Looking for bargains at Whole Foods

Image by Matt Stratton via Flickr

Before I picked up a rotisserie chicken at Whole Foods Market in Paramus on Friday, I walked through the store looking for sale items. (See earlier post, "A beautiful rotisserie chicken").

There are some incredibly high-priced items, such as one liter of extra-virgin olive oil from Sicily for $27.99. sold under the label of a restaurant, Frankies 457 in Brooklyn. I asked a couple of employees how much of that goes to organized crime. A 32-ounce bottle of Rao's marinara sauce was on sale for $7.99 -- you save $3. I passed on both.

Did you know artisinal pasta is made in New Jersey? Two pounds of dried pasta from Westmont, N.J., was on sale for $6. Whole Foods' wonderful dried organic pasta from Italy wasn't on sale, unfortunately. It was $1.99 a pound.

I needed cilantro (photo) for tacos (my wife found none at ShopRite in Englewood). An organic bunch was $1.69, which seemed reasonable. When I got home, I chopped it up immediately and put it it a container with chopped white onion -- the classic taco garnish used in Mexico. I have found cilantro lasts far longer when combined with onion. (See earlier post, "Lamb tacos in 45 seconds").