Livin' Fresh & Easy

I spent a bunch of time recently visiting family in Las Vegas, and one of the first places they took me to was the new Fresh & Easy. Based out of England and with Tesco as a parent company, this grocery store chain is making welcome appearances across California, Nevada, and Arizona. The goal is to provide a neighborhood  market with affordable and healthy produce and goods. Although I'm a die-hard Trader Joe's fan, I was pretty impressed with what I found at Fresh & Easy. I can't wait till one opens up near me!

All of their produce is bundled in cute little packages--yes, I know, I know, the environment and being green and all that, but I'm such a sucker for packaging (and I recycle!) After being sticker shocked over groceries during my time in Hawai'i, everything here was so much more affordable. Perfect for grabbing on the go after work to make a quick home meal. The store even has a section in the front full of marked-down produce--they turn over their fresh stock every day, and there are often great items in the marked-down section that is quite a steal. A tray of sliced bell peppers was marked down to a dollar, and one time, a tray of six plum tomatoes went for two.

The aisles are clean, wide and neatly arranged. The weird thing is how nearly everything is packaged as a Fresh & Easy brand, with simple labels. Everything looked so uniform, with an interesting sameness that you just don't get in the usual grocery store aisle crowded with a ton of different brands. I kind of liked this look. Sure, you could find a few non Fresh & Easy brands, but most items are their own.

I spent some time hunting for pimientos--my dad was cooking up an old school Filipino dish back at the house and needed some. The Fresh & Easy staff assisted me right away when they caught me wandering the aisles, and although we found out that they don't carry such an item, they were really helpful with searching and checking, and seemed genuinely sorry that they didn't have it. That's friendly service you don't get in most grocery stores.

In the meat and seafood section, I came across a tray of ready-to-make ahi poke. Wow, fresh seafood in Nevada? It was actually quite simple to throw together and the results were delicious. The shop also offered many different already marinated meats, and also an aisle of fresh, not frozen, dinners that just needed to be heated up in an oven. One favorite: vegetable samosas.

But the ultimate treat was this: Roasted Banana gelato. Mmm-yoso already mentioned this treat a couple of months ago, and I have to agree. I found the gelato hidden at the sample station and asked the clerk if I could try some, even though it wasn't one of the current food sample options. She opened up a brand new pint and dished up several small tasting cups. And wow. Talk about heaven. Fresh caramelized banana flavor (real, not artificial) in a creamy gelato. Amazing stuff!

During my stay in Vegas, we shopped here nearly every other day, skipping the usual Smith's and even Trader Joe's. Who knew I would be so taken in with a grocery store? Then again, where else can you find this: one huge hunk.

Fresh & Easy, various locations across California, Nevada, and Arizona.

Comments

[Pammeh]

In Trader Joe's, of course!

They have pound-plus bars of belgian chocolate for 3-4 bucks. Mmmmm...nothing beats the original quirkiness of a Trader Joe's.

It's still TJ's all the way for me too! :)

[Anonymous]

Thanks for stopping by.

The Banana Gelato is my favorite too. If you love Indian you should try our frozen dinners and our fresh meals on the back wall. It's perfect with our garlic naan too.

Thank you from a Fresh and Easy Employee!!!

[Deborah Dowd]

I have never heard of this store, but I love how all the packaging looks, so fresh and neat!

[Tin-Tin]

oooooh! i'm so excited! we're getting a couple in my part of the bay area in 2009!

[Creen]

Pammeh, you're right--TJ's does have that big hunk too! And they have a lot of other quirky goodies that many other stores don't have... (like plantain chips!)

Fresh & Easy employee: Thanks for commenting! Keep up the good work--can't wait to try more of the fresh meals the next time I'm in the area.

Deborah: I had never heard of this store either, but what a neat concept! I hope they expand to more locations and in more states.

Tin-Tin: Yes, I'm excited for the Bay Area openings too! It's always nice to have more options...

[foodhoe]

ooh, yeah I read that Fresh & Easy were planning to open up two locations near me, and now everything is on hold... I hope they don't endup skipping my area!

[caninecologne]

hi there! we have fresh and easy here in san diego too, including one near my house in chula vista.

when i saw that you actually posted pics of stuff from within the store, i thought wow, no one stopped her! here's my story: when the chula vista branch opened in november, i took my camera and snapped some photos too. unfortunately, i was stopped by a guy when i was about to pay and told to confiscate my camera. WTF!!!! Rather than cause a scene, i told them i would delete the pics right then and there. i wasn't going to give them my camera! i was told by the manager and some security guy that pictures of their products are not allowed and that I was only allowed to take photos of the exterior of the store. what utter bs.

i've been wary to taking pics in grocery stores ever since. i thought i was being discreet about it too, but they have cameras everywhere. in any case, i deleted the photos, showed them that it was gone and paid for my stuff and left. i ended up taking photos of the products once i got home.

i do like the store and their products but that 'camera' experience was not fun. i felt like some sort of criminal, which i'm not.

my favorite gelato - the dark chocolate! their mango salsa is also pretty good!

[Creen]

caninecologne:

That's too bad about your camera! I didn't have a problem when I took photos at this Fresh & Easy, then again, I try to make sure no one is around watching me when I take my shots, and then I do it really fast and discreet (or I use the camera on my phone). I've never been confronted before about it. Sorry you had to deal with that--I would encourage you to still go ahead and take pictures!

I agree, the dark chocolate gelato is also very good. I wish there was a Fresh n' Easy here--instead, we're getting a Whole Foods.