Sacramento Food Co-op Grand Opening

October is Co-op Month, and I can think of no better way of celebrating than to lead some rousing cheers for the Sacramento Food Co-op, which just today debuted their new location, mere blocks away from California's State Capitol. 

Let's start with the produce section, definitely the star of the old store, but now with more room to stretch out. Pretty impressive selection of fruit, vegetables, and even some dried items. I got a huge bag of some locally grown (and harvested this morning, judging by the great flavor) arugula, organic Pink Lady apples, organic yellow onions, and some organic Fuyu persimmons. Below: something exotic, organic ginger from Peru?

Killer bulk section, natch.

Dig some of this local honey--Star Thistle?!?!

It doesn't get more Co-op than this. For years, about the only place you could buy White Mountain Yogurt (my friend Brenda Smith started that place with other folks from the Austin Co-op community) was Wheatsville Co-op in Austin, Texas. My first time there, in 1982, I bought a huge (to my mind, at the time) container and some granola on my very first visit to a Food Co-op. It was also the first time I ever tasted something approaching what I would call now "real" yogurt. Definitely not the sugar-laden crap I used to buy at 7-11 in Richardson.

The meat counters are even better, especially the seafood. I'm seriously impressed. 

Fantastic cheese selection. Robin picked out a Sheep's Milk Cheese, slightly similar to Brie, from Portugal, which we ate on a Ciabbatini with arugula. This co-op has elegant, beautiful dining areas, so we tarried there after checking out.

Great wine section. On the shelf in foreground on the right, second shelf from the top, that entire shelf is Sacramento Food Co-op wine! I've never heard of such a thing. I bought a bottle of Cab, and I'll check it out some other night.

Here's the most hilariously over-priced item. 

And here' something exceedingly rare. I've never seen this item in a bulk section before. 

Dried mushrooms in the bulk section? I rest my case.