Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Fancy Schmancy Grocery Shopping

We are staying in Bellevue this Chemo trip (and we brought Zoe to save on wear and tear on the Royal City folks!) and it is our first Bellevue stay.  We headed out for dinner last night and after eating stopped by the only grocery store we saw in the 4 miles we had driven, the "metropolitan market".  This is a beautiful store.  Sometimes when I have shopped at Wal*Mart for the one billionth time in a week I will daydream about stores like this one.  However, this was not a choice, I swear it's the only grocery store in Bellevue (o.k. the only one I saw).  This store made me feel look an unsophisticated slob.  When we walked in Zoe yelled, "it smells like somebody needs a diaper change"!  We were in the cheese section, Michael would have seen familiar words, we saw stinky cheese, and TONS of it.  There was an olive cart that was bigger than a twin bed. Not to mention your soup cart---Wild greens with roasted leek soup anyone?  I actually heard someone asking if the greens and leeks in the soup were organic (nobody knew, what a shame I was tempted to buy the lot but if its not organic wild greens, and leeks then forget about it....).  You had your choice of couscous from several countries, seems Israel is a couscous meca, people like their couscous much better than your Hungarian couscous for example.  We found gray salt carmel's, $12.99 for two pieces that together aren't as big as an Oreo cookie!  Speaking of salt, I never knew the variety of colors and flavors of salt, I thought the little girl with the umbrella had the market on salt, I was wrong.  Zoe and Jax liked the seafood--headless salmon and shrimp bigger than Carter.  Two bags and a $60.00 bill made me leave the metropolitan market day dreaming of a Wal*Mart store to shop in. 

3 comments:

Katie said...

Met Market! We shop there when staying at the hospital since there is one right by the Ronald McDonald House. Poor folks at RMH can't afford Met Market...but it's the only grocery store close by. But you do have to try their deli- get the Turkey Dinner. It's so yummy and everytime we have a hospital stay (like the one in May) we get it. Of course it's spendier but well worth it. And make sure you get the gravy. Susie Maxwell (Teagan's mom) loves the meatballs there too.

Last trip to Bellevue for Maddie's appt., mom and I went to Whole Foods. Wow. That was an eye opener too...everything is organic and there wasn't a person shopping in there who didn't have work-out clothes on or signs of plastic surgery. The best part was mom HAD to try out one of their cherries to compare to our conventional ones here.As we were debating on what we should "attempt" to eat for lunch in the deli, she had the pit in her hand and while pointing to the fancy quiche, the slimy cherry pit went flying right into the hot warmer tray of quiche!!! She comments, "let's just run" but I had to reach in and pull the pit out. The good samaritan in me. It was so funny and we got quite the looks. The topper was the fancy short-shorts wearing guy behind me in line who was drinking his coconut milk straight from a coconut with a fancy straw. Bizare. Who drinks coconut milk anyway? It's a fieldtrip in itself going to Met Market or Whole Foods!

Heidi said...

Ha ha ha! Funny post. People over here are crazy! There is a salt store in lynnwood and I'm like you and never knew there were so many different types of salts. I just wonder how that store stays in business.

Louise said...

Good ole' Wal*Mart, I complain about it, but it's so dang convenient, not to mention that lower price issue!