Shopping, European Style

First I discovered the Plainsboro Asian Market, with its amazing selection of highly affordable fish, produce, and specialty ingredients that were hard to find elsewhere. Then Trader Joe's opened, and there was much rejoicing. And now, I have completed my foodie trifecta with my exploration of the Amish Market in Kingston. I am now a very happy girl.

It used to be that I would haul myself off to the local Wegman's every week to do all the food shopping in one go, but recently, I've adopted a more old fashioned--perhaps you could say more European--method of shopping: going to a few different places to get the food where it's best and/or cheapest. I've never loved my local Wegman's. I've tried. I've tried really hard, but I don't love it. It's hideously crowded almost all the time, I've found rotting food in a couple of sections one too many times, and most of the workers don't seem all that happy to be there. Plus, they have major stocking problems, which makes it hard for me to plan any kind of menu or make a list I can rely on. I can count on one hand the number of times in the last 3 years I've gone there and haven't been frustrated in my quest for something relatively basic, like ground lamb or quinoa or cereal. Is Shredded Wheat 'n Bran that popular they can't keep it on their shelves? I don't buy it.

So why did I continue shopping there for so long? Well, unfortunately, the alternatives were...not great. Wegman's does do some things well, like offer loose teas (when the tins aren't empty, which happens more often than not) and their bakery section is quite good. Also good: their organic/natural section. And their prices were lower than a lot of other places. The only other grocery store in the immediate area had higher prices and an organics section that would have been laughable if it wasn't so sad. It was one shelf jammed, oddly, in between magazines and peanut butter. So, I resigned myself to the Wegman's experience.

But then something happened--I moved, and I discovered the Asian market not ten minutes from my doorstep. So, now I no longer had to go to Wegman's for fish and produce--yay! And right near the Asian market was a SuperFresh, which is smaller than Wegman's (read--less cavernous), and much less crowded. Not long after I started shopping there, Trader Joe's opened. I haven't been to Wegman's since.

The one problem is procuring good meat. Trader Joe's has it, but it's a bit pricy, and most of its preseasoned and marinated, which I don't care for. SuperFresh's meat selection--at least its chicken--was heavy on Perdue. But there was that Amish market up the road in Kingston... So, I hopped in the Mini and headed up there as soon as I had a free day, which happened to be this past Saturday. The freezer was starting to get a bit bare--time for a meat stockup.

About an hour later, I staggered out with enough meat to keep us (and probably some dinner guests) going for at least a month. For $50. $50! Not bad at all, really, considering I got a pork loin, ground lamb, a whole chicken, some Italian chicken sausage, spicy horseradish mustard, bacon, porkchops, pork cubes, and beef stewing meat. There's probably something I'm forgetting, but not a bad deal, overall, when you think about it. Especially since that chicken, which appeared on our dinner table Sunday and fed us and two friends, would also provide some chicken stock when boiled down. That market is great--there's a stall for everything, although I wouldn't go for the seafood. Deli meats; everything you could possibly imagine from a cow, lamb, or pig; poultry you wouldn't believe (including ducks and rabbits!); baked goods; dairy; eggs; preserves; fruits and vegetables--it's all there. Some prices are a bit steep, although you shouldn't be surprised at the ones that are (they're not growing oranges on the farms in Pennsylvania Dutch country, after all), but the meat prices are quite reasonable, and, if the chicken and the sausage are anything to go by, it's quite delicious as well.

This is what I do now--shop here and there, wherever I find what I want or need, and you know what? It's started saving me money. I'm not wandering the aisles of some giant supermarket, trying to find where they keep the hummus, being tempted by things as I pass. I have a targeted reason for going to each of the places where I now shop, which makes it faster and easier. Plus, as far as the Amish market goes, I actually feel like I'm supporting people, not a corporation, and I can get on board with that.