A Trip To Stew Leonards

August 18, 2009

A Trip To Stew Leonards

I have always liked nice grocery stores......probably because I like to cook and I love to eat! I come by it honestly though.....my mom and grandmommy love a good grocery store too. The three of us can walk a Fruit Stand, a Farmer's Market, Central Market or Whole Foods like nobody's business. You eat with your eyes...so it only makes sense that the better the food is displayed in the store and the better the quality of said food, the more you will want to buy it! Am I right? Seeing the shiny fruit and the leafy veggies....the blood red meats and the fresh herbs growing.....YUM-O! Connecticut's answer to our Central Market is Stew Leonards. (www.stewleonards.com) While they are really COMPLETELY different, they are similar in spirit: really good fresh produce, Grade-A meat market, a dine-in room with counters and microwaves to stop and eat all the goodies, pre-made meals for take-out, and a different grocery shopping "experience" as opposed to just your typical get in and get out market. You don't go there to buy your can green beans or your Pop-Tarts....much like our Central Market. It's all about the "good stuff".

I had heard of Stew Leonards almost from the day I moved her stew-produce

e, as there is a GIANT billboard near where I work with a 3-D cow head sticking off to one side. David had mentioned it a few times when I was missing Central Market - the best grocery store EVER! Then again, when Wendy mentioned $3.99/lb lobsters. Huh..... So, David and I finally went out there on Sunday, over a year later, so I could check out this famous market. It's ridiculously far from home. It's not too bad from work. But it's not "close" or "on the way" by any stretch. One benefit to the location.....it's not far from my favorite Mexican food restaurant....so I could see David and I going to eat after work on a Friday night and then hitting the market for a weekend of cooking. I think it was the meat department that really caught my attention - I haven't seen ANYTHING like it here in CT. They had yummy marbled Texas-sized rib eyes and the fish (while close to $20/lb) did look like it just came out of the ocean. They had lamb, veal and Chicken 678242485_3d99d2fc0e

-fried steak meat. They had fresh made sausages and hotdogs. Hand-picked lobster meat packed in tubs on ice. The produce was fresh. They had corn (10 for $2.99) in a giant bin that had been advertised as picked at 5:00am that morning. Evidently they coop with local farmers in the area. The milk, the produce, the cheese.....all fresh.

The "atmosphere" is very country fair. There are displays that talk and move - like a Chuck E Cheese. There are displays in every nook and corner, so you have to keep your eyes open, not only for the food, but the decoration as well. It's a really neat place to take kids. You can have lunch there and everyone can have what they want.....get some shopping done and grab an ice cream on the way out!

small