Everyone loves free samples. The best part about getting dragged along to the grocery store as a child was the little cheese cubes, slices of deli meat, and, if you were really lucky, pieces of pastries and desserts you got to try while your mom shopped. Some places have enough samples to get a full meal out of the trip. As a self-proclaimed food sample connoisseur, here are my five favorite places to go in Charlottesville when I want some free snacks.
1. Harris Teeter
The Harris Teeter in Barracks never fails to have delicious samples out at all times of the day. They offer slices of cheese, with the type varying week by week, and lunch meat by their deli. In the bakery area, there’s always tastings of Danishes or pastries. My favorite sampling, however, is in front of the bread aisle. They offer pieces of freshly baked bread paired with yummy spreads like pimento cheese with jalapeño or basil and pesto. Also, if you time your trip right, you can get a taste of some of the real food they sell. Last week I got to try spare ribs with roasted potatoes and vegetables, the closest thing I’ve had to a home-cooked meal in forever.
2. Trader Joe’s
Trader Joe’s doesn’t offer a ton of samples, but the ones they have are to die for. They give tastes of some of their signature foods, so you get to try things ranging from spinach and ricotta pizza to kettle-cooked chicken noodle soup. The best one I’ve had so far has been cookies topped with cookie butter. Don’t forget about the coffee bar in the back either, where you can make yourself a cup from a variety of their coffees and creamers.
3. Costco
I’m not going to lie, sometimes I go to Costco just for their samples and call it lunch. Everyone who has been to a Costco knows how amazing and abundant their samples are. Literally every aisle around noon has something to try—soup, muffins, pizza bites, chips and guac, even gourmet cheesecakes and pies if you go when those traveling bakery people are in town. I feel no shame about roaming their massive stores, tasting all the samples, and then leaving without buying anything. Well, besides a $1.50 slice of pizza, which is just too good of a deal to pass up.
4. Charlottesville Farmer’s Market
The Farmer’s Market is the perfect place to go for unique and local food samples. People set up tents in the Downtown Mall on Saturday mornings during warm weather, so it’s a perfect little weekend adventure if you want to get a taste of raw honey, homemade fruit juices, and freshly baked donuts. There’s tons of other things to buy there besides food, like handmade crafts, flowers, jewelry, but the samples are definitely the highlight. Once I saw a vendor offering little dog treats, so even your pets can enjoy the free snacks, too.
5. Feast
This is hands down my favorite sample place in Charlottesville. Feast, located on the way to the Downtown Mall, is famous for its local meats and cheeses, almost all of which it offers to customers to taste. Pieces of bread and crackers are paired with homemade dips, spreads, and oils that fill you up while waiting for whatever delicious sandwich you order from their deli. Once they were sampling their chocolate-covered espresso beans, and I may or may not have eaten all of them. I regret nothing.
Maybe my obsessions with free samples only shows how much of a broke college student I am, but these five places are the best for snacking while shopping, regardless of whether or not you can afford more than ramen noodles and a jar of peanut butter. Without free samples, how would anyone be able to enjoy grocery shopping?
