I had a two-fold reason for visiting Hoover's Essential Health, previously Economy Foods. I was looking for a cheaper grocery store in general, one that offered a larger variety of gluten- and dairy-free products given that more and more we're finding friends and family with such allergies. By visiting their website, I learned about their bakery and their deli for lunch. So then, I knew I just had to go so I could review dining there, too.
It appears Economy does take coupons because they had some coupon pads hanging around. On top of that, they're mostly cheaper than the next closest store to my house that carries organic and other health-nut products, Publix. I wish I had an opportunity to compare their prices and selection to SuperTarget, but SuperTarget is too far away from us these days.
I was very pleased with the variety of products I found at Essential Health. The tahini we like is nearly two dollars cheaper than at Publix and the Imagine Vegetable Broth, recommended by The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper is over a dollar cheaper than Publix, plus it was on sale! (Course this is all out the window if you make your own broth and tahini.) However, the pecans were $8 a pack, which I thought were expensive. But that may just be because we normally bring our pecans from Mississippi where they are very cheap. So grocery wise (not to mention what I thought were very reasonable prices on produce, especially local and organic) I am inclined to return to Essential Health. It is slightly out of my way; so I'll only stop when I'm passing by. It's located about halfway between our house and my parents' house.
The deli is just a small counter at the entrance. And there is no bakery window to view large selections of beautiful loaves. Actually, the bagged bread comes from Deland Bakery. However, the whole wheat cookies which I had read were to die for appear to come from the Essential Health Bakery. Perhaps it's an oven in the back of the store. In a way that lack of fresh bread made me sad. I did buy the cookies anyway--chocolate chip for me, oatmeal raisin for Paul. At the deli counter were a variety of sandwiches (all veggie-meat but the Tuna) and chili or soup. It being a blustery day out, I chose the soup not realizing that I had to sit at the tables outside in the blustery weather in order to eat it. Had I ordered a sandwich, I could have eaten in the car!. I thought the soup was flavored very nicely. And if warmth concerns you, I was in such a hurry to get myself and Nora out of the wind and chill that I ate too fast and burned my tongue and throat. I can definitely testify that the soup is served hot.
I accompanied the soup with a refrigerated drink of kiwi, pineapple, and lime that did little to cool my mouth. It was fresh, locally made juice with only agave as the sweetener. It appeared to not be pasteurized, which meant it had an expiration date very soon. So for immediate drinking, I was very impressed. I would just know I couldn't stock up on it.
And the cookies weren't worth a specific trip out, but I would definitely pick them up if I were at the store. And the sneaky thing for your white-flour-loving friends and family is that you really can't tell they use whole wheat flour.
