Staff Picks
Global Village Foods Samosas
It’s true, a lot of foodies shop our stores, but we also have plenty of loyal shoppers whose kitchen skills peaked at “I didn’t burn the toast last week” status. For this mighty and intrepid band of kitchen adventurers, people who can push buttons on a microwave with the best of them, our Merchandising and Operations teams have a great staff pick just for you.
Based in Quechee, Vt., our friends at Global Village Foods have re-imagined traditional African flavors and the results are some of the best take-home meals out there. Founders Mel and Damaris Hall started with a dream of bringing Kenyan flavors to Vermont. The idea caught on quick, and now their meals are a customer favorite. Just heat up a samosa or two, plate it fancy, and feel like a chef while you support a great local business focused on the idea of global community. Your microwave has been waiting for a purpose this noble. Don’t let it down!
Woodland Fairy Bagels
Based out of Quechee, Vermont, Woodland Fairy is a bakery that specializes in handcrafted bagels, NY style, boiled and baked and frankly, adored. If you want to take a drive out to their lovely store in Quechee, you’ll also find breakfast sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, and cider donuts, too. Woot!
The Bagel Breakdown
- The Store: 130 Quechee Gorge Village Dr., Quechee, VT. Go there. Find bliss.
- The Method: Hand-rolled, boiled, baked New York Style bagels. No shortcuts. (No AI bagels here.)
- Varieties: Classics, Everything, and Cheddar Jalapeño (for when you want your breakfast to fight back a little).
- GF Delights: They also have Gluten-Free bagels that actually taste like delicious bagels. Plain, Everything, Cinnamon Sugar.
- The Lore: They leveled up from a home-based operation to a full-blown storefront. A local success story!
Our Latest Sparkling Water Crush
Look, we’ve all been there. You crack open a can of fruit-infused sparkling water expecting a citrus explosion, but instead, it tastes like someone whispered the word “grapefruit” into some soda. Your beverage bubbles in a can of lies.
Enter Spindrift.
These guys actually had the audacity to—get this—squeeze real fruit into the can. Pour it in a glass and you’ll see. There’s actual pulp in the bottom of the glass!
Why our staff is hoarding it in the breakroom:
- It’s basically just carbonated water and squeezed fruit. No “natural flavors” (which we all know is just code for science experiments or whatever).
- It actually tastes like the fruit listed on the label. The Lemon is tart. The Raspberry Lime is zingy. The Grapefruit is grapefruity.
- Usually between 0 and 15 calories. It’s the perfect compromise for when you want a soda but your fitness app is judging you.
Spindrift is made in Newton, Mass., just a stone’s throw (if you have a really, really good arm) from our stores. Seriously, this beverage blew up in Boston delis before taking over the world.
Our Pick for Cold Winter Mornings
Somebody, at some point, looked at oats and thought, “These would be better if they were a little flatter.” We thank that person every morning.
These rolled oats from our friends at Bob’s Red Mill cook up into a bowl that feels like it knows what it’s doing. Add fruit, nuts, honey, even yesterday’s jam experiment. If your morning needs something reliable, comforting, and unlikely to judge you for hitting snooze twice, this is a great place to start!
Find it in our Grocery Departments.
