I put the Super in Supermarket

I’m not sure if I have cultivated a strong enough palate to call myself a “foodie,” but I will tell you that I love supermarkets. There is something about them that makes me feel like I’m in a 1950’s day-time soap commercial. Everything from the bright lights, to the clean rows of fresh vegetables, to the spotless floors, and, of course, the cute boys working at the register, makes me wild. In Williamsburg, there are five primary supermarkets of interest: Trader Joes (new to the Burg last year!), Ukrop’s (which is now unfortunately being taken over by Joe’s something), Harris Teeter (new to the Burg this year!), The Fresh Market (which is basically an overpriced version of Trader Joes), and Bloom (which has these funny little carts to wheel around kids).

Anyways, I receive emails from three of the five above mentioned markets. Harris Teeter even sends me weekly emails with discounts on foods I normally buy! Trader Joes has this witty little newspaper that makes for good table reading, and The Fresh Market tells me about what I should be eating seasonally, which I rarely pay attention to.

The worst part about being obsessed with supermarkets is that whenever I go to one, there is at least ONE PRODUCT that it does not carry. For example, Horizon milk is the best tasting milk in the world, but it is not sold at Trader Joes. They only have this other gross organic stuff, which I refuse to eat. Harris Teeter only carries this particular kind of Carr’s whole wheat cracker (you’d think Ukrop’s would have them, but they only have the thinner Carr’s cracker variety, of inferior quality). And Bloom carries this Chaboni Greek yogurt (it’s fun to say. CHABONI!), that is generally cheaper than the same yogurt at other markets. So what do I end up doing to avoid going to at least three markets to get all of the things I need? Good question. I end up rotating my markets every week, though sometimes I cheat and go to Trader Joes about twice as often as the others. Oh, and I also plan my grocery list sometimes up to a month in advance.

That is all. Welcome to William and Mary! haha

– Lee Desser ’10