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I don't know anyone else who finds grocery shopping as much fun and entertaining as I do.

I couldn't decide whether to begin a Slow Food Sunday adventure, start my gardening project for the season, or to simply take advantage of a lazy Sunday this morning. After much debate in my head, I convinced the man to take a road trip to Westport to check out The Fresh Market.

I learned of this new grocery store chain when I was visiting my family in Alabama back in January. That's where I found this decadent treat. While there, I learned one had recently opened in Westport. I was impressed with the design layout of the store. It feels open and your senses are immediately filled by the bright colors of fresh, whole foods in the produce section, the scent of the whole bean coffee display near the front, and what's cooking in the deli near the center of the store.

Here's what I like most about it: If you pay attention, you'll notice how the proportions of the store are the direct opposite of your average Stop & Shop. At Stop & Shop, there's a produce department that represents probably about 15-20% of the store and tucked to the far right, the meat & seafood line the back, with bread & dairy taking up the aisle on the far left of the store. What's in the middle? Virtually everything we shouldn't be eating, and it all represents about 60-70% of the store's footprint.



Whereas The Fresh Market is organized in such a way that no matter which side you enter from, you begin your shopping experience in a produce department that represents about 40% of the store's footprint. The meat & seafood departments line the back; the breads are near the meat counter; the dairy is in the front left and the aisles take up about 10-15% of the space (tucked around to the far left, and toward the end of your shopping route). It works. You subconsciously end up spending more of your grocery money on whole foods, as opposed to chips & soda.



Stop & Shop doesn't have an array of fresh mushrooms like these.



...Or a spice rack full of options like this.



...or a snack aisle like this.



...a meat department with personality, anyone?



I bought a jar of this honey about a year ago at a conference I attended on herbal medicine. It's so delicious, I just reordered a case of three flavors from the Honey Gardens web site. There was one evening in February where I just felt off. I could tell I was run down and potentially catching a cold. You know what I mean? I ate a 1/2 teaspoon of this raw honey before bed that night and felt perfectly healthy the next day. I'm telling you, there's magic in this jar, and I'm thrilled to see it for sale at The Fresh Market.

So what's on the menu for Slow Food Sunday in my household? I'll give you two guesses:



...and the first one doesn't count.



Perfection.



Pesto. My favorite thing about the spring/summer season.

What's cooking at your house?