Wednesday, July 30, 2008


i like to walk at lunch with my ipod listening to podcasts then head to Andronicos -- Astronomicals -- grocery store for a little grocery grazing.

first up, to the right of the entrance is the bakery section which always has a couple of good offerings. i like to start off with a couple of chunks of olive bread, or walnut raisin, depending on what they're offering. then i head around the corner to the cookie section and their plate of cookie samples. i like the peanut butter cookies best.

in the produce section, i try some cherries, a nectarine slice. i pass on the cantaloupe. most unappealing. and i always use the toothpicks, though sometimes i spin them around and go for a second helping. is that wrong, i wonder?

sometimes i get looks.


next up, the deli section and a quick scan for their sammy samples. these are a little disappointing. i think the deli staff could be a tad more creative, perhaps egg salad one day, maybe a little salami -- enough with the eggplant pesto! and why must they announce these samples over the intercom bringing the hungry herds. i can find them without a public announcement, why can't they?

survival of the fittest, i say.

i nab a cornichon from the olive bar. sometimes two. but not often. the deli staff are protective of the olive bar, i notice. or maybe they are just staring into space between turkey sandwich making.

then there's the old ladies offering up samples of risotto, or tiny crackers with never enough humus on them, or hot wiener slices. cooking them right there all hot and straight out of the toaster oven. but the problem with the old ladies is that you have to act like you're interested in buying what they're offering which is a bit of an appetite killer. still if it's worth it, I give them the old i'm considering it up and down head nod while i chew and swallow and then make my way to the bulk bins.

so today after grazing while listening to my podcast which i tend to forget is playing so there's just this chatter going on in my head beside the normal chatter, i thought maybe i outta buy something, maybe veggies for dinner since if we go out and fine-dine one more time this week i'm going to be down to about $4.35 in my bank account.

we had salad last night so i thought gotta try something new. mix it up a little for the wife. so i search the magazine section for a good foody rag for a recipe. i found one of several closed check stands next to a long line of customers and layed down the magazine and had me a look. i flipped pages looking for something good. it was a little uncomfortable having to lean like that and the bag boys kept banging me with their carts. i thought a seat someplace would be nice -- you know to sit and have a really good read but they don't have chairs much in grocery stores. perhaps something i'll bring this up with the management.

anyhow, i looked through all the pages and found a good picture of asparagus and mushrooms. i considered -- i said considered -- tearing out the page, but then memorized the recipe instead.

i rounded up the veggies. Andronicos likes to misalign their price labels. somehow the price of regular old crummy white mushrooms ends up under the portabello basket. oops! so you have to beware. they're out to get you, i swear. or so the voices in my head say so. finally, i took my purchases to the register.

for a bag of asparagus, a handful of mushrooms and a can of tomato puree, they want $10.10.

a voice in my head said, screw that.

until lunch tomorrow, anyways.

13 comments:

Velo Bella said...

The samples at Trader Joes are always kind of strangely kept in a corner and they totally ration it by only putting out 2 or 3 little dixie cups of whatever it is they got.

You don't have to do the pretend considering it nod when you sample the food at Costco. You could easily come around for seconds too I bet.

My mom was a Costco demo lady for like a week and then she quit saying it was the most ridiculous job ever.

Anonymous said...

My wife (Martha, the labler in our home) loves eating salads every single night, pretty much all she ever wants. I'm lucky that way. Tonight she has to eat out with customers--an excellent way to save money on dining. Unfortunately, you need to swallow a little crow or kiss a little butt for those dinners. But who cares when its not your dime and I don't have to cook a salad?

Ippoc Amic said...

marscat's mom was gonna do that Costco thing too, but we can't remember why she didn't...now I know why we had mushrooms "out of the blue" with our regular asparagus dish...can we go out tomorrow?

~ lauren said...

i saw an ad for the costco demo person when i was looking for a job.

i seriously considered it.

and the thing i hate about trader joes sample corner, is that you have to walk over there and "sign in" if your kids want to sample stuff.

takes all the phone out of letting your kids run free and fend for themselves.

marscat, will you please starting posting more. i miss your stories.

~ lauren said...

fun. i meant "takes all the fun" not phone.

jeez.

Allison Krasnow said...

speaking of ipod downloads for walking, i just downloaded David Sedaris' new book of short stories. It's a winner if you're looking for something new.

marscat said...

my ma would not be good at it...she'd take a fork and hit customers on the knuckles if they reached for a second.

dingo how does scott feel about being called martha?

what was wrong with the shrooms?

when i get down i can't write...this means maybe i'm feeling better.

and i want that book...does sedaris read it...only if he reads it.

Allison Krasnow said...

yea, read by sedaris.
i wonder if i can upload it onto your ipod from my laptop?
bring your ipod to track and mike who is evil kanevil of svelt tech stuff can maybe figure it out

marscat said...

will do...thanks!

Unknown said...

for a grocery shopiing addict (me), this post was like a good porno.

Eclectchick said...

Podcasts ROCK!

Have you tried NPR's "This American Life." One of my personal faves.

Sample days at our grocery stores always seem anti-vegetarian.

Grrrr.

teamwelliver said...

i forgot to comment on this one...i loved it. especially the part where you considered tearing the recipe page out of the magazine.
I can never take terry to this market...he does laps around markets to get extra samples. embarrassing.

Anonymous said...

I think it is obscene that it has been almost a month since one of the blogsphere's most talented writers has written a post. Someone ought to do something about this.

Maybe I'll send my cat (juno) your way to shake things up...