Rockstar Summer
Pictured above is my favorite surplus grocer delivery driver (there are dozens). The day that photo was taken, he had showed up with an enormous load of Rockstar energy beverage that was more than the modest store could bear — everyone seemed stressed. I kept hearing murmurs of "Rockstar Rockstar Rockstar" as all the workers processed this challenging moment.
Anyway I like this driver because he has New York personality. He's like, really tall, probably 6'5" or 6'6", with a booming Jimmy Stewart voice. The first time I ever saw him, he strolled into the store wearing his signature neon cutoff T, loudly demanding if they "had anything cold to drink." I thought he was just a typical overbearing customer. He was just razzing his fellow workers — I misread the situation!
For the record, you KNOW this store always has cold things to drink. Seltzer is not kept refrigerated but they have: iced tea, half gallons of store brand orange juice, kefir, buttermilk*, almond milk, sorrel beverages, lemonade, fruit punch. (sometimes iced coffee but we clean them out whenever I see it!)
Incidentally, I asked duder if it was okay to photograph his stacks of Rockstar, mostly so I could say the word Rockstar like everyone else. He shrugged and replied "It's not my store," which is such a cool thing to say.
*
On Saturday, Abby and I are going off-grid for an unexpected 10 days in rural Cape Cod. (I'm from Massachusetts but amazingly this is my first Cape vacation.)
The Haul will pause until the weekend of August 20th — talk amongst yourselves!
xo,
Jesse
*I'll wager the delivery driver was not craving buttermilk.
Featured Items
I equate Panera fandom with a certain...basic-ness, excuse my snobbery. When I was a newspaper reporter in the Midwest, I sneered at its reputation among our sales team as like, a sophisticated lunch chain, the kind of place you could meet a client with good taste. And when I worked in Midtown NYC it just seemed like such a middling meal option compared with all the city's other offerings. And yet! Every time we see one of Panera's fresh soups or mac & cheese at the surplus grocer, we snap 'em up right quick — and feel fancy about our soup 'n salad lunches!
Judge me harshly, for I hath wrongly judged thee.
I don't care about coconut water but Abby is evolving into a true fitness nut enthusiast, the kind who makes coconut water health smoothies and chomps on leaden protein bars. As such, this case of 24 cans of premium coconut water seems like a steal at 8 bucks! Don't worry about the expiration date.
This is a pretty big box of fish! I normally wouldn't buy such a Costco-sized portion, but I was enticed by the responsible sourcing label. If I'm honest, a lot of the dollar store's fish and other seafood comes from farms in China and Vietnam. I've done some research and, well, there are risks. For instance, swai (aka Asian catfish) from Vietnamese farms have their own warnings (antibiotic use, mercury levels) from the World Health Organization — in addition to environmental concerns. The dollar store regularly stocks swai from Vietnam.
SO, back to my new box o' better-sourced whiting...
Rough cuts! I thought I was buying a box of filets. Unexpected fins and tails, but hey. We'll make the best of it. (Please don't point out that the box had an accurate picture on it.)
WAIT. I was done talking about this item, until I googled the specific phrase "Whiting H&G" from the box. It's a lesser-known kool and the gang song? What is happening! This is too much.
I've talked multiple times about dog products we've sourced at the surplus grocer, even some bird products. But we also have a cat named Sadie, and sometimes we buy her food too. That's the entire reason I'm including this item — sorry for the cat erasure. Not much to say about the product itself, which I haven't tried.