Portland, I can't live the lie anymore. I have to come clean.

I like Whole Foods better than New Season.

They're both over priced and self-congratulating. They're both corperations owned by overseas investors that pretend to be local.

The difference is that when you walk into a Whole Foods, there's a former chef offering you samples of 3-year aged gouda, or slices of rare Jamaican Red Pinapple.

You walk into a New Season, and the guy in the produce department is listening to his ipod and sneering at you because you have a job that pays you enough to shop at New Seasons.

I spent a good part of my twenties stocking shelves at supermarkets, so I know a thing or two about the grocery arts. I hate to say it, but Whole Foods is just a better grocery store.