You will go through a Whole Foods stage, infatuated with the huge selection of tofu consistencies. Then you will graduate to East Side Marketplace, realizing that a supermarket isn't worthy of the name if it doesn't stock carbonated sugar water made by evil corporations. And then you will check your wallet and discover Super Stop & Shop.
Just off Branch Avenue, Stop & Shop will overwhelm anyone from a place yet to be taken over by superstores. The shopping carts are really big. The toiletries section is as large as a CVS. There are full Dunkin' Donuts and Citizens Bank branches right in the store. Incredible!
Super Stop & Shop is the best bang for your buck in terms of local supermarkets. It isn't chichi, but food is food. Fresh bread is delivered every day, there is a decent cheese department, more organic foods are being stocked at a fraction of Whole Foods' prices and there are sections featuring various ethnic cuisines. The best part is arriving back on College Hill with bags full of groceries at a fraction of the price they would have been at specialty stores.
