The un-supermarket

I like to shop for food in places where I feel like I'm doing something good for my health, and where I don't feel like I'm on a torture track. That's why I try to avoid bad shopping experiences like the one I wrote about at Safeway, and also why I avoid going to giant stores like Costco-- where you wait for 30 minutes in long queues of people who've loaded rolling flatbed wagons full of processed food and often, sadly, look like they eat too much of it.

So I go to places like Rainbow Grocery or Bi-Rite foods, where the produce is local and the stock looks well-maintained and thoughtful, and where the staff greets you and asks you if you need any help. When you're in the wine section, they'll ask you what kind of wine you'd like and then make suggestions. The same with the cheese, and so on.



It really seems like they care that you find the right stuff and that you're happy about it. So I don't mind spending a little extra money at these stores because I know what I'm getting, I know I will like it, and I don't get punished for being there. Even the people at the checkstands (and yes, they seem to have more working checkout people than the giant Safeway does!) seem to be in good moods, and they greet you with friendly conversation. The line moves quickly and you don't feel like you've sacrificed half your day trying to get through the store. And it's kind of fun to look around and see what they have to offer.

I think I'll go back to Safeway soon and go through the "downer cow" experience there again, just to see if anything's changed during these past few months, or if the economic downturn has also created more of a "breadline" vibe there, as well. Anyone want to join me for this social/anthropological excursion?

Heard from your carpet cleaners today?

Some of you might recall my post about the phone spammers who call incessantly with the dire warning that your car warranty is about to expire. Their tactic is to deposit a recorded announcement in your voicemail or blast you when you pick up the phone. Each time they call from a different number and they don't identify the name of their company, nor can you successfully get off their calling list.

Similarly, there's a scam that uses the same tactics for an alleged carpet cleaning company. I don't know their name, and they probably don't have a name, because I doubt they're actually cleaning carpets, and judging from their various phone numbers from different U.S. states and outlying areas, it would be highly inconvenient for anyone to use their services, because they're not local.

Most recently, I received a recorded carpet-cleaning phone blast from "Heather" using this telephone number: (208) 656-4565. This corresponds to a land line in Idaho Falls. Yes, in Idaho. However, these people have called me from all kinds of numbers, including some that begin with "0," which are either out of the country or from a Skype number of some kind.

I've never quite figured out what they're after...obviously it must be money of some sort. They're clearly not looking for customers who want their carpets cleaned, or who are concerned about their vehicle car warranty expiring (I'm guessing these are the same people). They want money, or credit card numbers, or your ID, or something else.

Has anyone actually talked to a human at these so-called carpet cleaners?

Yes We Can - And We Did

I know I put this video on my blog back in February, but I wanted to see it again. Yes, history has been made, but more importantly, the USA has elected someone who might actually have the capability of fixing this broken country--it's not going to be easy. It's been under siege nonstop for eight long years.

People are partying in the streets on this election night to celebrate the changing of the tide. I sure don't remember anyone celebrating like this when George W. Bush was appointed president in 2000.

Congratulations, Barack Obama.

Camden Market and environs

On Sunday, I walked north through London with John. We met Jayme, Tyler, and some of their friends in Chalk Hill and then went to a pub called The Stag, where we could sit outside in the backyard and enjoy the nice weather and some gastropub food for lunch. Tanja joined us. Then some of us went to the Camden Market, which was an overwhelming extravaganza of clothing stalls, accessories, food, and throngs of people everywhere. After shuffling through the crowd for a couple of hours, Tanja and I had to get out.

I met John and Jan for dinner....we went to an upscale Chinese restaurant in Soho that served really delicious food in a lounge-like environment with downtempo music supplied from a laptop using iTunes (we just happened to be sitting near it). After dinner, John and I walked around on Oxford Street, which was nice and quiet on a Sunday night, and I snapped a few more photos.

antiquities, soho, indian food

My friend Tanja is here from Switzerland. We spent the day together: first coffee, then the British Museum, then a stroll through Soho...and into a French bookstore on Marlborough... and down Carnaby Street to a pub. After lounging with some wine and appetizers at the pub, we had an affordable but delicious Indian "tapas" dinner at Imli in Soho (on Wardour Street). I hadn't seen Tanja since I was in Zürich last year, so it was nice to catch up on things.

Borough Market, Spitalfields, and more

On Friday, I went with John to the Borough Market-- a large assortment of cheeses, fresh fish and meat, sausaages, produce, mulled wine, and various other goodies for sale. It was in a massive semi-open-air space and was pretty amazing to see. We met his friends Jayme and Tyler (who joined us on his lunch break) and then afterwards, Jayme, her new baby, and I took the tube to Spitalfields market...more stalls of things to look at, but mostly clothes this time, not food. I saw some really cool coats that would be highly impractical back home, but looked fantastic, and even a few casual dresses that were very funky-artsy, distinctly British, and almost enough to make me wear one myself. I was with Jayme for a momentous occasion: the first time her daughter laughed. I snapped a photo of them both shortly thereafter.

