At brunch on Sunday, I raised the question (previously raised here) of why Whole Foods potatoes taste so much better than other ones. There isn't anything fancy about the way I make baked potato--I put it in the microwave for 7 minutes. And yet for some reason, the Whole Foods ones taste so much more like a real baked potato from an oven, with a much more vibrant texture and flavor.

My friend had an answer I find convincing. It's all in the storage. Potatoes are ideally stored at a temperature of around 50 degrees. If you refrigerate them, it's too cold, but if you leave them at room temperature too long, it's too warm.

The potato section in the Whole Foods produce department is cooled from below. You can feel it as you dig through, looking for the perfect potato. And this seems to be the key. The temperature is much closer to 50 degrees, instead of the room temperature potatoes you'd find at Fairway.

It also explains why the potatoes from C.P. Yang's deli on 73rd and Columbus are almost, but not quite, as good. Yang's potatoes are stored in a basket on the floor, underneath shelves, safe from sunlight and excessive heat.

But Whole Foods has the potato game won, and the reason finally makes sense.