By Brendan McLaughlin

One of the first things I do whenever I'm out of town is look for a Whole Foods market. I window shop the fresh fish, the grass-fed beef and the exotic plates of paella and squid ink pasta.  On the flight home, my carry on luggage usually reeks of Basque sheep milk cheese.  Since Whole Foods has deigned to open just a handful of stores in Florida- none of them in the immediate Bay Area,  I'm forced to forage from a dozen different grocers- Fish from Land and Sea, produce from Fresh Market, flowers from Whaley's. That's a waste of gas.

Now the Publix supermarket chain is stepping up to challenge Whole Foods. You've probably seen the natural and organic "GreenWise" products segregated in their own aisles in your local Publix, but next year, several prototype GreenWise stores are scheduled to open   in Boca, Vero Beach and Tampa.  If the selection and service match Whole Foods, they may be on to something. My only gripe with Whole Foods is their expensive and overly specialized  selection of everyday items like cleansers, paper products and non perishable foods.  If GreenWise can offer something for the vegetarian, the gourmand and the penny pincher alike, Whole Foods may be in for a food fight.