jimcfsus
Feb 21, 09, 6:26 pm
Let's call this a TR... really a FR, food report. ;) Has anyone else been here??
Somehow, I earned a free pass from the wife today to go do what I want to do while in CVG at her sister's. They took the boys to the car show downtown, and I got to explore CVG. I knew Trader Joe's had opened here, and I needed some things, so I knew that was a stop, as was Micro Center (which I walked in, saw a mob, did a circle around the store and walked out).
Jungle Jim's (www.junglejims.com)is a foodie's paradise, foodvana, analogous to Fry's being nerdvana to us geeks. :D Take the largest Whole Foods you've been in, combine that with a good size Kroger or Safeway... add a huge produce market, 2 delis (one that only does Boar's Head products), a butcher shop, seafood market, cheese shoppe, bakery, a sub shop, a beer, wine and liquor store for good measure, along with a Starbucks, and you have Jungle Jim's. I've been in some of Whole Paycheck's biggest stores (the one in CMH is the 2nd largest in the chain in terms of square footage at 75,000) and this blows it away. According to their website, it's 300,000 square feet... almost 6 acres. Check out the link I gave above for lots of pictures of their store. They are not afraid to show it off.
Now, they have regular "American" groceries, but they also have almost every ethnic food under the sun. I saw stuff I had only heard of. They had more hot sauces than I'd ever seen. They had as much (if not more) Asian products that I've seen in SFO Chinatown. I was able to find some fresh baked breads and pita bread that I could eat given my corn product restrictions. The produce market was huge. They had every kind of cheese imaginable. I got some crumbled blue cheese (very good, they had samples) for $2.99/lb, an unheard of price. If you bought it in a 4 lb bag, it was $1.99/lb!
I felt their prices weren't bad, considering most of their non-American products were imported, thus shipping inflates their prices.
I could have spent 8 or more hours there. I only had a couple of hours, and I didn't see everything as good as I would have liked. However, I had not eaten much today and that was a big mistake. I think I left a trail of drool all over the store. :p I could have been much worse however, I got out spending about $40, but that included 3 qts of strawberries and 2 angel food cakes for my son's birthday cake that we're making tonight.
Trader Joe's was very anti-climatic after Jungle Jim's. The next time we come up to visit, I'll have to sneak away for another trip. They do open at 8AM everyday, and next time, I think I'll go early in the morning to miss the crowds.
Somehow, I earned a free pass from the wife today to go do what I want to do while in CVG at her sister's. They took the boys to the car show downtown, and I got to explore CVG. I knew Trader Joe's had opened here, and I needed some things, so I knew that was a stop, as was Micro Center (which I walked in, saw a mob, did a circle around the store and walked out).
Jungle Jim's (www.junglejims.com)is a foodie's paradise, foodvana, analogous to Fry's being nerdvana to us geeks. :D Take the largest Whole Foods you've been in, combine that with a good size Kroger or Safeway... add a huge produce market, 2 delis (one that only does Boar's Head products), a butcher shop, seafood market, cheese shoppe, bakery, a sub shop, a beer, wine and liquor store for good measure, along with a Starbucks, and you have Jungle Jim's. I've been in some of Whole Paycheck's biggest stores (the one in CMH is the 2nd largest in the chain in terms of square footage at 75,000) and this blows it away. According to their website, it's 300,000 square feet... almost 6 acres. Check out the link I gave above for lots of pictures of their store. They are not afraid to show it off.
Now, they have regular "American" groceries, but they also have almost every ethnic food under the sun. I saw stuff I had only heard of. They had more hot sauces than I'd ever seen. They had as much (if not more) Asian products that I've seen in SFO Chinatown. I was able to find some fresh baked breads and pita bread that I could eat given my corn product restrictions. The produce market was huge. They had every kind of cheese imaginable. I got some crumbled blue cheese (very good, they had samples) for $2.99/lb, an unheard of price. If you bought it in a 4 lb bag, it was $1.99/lb!
I felt their prices weren't bad, considering most of their non-American products were imported, thus shipping inflates their prices.
I could have spent 8 or more hours there. I only had a couple of hours, and I didn't see everything as good as I would have liked. However, I had not eaten much today and that was a big mistake. I think I left a trail of drool all over the store. :p I could have been much worse however, I got out spending about $40, but that included 3 qts of strawberries and 2 angel food cakes for my son's birthday cake that we're making tonight.
Trader Joe's was very anti-climatic after Jungle Jim's. The next time we come up to visit, I'll have to sneak away for another trip. They do open at 8AM everyday, and next time, I think I'll go early in the morning to miss the crowds.