When I find myself away from home, I like to stop at a grocery store wherever I am to compare and contrast what's on offer versus what I have available to me at home. I don’t dedicate a lot of time to this nor do I go far out of my way to hit a grocery store. But, if there's time and a store in fairly close proximity, I make the trek. From my admittedly limited experiences, I have concluded that supermarkets around the country generally don't offer a whole lot of regional variation when it comes to types of foods. Sure, I'll find unfamiliar brands on the shelf but rarely foods that I cannot buy down the street at my local supermarket.
I recall going to a grocery store in Alabama several years ago. The cheese
selection was inferior to that of any Wisconsin store, as is to be expected,
but it was disappointing to find only 1 item that seemed to be Southern and unavailable
at home: boiled peanuts. However, while on my first shopping trip after returning
to Madison, I spied cans of boiled peanuts at Woodman's. All was not lost, though,
as the store carried beers by Mississippi's Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company and
one was brewed with pecans while sweet potatoes were used in another. I was
happy to have had found some form of regional particularity in the store.
Better luck was had in Louisiana many years ago when I was
down there to deal with my father's estate after his death. I ended up staying in
the Pelican State for a few weeks because the Teamsters couldn't get a moving
truck over there in anything approaching a timely manner. Everything moves more
slowly in the South, you see. Anyway, I was down there alone for 2 or 3 weeks so I had
plenty of time to check out what the local supermarket had on offer.
It was no surprise that the cheese selection made me realize
how spoiled we are here in Wisconsin because it was not good. I also recall
that they had ready-to-eat fried chicken dirt cheap. It was like a dozen pieces
of dark meat – the best kind – for something outrageously cheap – around $5. While
there may have been more regional delectations, I can only remember 2 and my
delve into the blog archives came up empty.
One aisle was all stuff you'd need living down on the bayou.
A section of it was dedicated to seasoning for crawfish boils. Next to that was
a seemingly infinite variety of breading for fish and shrimp. And across from
that was perhaps the ultimate convenience in Cajun cooking: pre-made roux. The
first and only time I've seen it at a store. The second unique item was mayhaw
jelly. Mayhaw trees grow in the South and the jelly made from their berries was
a delightful sweet treat for me.
Tangentially, I discovered that bratwurst was not unknown in the town where my father had lived. A gentleman of some means lived there who was originally from Wisconsin and brats from Wisconsin were imported every year for a festival that I can recall nothing else about.
We wandered to the snack aisle and saw bags of Sterzing's
Potato Chips, an Iowa brand that was unknown to me. Unfortunately, Sterzing's had
no salt & vinegar chips on offer. But Fareway did.
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