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Thank you to guest columnist Beth Beard of Pixie Dust Gourmet for the following opinion piece about how to navigate the local grocery shopping options. Who would know better than someone who spends $4,500/month on food? And no, that’s not for a family of four. Chef Beth Beard does this all the time for her clients.

A few months back someone in a local community Facebook group asked about the differences in local grocery stores—best value, selection, quality, specialty shopping, etc. As a personal chef for the last 10 years based out of Wayland, I thought I would weigh in… and this post was born. After getting a number of questions and input from the community, I updated it significantly and restructured it to make it easier to follow. I spend about $4,500 a month on groceries so I really have a sense of prices—and quality—at most of the local stores.

A bit about the focus and some caveats: I specialize in cooking whole food, fresh, healthy meals for families, many of whom have special dietary needs like gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, etc. I read labels and ingredient lists religiously. I am always hoping to balance the need for fresh, high quality, minimally processed ingredients with price, quantity and variety. I also shop at stores that are at least somewhat local and convenient for me.

These include membership stores like BJ’s, regular markets like Market Basket and Stop & Shop, discount or specialty stores that carry their own brands like Trader Joe’s and ALDI, and specialty markets that trend towards organic whole foods like MOM’s, Whole Foods and Fresh Market. Note that I have not included a review of Costco, as BJ’s is more convenient for me. I am guessing it is similar to BJ’s, but I would welcome a detailed review from a regular shopper.

If you’re shopping primarily in the middle aisles of the grocery store, then this review may not be for you. But if you’re shopping the edges for primarily fresh proteins, fruit, and produce, I definitely have the line on where to go. I organized this post by starting with the three stores where I spend the majority of my time and dollars: Wegmans, Market Basket and BJ’s. I then review the best places to go for different types of foods: meat, seafood, fruits and veggies, cheese, etc. I also cover more specialized stores like ALDI and Trader Joe’s, and the organic/whole foods upscale markets. I finish with a bit about the stores that I almost never frequent and why. I hope you find this post helpful!

Wegmans

It was super sad for me when Wegmans in Natick closed as that was the only place to go for a whole bunch of their own brand of products. I now drive to Burlington once every two weeks to stock up on all of the gluten-free and Wegmans brand organic products that they just don’t carry anywhere else. While I am actually closer to Chestnut Hill, the Burlington store is much bigger, less crowded, better stocked and much much easier to navigate.

Some Wegmans Brand products that are always on my list: Amore tomato basil jarred pasta sauce, crushed and diced fire roasted canned tomatoes, gluten-free (GF) honey cornbread mix, refrigerated GF fettuccine, GeeFree Puff Pastry Sheets, organic coconut milk and light coconut milk, Parmesan Crisps in the big bag, bulk nuts, and cooking wines—sherry, white, red. And while I make most of my sauces from scratch, when I am just cooking for myself I swear by their huge selection of gluten-free and preservative/MSG-free Asian sauces like sweet chili, teriyaki, Korean BBQ, spicy orange, szechuan, General Tso’s, sweet and sour, Thai peanut sauce, organic coconut aminos, and Hoisin sauce.

Other gluten-free products that I can either only get at Wegmans and/or they have the best price: Caputo gluten free pizza flour from from Italy (I learned about this miraculous product eating at an Italian brick oven pizzeria in Paris!), King Arthur Measure for Measure GF flour in bulk, Jovielle GF Tagliatelle pasta, DeLallo GF orzo, Barilla GF lasagna noodles, Golden Farms GF organic crispy onion strings (secret ingredient in my breadcrumbs), 4C GF bread crumbs (second of three secret ingredients in my breadcrumbs), Lance GF original crackers, BFree pita bread and high-protein low carb tortillas, O’Doughs bagel thins and flatbread, Kikkoman’s oyster sauce (GF).

Wegmans is also my go to for certain meats and veggies (see more below).

Market Basket

In terms of overall prices, availability, variety, and freshness, no grocery store comes close to Market Basket. I hit the Market Basket in Waltham twice a week. The Market Basket in Maynard is also great, but they get their truck deliveries a lot later in the day. So if you want to make sure something is in stock, or you want the fish to have just come in that day, you’re going need to go later in the day or go to Waltham. Waltham gets their fish truck and produce truck deliveries every single day by 8am.

