Great grocery stores in Washington, DC

September 4, 2013 11:43 AM

This is likely the first in a series of questions about moving from San Francisco to Washington, DC. I will be living near Foggy Bottom/GWU. What are DC grocery stores -- bonus points for nearby, but not required -- in which one can expect to find great produce, great bread, and great meat? If anyone is familiar with SF, I'm really looking for something like Bi-Rite, if it exists. Is Whole Foods my best bet? Thanks.
posted by eugenen to Food & Drink (23 answers total)

Best answer: Good news: You'll be right near the only Trader Joe's in town. However, I find they tend to lack the three things you're looking for.

However, you're a not-long Metro ride from Eastern Market, which has all those things.

For everything else, you're looking at Whole Foods. Giant sucks and Safeway is barely passable.
posted by General Malaise at 11:51 AM on September 4, 2013 [1 favorite]

There's a Trader Joe's in Foggy Bottom and a couple of Whole Foods locations nearby. Otherwise, it's a long drive into the outer suburbs to places like H-Mart. Or you could drive to Wegmans in New Carrollton, which is not easily accessible by public transport. Sorry.
posted by Nomyte at 11:51 AM on September 4, 2013

It's not a grocery store per se, but I've found all of the above at Union Market in NE DC.
posted by evoque at 12:03 PM on September 4, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: It's not really nearby, but Eastern Market is also on the Blue and Orange lines (located next to the eponymous Metro stop). It's in a building, but operates like a farmer's market, and some vendors have ingredients for foreign cuisine that are hard to find outside of small stores.
posted by zombieflanders at 12:03 PM on September 4, 2013 [3 favorites]

About a mile from you in in Georgetown, there's Dean and Deluca. You're also not too far from the largest DC farmer's market, Sundays in Dupont Circle.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:05 PM on September 4, 2013

Best answer: You might check out Glen's Garden Market in Dupont. I mostly get premade lunch stuff there, so I can't actually speak to their meat, bread or produce, but it certainly looks nice. It's small, and not inexpensive, but they're working at being a quality boutique grocery store.
posted by EvaDestruction at 12:09 PM on September 4, 2013 [1 favorite]

If you will have access to a car, there are a couple of Wegmans in the suburbs.
posted by troika at 12:12 PM on September 4, 2013 [4 favorites]

I used to live in Foggy Bottom before the Whole Foods was there and did all my grocery shopping at the Trader Joe's, although sometimes I would have to go elsewhere to get a specific item I was looking for that TJ's didn't have. For produce, bread and meats there's the DuPont farmers market, which happens on Sundays year-round.
posted by ultraviolet catastrophe at 12:16 PM on September 4, 2013

My favorite grocery store in DC proper is the Social Safeway - otherwise known as the Georgetown Safeway. It was just rebuilt a couple years ago and it has a great selection of produce and other products. If you want to venture far out to the suburbs (to places I haven't even been to), I've heard amazing things about Wegman's. Oh, Wagshals has good meat and a great deli if you want to venture up that way.
posted by echo0720 at 12:21 PM on September 4, 2013

Go to the Georgetown Safeway, the Whole Foods, and the TJ's at 25th and Penn. Everything else people have mentioned here are not places to shop regularly (especially Glen's, which, wow). H-Mart and Wegman's are cool, but there's no real reason to leave the city for fresh groceries.
posted by downing street memo at 12:44 PM on September 4, 2013 [1 favorite]

If you have a car, the Harris Teeter in Adams Morgan isn't bad, and has a garage. Not super convenient from the metro, though.
posted by inigo2 at 12:54 PM on September 4, 2013

Same with the Social Safeway -- not convenient to Foggy Bottom, unless you have a car.
posted by Rash at 1:10 PM on September 4, 2013

If you're willing to drive a bit, I too would HIGHLY recommend you take a look at Wegman's. Even if you're NOT willing to drive, make an exception for this one. It's not just a grocery store -- it's an experience. I believe the closest Wegman's to DC proper is in Fairfax, Virginia, though if I recall correctly, one recently opened somewhere on the Prince George's County, Maryland side of the Capital Beltway (I-495).

I've never lived on the West Coast so I have never been to a Bi-Rite. It's also been recommended above, but Harris Teeter may be similar.

Safeway is good, but, in general, overpriced -- plus I am fairly sure you have them out on the West Coast (I remember going to one in coastal Oregon).
posted by tckma at 1:19 PM on September 4, 2013

Before the thrill of Peapod home delivery and the delight of both a TJs and a Whole Paycheck on the Blue/Orange line, I used to Metro out to the Virginia Square Giant, about 2 blocks from the station. It was the best option on that line, and not a bad store at all. Certainly better than the Kentucky Avenue UnSafeway which is much closer to me and also on the Blue/Orange line.

