Nosying other people baskets

[CharityCase]

"Do you know what to do with that?" (several cans of mango puree for lassi, as the sole Caucasian in an Indian shop. Yep, I pretty much did.)

This is actually one of my favorite conversation starters in ethnic food stores. There's one on my walk home that I am completely enamoured with..probably the only shop in all of downtown ottawa carrying african/mexican/south asian pantry items. I can't count the number of times I've picked up something called for in a recipe and had the lovely cashier politely say "do you know what this is for?" It was thanks to her that I found out about brown cardamom, the difference between indonesian and other chili sauces and the reason why curry pastes for thai dishes alwaysa need to be tempered/fried in oil.

[MicBacchus]

This thread is hysterical! I love to check out others' carts too. I've never had anyone say anything to me about what I have --- but one day a checker had no idea what a jalapeno pepper was !!??? Rolled produce code thingy over and over and looked perplexed, so I told him what it was. He picked up from the scale and tossed it in the bag, saying that it must not cost much so I could have it free.

Now.......... if only someone would do that for a standing rib roast!

[Grub]

... and the reason why curry pastes for thai dishes alwaysa need to be tempered/fried in oil.

Okay, I'm curious -- why is this?

[winesonoma]

Or the young checker who decided that mushrooms were mushrooms. Chantreles at $1.99 a pound. Told the GF to go buy the rest and which checker to use.

[BryanZ]

Or the young checker who decided that mushrooms were mushrooms. Chantreles at $1.99 a pound. Told the GF to go buy the rest and which checker to use.

←

That is amazing. At my favorite grocer, they have you weigh the items yourself, punch in the code, and print out the label with the price on it. You could theoretically score some porcinis and ring them up as shitakes or something. I'm sure the checker wouldn't know the difference. It's a pretty crappy move though.

[touaregsand]

I've already said that I'm a snooper. In my defense though it really is the only time I snoop. I don't read tabloids/gossip rags, watch Oprah, Soap Operas, hang around with other moms gossiping about other moms (okay I did it twice this year, um, so far).

Yesterday I went to Vons to make an ATM deposit and did a little shopping. I was with my 2 year old (he turned 2 last month) who looks like he's 3 or 4. He's very big for his age, full head of hair, pretty advanced, he's one of those kids that looks aware and sharp.

This is what I bought.

1. Shape magazine Bikini Body Countdown to June 1!

2. Value back of Rancher's Reserve steaks.

3. Prune Juice

4. Mega pack of Toilet paper

5. Diapers

If I were looking at my own cart and this women who looks like me with her huge baby who could be 3 or 4 for all I know I might be thinking

"She's a thong wearing, soccer mom, who starves herself, obsessesed/neurotic about her body, who reads that stupid magazine? She's probably on Atkins, she'll eat all those steaks and purge herself by drinking all the prune juice, look at all that toilet paper she has and just why is that huge kid of hers still in diapers? she's a bad mom!"

[FabulousFoodBabe]

I get in line and who gets in line in back of me? One of those perfectly coiffed, rail thin, prune-faced elderly women wearing a shiny nylon tracksuit. She was carrying two (TWO) large bottles of "all natural laxative," a bunch of celery and a liter bottle of spring water.

←

Rut-roh, you described my suburban neighbors very well! Funny she should light into you instead of the management for having such horrible products for sale. And I think you know the answer to the laxative issue ... no amount of intervention can help these types.

As for snooping: I generally don't, because I'm always the snoop-ee. For some reason, being a professional(and student) means people whisper loudly, "yes, that's Fabby. She's a Gore-May cook an' going ta Chef School! I'll bet her cart is just full of natural food, no canned tomatoes for her! I'm sure she's growing her own on the deck ..."

In reality, Mr FoodBabe, who is still quite an athlete and all around hottie, was raised on packaged crap and still has a taste for it. I also have done, and still do, a good bit of consulting for food companies. So my cart is a little ... different, and always open to scrutiny and gossip.

