Shopping at the new Shop Rite

This morning I made my first shopping trip to the new Shop Rite on Central. The place was hopping this morning at about 11:00. Even Fly 92 was there. Between the crowd and the having to be back at the house for lunch, I didn't have the time to thoroughly explore the store. And I was just shopping by impulse, didn't have a list together.

The deli ordering system by the door worked very well for me. The order is brought to a cooler by Register 20 and the other end of the store. I had seen that on the ticket and went by the register, saw the line was closed and was a little confused. Once I was directed back to the register (Patricia Cruz and Tom Urtz - who both remembered me and my name from the tour), I found my order immediately. And this cooler is in the perfect place. I walked right past it earlier. Anyhow, you walk in the front door and the machine is right there to enter your order. You go shopping, working your way across the store. And when you get to the far end and start to head to the registers...the cooler is right there. And so was my order. Lovely.

As I said earlier, there was a good sized crowd shopping. There were a handful of things I probably would have taken pictures of, but I'm still a little self conscious of public food pictures and I didn't want to take photos that included random people. But, I couldn't resist this one. Right next to the cheese display, a man was making fresh mozzarella. Behind him, a small CD player was pumping out Italian opera. When I picked up the ball of cheese I purchased, it was still warm.

Even with the crowds, I was able to walk directly up to a cashier without any waiting. Before all the groceries were in the fridge, I had a slice of that mozzarella cheese. The texture was a little rubbery in comparison to the better mozzarella I've had but the flavor was good and there was a nice saltiness to it. It couldn't have been too bad, it was gone before 1:00.

Overall, I enjoyed the trip and will certainly do it again. Once you get the overall lay of the land in a market, shopping is easier. Kind of makes it your home turf. Some prices were better than the other local markets. Some were the same. And some were a little higher. I think the price of the same cart of groceries in Price Chopper or Hannaford would have been about the same-except there were a handful of things you can't buy at those stores. Like the warm mozzarella and those Guss' pickles I spotted during the tour. I'll be back.

All Good Bakers Grand Opening

The All Good Bakers Farm to Bakery/Cafe is now officially open. The grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony was earlier this evening. The cafe, which I have wanted to visit since it first opened its doors in late April, was relocated from Quail Street. As luck would have it, the local Girl Scouts are at the Circus tonight, so I'm on my own for the evening and I got to enjoy the festivities with a lot of people from the Del-So neighborhood. Also, that giant piece of toast hanging next to David Soares is a custom made pinata.

 

The support for owner's Brittan and Nick Foster was incredible. Really overwhelming. And if it felt overwhelming for me, I can only imagine what it felt like to them. My personal favorite experience at the event was talking to Nick's mother. She's incredibly friendly and was absolutely bursting with pride. I also saw Albany Jane and Albany John. I haven't seen them since they hosted a pot-luck last year (subliminal italics message in case they read this: you guys should host that again, it was a lot of fun).

A lot of snacks were out. The From Scratch Club had an information table set up and I got to introduce myself to Christina who I should have introduced myself to while touring Shop-Rite but didn't because I couldn't believe I was touring Shop-Rite. Eric Paul, aka The Cheese Traveler was offering samples. He is working on opening up a shop next door. They mentioned carrying some local dairy and meats in addition to the cheese.

Mountain Winds Farm was also passing out samples of maple syrup. I tasted the dark syrup, then reached for some money and bought a bottle. I think we're having pancakes tomorrow morning. There was table with bread/ goat chease and a number of topping. They also had some garlic scapes.

And a baked goods table featuring vegan cinnamon buns. While they are probably not the best cinnamon bun you have ever had in your life, they probably will be the best vegan cinnamon bun you ever have and are better than many non-vegan cinnamon buns. They were pretty tasty. A little inside scoop - Nick's mother told me the cinnamon bun recipe originated with her mother.

I look forward to coming back to the cafe for lunch. I'd also like to take a peak at their hydroponic garden they have going in the back. And once the Cheese Traveler opens, I can see myself sitting in my car in the parking lot and tearing into a loaf of fresh bread and some cheese. Waiting to get home to eat will take too long.

Making Movies

In 1980, Dire Straits release the album Making Movies. I love the music on this album. It just speaks to me. I'm not sure why. I remember listening to it for the first time. I was pushing 10. I was in my brother Mike's dorm room with my other brother David. Just the 3 of us. Mike played the album for us (yes, album-round vinyl thing that spun on a fancy lazy Susan while being read by a needle at the end of a floating arm).

