Although I’ve been living in New Haven for well over a year at this point, I’d yet to stop into Thyme and Season Natural Market, in nearby Hamden. It’s a shame, since I was passing it once a week during my summer clinical rotation. The impression I had gotten from reading about it in various online sources was that it was a pale-er imitation of Edge of the Woods. Edge of the Woods is in walking/easy biking distance from my apartment, and has some wonderful stuff, so I hadn’t seen the need. Until I needed some Sweet & Sara Marshmallows.
Thyme and Season has a large selection of vegan convenience foods. They had Field Roast deli slices, sausages and the Celebration Roast, most everything in the Tofurky line, several flavors of the Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Ice Cream and the yogurts, Sweet & Sara Marshmallows, a few vegan chocolates, an amazing selection of cold prepared foods and several flavors of Cheezly. They specialize more in organic foods.
Edge of the Woods has a larger selection of produce, a much larger selection of bulk foods (including tofu), a larger selection of hot foods, an on-site bakery, a larger selection of personal care items and a bulk spice selection unlike anything that I have ever seen. They also sell agar powder in bulk!
Both have a good selection of other vegan food products, including soy yogurt, other vegan cheeses and frozen foods. Edge of the Woods does carry Cheezly, Tofurkey and Purely Decadent Coconut Milk products, but Thyme and Season has a larger selection.
The most common items you might need can probably be found at either store, so it’s unlikely you’d need to go to both in the same week. Prices seemed slightly higher at Thyme and Season, but not by much. Both seem to have a decent selection of supplements/vitamins, though I’m not too into that so I haven’t really checked them out.
I’d say that I like both places very much. I will probably continue to shop at Edge of the Woods more frequently, but that’s largely because it’s much closer to where I live, and I pass by it twice a week on my way to clinical. If you live closer to Thyme and Season, it’s probably the better place to go unless you’re craving fresh vegan baked goods, need spices/herbs or need personal care – type items. Beyond that, it’s worth noting that Edge of the Woods is all-vegetarian, whereas Thyme and Season sells meat products.
