The Steeple Market - Fairfax

I reviewed this in 2015 and was pretty psyched about it. I 'm dropping a star, unfortunately. My husband and I stop here all the time for pre made convenience dinners. They all sound so appealing and even look good, but man is consistency and quality control off. The recipe for their chicken pot pie changes constantly, with not great choices often happening. Splurchy pearl onions and giant mushy celery chunks? No thanks. This time it 's almost all potato. And the price is absurd. We 've had similar problems with pasta (mushy and tasteless), quiches (rubbery bacon and gristle), and roasted chickens (both falling apart and dry simultaneously). Note: this is coming from someone who is known not to be a picky eater! I 'm pretty sure they just use the meals to use up products that are about to spoil. : They keep us coming back with hope and convenience, but this is getting pretty predictable. Fool me once, etc. We want to support local, and we still appreciate the market (and the sandwiches might still be fine...not sure), but the premade meals are to be approached with wariness.

Steeple has an incredible deli with a great selection of seafood and meats. Their daily meals to go are a welcome treat on nights you don't feel like cooking.

Just ordered roast beef panini (as is on menu), brought it home and realized it was missing roasted red peppers.

I had gotten a sub the last time I was there and a few hours after eating it I became violently ill. Ill enough to have been sent to the hospital by my DR. As if that weren't enough the staff is generally very rude and their items are extremely overpriced. There are plenty of other places with better food and nicer staff in the area.

This little market is really easy to access and offers a nice variety of groceries, along with beer and wine. Although it's a small store, it's perfect for a quick grocery run. They also have gas available. The reason I gave it a full 5-star rating is because of their fantastic beer selection. They have a full-sized walk-in beer cooler with an impressive assortment. There's also a large wine selection that I haven't had the chance to explore yet. It's a great local business to support!