More Than a Market

Late on a Tuesday night, Whole Foods Glen Mills hums like a beehive. Shoppers by the dozens zip and buzz between the grid-like aisles, stopping for a moment to admire the beaming tower of acai juice bottles or the bulk crates of yellow chana dal beans. Naturally, a few settle near the vats of locally sourced honey. The body moves instinctively along with the hive. Almost without control, you find yourself hovering near a crate of fair trade figs and digging through the five varieties of organic beets. Soon you’re reading the nutritional label on a bottle of raw coconut water and talking yourself into one of the 60-gallon rain buckets you saw on your way in. Suspiciously cheerful chalkboards direct your every motion. “Welcome to Whole Foods,” they seem to say. “Resistance is futile.” Whole Foods Glen Mills, and its 38,000-square-feet of organic, fair trade, quinoa-stuffed sensory overload, opened in March. There was live music, beer tastings, freebies galore and much hoopla. Philly Magazine’s Foobooz blog referred to it as “the best thing to happen to grocery shopping since the invention of grocery stores.” And it’s a darned good place to eat. Find out why DT dining critic Matt Amis thinks so here.

The Cider House Rules

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Cider is as American as apple pie, which it shares a common ingredient with. To enjoy autumn without buying a jug at any local orchard would be a heresy. In the days when it was possible to buy the unpasteurized version, DT drink guy Roger Morris would stop at Milburn Orchards just west of Newark to buy a couple of gallons of the unfiltered stuff. It would be stashed in the refrigerator for a few days, until it became hard cider—a mildly alcoholic, tangy drink. Whether cider is sweet and nonalcoholic, hard or sparkling, Americans are rediscovering what was once America’s drink of choice. And a homegrown version is made in Bridgeville. Learn more here.

Secret Spice

Don’t ask Louisette Amblard about the secret ingredient in the popular pumpkin pies she sells at her Bon Appetit Gourmet Food in North Wilmington (478-4344). It’s not that she’s unwilling to tell—she doesn’t know what it is. The important thing is to order in time for Thanksgiving. Learn more now, right here.

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Start Mugging

This is our kind of club: Pay the dues at your favorite brewpub, get your own mug, which is kept safely behind the bar, then fill it any time at special prices. Several offer deals, including Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant in Newark and Wilmington; Two Stones Pub, Newark; Stewart’s Brewing Company, Bear; The Deer Park Tavern, Newark; and The Greene Turtle, Lewes. Pay the dues, stash your mug, then fill up any time for a special price. Find the deets here.

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