I would choose The Last Drop, you can have a pint while you wait. Also they have some of the best bottle prices vs. the most expensive bottle prices/old stock/IPAs on warm shelves @ Big Star.
You're right that Big Star is overpriced and has a lot of old, warm stock. But for that very reason, it's good for finding cellarable beers if you weren't quick enough to get them elsewhere. As for enjoying a pint while you shop, something tells me that lady wouldn't give two shits if you opened a beer out of the cooler as long as you paid for it first.
The QFC on Northgate Way will be the closest place to buy good beer. It won't have the selection that Last Drop does but it's an easy walk and has a decent selection of PNW and California beers. If you don't have a car and will be buying a good amount of beer, Last Drop and Big Star are both too far to walk to and carry beer back from IMO. Walk to Last Drop to buy beer, sit down for a beer there or next door at Hudson's (same owner) and wait for your wife to pick you iup.
The QFC right there isn't as awesome as the one in Fremont or U-Village (easily the best QFC), but they do have a nice selection compared to others.
