Monday, March 03, 2008

The Green Barn, Lynden, Washington

In a region of the United States known for the discriminating tastes of its inhabitants, why
THE GREEN BARN
8858 Guide Meridian Rd, Lynden, WA
PHONE (360) 318-8869
isn't overflowing with customers every minute they're open is a mystery to me. This place is simply
THE BEST SHOPPING EXPERIENCE TO BE HAD IN WHATCOM COUNTY.

You know how when you go to, say, the local Co-Op, and everyone there has this big attitude problem and they're all wearing Guatemalan hand-woven sashes and half the white people have nasty dirty old dreadlocks and all the produce is tiny and everything is overpriced?
THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN AT THE GREEN BARN.
AND THE PRICES ARE LOWER THAN ANYPLACE ELSE IN WHATCOM COUNTY.
PERIOD.
8858 Guide Meridian Rd, Lynden, WA
(360) 318-8869
How do I love thee?

THE HELP IS UNFAILINGLY HELPFUL. (Not to mention straight-up adorable!)
They know their products, they're polite, they will help you load your car ...it's like something out of the 1950's. They know your name. They smile. THEY CAN BE FOUND. They will take suggestions. They will special order for you and then CALL YOU WHEN THE ORDER COMES IN. You can RELY on them. I wanted to put up some okra, I mentioned it; damned if they didn't have okra in stock for me the next time I went in. GOOD okra too-even though it's unusual for this area.

THE PRODUCE IS GLORIOUS. RIGHT DOWN TO THE LAST GRAPE.

THE PRODUCE IS HONESTLY AND BEAUTIFULLY MARKET DRESSED.
What this means is, first of all, the stuff is CLEAN. Secondly, that you get trimmed, stalky white leek-you aren't being charged for a bunch of green and roots that you won't use. Head broccoli that isn't mostly stem. Stripped and topped onions. Cheerful asparagus (you can tell) standing happily in fresh, clean water, not stacked on its sides like New Orleans flood victims. Potatoes that do not look as though they went though the World Series. Clean, thriving greens. Cukes that are not coated in lard.

THEY CARRY A SELECTION OF EVERYTHING. This isn't the chain supermarket where you only get one type of tomato and one onion and that's it. When they can possibly obtain a selection, they have it. And it is always GLORIOUS.

THEIR PRODUCE, when at all possible, is GROWN LOCALLY. Much of it is ORGANIC. The culture and spray details are posted clearly.

THEY HAVE A DAIRY CASE! (Of course they had to fight the city of Lynden best two falls out of three to get a permit for the damn thing. Hey City of Lynden- support local farms and small business or quit whining about the demise of local farms and small business, OK???)

The dairy case carries LOCALLY AND ORGANICALLY GROWN DAIRY PRODUCTS...things that are sold on the specialty market in other parts of the world, kids! CHEAPER THAN ANYPLACE ELSE IN THE COUNTY!!! The only other places you can get this stuff is right from the supplier direct (and then you have to hope someone is at home when you drive up) or at the Co-Op...and the Co-Op jacks up the price and makes you bag it yourself.

GREEN BARN BAGS YOUR PURCHASES AND LOADS THEM INTO THE CART FOR YOU. FOR CHEAPER THAN ANYPLACE ELSE IN THE COUNTY.

Green Barn carries a selection of LOCALLY PRODUCED SUPPLEMENTS, HERBS AND SPICES. The 'Flora'' marque isn't widely known, but it's good stuff, and once again, it's a local business and uses local products.

DID I MENTION THAT THE HELP IS ADORABLE?

YOU CAN PURCHASE IN BULK.


THE SCALES ARE ACCURATE, CLEAN AND EASY TO FIND.

THEY PROVIDE GOOD QUALITY BAGS AND TAGS. Not the crappy ones that are cloudy and too small and tear; the GOOD, STURDY, CLEAR ones. And quality paper bags too, in different sizes. You can also buy a canvas re-useable bag from them.

