East End Fabulous Food Shopping
The east end of Pittsburgh is having a resurgence. The best evidence of this is specialty grocery options. The original which has been in the neighborhood for years is the East End Food Coop. It's located in the ground floor of The Factory at the corner of Braddock and Penn Avenues. Anyone may shop there but regulars are encouraged to join and receive a 10% discount. Of particular note is their huge bulk food section with every kind of granola, grain, nut and spice and their cafe with hot foods and cold salads by the pound and their smoothie and coffee bar. Being a member owned non-profit, prices are reasonable and the staff is very friendly and helpful.
The newest addition to marketing is Trader Joe's which recently opened further toward East Liberty on Penn Avenue. It has an amazing selection of private label nuts, candy, fish, frozen food, dairy products, and the list goes on and on. The prices are great and it's fun to try samples of breads and coffee.
On the other side of East Liberty's Penn Circle lies the infamous Whole Foods. It's true when people refer to it as "whole paycheck"! It's expensive but wonderfully upscale. They have the best prepared food department anywhere and I love to stop by at lunch to sample the salad, soup and hot bar. On the weekends they make eggs and omelets to order and are great with special orders for all of your memorable celebrations.
To compete with all of these interesting nature food stores in the area, our regular supermarket, Giant Eagle, has opened its own form called the Market District . It is located further toward Shadyside on Centre Avenue. I don't have anything particularly positive to say about this store, except that it is an improvement over the regular Giant Eagles and is open much longer hours than any of the others.
I'm going to end by mentioning the long standing Shadyside Market at 5414 Walnut Street in Shadyside. My mother always referred to it as Tiffany's because of the prices, but if you want an intimate special selection of only the best of the best this market is sure to please.