I'm not sure what took my so long, but on Sunday night I put the CD into the computer and transferred the songs onto an MP3 player. Since then, I've listen to it 3 times. Once I post this, I'm going to listen to it again.

Album side note: all my praise for this collection of music does not include the last track. It's just not as good as the rest of the album.

Bad Chicken

Have you ever gone somewhere with really high hopes for great food only to have those hopes crushed? I don't want to name names because the place is brand new, the people working there were very friendly and I do hope they can turn it around.

The place just opened and was offering Friday night apple wood smoked dinners. I had planned to order two brisket plates and one chicken plate for the four of us to eat for dinner. The brisket was sold out when I called. Good sign. I ordered 3 chicken plates to be picked up at 5.

The food was terrible. The chicken skin was black with soot, rubbery, and inedible. I couldn't tell you if there was a rub or not. The fat in the leg quarter had not been completely rendered.The kids wouldn't eat it. The macaroni and cheese side looked more like a pasta salad. Just elbows tossed with oil. There was some cheese in there but sadly, I think you could do better out of a box. The slaw was also bad. A bunch of poorly seasoned cabbage and carrot grated to a pulp. The cans of soda that came with the meal were good. I hadn't had a root beer in awhile.

So after a hectic Friday rush hour drive to the restaurant and spending about $22 on three plates of food...I made hot dogs for the kids. If I ever make it back (probably not too soon), I think I'll go with a breakfast. The place looked more like a greasy spoon than a BBQ joint.

New Spoons & New Store

Every so often, Michael Ruhlman talks about a web site called Open Sky. Basically it is a place where people of varying degrees of fame can list things they like to buy. Then you can buy them directly from Open Sky. I guess it is kind of like Amazon but only with products that are recommended by someone. I follow a handful of well known chefs there and I receive a lot of email from them - usually a few a day. Most of it goes directly into the virtual trash. Every now and then they give you a credit to use. I've had my eye on a few things...but I'm cheap so I don't buy them.

Earlier in the week they gave me a $20 credit. The most they had ever offered me before was $15. The catch was that to use it, the order had to total $40 before the credit. So I bought Ruhlman's recommended "Paddles 3 Ways." They are hefty stirring paddles with a flat edge for getting in corners. Three sizes of paddles being offered for $34. Shipping put me over the $40 and the set cost $26 (The Man added some tax). Just under $9 a paddle. Probably still a little steep, but screw it, I've wanted them for awhile.

Here they are next to a knife. For size comparison, the blade on that knife is 8 inches.

The handle has some nice lettering.

Also, U Mundu E Ca is open at the Hannaford Plaza on Wolf Road. The shelves are still pretty bare but you can take a look around. They are planning a grand opening in mid to late May. Looked nice. I hope the store does well.

Edible Packaging

Every so often I get an email about a bunch of different sensors that can do all kinds of things. In today's email, there was one heading that read "Bottle Tastes As Good As Beverage." Huh?

I followed the link here. Edible bottles based on grapes.  To quote the write up:

WikiCells use special membrane technology that permits the fabrication of thin delicious membranes with significant water diffusional resistance and adjoined shells that allow for stability of the WikiCells over long periods of time.

Will there be a 5 cent deposit on thin, delicious membranes?

First Look At The New Shop Rite

Earlier in the week I was invited to a media preview of the new Shop Rite opening up on Central Avenue. I went expecting it to be a large event - mainstream media and a bunch of local bloggers. Seriously, without a lot of local bloggers there, how would I make the guest list? This manifesto of mine carries the marketing power of 9 followers (and I love each and every one of you by the way) plus my mother stops by the site regularly. If I'm on the guest list, this place is going to be packed, right?

I'd say there were 6 of us. A few came and went. We were very outnumbered by the store's management. For the last portion of the tour, there were three of us. I was greeted at the door by name. The only other male guest was Steve Barnes who is slightly out of my blogging league with Table Hopping and his food columns at the Times Union. Steve (I didn't introduce myself to him but I did sit next to him for a few minutes so obviously we use first names when we name drop each other) wrote about the visit here. One thing I will say about my new bestie is that he takes copious notes. I looked at his pad and couldn't decipher the short hand/chicken scratch, but he wrote down a lot. When I first saw him writing, I was kicking myself for not even thinking about bringing a pen a paper. I took a lot of engineering classes, never took a journalism one.

