My New Favorite Grocery Store

...drum roll please...is Harris Teeter. Seriously. LOVE. The Harris Teeter shopping experience is old news to most people I'm sure, but when the closest one to me was at Pentagon Row I never bothered to go because I just hit Shopper's first. Now, however, there is one just one stoplight past Potomac Yard (and within a mile of any given point in Alexandria/Arlington it seems like given the grand opening mailers I keep receiving.)

I mean any store equipped with these:

... to keep the "shoppers in training" occupied gets a gold star in my book. But, of course, she usually flips it over at some point. Leading to a crying jag. Leading to me carrying her while pushing hers and my carts. But the sugar cookie at check out helps with that. And the balloons. And the outstanding customer service. I mean the best I've encountered outside of Nordstrom. An associate Sunday saw me pushing our two carts with my knee while carrying the girl and she came and collected my carts, put me in an empty line and proceeded to unload my carts for me. The woman who got Leila one pink and one red balloon "to match her outfit" at the start of our visit said farewell to her by name as we exited. Don't know if this is a company wide phenom, or just our particular store, but they manage to make it such a pleasant shopping experience.

And the product selection may just about rival Trader Joe's in allowing for quick and easy prep meals. I know most of my friends actually enjoy planning and preparing meals with more than three ingredients, but I haven't quite gotten there. They're perhaps not quite so unique in ethnic fare, but at least I don't have to finish a trip at TJ's only to have to go to another store for basics like toilet paper and diet coke. I'll still work in at least a monthly trip to TJ's, but I'm glad to have the alternative.

And the best part is that Cesar actually didn't complain about his meals the past two nights. Monday I sprinkled rib-eyes with this seasoning and he threw them on the grill and they actually received a prolonged mmmmm...

Last night I did these Aquastar shrimp skewers, brushed with a little olive oil...
... and sprinkled with this rub...
...which will soon be a favorite for all variety of fish/shellfish. Cesar thought it "tasted too Moroccan" which was just why I loved it, because Moroccan spices are something I can never hope to replicate on my own.

I'm officially hungry now.