I recall a work trip to a conference in Anaheim (California, US, right outside of LA but still in the metro area). It was my first real work trip and I was disappointed because I wasn't seeing very much of Anaheim outside of the more tourist-y stuff, as the area around the conference center/hotel was one giant tourist trap. So, I ended up at the local Target at around 9am, and I'm really glad I did, because I felt like I was seeing a more real part of the city than the rest of the time combined.
The best way to tour a city is through its grocery store
71–80 of 94 posts
Re: The best way to tour a city is through its grocery store
#72I've been telling friends and family this for years. It's by far my favorite thing to see in a new city in a region I've never been before. It's sort of like a modern anthropological exhibit in more ways than any other single city structure. There was a photography coffee table book I loved, where the artist took pictures of an entire family around their table, which had all of the food they ate for a week on it. I'v…
[deleted]
Re: The best way to tour a city is through its grocery store
#73I've been telling friends and family this for years. It's by far my favorite thing to see in a new city in a region I've never been before. It's sort of like a modern anthropological exhibit in more ways than any other single city structure. There was a photography coffee table book I loved, where the artist took pictures of an entire family around their table, which had all of the food they ate for a week on it. I'v…
The book you're thinking of is probably Hungry Planet[1] [1] https://menzelphoto.photoshelter.com/gallery/Hungry-Planet-F...
What’s amazing about that is the unnecessary or excessive packaging becomes evident.
Underdeveloped nations haven’t yet gotten in the bad habit of wrapping everything in plastic. Grains are in reused sacks, meat is straight from the butcher. I mean, sure I get egg cases and wrapped meats. But some places put vegetables and fruits in styropacks.... why?
Re: The best way to tour a city is through its grocery store
#74I recall a work trip to a conference in Anaheim (California, US, right outside of LA but still in the metro area). It was my first real work trip and I was disappointed because I wasn't seeing very much of Anaheim outside of the more tourist-y stuff, as the area around the conference center/hotel was one giant tourist trap. So, I ended up at the local Target at around 9am, and I'm really glad I did, because I felt li…
Or take public transit around town.
Re: The best way to tour a city is through its grocery store
#75Yes! Walking into a grocery store is one of the best things about traveling. It is one of the few genuine everyday activities that are easily available to a tourist, but is going to be quite different to what you’re used to from home, sometimes in surprising ways. Hopefully this will not disappear entirely as brands and chains become more and more homogenized across the world. One of the saddest examples of this is h…
Latin America too. Interestingly, each country has it's own name, often the name of an old-time ice cream company that has since went out of business. In the US it is "Good Humor." Took me a few years during my backpacking days to figure it out. While odd, I never thought of it as "ugly."
I was in Churchill Manitoba in November one year - it was -30C outside. The local store had an ice cream freezer with the Good Humor branding on it. It seemed very appropriate. Outside the window you could see frozen Hudson Bay stretching to the horizon.
They also had a banner outside the store saying "Stock up before the cold comes."
Re: The best way to tour a city is through its grocery store
#76Whenever I'm in a new country or region, I always make a point to go to the grocery store and the McDonalds. Both tend to have unique items that you can't find anywhere else.
Vegetarian McDonald's in India was certainly different but it was also kinda gross.
I recently tried a KFC in Bangalore. Deep-fried chickpea fritters in spicy biryani rice is a pretty long way from what the Colonel started out with.
Re: The best way to tour a city is through its grocery store
#77It seemed like when I was in Italy I was the only American who knew not to look for eggs in the refrigerator. But that didn't help me when a cashier got impatient with me for not having weighed my produce in advance. Who knew?
In Colombia I found it (very!) strange that meat was not displayed in a refrigerator. I've never seen eggs being sold from refrigerators though.
In the U.S. eggs are washed and refrigerated. You find them at the back of the grocery near the dairy. (Unless you get them at s farmers market or roadside stand.)
Re: The best way to tour a city is through its grocery store
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
Latin America too. Interestingly, each country has it's own name, often the name of an old-time ice cream company that has since went out of business. In the US it is "Good Humor." Took me a few years during my backpacking days to figure it out. While odd, I never thought of it as "ugly."
Only parts of the U.S. I've lived in Florida, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, California, and Virginia, and I don't think I've ever had Good Humor. Mostly Blue Bell.
I never even knew there was a dominant ice cream brand, and if you asked me to name it, I would have picked Hersheys. I have lots of different ice cream options at my grocery store, and some are going the “all natural, 4 ingredient” route as well. Plus it seems like every small town has a dairy/local ice cream shop it feels like.
Re: The best way to tour a city is through its grocery store
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
Only parts of the U.S. I've lived in Florida, Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas, California, and Virginia, and I don't think I've ever had Good Humor. Mostly Blue Bell.
I never even knew there was a dominant ice cream brand, and if you asked me to name it, I would have picked Hersheys. I have lots of different ice cream options at my grocery store, and some are going the “all natural, 4 ingredient” route as well. Plus it seems like every small town has a dairy/local ice cream shop it feels like.
Not sure I’ve had the original, but recognized the name, maybe from TV or old movies:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Humor
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Unilever_brands#Ice_...
Re: The best way to tour a city is through its grocery store
#80When I visit a foreign country I always make sure I go to a junkyard (preferably a self service one) and buy something. You tend to have very "authentic" interactions with the locals in that kind of setting. It makes for great stories that simultaneously allow you to brag to your coworkers about how "authentic" (or whatever) your tourism experience was while also making them uncomfortable. 10/10, highly recommend.
Interesting idea!
I wandered around a thrift store in Bern once and found some weird secondhand stuff -- mannequins apparently for sale, fur stoles, mattresses, chandeliers, clocks galore, oil paintings, dress shoes, model trains, china, flasks, buttons, yarn -- all piled high, priced about 50% of what you might pay in a retail store (which is still very expensive), and sold in what looked like a very large single-family house in the middle of a quiet residential neighborhood that had been somehow emptied out and turned into three rambling stories of loosely scattered miscellany.
Reviewing the map now, apparently just down the street at 24 Pappelweg there was an even bigger, more commercialized thrift-store operation, a Barner Brocki Plus, which might have had what I was actually looking for (a men's coat). Oops.
At least I got to read the local news and find out that, yes, their version of the American thrift store is a bit different and a bit pricier (e.g. https://www.derbund.ch/bern/stadt/brockenhaeuser-sind-zwar-s... ), which was an interesting way to learn a new culture.