Well, at least I've got Wegmans....

Fellow foodies, my life sucks. Rochester sucks, I'm unemployed, I haven't had a hot shower since December 23rd, and the lights in the bathroom don't even work all the time, so I can't even sit in there and read a magazine properly. And, I moved here to be near my family. What was I thinking?? They are nuts. You all know I'm not exaggerating about that, and the fact that I moved closer to them makes me nuts also. So there you have it.

But one of the tempting reasons to move to the ROC was Wegmans. Growing up in Weggie town I took for granted the potential awesomness of a grocery store. I think part of that was because growing up, grocery stores didn't have to be awesome. This was before Whole Foods and the Food Network. This was also before I had to shop at Price Chopper every day in my beloved Saratoga. Gross.

Since I don't/can't cook in my apartment, I rely mainly on prepared foods from Wegmans. I've actually thought about only eating Wegmans prepared foods for a period of time and blogging about that (which would obviously be made into a move and my unemployment problems would be over). Here are some staples:
1. Roast beef on kimmlewick roll with lettuce, mayo, roasted red peppers. So amazing. Sometimes the 'wick roll is a little much- it's whole rye seeds and salt on the roll, but it complements the roast beef (which is always perfectly pink and juicy). Roasted reds are the perfect diplomat between the roll and the meat, and they layer the ample mayo between the lettuce and peppers so that it can handle many hours in the fridge before consumption. There's also sometimes a roast beef wrap that is quite enjoyable- has roasted reds, no kimmlewick..think it has a horseradish mayo.

2. Tuna on tomato flatbread. Best tuna salad ever- not to mayo-ey, not too dry. I personally cannot make satisfactory tuna salad by myself so appreciate their great recipe, but can't really describe what makes it so good (or else I'd be able to make it!!). Thinly sliced cheese & lettuce accompany the tomato flavored pita type bread, which adds the perfect amount of tang.

3. Potstickers: for $4 you get 6 potstickers and a thing of soy-ish sauce, ready to heat for 1 mintue in the microwave whenever you are ready.

4. The Wokery: giant salad bar type arrangement of Asian food. While all of the above items are generally available at either of my two main Wegmans, the Wokery is only at the Pittsford Plaza giant Wegmans. This store is freaking amazing. The Wokery that I am speaking of is probably 12 bins long? Picture salad bar bins as measurement....Like a giant capital "I". 12 bins, double lines, of Chinese- which is all good, but I focus on the Indian offerings at one bar of the "I". Probably 6 bins- from which I gather Chickn Tikka, Naan, sometimes palak paneer, sometimes samosas. Always amazing rice. And it's by the pound so I can mix and match, get a snack, get enough for two days, whatever...It's a weekly thing at this point.

5. Other: great sushi/sashimi, great salads, great salad bar in case they haven't already imagined and prepackaged your salad fantasy, and an olive bar that carries 3 different sizes of fresh mozzarella. Decent pizza- kind of Pope's-ey. Had a slice for dinner actually. And don't even ask about desserts...but if you do ask, I recommend the german chocolate brownies. And I had to ban myself from the chocolate chip cookies for a while because they are that good.

6. Embarrased, but I still haven't tried their $6 meals. You go to the designated counter to choose a main protien and 2 sides to take out and microwave at home. Offerings look good- salmon, chicken for main thing and various veggies, various starches, for side choices. They also have a $10 meal option with higher end options.

So that's the bright spot in Rochester. Seriously, I think that our homicide rate would be even higher without this place (and the homicide rate is pretty high, altough I think we're doing alright so far in 2010). My Roc equivalent to the Ghetto Chopper is such a cultured place. An equal amount of homeless schizophrenics and college students as the Saratoga sister store, there's funner food to eat, and cheerful cashiers, and always somebody with a sample. It's so much more celebratory. Yay!! We're all shopping for food!! How fun!! It's going to be so delicious!! Seriously, we all say those things as we shop. It's that good. The samples help.