THE WHOLE PLACE IS CLEAN.
Surgically clean. The sales floor, the bathroom, even the parking lot! I cannot imagine what kind of effort this must take on the part of the staff; they're literally in the middle of a cornfield in a (very snazzy, be it told) barn. But irregardless of the fact that the place is hanging wide open half the time, it is SPOTLESS. Not even the chain groceries down the street can say that. Believe me. I KNOW.

THERE IS ALWAYS PARKING.

THEY CARRY (in season) LOCALLY AND ORGANICALLY GROWN ORNAMENTAL AND VEGETABLE PLANT STARTS.

They carry ORGANIC, LOCALLY PRODUCED HONEY AND BEE PRODUCTS.
You can buy organic beeswax here! That may not mean much to many folks, but I go through a lot of the stuff sewing and I really, really appreciate being able to find exactly what pleases my heart.

THEY CARRY CANNED AND PACKAGED STAPLE GOODS.

Despite the fact that they are in Lynden, they are NOT DUTCHY-WUTCHY. Although they do carry Dutch products...Asian, Hindi and Mexican ones, too.

THEY HAVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF SHOPPING BASKETS. You can shop with a carry basket or with a variety of rolling carts in different sizes, some of which have child seats. These are ALWAYS CLEAN AND IN GOOD REPAIR.

If you are a lacto-ovo vegetarian this place is your NIRVANA. You can comfortably rely on this place to supply all your food needs ethically without ever having to do research or think twice about what you buy.
Period.

Now, I do anyway because I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for many years; it's become a reflex. I'm not just guessing when I say all this stuff. I know that what I'm getting here is the best of the best because I've already done my research independently, and because I am a food nerd. We make the same decisions time and time again, they and I....in fact, they've taught me things about local supply that I never knew. If I were starting out again with little kids, this is the place I would feed my family out of EXCLUSIVELY. This place right here, at 8858 Guide Meridian Rd, Lynden, WA(360) 318-8869

SUPPORTING YOUR NEIGHBORS IN THEIR EFFORTS TO FARM SUSTAINABLY AND PRODUCE A SUPERIOR PRODUCT IS A GOOD THING.
It is a political act, not to mention an ethical act, to choose to spend your money this way. When it also saves you money? When those politics also mean that the quality of your life improves immediately-the next time you pick up an apple and bite into it...how can you beat that? You honestly don't have to put up with underdeveloped produce and suspect European cheeses, overpriced canned goods and under-packaged staple items through which unknown fingers have been running. You have the option of spending ECONOMICALLY, LOCALLY AND RESPONSIBLY for SUPERIOR GOODS.

DO THE RIGHT THING AND MAKE YOUR LIFE BETTER! SHOP AT THE GREEN BARN!
8858 Guide Meridian Rd, Lynden, WA
(360) 318-8869


_____________
here's a lovely mappal view of how to get there from Canada!! both of these maps will benefit from being enlarged. 'A' is the correct new location...they're now on the corner of Badger and Guide Meridian straight down the road from the Lynden Border Crossing. Going south, on the left just as you pass the light on Badger.

View Larger Map


..and here's how to get there from Bellingham! remember, they're on the corner of Badger and Guide Meridian now, on your right as you head north.

View Larger Map

25 comments:

  1. ahhhh, but do they pigs feet? like the ones i got swinging from my rear view? *brushes mullet out of face to spit some chew*


    anyway, i love okra and was just eatin some "talk-o-texas"pickeled okra....

    ReplyDelete
  2. leave it to me to get the first comment and screw it up... "but do they HAVE pigs feet?" *punches self in head and storms away*

    ReplyDelete
  3. Waaaaa!!! I want to shop in a nice place like that. I don't even have a decent supermarket, just little mini ones that have no produce or fish selection, overprice everything, and put all the produce (INCLUDING BANANAS!) in fucking plastic and foam packaging. Blech!

    I can't WAIT until Pirate and i move to the country so i can grow my own stuff. and keep guinea fowl.

