the search for years... Once you've been to Europe and had the real criossant, you know most of those crescent shaped things you see in the US are NOT croissants. They are dinner rolls, baked buttery breads, or large fatty globs. There is nothing like a fist size, buttery, light, and flakey croissant... but they don't exist in the US... Well, until now... OK, it still is not a Parisian croissant, but... even after a day in the plastic bag, when warmed up on top of the toaster, it is flakey, buttery (without the overly butter smell and the oil dripping in your hands) and pleasantly crunchy - halelujah!!! Why am I not going this place called Wegman's more often??? As a matter of fact, why am I not moving to Virginia??? is the only question I ask as I pair my buttery croissant with a fluffy scrambled egg (OK, that is not very French, but still, that is how I like my croissant) and a freshly brewed, robust, and flavor-full coffee. Hmm, is this heaven or what???

P.S. In case you were still keeping score, I gave up somewhere between the apricot purses and the croissant. As a matter of fact, I think, I am knocked out, or maybe thrown out with a red card. But you know what - it is well worth it! Oh by the way, I am not moving to Virginia... not because Wegman's is not worth it, but because I think the only way of staying in shape (both physically and financially) is by living away from Wegman's and going there for food indulgence (hey, it is still cheaper than a ticket to Europe, and there is no jet-leg involved, only a slight daze after the trip, which hangs on for a couple days...)