Over the Counter

But for people who prefer a light touch—especially families with picky kids—Kroger offers an appealing range of convenient and well-priced foods that can easily feed a family of four for $20. Some of the best items we tried were pork with wild rice stuffing, vegetable lasagna, Italian-style steamed green beans, stuffed baked potatoes with cheese and bacon, roasted vegetable stuffing, potato galette, gumbo and an array of desserts. The pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap crust—made from a Shepard family recipe—and the vanilla bean panna cotta could easily pass for homemade if plated well with a fresh garnish.

The Green Hills Kroger, renovated two years ago, now has a handful of tables for shoppers who want to dine on premises. To make the lunch rush easier, the store recently installed U-Scan registers for self-checkout beside the Chef Shop. While the menu changes daily, Shepard will prepare specific foods if requested a day in advance. Also with a day’s notice, he can prepare large orders for parties. (Ask him about prosciutto-wrapped asparagus. It’s hard to beat on freshness, taste or price.) The Kroger chefs don’t do on-site catering, but, Shepard says, “We can deliver it to your car.”

The Kroger Chef Shop in Green Hills is open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.