Brooklyn wannabees, from Manhattan to California, shop at Whole Foods for everything from organic almond milk to yoga mats, but until yesterday, Brooklyn didn’t have its own locations.

At the corner of 3rd Avenue and 3rd Street in Gowanus, enter the large Brooklyn Whole Foods to the smells of fresh produce and newly baked bread, along with the sounds of local vendors (Roberta’s pizza!) hawking samples of their products, of which there are plenty.  Whole hogs hang from the ceiling of the butcher shop, while vegans eagerly push away from organic, farm-raised meats, towards the enormous dried bulk foods aisle, featuring unique items like locally produced dinosaur-shaped pasta ($2.99/lb). 

A favorite from the Bowery Whole Foods, Yuji Ramen, has set up shop here with $9 bowls ($1 extra for poached egg or extra noodles) of fresh noodles topped with bacon, veggies, or other seasonal options.  Hot food stations, a salad bar, as well as a juice bar, knife sharpening station, coffee bar, and growler fill station with a selection of local brews on tap. 

You can spend a day sampling the variety of goodies, grab 12 salmon avocado rolls for $7.49 and sit at the café area for lunch, or just stop in for a quick item or two because, unlike the Manhattan locations of Whole Foods, there are no lines at the checkout!  It’s probably too good to be true, but
the Whole Foods of the better borough may just be the best Whole Foods.