I like Woodman's, too, when I'm out that way.
I do a lot of shopping at Meijer, which I guess you'd call a regional chain, partly because it's open 24/7 and sells so many other things besides food -- where else can you go at 2 a.m. and buy fruit, meat, plumbing supplies, auto parts and underwear? I'm fond of their house-brand of black-pepper potato chips and the Amish potato salad they carry, and in the late evenings they mark down rotisserie chicken as low as $2.
They have a good mix of international goods, and while the produce doesn't always look wonderful (especially at 2 a.m.), they usually have some decent items. I just bought meyer lemons, for example. The prices are generally much better than Nick-the-Jewels.
Shop & Save markets are great local stores that I urge folks to check out. Imagine a regular supermarket with all the national brands, and then add on an extensive international market featuring foods from all over Europe and Asia, a huge deli with their own smoked sausages and hams, a luscious house bakery and a wide selection of house-prepared ready to eat foods with an Eastern European slant.
I also like Harvest Fresh, which stocks an international mix, although mostly Eastern European. I love their creamy chopped-mushroom salad.
Meijer
www.meijer.com
1301 Meijer Drive (Golf & Algonquin), Rolling Meadows, (847) 690-1500
Randall & Stonegate roads, Algonquin, (847) 960-7800
Randall Road & College Green, Elgin, (847) 717-6500
13521 S. Route 59, Plainfield, (815) 267-8000
2253 N Richmond Road, McHenry, (815) 578-9700
225 N. Weber Road, Bolingbrook, (630) 679-6500
755 E. Boughton Road, Bolingbrook, (630) 783-5300
808 N. Route 59, Aurora, (630) 692-6100
130 S. Gary Ave., Bloomingdale, (630) 351-7600
855 S. Randall Road, St. Charles, (630) 762-7200
2700 Route 34, Oswego, (630) 636-5000
611 U.S. 30, Merrillville, Ind., (219) 650-3700
10138 Indianapolis, Highland, Ind., (219) 934-2100
Shop & Save
www.shopandsavemarket.com
229 Golf Mill Center, Niles, (847) 803-6590
518 Metropolitan Way, Des Plaines, (847) 227-5800
830 W. Golf Road, Schaumburg, (847) 781-7000
Harvest Fresh International Market
100 E. Rand Road, Arlington Heights, (847) 368-0138