Sonic Youth and the Feelies vs. A Giant Hole of Suck
Photo of the Day, November 23, 2009: Stark
Sports Redux: One Goal, And One Goal Only
Sunday Happenings
Where Should You Eat? A Fast Food Flowchart
There is exactly one kind of shopping that (this) Bostonist loves: grocery shopping. Every aisle seems to burst with possibilities for new and exciting dishes (or for making old, forgotten favorites), and the processed food makers of this great nation never cease to amaze us with their crazy new innovations. In the past, we have told you about our favorite places for groceries, and one of our not-so-favorite places. But for all our anti-Whole-Foods ranting, Whole Foods is too upscale and weird even to count as a proper grocery store, so it can't win the title of least-favoritest. Shaw's, on the other hand, gets no such allowance. As we were reminded Monday evening, we do not like Shaw's.
We try to avoid our two area Shaw's markets, but sometimes we need milk and olive oil after the good spots have closed at 9:00. When we are forced to stray, we usually hit the strangely shady Shaw's on Beacon Street in Somerville, but tonight we decided to go upscale and cruise over to the one in Porter Square (we had Biz Markie pumping on the iPod, so any excuse to take a little bit longer was good enough). Wow - what a weird, crappy place.
The Porter Square Shaw's is, it must be said, lovely. It is clean, bright, and, compared to Market Basket, uncrowded. Even the patrons are, on the whole, younger and more attractive (if we were single, we would come here, everything else notwithstanding). But damn - it is so wicked-expensive it hurts our feelings. Even with the stupid card, buying milk, juice, bread, and olive oil ran over $20! Bostonist hasn't done the exhaustive research to prove it, but we are absolutely certain that card is a racket.
But we could forgive that - after all, Shaw's is open late when we need it, and capitalism, much as we dread to admit it, is about giving the consumer what he wants if he is willing to pay extra for it. What we cannot forgive are the aisle signs at the Porter Square Shaw's. We understand that these signs can't possibly list everything in each aisle, and we don't expect them to. What we do expect is for the folks who put these signs together to use their six slots wisely: Veteran grocery shoppers like Bostonist know that "Baking Needs" will include flour, sugar, chocolate chips, and maybe cooking oils. The signs should use general terms like this to convey as much information as possible with just a few words. That leaves slots open for items that defy categorization.
The folks at Porter Square Shaw's apparently have no concept of this, for they seem to be concerned that people looking for "diet soda" won't guess that it's in the same place as "soda" (see above). Olive oil, on the other hand, not only didn't get its own sign or a sign that might hint at its location, it was mixed in with salad dressing, far away from the other cooking oils. Awful.
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ain't the Beacon St. location still the more low-class version "Star" of the chain? Much like the Cleveland Circle venue of shopping badness?
The Shaws on Brighton Ave. is all well and good regarding selection and layout (though, trying to find sterno the other day led me to an aisle which should have been labeled "random shit"). The biggest problem at this locale is the staff. As long as you don't have to interact with the staff, your shopping experience is pretty good. Everytime we go through check-out we are greated by some of the most surly people you could imagine. There is always chaos, which is followed by great surprise when nothing we purchased is lost.
Too bad our whole foods is crap and the selection at Stop & Shop sucks. TJ's ain't bad, but doesn't work for one-stop shopping. Maybe we will give Johnies a try ...
Well, you did go to the worst Shaws possible. If I must go to a Shaws, I'd rather drive the extra 10 minutes and go to the one in Twin Cities Plaza, by Lechmere. Better parking, less college students, easier to navigate.
The Shaw's at the Prudential Center is OK. However, they have no butcher. Which peeves me.
My combination that I've settled on is a mix of Trader Joe's + Foodie's (on Washington St. in the South End).
I'm sorry, but I have to say that TJ's, while eclectic, is severely remiss in carrying the staples that some of us who actually COOK our own food might need.
Case in point: One dark and snowy Saturday, I worked up the chutzpah to emerge from my home to procure some necessary cookie-making ingredients. I live in Coolidge Corner, and rather than brave the ever-disappointing Stop & Shop I went to Trader Joe's where I was told that shredded coconut is a "seaonal product". A SEASONAL PRODUCT? i asked, chagrinned, because apparently dried cubed coconut is something people pine for year-round at Trader Joe's, which they always have in stock, yet they can't carry its more prevalent cousin, the SHREDDED variety? Trader Joe's, you've got some good lettuce wraps and your frozen pizza is great, but you need to get a clue. At least Shaw's CARRIES the items you need...even if you can't find them.
I've always had a bit more patience for the crowded aisles and parking lot at the Porter Sq. Shaw's than most, but I was pushed over the edge by their recent re-design. As mentioned above, it's now impossible to find items that should be obvious, and on top of that it seems like they have a much smaller selection. I'm not sure what's replaced it, but it seems like they got rid of the food in the supermarket. Seemingly-standard food items have now been put in the ethnic foods aisle, such as canned tomatos in with the Mexican food. I've sworn that store off.
Oh please let me in. I use to live in Boston but I now live in NH.
Your negative comments re: Shaw's are correct. Their prices are $2.00 to $3.00 more than Market Basket (item to item). I live in a town where Shaw's and Market Basket are less than a mile apart, but I always pay more at Shaw's than I do when I go to Market Basket.
I don't like Market Basket (too grungy and impersonal) but I now go there for their prices.
I have been trying everything I know (which isn't a whole lot) to get Shaw's email address. Does anyone out there know Paul Gannon's (CEO Shaw's) email? I would take anyone's name on their board of directors email, but I can't even find them. I don't want to email customer service because you and I know where that will end up!
Though the Porter Square Shaw's is actually only a littler further than going to our fridge, we drive to Market Basket.
Each time that we give in to laziness or have run out of an ingredient while cooking, and condescend to go to "the evil empire" because "it is just one item, how bad can it be?", one of us comes back in the house muttering a string of explatives.
Even if you survive crossing the parking lot, they probably won't have the obscure item you're looking for like garlic (forget about shallots). Then the cashiers, which my dad would describe as having less personality than a wet dishtowel, will throw your $25 "vine ripened" half green tomato down the jammed state-of-the art conveyer belt to (there is a 50/50 chance on this one) a very pleasant "bagger" or one with less personality than the cashier.
While the self check-out usually has more attitude than the cashiers, I'm still unlcear why the bag that you intend to put your groceries in is an "unexpected item in the bagging area".
It is proably cheaper to get a cab and go to Market Basket than to shop at Shaw's. If you've been lulled into the perfect looking pepper, think again. That assymetric pepper probably tastes better than the "perfect" one. Oh...and you don't need a stupid card to get a good deal! It's generally crowded, but at least it is real.
hmmm...now what do I need for dinner.