I fell for the wild salmon banner the other day. I paid $30+ for a plank. It was good, but not that good compared to other choices costing less than half as much elsewhere.
Yes, you must be freaky to shop there. My Ronald Reagan cap drew scowls and I swear that woman rammed me with her little cart that was carrying a baby who's face was painted black.
Everything in there is priced sky-high and everybody in there acted very stuck up. Even more so than the staff at Williams-Sonoma.
Its a store for elitists, pure and simple. Lets dillusional folks think they are better than everyone else.. when in fact they are just dumber.
I like to grind my own spices, and Whole Foods has a selection of whole spices that are hard to find anywhere else, and when bought by the oz. is very inexpensive.
Whole Foods (Whole Paycheck?) Markets tend to proliferate where there are plenty of snobby rich liberals to patronize them (see: Austin, TX, Ann Arbor, MI) who don't want to be confused with the plebes at the likes of Kroger, Meijer, or, god forbid, Wal-Mart.