El Cerrito Natural Grocery Company

We love shopping here due to the good selection and friendly staff. Lots of delicious pre-made take out food and a very pleasant place to shop.

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.

I've been shopping at ECNG for over twenty-five years and I still want to say that they do something right. But the lower line is that it is three blocks away from my home. The one thing I can still say in their favor is that I discovered that almost all their organic products seem better than on any of the local organic farmers markets. The products can be a little fresher on a market, but for me, the offset in reduced fossil fuel use, more than compensated for production maybe a few days after harvesting. None of the products at ECNG always looks old and tired, which I find in a certain large sub-organic chain market. Also the production area is well lit, so you can be sure what you're buying. The staff used to be very friendly and pleasant; Now it's pretty hit-and-miss. My husband was treated with an insulting level of suspicion when he took back a tasty pizza chest; I have snakes just looking for something fragile not to be wedged into my canvas bag with 15 other items, or to please pack all frozen stuff together so that it's melt on the way home. Moreover, ECNG has two serious disadvantages for me. The first problem that appears indelible is that the shop is relatively 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 frozen food department is particularly Scandinavian: They do not store some of the best brands like Gardein, and many of their small freezers are included by meat and cheese products. The other disadvantage of ECNG is a very personal sensory/aesthetic. You have an actual butcher department at one end of the shop, 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 shop (and the products reached up to this end!, and even worse, I have to try not to hear people discuss about animal parts together. Worse yet, my sense of smell is quite acute, and I am constantly aware that Musty, Cloying, sometimes almost-choking, dead-flesh death smell that permeates the air of the entire store. This butcher shop question is, of course, a fixable problem, since the shop does not have to have it at all (except unfortunately, it seems to attract a lot of customers who have their consciences caused by the consumption of animals that might have free space for a few months before dying in the usual miserable inorganic way. I think sometimes I have to grit my teeth before I ride and take this first repulsive breath. But I still buy there, because it is a very nearby shop and has organic products.

Lovely establishment featuring locally sourced ingredients and offering a diverse selection of vegan and non-vegan options.

This restaurant offers a variety of popular vegan options, including healthy dishes, delicious snacks, and vegan ice cream. Highly recommended for vegans and non-vegans alike!