MIKE BURLEY / MBURLEY@STARBULLETIN.COM
CRISPY VEGETABLES: You've seen these before, in mixed bags or perhaps just the fried beans, but here you can get shiitake mushrooms and okra in bulk - $5.20 for 4 ounces.
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Wholey moley!
Whole Foods' debut in Hawaii raises expectations for those familiar with its gourmet signature
A new grocery store opens today. So what? So, it's a Whole Foods Market, bringing with it high expectations for anyone who's food-centric, especially one who's been to a Whole Foods in a major mainland city.
MIKE BURLEY / MBURLEY@STARBULLETIN.COM
FOR FIDO: And why shouldn't he go gourmet, too? Not just organic, but holistic, as well, 6 pounds sell for $15.99. Several types of organic cat and dog food are available.
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Me, for example. The first time I glided down the escalator into Whole Foods at Columbus Circle in Manhattan, it felt like entering a Whole City of edible objects. When I travel, I treat Whole Foods like a tourist destination.
MIKE BURLEY / MBURLEY@STARBULLETIN.COM
COLD STUFF: Freezer shelves are filled with Italian-style gelatos and sorbets, left. Flavors include tangerine, Meyer lemon and hibiscus. The local Tropilicious line is here, too, and Bubbies mochi ice cream.
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The chain's first Hawaii store opens at Kahala Mall, and a sneak peek was offered Friday to reporters. I arrived with my high expectations in my pocket.
MIKE BURLEY / MBURLEY@STARBULLETIN.COM
BUTTER BY THE BUCKET: The widest selection in town, with brands from Denmark, New Zealand, Ireland and France, including Devon cream, truffle butter and ghee (clarified butter used in Indian cooking).
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Whole Foods combines gourmet shopping with the whole natural foods-organic thing, presented with tasteful flash and dazzle.
If you've been in the new Safeway on Kapahulu you can imagine a Whole Foods store. In fact, that Safeway, at 64,000 high-ceilinged square feet, feels more beauteous and bountiful than this first Whole Foods, which at 28,670 square feet is half the size of the one in Manhattan that set my standard. Bigger stores are coming in 2010 to the Ward complex and Kailua.
MIKE BURLEY / MBURLEY@STARBULLETIN.COM
OLIVE OIL RULES: Two-dozen brands, not including the olive-oil sprays, respresent an international selection, up to a Greek variety at $30 for 500 millileters. R. Field Wine Co. comes closest to matching this with about a dozen high-end brands (and sells the Greek oil for $8 less).
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Local supermarkets, farmers markets and natural foods stores already offer a lot of what Whole Foods brings: freshly prepared hot foods to go, soup and salad bars, deluxe produce, fancy foods, health foods. Even fresh supermarket sushi has become commonplace as local stores have ramped up to meet the competition.
MIKE BURLEY / MBURLEY@STARBULLETIN.COM
GLUTEN GONE: Local stores offer frozen breads made with brown rice and millet. Here you'll find frozen gluten-free pies, cookies, brownies and pie crusts, too.
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What Whole Foods does is package it all together, with such added amenities as in-store coffee roasting and meat-smoking. It'll also collect a number of specialty local products, such as goat cheese from Maui, that are otherwise hard to find.
MIKE BURLEY / MBURLEY@STARBULLETIN.COM
THE CHESSES: One of the store's most impressive displays, below. Sold in whole wheels or slices of any size - and samples will be offered.
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And coming soon: Hawaiian-style ham, a Spam-like product made without preservatives (colored by beet juice). Which goes to show, the store also has a sense of humor.
Now, here are a few items to provide a taste of what's different about this new store.
