greek yogurt

greek yogurt is really really really good. and things just got rediculous.

i got on the highway and went to trader joe's last week- it was that cheese plate night, and i thought i would a)see what all the hype is about trader joe's and b)get some cheese or some wine or some other interesting stuff.

i have only ever been to trader joe's in boston. there is one right on the line that greg takes home, so we stopped there one night on the way from some museum or whatever fun boston thing we were doing and it was cute! i am very very very curious about the grocery business. i have thought long and hard about groceries and markets. i don't get how they work. i would love to have someone explain to me how they make money. in my mind, they function as non-profits, just doing a good job of paying the people that work for them and having some food on the shelves, hoping that at the end of the year, they budgeted correctly. i can't imagine that this is accurate (krogers, duh), and i am sure that i could easily read a book about it and get set straight- sometimes it is more fun for me to think whatever silly story that i have come up with in my head. but i have heard all about trader joe's: how they buy MASS of something and package it and it is cheap. and they aren't messing around. they have got some pretty decent stuff in there that is CHEAP!

the cincinnati trader joe's is not at all as cute as the one that i remember from boston, no escalator, no crates and stacks and piles that make it look more like a co-op. no cute boys. this trader joe's has been fitted into a strip mall next to a sequin/prom/bridal shop. i walked in and all the cheese is right there. no dice. nothing caught my eye and i was getting a little anxious because that place was a zoo. i felt like there was a madness in the place, like people were suspicious that i was going to take their bargains, or that there was some sort of speed shopping competition happening. it was not peaceful for browsing. not at all. but since i was all the way out there, i just did some good defensive shopping- giving a wide berth to all those crazies. i got some good stuff! the dried fruits, nuts and jar things are all very interesting and very well priced.

and then i went over to the refrigerator. and GREEK YOGURT! i have been paying upwards of $5 for a big tub at keller's IGA, and i know what y'all are thinking, keller's is spendy. and i know it is, but you can't put a price on them being such a nice non-profit to do business with... trader joe's has all sorts of flavors and they're cheap! i am working on this one right now, some sort of apricot/mango/heaven flavor. i think it was something like $1.69- and it is a nice portion. i am actually getting full and wondering if it is going to hinder my rollerskating tonight. i get sucked in when i see "apricot" and "mango", so seeing both of those on the same label gave me complete tunnel vision, but i am pretty sure that there were other flavors too: pomegranate, honey, etc. i will make sure to get more and taste all those too.