It was a big day for me when PeaPod started delivering to my town. Yippee skippee! Now, no one sees that my husband simply cannot start his day without Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Brown Sugar Pop-Tarts, that he needs a monthly fix of Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper and when I make cupcakes with my niece and nephew, we make them from a mix. The frosting, though, is the real deal.

[Tess]

That's great; I never thought of PeaPod as a way of hiding your vices!

Yeah, the laxative lady. Was she a funny orange color? That doesn't come from tan-in-a-bottle. She's probably suffering from electrolyte imbalance, and you can die from that. Poor thing, really.

[Devilkitty]

Back in the mid-nineties, I was living in Toledo. The best selection of microbrews in town at that time was at the Andersons, a sort of local "Quality Farm and Fleet" type of place. One Friday afternoon I wandered in to pick up some beer. Saw a few other things I wanted to pick up so I added them to the basket. Pretty normal, right?

All was uneventful until I approached the register and unloaded my little hand basket. The young lady on the register was giving me a very strange look. I didn't quite get it until I looked down at the stuff on the belt:

Two six-packs of Steelhead Stout, a Ritter dark chocolate-marzipan bar, Absorbine Veterinary Liniment, and...

Two boxes of .38 Special hollowpoints.

What could I do? I tried to resist, but the temptation was too great - I looked the girl in the eye, smiled crookedly, and said "I've got a big night planned."

Never have I been checked out so quickly.

[sassybat]

this thread is great! just yesterday i was at the local supermarket, and i was scoping out what people had. i live close to a university, so i suppose that explains the three girls in line behind me with their two frozen pizzas, soda, cake mix, and collection of ramen. *sigh*

[laurenmilan]

My favourite "supermarket snooping" was at the Chinese supermarket during Chinese new year. People were buying colossal amounts of food, and it was fun to imagine what sort of feasts they were going home to prepare.

Tell me about it... I made the mistake of deciding to go shopping at the Asian Food Center the day before Chinese/Korean/Vietnamese New Year, and although it was very crowded, everyone was extremely polite and it was cool to see entire families collectively shopping & hauling multiple carts groaning with good stuff up to the checkout (great time to take advantage of sales, esp. on cookware/servingware).

[saskanuck]

My favorite was the time I sent my husband to buy a whole load of fresh vegetables, some packages of dried beans, metamucil wafers for my kid, and a plunger.

I wonder what the cashier thought about that?

[Country Cook]

My favourite "supermarket snooping" was at the Chinese supermarket during Chinese new year. People were buying colossal amounts of food, and it was fun to imagine what sort of feasts they were going home to prepare.

Tell me about it... I made the mistake of deciding to go shopping at the Asian Food Center the day before Chinese/Korean/Vietnamese New Year, and although it was very crowded, everyone was extremely polite and it was cool to see entire families collectively shopping & hauling multiple carts groaning with good stuff up to the checkout (great time to take advantage of sales, esp. on cookware/servingware).

←

Last week I went to my first large Asian supermarket, after the chaos and noise of the parking lot I didn't know what to expect inside but inside was completly different, calm music, polite shoppers and staff, no prepackaged fresh meat, live shrimp, crabs, fish, etc., all glass items wrapped in paper, one of the most enjoyable shopping experiences in my life.

[curlywurlyfi]

I also found this thread on other people's baskets.

[Aileen]

I always snoop, but I don't judge. I tend to feel sorry for people in the checkout who have nothing but prepared foods and junk. My cart is usually a mix, with fresh and some junk mixed in. I usually have some sweetened cereals and maybe a box of pop tarts in there for my kids (although I don't see how they can stand the pop tarts!) I often confuse checkers with my produce selections, too. Most have trouble telling the difference between cilantro and flat-leaf parsley, and can't identify some of the root vegetables.

[markabauman]

"Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are"

-Brillat-Savarin