    ReplyDelete
  4. What I should do is print this, photocopy it and send it to ALL the shops here.
    If I told you what Woolworths do to their hydroponic lettuces you might blow a gasket.Or worse.
    If it were not for the Big Water between us you'd see me there regularly.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yeah, yeah, but how much is the airfare to get there?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Do you have stock options on Green Barn?

    I would deffo shop there. The UK has identikit supermarkets selling processed junk and two varieties of potato. They don't age beef, ensuring that is tough and tastes of nothing.

    ReplyDelete
  7. i sent the information to my sisters who are in portland...they will actually probably shop there and tell their friends...they love this kind of shop...hope all is going well with you FN...

    ReplyDelete
  8. voices: you....you....*runs off crying*

    cb: hey! you're back!!!! and yes, it is a fantastic place and it is so undershopped I simply can't believe it. its like, everyone talks this game about buying local and small agriculture, but then they head towards Safeway. dipshits.

    dinah: well, when you come visit I will take you there and we will have a nice dinner.

    danator: you can't walk? its just a good stretch of the legs!

    garfy: no, but i sound like i do, huh. all our local groceries buy from essentially the same jobbers. even the co-op. only the Green Barn has consistently sought out local suppliers.

    daisy: hey you! see, portland is another 'good stretch of the legs' from where I am. I'm headed down that way on the 20th, though...i'll wave at them as we pass each other on the freeway!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank you for the lovely mappal view of how to get there from Canada but if it means having to drive through Aldergrove, no thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  10. mj: come down through Blaine and hook over to Meridian on H Street Road. Or, come through Sumas, hit El Nopal for a burrito, pee in my driveway, and hook over from Badger. so simple a caveman could do it!

    SSA: I spoke to the kid and thats SOP during the off season, which this is. Last time i was there they had a lot of BC Hothouse stuff. No, they aren't perfect. my point is, they really, really MAKE AN HONEST EFFORT to be ethical, local and economical whenever they possibly can. That is one fuck of a lot more than you can say for even the Co-op...they use the same jobbers that Hagens does. which is Chilean. true fact. I LOVE MY VEGETABLE BOYS!!! RAWK ON MY BROTHAS!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. The Quick Shuttle doesn't make pit stops for burritos on its way to Seattle.

    Can I puke in your flower beds?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Holy crap, I'm packing everything up and moving to Lynden. I'm with you on the co-ops; here in politically correct, protesting, dreadlock-crazy BERKELEY we've got one gigantic oozing pus sore of a natural grocery which sprays a fine mist of speed through it's air ducts, because as soon as you walk through the doors, you become part of the angry, churning throng (rhymes with 'thong') of shoppers who are willing to put your eyes out with an organic carrot.

    Oh that is right, there are a couple teeny, hole in the wall, overpriced co-ops all the way across town. You might wonder why I don't travel that far to be treated to such a paltry selection at such astronomical prices.

    Just as I was writing this a weird bug started crawling on me. Make of it what you wish.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous1:42 AM

    Is there really a county called Whatcom County ?- thats cool. They could have an internet address Whatcom.com that would be even cooler... I am not flying the Atlantic for groceries - I shall stick with Aldi...

    ReplyDelete
  14. Ocra is horrible, I never took to it. The Green Barn sounds lovely tho'

    ReplyDelete
  15. Put an end to white people wearing dreadlocks NOW!

    ReplyDelete
  16. mj: what? danator and daisy's sister are WALKING here. lazy. and yes, my hostas in particular would appreciate it if you barfed on them, at least from the evidence...(remember that post?)

    w2: see, thats what I mean. the Co-O here is nice, granted, and they have a unique group of offerings, but the atmosphere is SOOOOOOOO elitist. the prices are high and the quality is average. they bank on that 'exclusivity' thing. / that bug is the BUG OF AGREEMENT. do not put it in your mouth.

    muttley: they do in fact have just that web addo. and yes, it really is named that. its a NA word that means 'methamphetamine'.

