Gourmet in Safeway

Perched on bar stool chairs around a small, cocktail table, Maggie and I sampled the delicious beef, lamb's shoulder, stuffed chicken breast, and scalloped potatoes that the chef brought us. Also crowding our table were slices of cheese cakes and other cakes and samples of red wine. Beep, Beep, tchtchtchtch. The beep of the scanners and the clatter of the receipt printers disrupted our otherwise gourmet meal. What would have passed for the food in a fine restaurant was being served in the local Stop Market grocery store right across the flower display from the cash registers.

I think the whole presentation was for Passover, which the country is celebrating next week. The butcher who has very patiently taught Maggie the words for ground beef, drumstick, and chicken breasts had prepared the meat and wanted to be sure she would be at the store to sample it. Despite the rushing schedule, it was fun to sit and enjoy his cooking. Besides that, it was a great dinner substitute - even better than a lunch spent grazing through the Costco aisles' samples.