6 June - mark your calendars, London food shoppers!

6 June is circled large on my calendar. Finally, after teasing me with "coming soon" signs for far longer than is necessary, Whole Foods has announced the opening date for its flagship store on Kensington High Street.

But not everyone is as thrilled with having a state of the art organic supermarket that treats its employees and customers equitably in their backyard. Jonathan Prynn, writing in the Evening Standard:

"Whole Foods is frighteningly expensive compared with other US food giants...Back home, it has success simply by being better than the dire supermarkets Americans were used to."

*snerk*

Oh puhleeze. There is nothing more dire than a UK supermarket. Let's compare, shall we?

Choice? Fuhgeddaboutit. No comparison. Last time my husband and I were in LA, we stopped in my old neighborhood Ralph's. I actually took photos with my phone's camera to remind myself what proper displays of produce and wide aisles of more than two brands per category looked like. "Yes, but," I hear you say, "London is an old town with little space for supermarkets and LA is a new city with nothing but space for big stores. It's not fair to compare." Ah, but my husband has one quirky quirk: He loves to try out new grocery stores. And so we have travelled by tube, bus and cab to the furthermost reaches of Greater London to visit the large suburban hypermarkets. Let me tell you: there is NOTHING more dire in the supermarket category than the Asda in North Acton. Don't even get me going on our various Tesco experiences. They define despressing shopping.

Service? Grumpy clerks who may or may not bag your groceries for you, throwing the six pack of soda on top of the fresh loaf of bread, or clerks who generally smile and exchange pleasantries while a second clerk bags for you? Thought so.

Food safety? I've watched Sainsburys employees place formerly frozen items that were left behind at the checkout BACK IN THE FREEZER CASE. On a regular basis.

Oh Ralph's, how I miss thee...Gelson's, Albertson's, Pavillons too. And Bristol Farms...*sigh*

Also, a country that gave birth to Trader Joe's can never have its grocery choices be termed "dire." TJ trumps ALL. It certainly trumps anything this benighted (when it comes to supermarkets) isle can boast.

As for "frighteningly more expensive" - yes, Whole Foods can cost more than Ralph's, but not that much more. Besides, I bought entirely different things at each store. Considering that the supermarkets here double or treble their prices for the organic versions, I would say that Whole Foods prices will come as a pleasant surprise to the British shopper.

Now France...France can sneer all it likes at American supermarkets because French grocery stores are fab. What can I say, I'm a bread, cheese and charcuterie type of gal, and any country that sells not one, but two versions of Special K with chocolate (dark and milk) is my idea of paradise. But Britain...ever hear of glass houses, my supercilious Brit friends?

Whole Foods succeeded in America not because it was better than the other US grocery stores but because it exploited a niche very well. In my old LA neighborhood, I lived within walking distance of a Whole Foods, a Ralph's, a Pavillions and a local independent grocery. They all seemed to thrive in the ten years I was a resident. Whole Foods will not compete with Asda (which, by the way, happens to be owned by Wal-Mart) in the UK - because it isn't meant to. It's a completely different experience. And one I can't wait to have.

But oh! Trader Joe's, if you could be the next to invade London, I'd be very, very grateful...