But enough about Steve. I took a VIP tour of a store that hasn't opened yet.

When you come in the main door, you are in the produce department. But it isn't set up yet. Well all the tables and displays are there, but no produce yet. Which makes sense. Who wants to open a store with week old lettuce? It was weird looking at the shell of the produce department.

Also next to the entrance is a pharmacy and wellness center. The pharmacy has a lot of generic medications that are $3.99 for a 30 day supply. And if I am understanding the presentation and the flyer I am looking at, there are several generic prescriptions that can be filled for free. I can't speak for you, but free is less than my current copay. The wellness center sounds like a good idea too. You can meet with a nutritionist that will help you meet a dietary goal or restriction. They also sound to be very open to suggestions. This was the beginning of the "if we don't have it, we'll get it for you" theme of the day began. 
 

Next up was the prepared food. There are several Culinary Institute Graduates working for the store and we met some here. As reported by Steve, the chef in charge of the prepared foods section said, "If you don't see something ask. If you can find it in the store, we'll make it for you."

They had a grill going and a flat top too. They are going to have breakfast sandwiches in the morning.  They had a lot of food lined up for us to try. I had some grilled vegetables, mashed potatoes, some braised brisket and sliced London broil. The potatoes, brisket and vegetables were very good. I had the first slices of the London broil. Maybe it's because it was near the edge or maybe it's because it is a London broil...it was well seasoned, but a little dry and tough.

 

The also had an Asian section and sushi. I had a few pieces of sushi. They were alright. You're not going to close your eyes and think you are in a high end sushi restaurant, but it was certainly passable.  I didn't eat in the Asian section.  It was getting a little difficult to eat, take pictures and pay attention at the same time. We were encouraged to return to eat more after the tour, but I had a meeting to attend at work.
 

If you like cold cuts, you'll like shopping here. Lots of Boars Head products and they have that little digital ordering kiosk so you can shop while you order is prepared. There will also be prepared sandwiches, sandwiches to order and panini.  As someone that is always on the lookout for gluten free things (my mother-in-law has Celiac's), this deli counter has something I have never seen before. They have a dedicated gluten free slicer.

A lot of cheeses to try here. The sample plate they had out was really good. I regret not writing down what was being served. I remember the blue cheese was Salemville. The brie was excellent too.

Another CIA grad is heading up the cheese department.  They will be making fresh mozzarella there regularly. But what's this? Bufala mozzarella in the case. I have always wanted to try it.

There is also going to be a pretty extensive olive bar next to the cheeses. I also noticed this walking by a cooler - pickles from Guss'

One of the managers excitedly went and got these opened for us to try. They are like hummus, just not made with chickpeas. I tried the black bean and the wasabi/edamame versions. Both were very tasty.

The bakery looked ready to get cooking. There will be in-house products as well as some from local places. There will also be a bunch or organic breads.

One of the local products featured in the bakery is halal baked goods from Neighborhood Bakery.

I tried the carrot cake. It was pretty good. Not the best you've ever had, but certainly better than average. And a loaf of it was priced at $2.19. I didn't pick up everything on the table to look, but I think everything was priced below $3.

This whole cooler is gluten free bakery products.

The fresh meat and seafood areas were also bare bones, but again it would be crazy to have them stocked now. ShopRite has US Department of Commerce fish inspector. Who knew? They are also willing to order anything. More of that "please ask and we'll get it to you" attitude. Apparently the Niskyuna store has already supplied eel and sea urchin among other things to customers.

 
This was an impressive aisle. Organic on one side, mostly gluten free on the other. Things with nuts were clearly labeled.  And if you have issues, I would encourage you to talk to the dietician. She was very familiar with the products here. My guess is that she picked most of them. Gluten free products run from here to the end of the aisle.

The store will also have a delivery service. Free delivery within a certain radius if your order is over $100. They said if you are between the two stores, you can get delivery. They will also shop for you and have it ready to be picked up. That service is free if you are buying $50 worth of stuff.

This looks like a very promising store. I'm looking forward to filling a shopping cart while wandering around it.

Call me, Steve. We'll hang out.