Grocery Shopping

Now, the picture here is incredibly important in understanding this blog post. On my walk to the British Library I noticed this bread shop... what really attracted me, well didn't really attract me... but caught my attention, was the name: Crusty Bloomers. Not that we have very many bakeries back home in NH, but those that we do have usually have names that remind you a bit more of bread :) "Crusty Bloomers" doesn't really say to me, "fresh ciabatta" or "whole grain rye". Rather, my first thoughts went to the word bloomers ... isn't that a term for underware? Why is it that an owner would name their bread shop that? I poked my head in to see if the girl at the counter might be approachable... but as my eyes scanned the place, I realized that there wasn't a loaf of bread there for under 9pounds... an for me that's $18... a bit much! And this leads me to the real reason for this post: grocery shopping in London. There are so many places to buy food, from the standard, and often a bit pricey fresh markets, to Tesco and Sainsburys groceries which advertise themselves with "cost-cutting prices". But which are best for the freshest produce and truly inexpensive prices? You've got me! With the economy the way it is, I have not gone grocery shopping at the same place twice, and had the prices not change over the course of a 7 day period. It's unfortunate that this has to be the case, especially when I am on a budget, but you just do what you have to do. AND ALSO, there is a huge push here in London for buying fresh, organic food... talk about expensive. Many of the chefs that have tv shows advocate for this, and are not afraid to show the public the conditions that the cheaper, Tesco-chicken are kept in before they are slaughtered and sold at those cheap prices. So I have moved to a new diet plan - vegetarian. It may sound a bit harsh, but it makes me feel a lot better about eating, and allows me to enjoy my food.

So, my grocery shopping is kept to the fresh markets... which I don't mind at all! The atmosphere is very upbeat, and everyone is very excited about what is best to buy for that particular day. There is no mold on the grapes, and when you pick up the apples there, your finger doesn't puncture the skin. It really is a nice change of pace for food shopping, and I can understand the allure here in London. To be able to buy the freshest groceries, as if you'd just picked them out of your own back garden, is much more appealing (and tasty), then the plastic packaged fruit and veg at Tesco. And as for Crusty Bloomers, and other places of the sort - with silly names and ridiculous prices - I just don't have a clue!