How I Eat: Shopping
Posted by denise | Filed under Food and Drink, Shopping, enviro, health
I adore Kensington Market, except on Saturday, when in a quest to prove their amazing explorative funkiness, hordes of tourists descend upon the shopkeepers and barrage them with 10,000 questions. But yes, I do 98 per cent of my grocery shopping in the market. Can’t beat the prices, can’t beat buying things from the independent stores (and sometimes straight from the farmers). I don’t even notice the slog of it—Le Jenk said when he first started buying groceries with me it was irritating to have to travel from store to store, but he now thinks it’s worth it (except on Saturday, or when excessively tired or hung, or during bad weather).
I start at 4 Life Organics on Augusta, which is such a lovely little store. Everyone that works there is so nice and smart, and in the summer I was buying heirloom tomatoes straight from the grower, which makes me feel amazingly funky myself. Then I walk south, stopping at Freshmart (yes, it sucks, but they have orange juice), Perola or Emporio Latino for queso blanco, dried chiles and tomatillos and House of Spice for things like harissa and tamarind paste. Fresh tortillas from La Tortilleria are a must. Peanut butter, rice, pasta and other bits and pieces comes from one of the bulk shops, multigrain bread from My Market Bakery, then cheese and olives from Cheese Magic (yes, they got a red card last summer. I’m over it).
The produce at Essence of Life is pretty sad, but it’s a good store for eggs, yogurt, granola and organic packaged food, and the toiletry selection is fantastic, especially since I need evvvverything to be fragrance free. Then I go to the Portuguese produce store across the street for any veg I didn’t get at 4 Life. They’re very friendly but insist on putting my herbs in plastic bags.
St. Lawrence Market is swoon-worthy, but pricey. Whenever I go there I drop a zillion dollars and come home with two days worth of food. Still, the fish is pristine, the bagels are awesome, the baby arugula from the organic store downstairs is the best ever, the cured meat and antipasto at Scheffler’s is wicked, the perogies are infinitely superior to anything at the grocery store and the sausages make me want to eat sausages every day.
Other stores that are out of my ‘hood that I love and always visit when in the area: Nasr Foods for Middle Eastern, T&T, natch (though they really need to lay off on the excessive use of Styrofoam and plastic), Pasta Pantry for the best ravioli anywhere. I’m forgetting a lot here, will add as I remember.
I really can’t shop at big grocery stores. I’m not trying to be snobby, but I just get confused when I go into Loblaws or Metro. Why is all the food in a box? Yes, one day I will probably not live within walking distance of Kensington. When that day comes, I’m telling you now I will probably cry.
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