Shopping fresh at Fresh Market

Fresh Market is a neighborhood gourmet grocer with everything for the amateur professional chef. Its long-awaited opening has been met with charged proclamations. One girl I passed during my recent visit gushed, “This is like an outing,” with six items grasped to her chest. But a different, disgruntled shopper bemoaned a lack of coffee options.

I’m not sure what he wanted. The Fresh Market has everything from a basic Kona Blend (on sale for $6.99!) to crème brûlée and dark chocolate flavored beans. To the side of these java barrels perch the small packages of Illy and other couture coffee.

This is what you can expect from the new market: a hodgepodge of fine offerings alongside more predictable ones, like largely unblemished fruit, and TFM all-natural chicken. Maybe this isn’t your regular grocery store, though it could be. I didn’t do well looking for my usual Serrano peppers, which they didn’t carry. I settled for a single hot habanero (at $6-plus a pound, they’re pretty pricey). And I’m not sure if it’s just because of the grand-opening rush, but they were out of flank steak — and bananas.

But enough of the mundane. Let’s get into what makes this store so delicious.

Flavored salts. Sure, I’ve read about them in Gourmet and Food and Wine, and a few foodie friends have extolled their nuanced flavor. But I’ve never seen such an array as presented at this market. The Hawaiian sea salt had a pink-rust hue and insisted on being a meat rub. Black Alder salt was so named for having been smoked in that wood for over 24 hours; salmon goes well here.

If flavored salts pique your interest, the colorful, heady wall of freshly packed spices beckons nearby. Need crushed fenugreek? Pink peppercorns? That and maybe 100 other options are available.

If you don’t like seasoning and cooking your own food, Fresh Market accommodates the TV dinner-addicted. I’m not sure how good it is, but New Zealand rack of lamb ($18.99) and osso bucco ($22.99) can be found in the frozen food section. So can a variety of Amy’s organic frozen dinners, which have developed a cult following — for good reason.

Fresher take-home options are also available. The ready-made food case offers everything from a giant Reuben panini ($6.99) to a generous grilled chicken kabob speared with zucchini, squash and grilled onions ($4.99 each).

Want to grill it yourself? Take home a fat, pre-formed beef patty with three cheeses — or the one with bacon and cheddar ($2.99 each) — from the meat counter, aka the first place I’ve actually found skirt steak at a grocer in Indianapolis. I don’t believe I’ve seen fresh yellowfin tuna ($17.99/pound) from Grenada elsewhere, either. Or wild American colossal grilling shrimp ($15.99/pound) that looked quite as colossal, just waiting to be snatched up for the impending holiday.

Speaking of the Fourth, the beer selection is also good. I can’t wait to try the award-winning, Belgian-style “Pranqster” from North Coast Brewing Co.

The Fresh Market left me with a sweet taste in my mouth — bins of candy are right by the checkouts. Of course, I’m not a parent …