I got a hot tip yesterday from a friend who went in the morning to the Burlington Market Basket, saw the line, decided to go to HMart instead and found he was the only one in the store. I got to HMart about 8:15 and it was great! there were a few shoppers but not too many, and given the size of the store it felt fine and of course everyone is wearing masks and giving space.
everything’s stocked as usual, the chicken again was the only item I noticed that looked a little skimpy. all the ramen and rice shelves and other staples are plentiful. I got most of the fruits and vegetables that I’d normally buy elsewhere, scallion pancakes, some asian greens and a couple extra boxes of Vermont curry and some dried pollock just for extra emergency rations. Was in and out of there in fifteen minutes which these days is a big plus. Would try again!
The SO just returned from a Russo’s trip. Apparently they are closing the inside of Russo’s this weekend for about 2 weeks. No reason why. They will still be doing their box pickups apparently but no interior shopping.
We’ve been getting (as I’ve indicated elsewhere) some of our groceries, breads (and, of course, ice cream) from Forge Baking Co., in Somerville. We’re hoping it keeps the smaller scale supply chains working. Their offerings vary, but I thought I’d mention, since that’s in short supply, that they are offering King Arthur flour right now (under Groceries on the main drop-down menu, scrolling down to shelf-stable items).
On my way to grab Goldilox Bagels this Friday morning (which were excellent…it was our first time, finally), I decided to stop at the Medford Whole Foods and Sav-Mor Liquors. This was the first time I’ve been to WF Medford since the pandemic-$H!t so I didn’t know what to expect. I got there ~9:30 am and saw a line snaking around towards Sav-Mor. My pick-up window for bagels was 10:15 - 10:30 am so I was concerned I would be late for bagels. Nevertheless, I get in line, thinking, well, I could bail at anytime and just grab booze and bagels on this trip, but I persevered. They were letting x number in for x number out. I was about 3rd in line when I saw an older man try to just walk into the store, cutting a fairly substantial line. But, he’s older and I thought, shouldn’t we make an exception for our elders? He hung around near the entrance after the security detail turned him away. When I was within earshot, I told him he could take my place (remember, I’m already a bit nervous about bagel-time). Then he starts getting kinda close and talking my ear off about being a doctor, and that everyone is over-reacting. Yeah, ok, now would you mind backing up a little? He keeps repeating himself so I know that he may not have all his cylinders firing. When it’s my turn, I urge him to go in but security again turns him away and tells him to take his place in line. When I enter the vestibule, I apologize to security, telling him, he’s an elder so I felt bad for him (especially on this chilly windy day and he was only wearing a sportscoat/blazer). Well, security told me that he’s a huckster, that he tells everyone he’s a doctor and tries to scam his way to the front of the line. $h!t. I hate this virus.
I got most of my short list except garlic, which they were out of. #$%@. I’ll have to head out to TJ’s or Wilson Farm if I can get some work done. Because chez digga without garlic is one sad house. Fish counter looked good, but no prices were posted and there were 2 people in front of me. No Crescent Ridge milk so I got 2 x 0.5 gallon of WF milk (limit of 2 milk products). @uni had mentioned Wilson Farm as a source of Crescent Ridge, but last time I checked there, they only had the quart size.
Also, since digga doesn’t do Easter (although B was raised Episcopal), I forgot that the food-shopping crowds might be larger today than usual.
I don’t know if this fits here or the takeout thread but I got an email from Branch Line / Shy Bird announcing Operation All Cooped Up which adds groceries / general store to their takeout options. They say sometimes they even have TP.
Had to go to Wegmans in Chestnut Hill today for provisions. Waited nearly an hour outside to get in. They had some toilet paper (one six pack per person limit), and the only thing they didn’t have on my list were eggs. Then I thought, idiot, of course there are no eggs, it’s Easter weekend! Oh well, I’ll get some more next week.
digga, I think my supply of garlic borders on hoarding, so I feel you there. In desperation, I also bought some garlic powder at TJ’s a few weeks back just in case.
Good point about the crowds for the holiday. We don’t celebrate either other than visiting with family in year past, but I imagine it must be a strange time for people for whom the holiday is really meaningful. And, yuck about that creepy guy. Having non-family in your space is truly a violation. This virus sucks. And, I hope you got a good supply at Sav-Mor! I’ve been stockpiling wine for sure.
This more of a where not to stock up post: Eataly.
I wanted a few things for Easter that seemed hard to get under one roof elsewhere, and I was able to grab an Instacart delivery window from Eataly on Friday evening. Their produce was abysmal. The radishes were cut and packed in plastic boxes, with fuzzy mold on all the cut ends. The artichokes had shriveled leaves on the outside and were so soft and squishy that I did not have the heart to cut to their heart. The meat (an aged prime porterhouse and some lamb sausage) was fine, but the boneless chicken breasts had a faintly off odor.
I had an amusing/terrifying experience with a black truffle. They are listed clearly on the Eataly website as $3.90 each – a totally crazy price. When mine arrived, the label on the packaging said $3.90/gm, with a total price of $81. I raced to check my email receipt. There it said I was charged $3.90. I haven’t shaved the truffle onto anything yet, so who knows what it will be like. It has no odor at all, and that’s not promising.
As a general comment, for understandable reasons, a lot of produce is pre-wrapped in plastic now. It brings me back to some years I spent in the mid-1980s as a post-doc in Syracuse. My dingy local supermarket offered everything wrapped in plastic, and I learned a lot about how mold would thrive in the moist conditions under the wrap.
I’ve gotten a couple of online deliveries of food from a couple vendors during this whole thing, for the first time ever. This is absolutely the worst part—I HATE having someone else pick my produce. I’ve gotten moldy onions and rotten cherry tomatoes and other atrocities. Never doing this again when things get semi-normal.
I read that Baldor Food, normally a restaurant supply place, is doing home delivery in the NY and Boston metro areas. $250 minimum but maybe you could group order with neighbors or have lots of storage. Same issue with someone else choosing your produce but I bet they would not stay in business delivering crap produce to restaurants.
I did order some meat and some mushrooms from D’Artagnan (there’s a sale till midnight tonight). I was attracted by the pigeons, grouse, etc., but I’m the only one at home who’ll eat this stuff, so I had to restrict myself to steak and duck.