If I were to do a shop at Market Basket and spent $200, I would spend closer to $350 at Whole Foods (using Amazon Prime) for the same products. If they had most of the same things in stock at Stop & Shop, Star Market, or Roche Brothers (which is a very, very big if), it would run me about $400. The same grocery list at Fresh Market or MOM’s would run about $450. That said, there are a number of things that they carry at each of those stores that they do not carry at the other. And if you have Amazon Prime, and produce in particular is on sale at Whole Foods, the quality and the prices can’t be beat.

Staples I get almost weekly at Market Basket include much of my produce, most of my dairy, and all of my seafood. More on that below. They have a huge selection of fresh greens, cabbages, squashes, cruciferous veggies, salad veggies, mushrooms, herbs and more. They do such a high volume that they are always well stocked and the food is always fresh. Particularly good prices and quality for staples include: sweet potato noodles, organic extra firm tofu, organic dried and canned beans, GF Mission tortillas, labneh, olives, pickles and other condiments. Just don’t go on Saturday or Sunday unless you like contact sports with shopping carts.

BJ’s

BJ’s offers the best prices for so many things. They also have the amazing added convenience for members of being able to shop online and pick up—they will deliver to your car for you. This is also a great way to find out before you go what they have in stock. A couple of tips—I get everything online except fresh produce and meat. Online it will also show you all of the clipless coupons and create specific coupon offers just for you. This amounts to a significant savings. I save on average an additional $10 for every $100 I spend. I also have their credit card which gives me another 5% off of every purchase. I then tell them I will pick up in the store and go inside to pick out my produce and meat. I also check to see if they have restocked anything since I ordered. (They often have.)

BJ’s has the best prices on most bulk staples, many of them their house brands Wellesley Farms and Berkley Jensen: rice, olive oil, jarred artichoke hearts, quinoa, paper towels, toothpaste, disposable paper goods, and a whole lot of other random stuff. Some of my favorite Wellesley Farm brand products: Castelvetrano olives, almond flour, fresh pesto, jarred marinated artichoke hearts, balsamic glaze, organic quinoa, pine nuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans, frozen organic peas and carrots, and frozen organic spinach kale blend. Other great deals: King Arthur gluten free flour, Pompeian First Cold Pressed EVOO, heavy whipping cream, shredded Mexican cheese, avocado oil, roasted salted cashews and macadamia nuts.

They also have amazing prices on all of their produce, but you really have to watch the quality. Be very careful when selecting bagged produce. Some of my produce staples: Little Leaf Farms lettuce; tomatoes (campari, flavor bomb and organic grape); zucchini; Idaho potatoes; scallions (4 bunches for $1.99!); bagged peeled garlic, onions, mushrooms, organic baby peppers, organic cucumbers, oranges, limes, lemons, collard greens, organic carrots, and organic green beans.

Pro Tip: throw an entire box of peeled garlic into your food processor and chop it up and throw it into a mason jar. It is so much better quality and taste than jarred already chopped garlic that has preservatives in it. If you won’t go through it quickly enough, just put the whole peeled cloves into olive oil in a mason jar and store in the fridge. When you finish the garlic you will have garlic oil!

Seafood, meat and chicken

The best quality and the best prices on seafood, hands-down goes to Market Basket. Here’s a secret: most of the seafood that you get at any of these stores comes from the same supplier. So it’s really all about who gets a new delivery every day and who does the most volume because they’re going to have the freshest fish. Trust me when I tell you Market Basket is so much better than everywhere else. You can get some things at Captain Marden’s that you can’t get at Market Basket but it’ll cost you almost twice as much. Other than shrimp (which is always previously frozen, so it is best to buy it that way), I recommend only wild caught fresh, which Market Basket has in abundance.

They have weekly specials that are pretty amazing like tuna or swordfish for $8.99 a pound and fresh wild sea scallops for $19.99 a pound. Particularly great daily prices can be found for scallops ($8 less a pound than Whole Foods), farm raised salmon (they have their own farm in Norway for when you want fresh salmon and it is not one of the two months when they are running), haddock, cod, tuna, swordfish and shellfish of all types. Farm raised and wild caught shrimp are almost half the price of anywhere else. If fresh live lobster is your thing, they will steam it while you wait.

Best quality and best pricing on chicken hands-down goes to Wegmans and BJ’s. Wegmans has bulk pack chicken that is labeled their brand but it actually is Bell and Evans, and boneless skinless breasts are $4.49 a pound regular price, and thighs are $3.99 a pound. This exact same bulk pack chicken will run you $7.99 and $6.99 a pound, respectively, at Whole Foods (and slightly less at Market Basket). It’s worth it to drive every two weeks just for the chicken. Look for the Cryovac plastic packages of regular and organic chicken with the red label. Best price for bulk ground turkey and ground lamb is tied—Market Basket and BJ’s. BJ’s also carries Wellesley Farms brand thin sliced chicken for $3.99 a pound. The slicing is fabulous and done perfectly almost every time. Just avoid the Perdue brand—it is a mess in terms of quality. Also a big shout out for BJ’s loss leader is their roast chickens. These babies probably weight 2.5 lbs each and they are only $4.99! Unfortunately they don’t carry organic.

