Supermarkets & Customer Service

When I was young my mom would tote my brother and I to Harris Teeter or Kroger for our grocery shopping. We lived down south in North Carolina and Tennessee so by default everyone was friendly and cordial. Then we moved up north and I was exposed to the wonderful life of Wegmans. As a past employee of Wegmans I can tell you that customers come first. If customers are happy, employees are happy. And I mean that. Now in NYC Trader Joe's and Whole Foods have replaced the hole in my heart that is Wegmans. The most depressing part of this is that they are not on my commute home and not near my home or job. Ridiculous I know.

I'm stuck with C-Town and Associated. Depressing wastelands where maybe the produce is edible and the baking section is tucked in some unknown corner only accessible by shimmying past freezer doors and mops. I place great value on customer service. A few days ago I went to C-Town and said a friendly "Hi" to my cashier. Nothing. "How are you doing?" Nothing. She wouldn't even tell me how much I owed. As I left "Thank you." NOTHING. Today I returned to said establishment and received the same icy demeanor. I couldn't see the screen so it was a mystery as to how much money I actually owed. I'm going to kill them with kindness. Mwahah.

This may be naive of me but, what has happened to customer service? Even a friendly greeting, a 'hello, how are you?' The lack of engagement between myself and the staff leaves me who loves to interact with people sad and lonely. Sad and lonely roaming the aisles of overly fluorescent supermarkets.  Why don't these places have policy's like Stew Leonard's? "Rule #1 The Customer is Always Right, Rule #2 If the customer is ever wrong, reread rule #1!" How awesome is that? Does living in an outer borough of Manhattan doom me to a life of terrible customer service? Even at the cash register at one of the stores THERE IS A TIP JAR AT THE REGISTER. And most of the time I AM THE ONE BAGGING MY OWN GROCERIES. If you think this is a rant. IT IS.

The only tip I will bestow on you, glorified bodegas of the outer boroughs, is tell your staff to look up, make some eye contact, say hi and tell me how much money I owe. And I will continue the fight to get a Trader Joe's in my area. Thank you.

Hoisin Sauce

I am in love with hoisin sauce. Every year at the Fancy Food Show, I see the Soy Vay booth and giggle to myself because of the goofy name. Fast forward to a few months ago I am sauntering through the grocery store attempting to find a new tasty item to try. My eyes immediately went to the Soy Vay hoisin sauce. Throughout my youth my dad had used to it marinade meats before slapping them down on a sizzling grill. My father is a wise man so I thought, alas I too shall try this. Upon opening it I swiped my finger around the lip of the jar and took a taste. Oi vay! The wonderful combination of bbq sauce consistency and sweet flavor was a song to my taste buds. Now hoisin sauce is my go-to. I'm about to embarrass myself.

I prepared tilapia recently and as I am not amazing at preparing fish it was a little dry. Ah ha I thought! Dad always makes some sort of sauce for these situations! And I would do the same! My theory is that if I like all of these ingredients separately, I'll like them together. It's true! I works for ice cream sundaes, casseroles, soups, pasta dishes, etc. I tossed mayo, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and hoisin sauce. It was great. The sweet of the hoisin and the little tart of mayo and lemon was a great topper to the tilapia. It actually saved the dish.

Tonight, at my cousin's suggestion, I prepared spaghetti squash for the first time. I mixed in red pepper, cherry tomatoes, and some flank steak I got at my relatives yesterday. Then I thought to myself...it needs a sauce, something to add a little taste. Ah ha! Hoisin was the answer! Into the saute pan I threw the hoisin and mixed it together with the other ingredients. And a medley of tastes emerged combined with the variety of textures from the squash, vegetables, and meat it was a filling and satisfying meal.

So when in doubt little foodies of the world, turn to hoisin, and soon enough you will be voice'n your love for hoisin!

Il Bambino

Expecting to go home and start the arduous process of laundry this Friday I was happy to receive a text from my fellow foodie friend to go out for dinner together. Gladly I accepted and told her I had never been to Il Bambino. I could hear the audible gasp as she quickly texted me back saying that is where we would go.

After selecting drinks, her a guava and champagne mixture, me an Allagash beer, J made educated and passionate suggestions about what we should get. Here is our menu:

Crostini: Egg salad, fontina, chive oil
Crostini: Goat cheese, honey, rosemary oil
J: Smoked Bacon with garlic roasted potatoes, truffle aioli, parmesan
E: Italian Meatloaf onion marmalade, horseradish-caper aioli, pecorino

Me: Fontina with mozzarella, pecorino and truffle oil


I liked mine but as J warned me, it was very cheesy. I actually only ate half because of the intense cheese and truffle oil combination. My favorite part of the meal was probably the two crostini that we shared. I love the goat cheese for it's sweet honey topping and then the egg salad for...well, being egg salad.


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Locale

It has been far too long since I have been out to eat. When L called me up and said we should go out I was more then willing. I left it to her to select where we should dine and she came up with Locale in Astoria just off the Broadway stop on the N/Q line. This hip restaurant sits on the corner with towering windows and diaphanous curtains separating the diner from the quiet street. Of course I arrived early, as it is my lot in life to never be late, and scouted it out. I sat at the bar and ordered a Lemon Mojito...hey it was a rough day. Sweet, lemony, and minty it brought me back to summer. When L arrived we selected a two-top next to the window.

For our appetizers we selected the Braised Meatballs ( slow braised beef meatballs served with Ricotta Salata in a Spicy Tomato Sauce ) and a special, Heirloom tomatoes (love), fresh mozzarella, olives, and watermelon. The sweet and salty of this dish was a wonderful combination that I cannot wait to prepare for myself. The meatball dish was a stretch for me with the word spicy in the description. Turns out the heat was barely there. I guess with the mozzarella I was hoping for a softer cheese, more of a burrata.

Mains! L ordered the Black Linguini (Squid Ink Pasta with Sausage, Calamari, with Red Peppers, in a White Wine Sauce) which will always and forever creep me out. I debated between the Gnocchi and the Butternut Squash Risotto and ended up with the Gnocchi. The pasta was huge! Half-way through the dish I wasn't sure if I could successfully reach the bottom of the dish. (I did).

Service was great, bordering on annoying. I have a friend, ahem you know who you are, who wants her waterglass constantly full. Half-full (or half-empty, depends)? She is disgusted! I on the other hand don't want a water pitcher in my face every few minutes. Let me get to the bottom of my glass and yearn for a little more hydration and you, as the waiter get to save my day by refilling my glass.

L and I shared the Banana Caramel Napoleon for dessert. It was light and flaky, falling apart as we each attempted to get huge pieces onto our forks.

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