The Whole Foods deli and prepared foods section is, as a general rule, one of the most expensive places to get a meal in the Twin Cities. And probably other cities, too. Since I live very close to one, I know this first-hand, and from many occasions. Luckily, frequent practice has shown that you can find decent value there.

For example, the Uptown one sells this roast beef sandwich. It's just a basic, plastic-wrapped roast beef sandwich. Cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, some kind of whole weat bread. Sliced in half and smooshed into Saran Wrap, but they sell it for $4 or $5 (not sure why the price changes on it from time to time, but it does),, and dammit, it's good roast beef, and it's good cheese, and it's good lettuce, and good tomato, and good bread. And it's enjough to fill you up at lunch.

And it's four bucks? At Whole Foods? Sometimes I suspect it's the subversive work of some green-apron hippie secretly disgusted at what Whole Foods charges for a cold grilled chicken breast. Well, I thank you, morally conflicted hippie. Because some days, when you can only see out of one eye, and you have to run to Whole Foods anyway because you're almost out of olive oil and kosher salt, AKA the two most vital staples in one's kitchen? Some days, that shit hits the spot just right.