My Favorite Restaurant in Orlando: Whole Foods

I love Whole Foods Market. I know it’s fashionable to mock Whole Foods, even while nomming on an organic salad topped with nine-dollar-a-bottle handmade vegan salad dressing.

I know Whole Foods isn’t perfect, but for now it’s the best alternative I have. I have to admit I’m a food snob. But I’m also pretty healthy and I think there might be a connection.

Recently I spent the week in Orlando. Orlando is filled with tourist traps and restaurants. I love fine dining but living in a hotel for a week sends me into a food panic. I don’t want to spend too much money on food, I don’t want to eat fast food and I don’t want to miss out on nutrition or consume too many calories.

I was thrilled to find the local Whole Foods to be the biggest and most complete Whole Foods I had even seen. The salad bar and hot bar were bigger than many, but that’s not all. There was a sushi bar, a shrimp bar, a granola bar (I mean, literally, a place to mix your own granola from a variety of grains, nuts, seeds and fruits), a soup bar, and even a beer and wine bar.

The cafeteria was a lovely place to eat and the food was scrumptious.

Years ago I would shop at Edge of the Woods in New Haven, Connecticut. I remember how strongly I protested that they wanted to start selling meat there (I don’t know if they ever did). I’m no longer a vegetarian but I didn’t try any of the meat products on the hot bar – I was too enthralled with the tempeh, dolmades, salads, eggplant and other veggie offerings.

In the cafeteria I noticed a gentleman really enjoying some ribs while his companion was eating hummus. I decided it’s a good thing to serve a wide variety of foods – there is something for everyone to enjoy. One thing I love about Whole Foods is the meat department. Everything is labeled according to its cruelty-free and free range production techniques.

There are some really fine restaurants in Orlando. But for the savings in money and calories and the opportunity to eat a wide variety of healthy and delicious food I would choose Whole Foods every time.