Giant Eagle's New Grocery Hangar
Sometimes, when you go to something huge like the Grand Canyon or the Louvre, you realize that your camera lens isn't wide enough to get the whole thing into the shot. This is exactly what happens when you enter Giant Eagle's brand-new Robinson Market District.
The savvy folks at "the Iggle" were kind enough to invite a group of illustrious food bloggers* for a special tour of the new facility tonight. And as I alluded in the title, this is not a grocery store. This is a grocery hangar.
First of all, the prepared foods cafe in this Market District is ginormous. In addition to a truly massive traditional salad bar, there is a hot bar and also a cold bar featuring things like lentils, curried couscous and hummus. But then there's also a crepe stand, sushi, a rotisserie, tossed-to-order salads, a pizza counter, a curry and stir-fry corner, and more options that I am not able even to remember, let alone enumerate. Plus free wifi.
Next to this, there is a (sound the trumpets) carryout beer section. Oh wait, maybe you didn't hear me. THERE IS A CARRYOUT BEER SECTION AT A GROCERY STORE IN PENNSYLVANIA! Did the apocalypse occur and I missed it? Is it particularly blustery in hell today? While I didn't have time to get deep into the selection, just the fact that it exists at all is enough to make me squeal with joy.
The produce section occupies the major portion of the Honey, I Shrunk The Kids-scaled grocery store. There were Buddha's hands citrus, which I have always wondered how to eat, and a plethora of Asian vegetables and other items that might be hard to find at smaller stores. And just for kicks, there's an entire hydroponic system right in the middle of the room.
Moving on, you'll find a lengthy meat counter selling all the usual plus rabbit, poussin and Jamison Farm lamb. There's a cheese locker where Market District ages its own cheeses, a two-story glass cabinet full of dry-cured charcuterie, and barrels full of pickles like you hear about in New York stories.
And of course, if Hamburger Helper and frozen sausages wrapped in pancakes are more your thing, there are aisles and aisles of that stuff, too.
But since it would take several posts to even scratch the surface of everything that's going on at this store, I am going to stop listing features, because perhaps the best thing about the whole store is this guy.
Tom Pometo** has been working in produce at Giant Eagle since before I was born. He's Johnny on the Spot with vegetable jokes and produce puns, and was quick to bring up how much Giant Eagle's local sourcing strategy has changed while he's been with the company. (In short, it's come a long way in recent years.) And I highly suggest, if you ever see him wandering the produce section, that you stop him and ask him how to tell if a cantaloupe is ripe. His big tip: if you're wondering if something is ripe at Giant Eagle, ask an employee for a taste.
The new Market District location - all 150,000 square feet of it - is located in the Settler's Ridge development off the Ridge Road exit of the Parkway West. I'd imagine it's going to be pretty packed for the first few weeks, but it's open 24 hours.
Giant Eagle Market District
Settler's Ridge
The savvy folks at "the Iggle" were kind enough to invite a group of illustrious food bloggers* for a special tour of the new facility tonight. And as I alluded in the title, this is not a grocery store. This is a grocery hangar.First of all, the prepared foods cafe in this Market District is ginormous. In addition to a truly massive traditional salad bar, there is a hot bar and also a cold bar featuring things like lentils, curried couscous and hummus. But then there's also a crepe stand, sushi, a rotisserie, tossed-to-order salads, a pizza counter, a curry and stir-fry corner, and more options that I am not able even to remember, let alone enumerate. Plus free wifi.
Next to this, there is a (sound the trumpets) carryout beer section. Oh wait, maybe you didn't hear me. THERE IS A CARRYOUT BEER SECTION AT A GROCERY STORE IN PENNSYLVANIA! Did the apocalypse occur and I missed it? Is it particularly blustery in hell today? While I didn't have time to get deep into the selection, just the fact that it exists at all is enough to make me squeal with joy.The produce section occupies the major portion of the Honey, I Shrunk The Kids-scaled grocery store. There were Buddha's hands citrus, which I have always wondered how to eat, and a plethora of Asian vegetables and other items that might be hard to find at smaller stores. And just for kicks, there's an entire hydroponic system right in the middle of the room.
Frankenlettuce... It's alive!
Moving on, you'll find a lengthy meat counter selling all the usual plus rabbit, poussin and Jamison Farm lamb. There's a cheese locker where Market District ages its own cheeses, a two-story glass cabinet full of dry-cured charcuterie, and barrels full of pickles like you hear about in New York stories.
Why, yes, that's a Pittsburgh skyline carved in a giant wheel of cheddar.
And of course, if Hamburger Helper and frozen sausages wrapped in pancakes are more your thing, there are aisles and aisles of that stuff, too.
But since it would take several posts to even scratch the surface of everything that's going on at this store, I am going to stop listing features, because perhaps the best thing about the whole store is this guy.
Tom Pometo** has been working in produce at Giant Eagle since before I was born. He's Johnny on the Spot with vegetable jokes and produce puns, and was quick to bring up how much Giant Eagle's local sourcing strategy has changed while he's been with the company. (In short, it's come a long way in recent years.) And I highly suggest, if you ever see him wandering the produce section, that you stop him and ask him how to tell if a cantaloupe is ripe. His big tip: if you're wondering if something is ripe at Giant Eagle, ask an employee for a taste.The new Market District location - all 150,000 square feet of it - is located in the Settler's Ridge development off the Ridge Road exit of the Parkway West. I'd imagine it's going to be pretty packed for the first few weeks, but it's open 24 hours.
Giant Eagle Market District
Settler's Ridge
*Great to meet yinz guys: EatPgh, FoodBurgh, BurghBaby, Plus Size Mommy, Crafty Mama of 4 and many others! Faces with names is such a nice thing.
**Tom, I am really sorry. I snapped 10 pictures of you and you were making a goofy face in every one of them. So at least in this one you were holding a cantaloupe, too.
**Tom, I am really sorry. I snapped 10 pictures of you and you were making a goofy face in every one of them. So at least in this one you were holding a cantaloupe, too.
I'm looking at those prices and they're not that far off from the regular stores here. It looks as if there's plenty of space to walk too. The isles aren't crammed. I have a question, how loud is it? Do they, like other stores, have music blaring in the background so much so that with customers talking you can't hear yourself think? Is it a "stuffy" place where the average citizen will feel out of place or is it welcoming friendly environment...not that my store is that way but you know what I mean. Can I, ex-chef turned starving artist, walk in there and be treated the same as anyone else? It looks beautiful and clean, inviting.
December 20, 2009, at 1:32 PM