I never go there regularly anymore, but sometimes it makes sense. They also have deli "ends and pieces" there, which the in-city Dread Line Van Ness Giant has turned its nose up at.
posted by jgirl at 1:23 PM on September 4, 2013

You might also be interested in this CSA: http://thefarmbus.com/

They have pickups at Eastern Market (outside) and Maret School.
posted by jgirl at 1:27 PM on September 4, 2013

Adding to my earlier comment -- I live in the rural exurbs of DC and commute to more populated suburbs. Although there are good grocery stores in our town, and we usually shop there, my wife and I regularly (about once a month) drive the 45 minutes each way to go to the nearest Wegman's. I also work very near to (almost walking distance from) another location, and often find myself picking up "a few things" there before I drive home. Perhaps it's not good for my wallet, but that's another story.
posted by tckma at 1:28 PM on September 4, 2013

You can take the bus to the Social Safeway. There is also a parking garage.

The area around Eastern Market also has a Yes Organic Market (local chain, there are a few other locations) and Spring Mill Bread.

The Costco at Pentagon City is on the Blue Line, a short walk away from the Pentagon City Metro stop.
posted by bbq_ribs at 1:45 PM on September 4, 2013

Washington's Green Grocer delivers delicious local and/or organic food.
posted by pavane at 3:28 PM on September 4, 2013

Best answer: It seems like you may forgo WF as your main store, but since you might still want to stop in sometimes - that Whole Foods is NUTS (at least during the school year). Avoid it on Monday nights and Tuesday nights if Monday was a holiday. Also avoid it during the first week of the semester.

It is also only OK as a grocery store for cooking because it caters to the students at GW (who do not seem to be avid chefs), but is a good choice for picking up some pre-made items when you're not feeling up to cooking.
posted by vakker at 5:10 PM on September 4, 2013 [1 favorite]

The Trader Joe's in Foggy Bottom is also nuts, almost all the time. Last time I was there a cashier told me the best times to go were Tuesday/Wednesday night, I think. I went one of those nights and it was marginally less busy.
posted by stoneandstar at 6:19 PM on September 4, 2013

There's a Harris Teeter accessible through the Pentagon City metro station. When you exit the fare gates, go to the left, enter the mall, then keep walking through the food court past the Auntie Anne's towards the parking garage. Once you're in the garage, keep walking down the tiled pathway and up the stairs. Harris Teeter will be to your right.

The selection is not as great as Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, but it is open 24 hours.
posted by invisible ink at 8:54 PM on September 4, 2013

Note that the Eastern Market Metro is one stop away from the Potomac Avenue Metro, where there's a nice, new Harris Teeter directly across the street. Plus, there's a CVS at Eastern Market, too, so you can pick up trash bags and aspirin and shampoo. I walk past Eastern Market on my way to and from work every day; between it, the pretty-good corner store at Penn and 4th, Firehook Bakery, and P&C Market, I find I can go weeks without hitting a big grocery store. Typically, I just wait until I'm heading out to the suburbs for something else to get the bulk stuff.
posted by MrMoonPie at 7:16 AM on September 5, 2013

stoneandstar: "The Trader Joe's in Foggy Bottom is also nuts, almost all the time. Last time I was there a cashier told me the best times to go were Tuesday/Wednesday night, I think. I went one of those nights and it was marginally less busy."

It's usually only NUTS on weekends, but the line moves very very quickly. I've never had a problem with it.

Also.... going all the way across town to do routine grocery shopping? That's more than a little crazy, especially if you're taking transit (Metro service on weekends has been pretty terrible lately). If I lived in Foggy Bottom, it'd be a bit nuts to go to grocery stores over by Eastern Market. The market itself is OK, and well worth a visit, but I usually don't find that the food is worth the trek over there or the added expense. Similarly, places like P&C are awesome,* but there's no way I'd do any shopping there if I lived all the way across town.

* I'm friends with the owner, so I'm a bit biased

There's also Union Market, which is still trying to take off. There are a few good vendors in there.

I have yet to find great bread in DC, and many of the farmers' markets get their produce from the same places as the supermarkets.

Supermarket quality can vary wildly. The crowds at Trader Joes are nuts, but completely manageable -- the line moves very quickly. Harris Teeter is nice (especially if you live near one), but can be unreasonably expensive for some items; their produce is also occasionally lacking. The Safeways vary wildly in quality, often depending on the demographics of the neighborhood. Giant tends to be cheaper and lower-quality than the rest, but they've improved a lot lately -- lately, their produce has actually been better than Harris Teeter's. Whole Foods is great if you can afford it; I can't.
posted by schmod at 1:06 PM on September 18, 2013