Call me superficial, but I absolutely adore gifts. Especially sparkly ones. Knowing this, my husband is having something of the sparkly nature crafted for me at Out of Solitude over on Brady Street, in honor of our upcoming anniversary.
After dropping by yesterday to try on the wax cast and make sure it fit (it did, perfectly), we found ourselves in need of some lunch.
That decided, we walked down the street to Glorioso Brother's Grocery.
This tiny Italian grocery’s shelves bulge with a variety of pasta, olive oils, and roasted peppers. Bags of almonds and walnuts rest near the door, nestled near packages of figs. Further in, bundles of crisp breadsticks are tucked neatly next to an entire wall filled with cheese.
Actually, it was cheese I was looking for the first time I ever wandered in this place. I was looking over the Parmesan selection, and one of the guys working there turned my attention to the nearby deli case saying, “I can grate some for you. It will be much fresher.”
He zipped behind the counter, grated a tiny bit and handed it to me on a little piece of wax paper. “Go ahead. Taste.”
He was right. It had a lot more flavor. I bought some and was surprised when I dropped by a month or so later and he remembered me. “I grated parmesan for you, right?”
Swept away by that one act of incredible customer service, I decided then and there I would have to make more regular forays to this tiny gem of a market.
In doing so, I discovered that not only did they offer great grated Parmesan, they also had a wide variety of Italian meats, olives, salads, cookies, and cannoli. In addition, they throw together an amazing sausage sandwich with peppers for under $3, and that’s what propelled us there last Saturday.
We waited in line behind a couple of girls who were surveying the menu, trying to figure out what to order. A grey-haired man behind the counter flirted with them in a friendly fashion, but they didn’t seem to get it, instead they tried to decide whether they should have a muffuletta or a salad.
Finally they reached a consensus, placed their order and moved on. Scott and I requested our sandwiches and watched as the sausages were nestled between sesame-seeded buns, topped with a medley of peppers, expertly wrapped, and handed to us over the counter.
Taking them in hand, we headed to the checkout, pausing to pick up a couple of drinks, San Pelligrino Limonata for me, and a root beer for Scott.
We paid, and took our food to one of the tables outside, where I bit into the spicy sausage sandwich, people watched, and through a series of not-at-all-connected questions, tried to ascertain what kind of gift (besides a new motorcycle) Scott would deem at least somewhat as exciting as my own soon-to-be-finished gift.
Let’s hope my inquisition pays off!
C'mon...we wanna see the bling. Give us a glimpse of the goods why dontchya?!??
Posted by: Kaitlyn | September 01, 2006 at 07:01 PM