Friday, April 06, 2007

I live across the street from the most hilariously gourmet grocery store in the world. Fairly tiny, although not NY-real estate tiny, and every square inch packed with 10 bizillion choices, making it the last possible place I can imagine going to for actual Grocery Shopping, or staples (too funny to think about). It's the kind of store that sells three different darknesses of Muscovado sugar and tiny plastic containers of a quail's eggs. This store is for what dear darling perspicacious Barbara Pym called a "surge"; a random pass-through/surge-through a store with no real aim in mind. Indeed, I feel very much like A Glass of Blessings' Wilmet Forsyth when I'm there, wandering through the aisles and realizing I'm just hoping to get out without losing too much money or mobility (my back always goes nuts there, I don't know why).

Tonight I got out with one thing that was actually on my "to-buy" list, which is amazing: poppy seeds, and that's as practical as I got (have to have poppy seeds for tuna salad!). Among other purchases: imported soppressata, a pepperoni from Molinari's (why? I'm going to have to make a pizza now or something, or 12,000 gallons of pea soup--it's too spicy as is), Rocky Road ice cream manufactured by a man whose political beliefs I can't get with, in a vague inaccurate nod to Passover and the Friday sundown outside (HAPPY PESACH, EVERYBODY) thick cut challah (doh! leavening) and four pre-made latkes--a total extravagance, and the most adorable bag of key limes you've EVER SEEN.

I wish so much my camera was working because if you saw even a bad photo of the limes, you'd know why I bought them. Just gorj. They were literally glowing in their mesh bag, two or three dozen, all green-yellow balls and jewel-like. What I'm going to do with them I don't know. But I don't mind the challenge. In the meantime I eat challah with butter (one of life's best things) and think about my grandfather and wonder if he ever thought his grandchildren would want to know later what he did with his Judaism. Where'd he put it?

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