Whole Foods Columbus Update….

We went back to Whole Foods in Columbus today, as we drove in to take Heather knife shopping at Sur la Table, where she can test drive the knives and I get a great discount.

And since we were in town, why not take Heather and Dan to Whole Foods.

The first thing I noticed when we walked in was that the ass-fragrance was no longer a force which slammed into the patrons’ nostrils at the door.

In fact, there was the pleasant smell of citrus from the produce section and flowers from the floral department.

Even after I put a pound and a half of fresh turmeric root in my cart and headed toward the fish section, I was not assaulted by odiferousness.

However, once I got up to the fish counter, and leaned in to take a look, the heavy smell of fish once again got to me. It was bad enough that I will not buy fish from them, but at least the smell is confined to within a few feet of the fish counter.

That is much, much better.

I also discovered something while we were there.

See–before we went there, we went to the North Market, and I saw Meyer lemons. Oh, how I love me some Meyer lemons. Their floral fragrance, the sweet yet sour juice, the medicinal tang of the peel–oh, I adore them. And I saw them at the produce place at the North Market, but then I saw the price and nearly keeled over dead, right there in front of them, between the pomegranates and the quinces.

$6.99 a pound.

You read that right. $6.99.

There was nearly a dead redhead right there, on the floor.

After we had been all through the Whole Foods, and were about to go to the checkout line, I came to my senses and remembered the Meyer lemons, and raced back to the produce section, deftly avoiding the dear little old ladies and the certain death of a yuppie man navagating his cart by the stars while doing day trading on his celphone.

They had Meyer lemons.

At, get this–$1.99 a pound.

I did a little victory dance right there among the citrus fruit. I started singing, “I’ve got sunshine, on a cloudy day,” while I ripped open a plastic bag and began piling those beautiful dandelion-yellow fruits, full of juice and sweetness, into it.

I ended up with nearly three pounds of those little beauties, much to the amusement of the day-trading yuppie.

Then, I dashed back towards the cart, and nearly plowed into my cheese-department friend from our first visit, who as recognized by my compatriots who had only read his description in the blog. I apologized profusely, told him he had lovely taste in cheese, and continued onward, finally safely depositing my precious cargo into the cart without mishap.

The moral of this story is–corporate businesses sometimes do have an advantage over local businesses, and sometimes the consumer wins.

Oh, and then we went on to Sur la Table, and with the last of my Generic Winter Holiday money, I bought a knife I did not need, but lusted over anyway.

As I told Zak, I would rather have a knife than beautiful clothes.

The other moral to this story is this: if you love a woman, you give her BTU’s and steel.

I am a very beloved woman.

8 Comments

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1. I just wanted to wish you a Happy New Year Barbara! Let it be filled with Meyer lemons!

   Comment by ilva — December 29, 2005 #

2. Hello, Ilva! Happy New Year to you as well!

   As for a year filled with Meyer Lemons–ah–what a lovely thought!

   Thank you!

   Comment by Barbara — December 29, 2005 #

3. I keep hearing about the “amazing” meyer lemon. What makes it so much better than it’s more common cousin?

   Comment by Rose — December 29, 2005 #

4. Barbara,

   snooping around the net I found a mention about this book:

   The Food and Cooking of China.

   http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0471110558/002-9645599-7194449?n=283155

   Have you read this? What do you think?

   Rose

   Comment by Rose — December 29, 2005 #

5. Quoth Barbara
   The other moral to this story is this: f you love a woman, you give her BTU’s and steel.

   I guess so. Heather burbled about her new knives all evening yesterday, and she continued to burble about them today.

   I guess getting the BTUs installed is next 😉

   -Dan

   Comment by Dan — December 29, 2005 #

6. Hello, Rose! I haven’t read that book–I heard some less than stellar reviews on it from a group of Chinese American folks I trusted and read some of the reviews on Amazon and decided to pass on it for now.

   As for Meyer lemons–they are not only sour, they are sweet. They have a very complex flavor that is sour, sweet and flowery all at once. Their peel also has a medicinal tang to it as well.

   Dan–I am glad Heather loves her knives! I hope we get to go shopping again soon–I had fun with you guys.

   And I really had fun helping Heather pick good knives for herself.

   Comment by Barbara — December 29, 2005 #

7. Barbara,

   I just sent my mom back to England with a begrudged three pounds of Meyer Lemons in her luggage. I find that meyer lemons excel in baking – you can sometimes reduce sugar content too when using meyer because they are so sweet on their own. And you MUST use the peel – that’s the best part. I’m afraid I’m too much of a lemon addict to ship them off to other people – selfish and greedy – that’s me.

   Comment by owen — January 2, 2006 #

8. Meyers are so sweet, I have been known to bite into them, peel and all, like an apple, and eat them whole. Everything but the seeds, which I spit out.

   I love making lemon bars with them. The flavor is much more complex and interesting than with typical lemons.

   I also like using them in Chinese and other Asian foods–in my archives, there is a recipe for Cantonese lemon chicken that uses wedges of Meyer lemon in it that is fantastic–if you get a chance to try it, Owen, especially if you can get fresh water chestnuts to go in it–please, please, do so. It is a lovely flavor and texture combination.

   Comment by Barbara — January 2, 2006 #

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