Post-Milwaukee Lamentation

Two months after my move from Milwaukee, it is occurring to me just how spoiled I was as a foodie when I lived there. I was in walking distance of Whole Foods, a local deli, and a large supermarket. Trader Joe's was 15 minutes away by car. I had it made when I lived there.

The reason why I'm realizing this now is because the only food markets within walking distance of my apartment is an A&P and a krauser's. True, it is better than nothing, but A&P doesn't even carry veggie burgers. The closest whole foods is a 15 minute drive on a good day. There's no trader joe's convenient located near me-but there is one near my parents' place.

That being said, I just found out that a Target located three miles away from me will soon be a super-Target. In other words, they will be expanding their already exisiting food section and start carrying produce. Am I excited? you bet! I'm definitely planning to get there asap to do some food shopping.

I actually planned to go food shopping today, but I ended up spending all afternoon getting stuff for the apartment, after which I got home and collapsed on the couch with a large mug of coffee. I'm hoping to go tomorrow.

A Field Trip Fit for a Foodie

This weekend I am visiting my alma mater, which is located in Indiana, just on the border of Ohio. Those of us who were lucky enough to have cars while attending college took advantage of this by taking day trips to various locations in Ohio, including Dayton, Columbus, and Oxford. If you were anything like me, though, you lived for the rare trips to Jungle Jim's, a large international supermarket located by Hamilton.

There's no words to describe the feeling you get when you walk inside Jungle Jim's for the first time. Depending on how old you are, it's likely that your first stop will be their liquor department. To say that it is well-stocked would be an understatement. They have wine, beer, and hard liquor from everywhere. And I mean everywhere. I picked up a bottle of red bicyclette rose wine, which is from the pays d'oc region of france. I wanted to get a bottle of funky llama shiraz, which is from argentina, but they were out of the shiraz. My bottle of French wine was only $6.

Their grocery section is also mind-blowingly well-stocked. They have an incredible selection of hot sauces, some of which are kept under lock and key. I easily spent 20 minutes trying to decide on coffee beans (I ended up getting a bag of Jamaican coffee and a bag of Kona blend coffee).

But here's the best thing about this store: if you look around, the prices are very reasonable. I bought an eight ounce resealable container of yellow curry for $2 and a large packet of thai fruit flavored agar (vegan jello...I'm not vegan, but I don't eat gelatin) for under a dollar. I also bought a jar of sun-dried tomatoes, a bottle of Louisiana hot sauce, a large container of whole wheat sweet potato gnocchi, a bar of venezuelan chocolate, a small box of salted margarita caramels, a package of dried kiwis, and a decent sized bag of pumpkin seeds. My total came out to something around $40.

weekly food shop

I decided to try a new grocery store this week: outpost natural foods. it's a co-op, but there's 3 of them throughout the city, making it feel a little like riverwest food co-op meets whole foods. it wasn't terrible, but as far as co-ops go, i prefer riverwest over outpost.

here's what i bought:
10 apricots
1 cantaloupe
1 cucumber
2 tomatoes
baby carrots
whole wheat pita bread
1 bunch cilantro
1 pear

total: $22.19

My Recent Discovery

I am in love.

Before you get excited, I should tell you what exactly it is I am in love with...the Riverwest Co-op and Cafe, located in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood (named after the fact that it's the west side of the Milwaukee River), which is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the east side (where I live).

I went there for the first time on thursday and couldn't believe how long it took me to find this place. Everything was reasonably priced and they had an amazing selection of products for sale. And they accept EBT. I made sure to call in advance to make sure they take it after I got turned away at the middle eastern food store.

Here's what I ended up buying:
1 8oz package of seitan
1 bottle of vegan worcestire sauce (I've been looking for this everywhere)
1 packet of instant sesame marinade
1 bottle of barbecue sauce
1 package of dried basil

my total: $16.82

I think if I bought all of this at whole foods, they would've charged closer to $25.