Anne & I went for lunch yesterday and enjoyed it. The pork was wonderful, and I loved the baked beans. I don't think I've ever had them anywhere before that mixes up several types of beans, but it was a nice change of pace from the usual.
Our only major complaint was that there was not enough seating in the shade. It was pretty crowded when we arrived, and we had to sit at the tables set up out in the parking lot that were unshaded. Ugh. Hard to enjoy lunch with a 90 degree sun beating down on your face. And the black asphalt made it seem like we were standing on the sun too. We thought it was a bit odd that there is a big shaded overhang at the market that cars drive under when circling the parking lot, but no seats were set up under there. We would have loved to be able to sit there instead. I'm sure this isn't as much of a problem on days that are a bit cooler.
Anyway, this was our first time up at Hills Market so we went inside to explore and pick up a few items. John Wirtz just told me the other day that it reminded him of a small Whole Foods, but I think it reminds me a bit more of a cross between the Anderson's, the food section of World Market, and a regular grocery store (since they carry some standard brands of drinks and snacks too). They had a few local items in the produce section, and I liked that their signs included what farms the items came from. They have a full liquor store and a pretty large wine selection. Not quite as much in the way of prepared foods (which is what seems like 50% of Whole Foods is to me) but their meat counter was full of pre-marinated and prepared items. Deserts and pastries looked good too.
We probably won't do a lot of regular grocery shopping there since it's nearly a 30 mile round trip from us, but it's great to know what's in there. We've got several friends who live in that area, so I'm sure we'll be stopping by to pick up items here and there when we're heading to parties and such in that area.