I have been enjoying living where I am. Just down the block are two stores quickly becoming the staple of my life. There is Luckies and The Bergen Fish Market. It might be fair to say that Luckies is the best store that has ever existed. A pound of Cherries is a $1 for one example. Fruit and vegetables are so cheap, the average dutchman would weep with joy and drive 40 minutes inorder to stock up. Across the street is the Fishmarket which sells Perch, Salmon, and Whitefish at outlandishly low prices. You pick the fish sitting in ice and they will fillet that sucker right up for you. I am enjoying buying and cooking food. I have learned how to make rice on the stove much like a rice cooker, so Richard and I eat rice fairly consistently. Mother, if you are reading this...be proud...be very proud.
These stores remind me of Russia. They are cramped near streets, the produce sits over the side walk, people touch it all day long. Going inside is an assault upon your nose...literally for the fishmarket. In Russia I literally shirked going into the stores the first few oppurtunities. Even after a couple of months I could find myself pausing. This past week and even tonight, I found myself doing the same thing. Why? Because I was raised in Supermarkets. Take the Meijers that is on Cascade and 28th in GR. It is the epitome of Sanitary. The floors are spotless in the midst of hightide of consumers. Everything is in its place and neat and clean and orderly. The isles are spacious (Yet we complain about how everyone is in our way, interesting enough). These stores though are tiny, the food is packed together and the level of sanitation that I am used is nowhere to be seen. But they sell quality food, fresh (for the most part...like all places you have check) and tasty. Both are awesome stores but would never survive in Suburban america. They do not reach the standards that the Suburban culture has of their food. I do not think that is bad or wrong...but sometimes I think that the Suburban culture has missed something in supermarket. There is something rather personable about small stores, knowing the cashier, and rubbing elbows with the person next to you while you shop. It has been refreshing to escape from the Suburban standards for food if only for a while. It has also make more aware of food culture as a whole, but that is for a later post.
Oh and I bought a pound and half of shark today...anyone know how to cook it? It could be interesting meal.
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