Here's what the front of the store looks like from the parking lot.
We walked through the produce section, where we saw the most gorgeously arranged fruits and vegetables. This was one of those situations where I had a mental image for the photo I wanted to take, and the real photos never came out looking like what I wanted, so I don't have any pictures of it. But take my word for it, the produce is beautiful. There are 2 sections of the store - traditional and organic, so the produce is also arranged like that. It can be kind of tricky though, because there are entire aisles of traditional and aisles of organic. So don't think that the potatoes you're near are the only potatoes in the store. I looked at pears and I was surprised to only see 2 varieties of pears. Then I looked up at the sign and saw I was in the organic section. There are only 2 varieties of organic pears, but if you go around the corner, there are 6 varieties of traditional pears. So if you think the store doesn't have something, it actually might. The good thing is that every employee is super friendly, so ask someone and they will take you right where you need to go!
Just past the produce section is one of my most favorite parts of the store - the cheese/deli/olive oil area! This is the part of the store where they let you try samples of WHATEVER YOU WANT. Any cheese they sell, if you ask the cheese guys about it, they'll open it right up, cut you off a sample and ask you what you think. So far I've tried so many cheeses I cannot even remember what they all are. I can tell you that they were all delicious though!
Across the main aisle from the cheese and deli counters is the olive oil department. Most grocery stores have an olive oil shelf, true. Fairway has a veritable olive oil room. There is a shelf with containers of bread, and you just dip that bread right into any olive oil you want to try. There are probably 20 olive oils out for sampling at any time. There are usually some balsamic vinegars and a few dips or spreads out for sampling as well. A person can get mighty full between the cheese and olive oil departments!
Fact: We needed a Fairway and we didn't even know it!
These 2 signs hang in the prepared food/hot bar section. We've already had dinner there and it was pretty good. We had a crab cake sandwich with chipotle mayonnaise, and a lobster roll and a cone of French fries. They were all pretty good. It wasn't the best crab cake sandwich/lobster roll/fries I've ever had, but it sure wasn't the worst either. For a grocery store cafe, I was definitely impressed with the amount of food they offered. It reminded me of a full-service cafeteria with a hot bar, a rotisserie, a grill for burgers, a sandwich area, a salad bar, and an ice cream counter. You know that old adage, "Never grocery shop when you're hungry"? Well, now you don't have to. You can eat at the Fairway cafe and then shop.
They have interesting quotes from authors and chefs hanging all over the store. I love this one. I've been reminding myself to be fearless since Fairway opened. I do wish I had gotten a picture of this quote with less glare.
Across from the hot foods area is the coffee and tea room, where this big coffee roaster is located. I'm so glad that I snapped this picture on Opening Day, because I've looked at it every day since and it was only in action the first time I went. If I drank a lot of coffee, I know for sure I'd enjoy this room. There are more types of coffee in here than I'd ever seen before!
Next, we come to the full-service butcher. So far, everyone's been extremely helpful and nice there. I haven't gotten any meat yet, but I think I might this week. It seems like they do everything, from boning chickens to grinding meat to stock tips and sports scores. I haven't asked for any scores yet either, but you just never know...
Then we're in the baking aisle and the candy aisle. Have you ever seen so many kinds of chocolate?
Have you ever seen so many kinds of sugar? (And if you're looking for marzipan, it's in the top left corner of this aisle. More on marzipan later this week...)
They have everything at Fairway. Including dog food with beagles on it. You know I'm a sucker for beagles, so obviously cans of dog food with beagles will get a mention.
Into the dairy section we go. Here are full jars of yogurt, which I thought were very cool because of the separation. It's rare that I see yogurt in anything but tiny plastic containers with foil lids, so I was intrigued.
And as always, we end this trip to Fairway with cupcakes. I have yet to sample my way through Fairway's cupcakes, so I can't tell you how they taste. They do look pretty though. And who doesn't love a cupcake?
Welcome to Connecticut, Fairway! I hope we have a long-lasting relationship. In fact, I'll probably be there again later today. Oh, that's the other thing I'm discovering about Fairway - I seem to go almost every day.
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