Take a trip in your grocery store
“The one by my house has a great butcher,” says one friend.
“I don't like the produce at that one,” says another.
The great debate rages on in Atlantic Canada.
What side are you on? Is it Sobeys or Atlantic Superstore (or Dominion if you're in Newfoundland and Labrador)? Admit it: we all have a favourite grocery store. Maybe it's the one your mom shopped at, maybe it's just down the street, but we all have a grocery store we prefer.
We're a few weeks into 2021 and, as the realization that the pleasure of international travel will be a long time coming fully sinks in, I can't help but mourn all the delicious food I was going to eat.
As much as I miss wandering the streets of a new-tome international city, I miss perusing grocery stores just as much. In Bangkok, I discovered prosciutto is exorbitantly expensive compared to mangosteens. I devoured bags of individually-wrapped English cheddars from Tesco in London. While in Munich, I squealed in delight at Aldi's automatic bread baker. In Italy, I marvelled at the selection of no-name Aperols to concoct spritzes to my heart's content, while in New Zealand, the potato chip aisle with rainbows of flavours made me take pause.
The local grocery store around the corner from your hotel can tell you as much about a place as a guided tour. What staples are front and center? What pastries are in the bakery case? What meats are hanging in the butchery section? It all tells the story of place.
Here in St. John's, I love to peruse the international section, seeing what new products have been brought in. (Hot tip: Coleman's grocery stores are always bringing in exciting ingredients and products to test out new cuisines.) But the simple act of buying cheese, lettuce, and chicken breasts has become a light in an otherwise dim year.
During the peak of the lockdown back in spring 2020, I became the designated grocery shopper in my household, venturing out once every few weeks to shop like it was the last time I would ever step foot in a grocery store. Once I got over the masks and the plexiglass, it became something I looked forward to: What once was a humble obligation became my one outing, and I relished it. It was the only adventure outside the house, save for a daily walk around the neighbourhood.
I began to look at those valiant front-line cashiers as my guides, ringing me through with a smile I could see through their masks. They became heroes to many of us: they helped us find the last packet of yeast, the extra toilet paper, the baby formula.
Those grocery store workers will also help you find anchovy paste to make Caesar salad dressing from scratch, curry paste to make daal, or advise you on the right cut of pork to make porchetta.
The next time you have a few extra minutes for the grocery store, don't look at it as an obligation but a vacation — put on your mask, grab a cart and take a trip around the world. Consider the grocery store as your gateway. With international travel far far off, you can travel far far away with pad thai, beef bourguignon, or Israeli couscous. Bon voyage and bon appetit.