El Cerrito Natural Grocery Company

Although they do sell meat, dairy and eggs, this is a very conscious store. At the check-out they will display books like Fast Food Nation or John Robbins' Food Revolution It's a small store that manages to stock just about everything a vegan would need, including organic produce, a good bulk section, lots of soy and wheat meats, soy yoghurt and other dairy products, vegan cookies. Well, yes, all the vegan junk food you could want. What more? They've got solar panels on the roof. Parking is no problem and the employees are very cordial and no, I'm not an owner. And I don't work there. I'm just lucky to live nearby.

Beautiful business with local products and a lot of vegan and non vegan products.

I've been shopping at ecng for over twenty-five years and I'd like to say that I can do something right. but the lower line is that it is three blocks away from my home. the one thing that I can still say to her gunsten is that I discovered that almost all her organic products seems better than on any of the local organic farmers markets. the products can be a little fresher on a market, but for me, the calculation of the reduced fossil fuel use, more than compensated for the production perhaps a few days after harvesting. none of the products at ecng always looks old and tired, which I find in a certain large part organic chain market. also the production area is well illuminated, so they can be sure what they buy. the staff was very friendly and pleasant in the past; Now it's pretty hit-and-miss. my man was treated with an insulting level of despicable when he took back a tasty pizza chest; I have snapse just looking for something fragile that is not wedged in my wall pocket with 15 other items, or to pack all frozen items together so that it will not melt on the way home. ecng has two serious disadvantages for me. the first problem that appears indelible is that the load relatiw is small, which strongly influences the available selection of packaged and prepared foods. there are many articles like my favorite brands of vegan sour cream and vegan cheese that they simply do not store, which means that I have to shop elsewhere. the freezer food department is particularly Scandinavian: they do not store some of the best brands like gardein, and a large part of their small freezers is taken up by meat and cheese products. the other part of ecng is a very personal sensory/esthetic. they have an actual metzger department at one end of the load, which means two unpleasant things for me. one, I must be careful not to look at the dead body parts when I reach the end of the load (and the products reached this end and worse, I must try not to hear people discuss about animal parts with each other. worse still, my odour is quite acute, and I am constantly aware that the sweet, constipating, sometimes almost crocheting, deadly smell that penetrates the air of the whole load. this butcher shop question is of course a fixable problem because the load does not have to have it at all (except unfortunately it seems to attract a lot of customers who have to eat their certain by eating animals that may have a few months free space before dying in the usual miserable inorganic wise). I find that sometimes I have to rub my teeth before I ride and take this first repulsive breath. but still, I buy there because it is a very close business and has organic products.

All your favorite vegan goodies. Healthy stuff and also plenty of fun vegan snacks and vegan ice cream. Recommend!

I have been shopping at ECNG for over twenty-five years, and wish I could still say that shows they are doing something right. But the bottom line, is that, it is three blocks from my home. The one thing I can still say in their favor, is that I discovered that nearly all of their organic produce seems better priced than at any of the local organic farmer 's markets. The produce may be slightly fresher at a market, but for me, the offset in reduced fossil-fuel use, more than compensates for the produce being maybe a couple days post-harvest. None of the produce at ECNG ever looks old and tired which I do find at a certain big part-organic chain supermarket. Also, the produce area is well-lit, so you can be sure what you 're buying. The staff used to be extremely friendly and pleasant; now it is quite hit-and-miss. My husband was treated with an insulting level of suspicion when he took back a moldy pizza crust; I have gotten snide looks for simply asking that something fragile not be wedged into my canvas bag with 15 other items, or to please pack all the frozen stuff together so it won 't melt on the way home. Beyond that, for me ECNG has two serious drawbacks. The first issue, which seems unsolvable, is that the store is relatively small, which greatly affects the available selection of packaged and prepared foods. There are many items such as my preferred brands of vegan sour cream and vegan cheeses, which they simply don 't stock, which means I do have to shop elsewhere. The frozen food department is particularly scanty: they don 't stock some of the best brands such as Gardein, and much of their small set of freezer cabinets is taken up by meat- and cheese-based products. The other drawback to ECNG is a very personal sensory/aesthetic one. They have an actual butcher department at one end of the store, which for me means two unpleasant things. One, I have to be careful not to look at the dead body parts when I get to that end of the store (and the produce reaches down to that end! , and worse, I have to try to not hear people discussing animal parts with each other. Worse yet, my sense of smell is quite acute, and I am constantly aware of that musty, cloying, sometimes almost-choking, dead-flesh death smell which pervades the air of the entire store. This butcher-shop issue is, of course, a fixable problem, since the store does not have to have it there at all (except, unfortunately, it does seem to attract a lot of customers looking to salve their consciences by eating animals who had, possibly, a few months of free-range freedom before dying in the usual miserable inorganic way . I do find that I have to sometimes grit my teeth before I walk in and take that first repulsive breath. But still, I shop there, because it is a very nearby store and has organic produce.