...towers of flours, beans, grains, nuts, teas, herbs, spices and a gazillion other things I've never heard of...This place is awesome and intimidating. I love it. I couldn't believe the selection. Farro? Three options including bulk, three options of dried porcinis and all the herbs and spices. Vietnamese cinnamon! Score. Home to make some applesauce.
This voyage of discovery was prompted by my latest library find, Heidi Swansons "Super Natural Cooking". I looooove her blog too 101cookbooks. I don't venture over there as frequently as I should and it wasn't until I started to peruse her book the other day that I remembered she lives in San Francisco. What a dork I am. Anyhoo, in her intro she describes a natural foods co-op the size of a football field with aisles of bins that start at your toes and rise to the rafters. I'd never been there but I knew exactly what she was talking about. Rainbow Grocery is not in my usual trek but it is only a 10 minute bike ride from where I work.
I've been meaning to get over there but never have. Until today. It was a gorgeous sunny day which demanded a lengthy bike ride with a purpose so off I pedaled with Heidi's cookbook in tow.
OMG this place is sooooo much better than Whole Foods. I love me some bulk bin shopping. I feel so in control with the freedom to buy however much or little I want...and though I haven't bothered with the math it seems to hit some kind of foodie holy trinity of economical, environmental and healthy.
I felt like a better person while I packed my bicycle basket with paper bags stuffed with my bags of new pantry staples.
No crowds, no lines on a Tuesday afternoon. Most excellent shopping experience. Can grocery shopping be nirvana? Yes I believe it can.
No comments:
Post a Comment