    frobi: yeah, okra isn't something id just chomp on without anything else. it has that GICK factor, ya know. i use it as an ingredient in gumbo, which i make fairly frequently since we hang out with a lot of trashy people from the South (and the Biker is convinced that he was meant to be born on the bayou.)

    mj: YES!!! when you see a white person with dreadlocks you can bet that white person is smelling FUNKY. there is always all crap sticking in those locs, too, and they're dusty. why 'locs' are supposed to mean 'stinky' when they're on top of a white person baffles me. you never see that in samoan people or anyone else that can actually get away with locs. Just white people. its like 'oooo, my locs of dred mean i have powerful dirt-averting fu!' but no, little white person named Bodhisattva Evensong, it does not. you stink like BIG ASS.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Remind which post. I am too lazy to try to recall.

    I HAVE walked to Blaine. I took the White Rock bus from Vancouver and crossed the border several times.

    I'll never forget the time my friend came with me and tried to use her Visa Card as ID. No, she did not get through.

    ReplyDelete
  18. a little James Brown is in order..

    "Yeah, UH!
    Get up, now! OWWW!
    Knock out this!
    Super highways, coast to coast, easy to get anywhere
    On the transcontinental overload, just slide behind the wheel

    UH!
    Chorus:
    (Living in America)
    eye to eye, station to station
    (Living in America)
    hand to hand, across the nation
    (Living in America)
    got to have a celebration
    Rock my soul UH UH UH UH!

    I am so there..
    GOOD GAWD Y'ALL!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous9:57 AM

    why go to the green grocer when you can go to your backyard? oh wait - sorry, i forgot not everyone lives in the rural south where people garden all the time.

    i wish milk wasn't so expensive down here, though. it's almost $5 a gallon.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I dont know if that's SOP or not...I went and comparison shopped at Terra Organica and the loathed Co Op, and somehow they were able to come up with local root vegetables and apples and whatnot, whereas the vegetable boys....well, they ARE clean. And they have nice cheese, really good stuff for how little they have.
    And the boys are very very nice. I love their summer stock.

    ReplyDelete
  21. MJ: THE POST ABOUT BARFING IN THE HOSTAS and how they grew better after it happened. sheesh./hey, i tried using my CostCo card. what? it has a picture of me on it!!

    mr. Pithy as all get-out: well hail yes! come on down and buy some lettuce r sompin!

    pink: gloating is not nice. nice ladies do not gloat.

    SSa: YOU WANNA FIGHT? i brought you in; i take you out, momma. oh yeah. the boys have local stuff in right now! whenz the last time you were there? i was there three days ago. so HA HA on you. that having been said, i need to hit the Co-Op for some more Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt in the bigass box.

    ReplyDelete
  22. It sounds like shopping heaven. I bet you made it up just to taunt us poor Europeans.I am with Frobisher on the ochra front , its all slimey , I cant help thinking , it probably like having George Bush's tongue in your mouth (honest i dont think about that ALL of the time). Does anyone else think Hilary Clinton looks like she smells of vinegar

    ReplyDelete
  23. I want one here! Where I live! Dammit! I love fried okra. That place sounds like heaven. I need those organically grown herbs and stuff. I NEED beeswax. Need. I am having sincere jealous feelings. Will you please take pictures next time so we can all enjoy the ambiance? Thank you in advance.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous11:45 PM

    fn - neener!

    ReplyDelete
  25. beast: see, now theres an image i really didn't need. thanks a whole hell of a lot. your QUEEN is okra. in fact i bet she kisses okra EVERY DAY. and thinks of hilary clinton while she's doing it.

    paper: welcome! i did take pictures, and STUPID DAMN BLOGGER WOULD NOT UPLOAD THEM. of course im supposed to get down on my knees and thank them for getting spellcheck back up and running i guess....i'll give it another try, though.

    pink: *snif* you can NOT play with my pretty ponies ANY MORE because YOU'RE MEAN. *longing for fresh tomatos*

    ReplyDelete