Wheatsville Co-op Austin, TX

[Dan gillotte <dangillotte AT gmail.com>]

Hello Wheatsville friends and fans!

It's Owner Appreciation Week! Check your Wheatsville Breeze for your 10% off one purchase Member Appreciation Coupon. (Or get one at the store) and use it THIS WEEK! It's good through Sunday!

Tuesday the 26th marks our first board meeting of 2010! Board meetings are held from 6-9pm in the large meeting room in Wheatsville's World Headquarters at 3105 Guadalupe.

Scroll down for:

Beer deals!
Produce happenings!
Cheese Island
By Owner request
Remember Milk
From the deli
Word from our butcher

Spaten Premium, Optimator and Franziskaner weiss beer 12 packs  are on sale for only $12.99 regularly $14.99! Spaten Premium Lager is golden in color with a well-balanced hop-flavor. The full rounded body is a superb balance between hops and a malty sweetness. Spaten Optimator is The classic German dark beer, bottom fermented 'Doppel Bock'. Full bodied with a deep dark color and rich roasted malt flavor, this beer is strong enough to keep you warm inside when it is cold outside. Franziskaner Weiss Beer is a top-fermentation beer noted for its agreeable carbonation levels and zesty wheat flavor. Franziskaner weiss beers is brewed in strict adherence to the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516. Bring one of these to your next get together and you may hear cheers!

What’s Local in Produce
Right now in produce, there are some great local items available. Citrus from the valley is still coming in, mostly in the forms of marrs juicing oranges, valencias and rio star grapefruit. From Martinez Farms in Pleasanton, we are getting some beautiful little lettuces (red and green leaf, and romaine) that are certified organic and tender. We have triple washed baby spinach from Oak Hills Farms in Poteet and mustard and collard greens from Naeglin Farms in Lytle, TX. As always, we have wonderful hydroponic bibb lettuce from Amador Farms in Dripping Springs and a great variety of mushrooms from Kitchen Pride in Gonzales.
 
Savor the Season
Citrus is still coming in strong and tasting better and better. This week  we have organic gold nugget tangerines, which are really sweet and only have a few seeds, organic cara cara oranges—these are off the HOOK!!—delicious organic valencias that are super juicy, organic meyer lemons, organic kumquats (my favorite thing in the world to sample to children, the _expression_ on their faces when the tart skin hits them before the sweet finish, is priceless!), phatty organic Rio Star grapefruits, plump and sweet organic navel oranges, key lime bags, organic lime bags, clementines and bags of organic Texas juicing oranges! This has been a great citrus season, so don’t miss out—come get some!
 
Fair Trade Avocados
We are still getting the delicious fair trade organic avocados. Fair trade produce is a big deal, and even better when organic! Fair trade products aim to ensure that producers are being compensated with a better price than large agribusiness wants to pay. This is good for the farmers and their community and us by having an ethical option available. YUM.
 
Captain Greg of Cheese island reporting: I am sad to say that the Rogue River Blue is done for the year. I hope that you were able enjoy this marvelous cheese. Luckily we will be able to get in some of the Bosque Blue when it finishes aging. Just a reminder we still stock olives on Cheese Island and I am looking to bring in other olives.

By Owner Request
Tandoor Chef-Garlic Naan
We’ve had many requests for Indian Naan bread but have been unable to find it available from any of our distributors. Recently, though, we discovered that Tandoor Chef (makers of delicious frozen Indian meals) offers an all-natural Garlic Naan. So we brought it in immediately and it is now in the freezers with the other Tandoor Chef items. This Naan bread is made from scratch and baked in a clay-oven then covered in chopped garlic—yum! We’ll keep searching for Naan to have on the bread shelves but this one is tasty and now available!

Way Back When is WAY back

We know you have missed it.  We have too.  Its absence from our shelves has been sorely felt.  You’ve been asking about it every day , and have  been told, “Soon.”

What is “it”? 

It is milk from Remember When Dairy, now known as Way Back When Dairy.  This milk is locally made, non-homogenized and pasteurized at a low temperature.  It is Austin’s favorite milk and starting this Saturday evening , January 16^th, you will be able to find it once again at Wheatsville.    We will be selling gallons of Whole Milk and 2% milk for $5.69 and half gallons of Whole milk and 2% milk for $3.59.

From the Deli
Wooo! School’s back, the weather has warmed up and it’s time to chill out!
Come on in to your Wheatsville Deli and cool off with our Grab’n’Go spreads like the fabulous pecan and apple-studded Chicken Salad made with local, all-natural Buddy’s white meat chicken, creamy, buttermilk-laden Pimento Cheese, Tuna Salad chockfull of crunchy and sweet veggies, and the vegan, tofu-based Eggless Egg Salad!

Our pre-packed green salads will give you the nourishment and energy you need, either veggie-only or made into a meal topped with strips of baked tofu, slices of all-natural lemon-pepper roasted chicken breast, or fresh, soft cubes of mozzarella cheese! Each salad comes with your choice of our Cashew-Tamari or Cilantro-Lime dressings! And of course there’s our huge array of salad bar treats if you’d like to take the time to create your own!

Also on sale for January is a favorite lunchtime treat – our BLT! This toasty sandwich is stuffed with six slices of tasty Boar’s Head bacon, fresh Greenleaf lettuce, sliced vine-ripened tomatoes, and a smear of mayonnaise on Rudi’s organic sourdough! A sure staff favorite, this fabulous sandwich is on sale for only $3.99! That’s 50 cents off the normal price of $4.49!

Did someone say SMOOTHIE? With near-80 degree days this week, it seems it’s that time of the year already, folks! Come get your all-fruit, no-filler, icy-cold and super-thick smoothies, made just how you like ‘em with all sorts of add-ins possible! Choose your fruit(s) and build from there: pineapple, blueberry, strawberry, mango, raspberry, banana and peach are all on the menu!

And, for a fantastic way to celebrate the warmer weather, be sure to try our renowned Iced Coffee Toddy, a cold-pressed coffee that takes over 24 hours to create! Other cold brews available include our sweet and milky Thai Iced Coffee, the minty pink Nile Valley Hibiscus Mint iced tea, and locally-sourced Iced Chai tea!
 
 
From Bryan, the Butcher
Hey folks swing by the meat case for some specials on many favorites.
 
Niman Ranch Beef Top Sirloin
Full Cut Sirloin Steaks $8.49 lb reg. $8.99 lb Ambassador Cut $8.99 lb reg $9.49 lb
 
Organic Prairie ground meat chubs:
1lb Beef packs $5.69 reg. $6.99
 1lb Turkey packs $5.49 reg. $6.29
 1 lb pork breakfast sausage $5.49  reg. $5.99
 
New items worth checking out:
 
Niman ranch Canadian bacon. This product is useful in the kitchen. Of course, it’s great on pizza and one of my favorite toppings.  It is also relatively lean so you can substitute when recipes call for bacon, such as seasoning in beans or topping in salads.
 
Thunderheart Bison lean stew meat. What do I need to say about this that fans of Thunderheart products don’t know already. High Omega 3’s, low cholesterol---lot’s of flavor. Locally raised and 100% grass-fed and finished. Pick some up today for $9.99 lb. Look out for Bone in short ribs soon from thunderheart.
 
Check us out for your Superbowl snacking needs. We’ll be stocking goodies like these--- Buddy’s chicken wings, trimmed and ready for the grill. Applegate little smokeys cocktail sausages. Niman ranch smoked pulled pork, sausage, & salamis. Lots of other tasty treats. Come by and say HI.
 

I hope that you have a really great week!

Dan Gillotte

Wheatsville GM and e-mail guy