Then Jayme showed me Brick Lane, a street lined with Indian restaurants, Beigel Bake (a bagel shop), and various other interesting -looking stuff, and then we hopped a bus back again. I wandered around in Soho, trying to get my bearings. However, I've found that I really need to pay attention when I cross the street, because I'm still looking in the wrong direction whenever I cross, and the London drivers seem to come from every possible direction, anyway.

That evening, John, Jan, and I went to The Red Fort for another outrageously good Indian dinner...including more Bollinger, which I'm going to miss when I return home....it's in short supply there. After dinner, John and I walked through Mayfair and looked in shop windows on Saville Row and other upscale locales. I took about 50 photos on Friday....these are just a handful.

new neighborhood, more food

On Thursday, John and I took the tube to Hammersmith to meet his friend Ramsay for lunch. We passed through an open-air market with stands selling some of the most amazing-looking food, and if we didn't have lunch plans already, I would have bought some. Here are photos of some type of vegan Caribbean food (including ingredients like pumpkin and sweet potato) and Moroccan dishes. After a nice walk, we met Ramsay at Saigon Saigon....where we feasted on some of the best Vietnamese food I've ever eaten- and I love Vietnamese food and eat it often. Everything was exquisite and had a totally unique taste.

After a leisurely afternoon, we took the tube to the High Street Kensington stop, where we looked at the biggest Whole Foods market I've ever seen (with multiple floors), then walked home through Kensington Gardens, which was relaxing, and then Piccadilly, which was not.

For dinner, we'd had plans to go with Jan to Belgo in Soho, a Belgian place that's underground, but it was too crowded. Incredibly, we ended up at Robuchon, where they treated me to an amazing dinner. Many thanks to them both.

an interview, more london explorations

On Wednesday, I interviewed Jake Paland of the ambient/electronic duo PFL (best known for their music on the German "Space Night" series). John came with us, and we had a delicious lunch and a good conversation about music. I've got about 45 minutes of discussion that I'll edit down to just a few minutes, with music, for a special podcast episode when I get home.

Then John and I took a long walk, exploring the unexpected neighborhoods while passing through the predictable ones. I prefer the ones off the beaten path, but as you'll see, I did snap a few of the usual suspects.

When I got back to the flat, I was exhausted, so I stayed in and ate some take-away from Marks & Spencer and chilled out for awhile.

art, rain, food, etc.

Yesterday John and I walked around from museum to museum in London. We went to an incredible Warhol exhibit that displayed his films and videos and some memorabilia in an environment that made me feel like I was being transported back to his loft in the sixties. It was really great....the ultimate Warhol exhibit.

It was raining, and we popped into the Tate for awhile and the Design museum, too, and took a walk along the south bank of the Thames. At Taz (apparently, a chain..but a really good one), we had Turkish food for lunch, and then, with Jan, a mindblowingly great Thai dinner in the theatre district, where I ate condiments like fresh peppercorns (still on the vine) for the first time.

We walked so much that my legs got sore....and I will probably do the same today.

a drive to the (north) sea

Hilde and I drove to her favorite beach along the North Sea ... and I snapped a few photos along the way. Those white bundles are bales of hay. You see them on every farm. The IKEA in Norway is apparently not blue and yellow ...but the building has rather muted tones. This fort along the North Sea was a lookout/security point during World War II. All the new construction is like something out of Dwell Magazine. The old construction consists of the wooden houses, often painted in bright shades of red, green, burnt yellow, blue, or green. And this little house on the North Sea is sitting on an island every time the tide comes in.

Slow Sunday

Last night, my friends Hilde and Sissel made a delicious dinner for four of us, including a colleague of Hilde's. We stayed up most of the night. I forgot how that happens sometimes in Norway. So I'm moving very slowly today, and didn't get enough sleep, because I was awakened by thunder so loud that it sounded like the house was being blown up. Anyway, here are a few photos I snapped on Saturday while we were out shopping. The tank is a sculpture called the "peace tank," the sign that you see by the car denotes a "women only" parking space in a public garage, and of course, I have another photo of reindeer meat in the supermarket.

Jeg er i Norge

I know you thought I was in London, and I was...and I will be again. But right now I'm in Norway, visiting some friends. Wow, it's green here. I could see healthy-looking cows just grazing by the road as we drove from Sola Airport. Last night we went to a supermarket ... and I thought I'd snap a few photos to share (because I love to look at food). This includes reindeer meat, and a large gluten-free section. There's a lot of gluten-free food here, even in a "normal" supermarket.