Best prices and best quality for beef: depends. They have organic grass-fed ground beef, strip steaks, stew meat and boneless ribeyes at BJ’s—Verde Farms brand—for a great price. They also frequently have coupons. I also get my pork butt and stew beef here, although Market Basket and Wegmans are also good for those. I absolutely love the prime Angus strip steaks out of the case at Market Basket, as well as the Cryovac flank and skirt steak. Great prices on all of those. Wegmans is also the only place I have found boneless short ribs. My go-to for bacon is Market Basket or BJ’s.

I also buy high-quality meat directly from Creekstone Farms online, and they deliver it to my door. Amazing quality and a little known secret—the meat is all Halal. There are also several suppliers that will deliver grass fed, grass finished, organic beef, and chicken. Prices are very high, but the quality can’t be beat.

Best quality and best prices on deli meat: Market Basket wins again. The Farmers and Cooks brand, which I have not seen carried anywhere else, rivals anything at the Whole Foods deli counter. It is the most expensive line that they carry, and it still is 1/3 less than what you will find at Whole Foods. I absolutely love their holiday roast turkey, apple glazed ham and roast beef. Market Basket sells prosciutto de Parma for between $12 and $15 a pound. Same exact product will run you $30 a pound at Whole Foods, Fresh Market or Wegmans.

Cheese and dairy

Best prices on cheese and dairy: Market Basket and BJ’s are probably tied. They have some amazing specialty cheese at Whole Foods and Fresh Market, but if they carry it at either of the above you want to get it there. Trader Joe’s and ALDI also gets a mention here for fantastic prices and really creative cheese options. ALDI even carries a knock off of Trader Joe’s Unexpected Cheddar (the Aldi’s brand is Not Your Average Cheddar). Market Basket is also the best place to find specialty dairy like Mexican or Guatemalan Crema, queso fresco, Cotija, Paneer, Halloumi, labneh, and more, as well as South American products like yucca arepas. Best selection of vegan dairy products is Whole Foods or Fresh Market, but Market Basket and BJ’s are also not bad.

If you are OK with buying in bulk, BJ’s is the place to go for sour cream, real parmesan in block form, shredded American parm, ricotta, cream cheese, butter (regular, organic or grass-fed), shredded cheeses, aged Gruyere, Kerry or Cabot extra sharp cheddar, queso fresco and more. They just don’t have the variety of the places listed above. If you are looking for organic, MOM’s, Whole Foods and Fresh Market are your best bets.

In terms of eggs the best prices for organic pasture raised used to be at BJ’s, but right now they are hard to come by. Best guaranteed stock currently is Whole Foods. By the way, if you have a choice between pasture raised and organic, go with the pasture raised.

Fruits and veggies

Best quality and prices on fresh fruit: best quality definitely goes to Whole Foods. Whole Foods also has the best selection of organic fruit and produce. Sometimes I go to Whole Foods just to ensure I have a good avocado at the proper level of ripeness for my avocado toast with heirloom tomatoes. And when they are doing Amazon Prime sales, their prices are good.

However, if you want organic berries, BJ’s and Wegmans crush Whole Foods. They have absolutely incredible prices on organic berries, especially if you’re buying more than a half of a pint. They cost about a third of what you will pay anywhere else. Otherwise, best prices are usually found at Market Basket, unless Whole Foods is having an Amazon Prime sale. Bulk citrus fruit prices are great at BJ’s. BJ’s also has the best price on organic frozen berries.

I covered most of my top choices for veggies above but will list a few more here. Best place for pre-cut bagged veggies—Wegmans and BJ’s. The quality is usually good, but read your dates and look closely at the bags. Avoid cauliflower and broccoli at both. ALDI has amazing prices on some of their produce, and Trader Joe’s prices are also usually pretty good, but the selection and quality is very hit or miss.

It also should go without saying that your local farmer’s markets and local farms are by far the best places to go for fresh, local, seasonal and organic fruits and veggies. They also have local meats, eggs, dairy and other homemade and prepared foods as well as fresh flowers and homemade products/gifts.

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