Perhaps to incite the Trader Joe's loyalists and diehard Whole Foods fans, Daily Meal recently posed this question to its readers: "What is America's best grocery store?" The results revealed that California-based Trader Joe's took the prize.
"The diversity of gourmet, organic and vegetarian options as well as excellent prices and quality keep [Trader Joe's] on top of the list," writes Emily Jacobs.
Huh. We could have sworn it was the cookie butter.
Whole Foodies needn't worry; the Austin-based chain came in at a respectable No. 2. Applauded for its high standards and specialization in organic and natural foods, Daily Meal also notes Whole Foods' commitment to quality.
The retailer took the silver-medal status in stride, tweeting out its thanks.
THX! Proud of our quality standards! RT @thedailymeal @WholeFoods congrats on being #2 on our Best Supermarkets list: http://t.co/Le56LPUEWH
— WholeFoodsMarket PR (@WholeFoodsPR) April 29, 2014
For its survey, Daily Meal separated the national chains from the regionals and only included grocery stores with locations in more than one state. H-E-B (which landed at No. 19) was the lone exception to this rule, because, according to Jacobs, "it's awesome" and Texas "could be considered a 'region' by itself." If that's true, where was Central Market?
Other retailers on the list include Costco (No. 3), Super Target (No. 9), Costco, Kroger (No. 11), Aldi (No. 15) and Sprouts (No. 17).
