Webvan Service Is, Well, Promising

Personally, I have high hopes for Webvan. Really high hopes. As a working mom, the idea of ridding my life of even one trip to the grocery store sounds almost as heavenly as sleeping in on Saturday. Fat chance on the extra zzz's. So I'm banking on Webvan. The minute the upstart went live on June 2, I was there clicking away. It took me a while to figure out how to navigate through all the different food categories on the Web site. But once I got the hang of it, I found it to be pretty straight-forward and logical. I've now ordered four times and the results are, well, promising.

Here's the good news: The quality of Webvan's food--from strawberries to swordfish to redleaf lettuce--is excellent. I've done my best to put the online service to the test by ordering loads of perishables and have been pleased each time. The prepared foods, which I have yet to try myself, sound tasty, too. They are cooked and created by Webvan's own chef, who will share the recipes in an area known as Sensations. You can get everything from basic soups and pasta to tarts made with Black Forest ham and Havarti cheese.