In a hurry, don't go to Harry's

On the other side of town, in the complete opposite direction from the “other” market is a delightful place called Harry’s Farmer’s Market. It seems too, that everyone on Earth knows about Harry’s, especially it’s location in Marietta, just down from, you guessed it….the “Big Chicken”. If you stop and ask anyone for directions in the Marietta area, you can bet that it has “Big Chicken” in it’s answer. What is so special about Harry’s….about a trillion different things.

Harry’s is actually owned by Whole Foods Market which was founded in 1980 as a small store in Austin, Texas, and is now the world’s leading retailer of natural and organic foods, with more than 265 stores in North America and the United Kingdom. Whole Foods acquired the Harry’s chain, including the old Harry’s in a Hurry, in the Atlanta area in October, 2001. Harry’s and Whole Foods sell the highest quality organic and natural products available. Their Motto: Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet.

After you pick out your parking spot and grab a buggy, you venture into what I would call the foyer area of Harry’s. There were all sorts of potted flowers, bird feeders and seed, wind chimes and even rain barrel’s to catch what we here in the South call a precious liquid commodity (most would think gasoline, which runs a close second to milk).

Upon entering the market, one can’t help but notice how fresh and alive it feels. People scurrying about picking out fruits, vegetables and nuts. The produce section was amazing. It had everything laid out in sections and was very appealing to the eye. They had produce that should be kept cold in actual cooler type open displays much like at the supermarket, unlike the “other” market that chose to apply ice directly to the veggies. While we were browsing through the produce stands, a commotion like nothing I had ever heard before, brought our attention to a mirage of Mardi Gras flocked grocery buggies parading through the isles. Not something you’d see everyday, certainly not just around the corner from the “Big Chicken”. Neat to say the least.

The next section of the store was the dry goods or grocery section. It had isle after isle of every type of specialty item you could imagine. It even had a machine that would ground flour for you right there on the spot….sold by the pound so you could buy as much or as little as you wanted. It had a section dedicated to Gluten Free items, which would be something that my sister, the FabGrandma, would absolutely love since she is Gluten intolerant. I even found some Gluten free pretzels on the chip isle.

In this same section, there was a whole isle of Olive Oils . Most bottles were affordable, but there were a few with quite hefty price tags. Perhaps in my next life, if I am born with a silver spoon in my mouth, I will get to try one of those. There was also a whole section, top to bottom, of every kind of mustard you could think of. Now I know where all the folks on the Food Network do their shopping.

Next came the frozen foods section, yes, even a Gluten free pizza or two, as well as organic frozen juices and the like. The butcher shop was next. Aged beef, fresh pork sausages, fresh marinated – grill ready kabobs, duck breasts and even quail eggs. A food lover’s paradise. We opted for an aged boneless Ribeye steak carved into what I call the Valentine’s cut – heart shaped. Paired with the fingerling and blue potatoes roasted with EVOO, shallots, garlic, sea salt and fresh ground pepper and coupled with the Habersham Cherokee Rose wine we selected from Harrry’s expansive wine and beer section, we had a meal fit for a king or queen as the case may be.

The seafood market was next in line. It was very clean and had every kind of fish and shellfish that a good connoisseur would want or need. It even had quart containers of fish stock, which I had never seen in a store or seafood market before. You could buy the fish whole or in filets and the shellfish came in or out of the shell. They even steamed it for you at no extra charge. On the way to the bakery section, we passed a little section of nothing but chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. All kinds of different “percent” chocolate as it is sometimes labeled as well as specialty chocolates from around the world.

Entering the bakery department almost took my breath away. I am such a sweet-aholic, not a word I know, but my word just the same. I was like a kid in a candy shop. What should I buy? Should it be something with chocolate on it, in it, or just chocolate all the way through? Perhaps a Champagne cake or Tiramisu, even fresh fruit tarts…..oh decisions, decisions….what’s a fat girl to do. We opted for the Champagne cake since it was the lightest looking of all the delicacies…it didn’t let us down.

The next section was the cheese and dairy. We didn’t spend too much time in those sections but we did pick up a nice selection of smoked Gruyere and a small slab of my favorite, Havarti dill. They will go nicely with either one of the other bottles of wine we selected: Riondo Prosecco (a light-bodied Sparkling wine from Italy) or Affentaler Riesling (a lovely German Riesling with a delightful gold monkey on the bottle).

There was a whole isle dedicated to hot cocoa and tea. I picked up a canister of White Tea infused with Pineapple and Guava from the Republic of Tea, one of my favorite brands. Their Blood Orange and Cranberry is very good too. Around the corner was a whole section of “Fast Food”. Not your every day fast food. A whole barrage of cooked items such as rotisserie chicken, baked pecan crusted tilapia, grilled spinach and crab stuffed salmon, a variety of vegetables; too many to mention, a fully stocked salad and soup bar and even sushi.

There was a floral department and a whole section in the front near the registers that we didn’t even go through dedicated to health and beauty aids, shoes that soothe the soles of your feet and candles and incense to soothe your inner soul. Yes, I would have to say, that if you are in a hurry, Harry’s definitely isn’t for you…we spent about 4 hours wandering through the isles, but all in all, it was one of the best Saturday afternoons I have spent in a long time.

Before I close, I do have to give honorable mention to the Apple and Cherry stuffed Whole Chicken breast that we purchased for our Sunday dinner. I also had purchased some golden beets in the produce section that I cooked along with the Parsnips from our outing at the “other” market and some carrots that I had in the fridge; adding sea salt, fresh ground pepper and a pinch of sugar as well as a whole stick of “real” butter. I added some baked sweet potatoes and my last bag of Zipper peas out of the deep freeze. I shared the meal with my Mother who had eaten parsnips as a young girl growing up in Detroit and wasn’t too fond of them. In her words, “I was taken by surprise”. Well, music to my ears….until next time, my motto is: Skinny cooks can’t be trusted!