Dreaming of Joe

I have recurring dreams. One of the most vivid is of a department store. It's an artist's dream. Each time it changes a little. The shelves might be full of colored pens, paints, make-up or perfume in glinting glass bottles. But whatever is on the shelves makes me want to play, to create, just like a giant crayon box or a new tray of water colors did as a child. The most remarkable thing about this dream besides the sights and feelings is that everything is mine for the taking. It's free or it's so cheap that a few shiny pennies do the trick. There is possibility here, there is freedom, there is creation in its very beginning stages. I always like this dream.

One day recently I heard some news in our local paper. Trader Joe's was coming. I felt a vague sense of being kind of happy about it. Tostagielli's brother and sister-in-law really like Trader Joe's in Maryland and they have brought Trader Joe's snacks and hand cream when they visited. I remembered the lemon chili pistachios and the chili mango slices the most. So in hearing they were opening a store in my very own Chapel Hill and Carrboro, I felt the renewed sense that this town truly does have it all. It is a food lover's mecca. From Weaver Street, to Whole Foods, to small mom and pop Mexican, Middle Eastern and Asian groceries, to the Carrboro Farmer's Market, to Cliff's meat market, to Tom Robinson's seafood shop, we have everything we need without venturing into an expensive Harris Teeter or depressing Food Lion. I've even heard we are getting a Fresh Market this year.

Now with all of these choices, I recall thinking that there's too much competition and that something was going to have to go away, like the recently shut down Earth Fare. But I do think the problem with Earth Fare is that it was basically a more expensive Whole Foods that I had to drive an extra mile to get to. I just never had a compelling reason to go there.

Trader Joe's selected that same location to open. And open they did. To throngs. People everywhere. I went on day three of their opening and I took only a basket with me because I knew that the lines were long and the aisles were packed. Normally in places like this, with crowds like this, I just get mad. No good reason, but everyone is just in my way. But do you know what I saw? Smiles. People were happy. They were discovering and uncovering dinner for tonight and a snack for later and "oh, this cheese will make the greatest addition to the omelette I'm going to make tomorrow morning." It was bliss.

A couple weeks later when my parents were visiting, I took my mom there because she's the one that started this food obsession of mine. It was less crowded when we chose to go, so I could take my time. From the moment I walked in, it was like I was living my recurring dream, except that I wasn't seeing paints or make-up, but food. Colorful containers neatly squared on shelves promised creative meals.

I have certain things I look for in a new store to test out the prices, things that vary wildly in quality like honey, olive oil, maple syrup. These are the guilty pleasures that I always spend too much on and they are the items that I can't do without in daily cooking. I also look at Clif Bars and nuts and tofu and soymilk. The thing I found is that it was all cheaper or equal in price and the selections were even greater.

I also had an epiphany in Trader Joe's. Walking down the aisle with the pasta, I saw a yellow package on the bottom shelf that caught my eye. It was Italian made 2 foot long pasta. As I was pondering the pot size and realizing I'd have to break the pasta in two which would mean I should just save the time and buy the regular size, I looked down even further and saw a familiar looking shrink wrapped package. GNOCCHI! On my knees, I grabbed the package, I lifted it like a doctor would a baby toward its mother for the first time. "Do you see this? This would cost $4 at Harris Teeter. It would cost $2.50 at the Weaver Street, but it's $1.39." There were actual tears. I grabbed what I could and then saw the nuts.

My mother likes nuts. She's a baker. She always has a lot of selections in her cupboards at home. Everything is fully stocked and I've often gone through the cabinets when visiting just to get ideas for myself. I like nuts, too. It's exciting to me to be baking something and to think, "you know some slivered almonds would go better than the slices" and then to realize that I have three selections of almonds in the freezer waiting to make my day.

So when we saw the nuts, pounds of them for $3, for $4, for $5, for $6 at their most expensive, I just couldn't stop. I gathered. My mom gathered and soon our cart was brimming.

On the flip side, I will say that Trader Joe's will never be the only store I go to because I don't enjoy their produce or meat sections. I prefer Whole Foods, the Farmer's Market or Weaver Street for that. I will continue to buy some items at Harris Teeter because the hours are longer and I can't always guarantee that I want to do my shopping between 9-9.

There is so much more to write about Trader Joe's, but my day beckons and my stomach growls. And this is when I realize that just like my dreams of paints and nail polish, Trader Joe's will be a recurring experience.