The Boston Globe - 11.03.2020

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2020 The Boston Globe G5

Now, with shoppers stocking up for
what might be quarantine regulations be-
cause of coronavirus, shelf-stable pantry
items are emptying at a quick pace and not
getting refilled. But actually, long before vi-
rus panic, shelves were restocked slowly.
Looking back, it seems like the heyday
of supermarket shopping may be behind
us. Were we spoiled by the selection? As
Frank Solomon of South Natick, who man-
ages rock bands, and has had one disap-
pointing shopping trip after another, told
me, quoting a B.B. King song, “The thrill is
gone.” He shops at the Wellesley Whole
Foods Market and says, “Everything used to
be pristine. It’s not like that now.”
Yes, you can still get cellophane noodles
and Korean chili paste in just about any
market, along with smoked paprika, srira-
cha, harissa, herbes de Provence, barrel-
aged feta, Reggiano Parmigiano, hand-cut
pasta, and more. But the shopping experi-
ence is deteriorating, at least according to
the complaints I keep hearing.
“On a Tuesday morning, they're out of
garlic and onions,” says Annie Bartlett of
Winchester, who shops at the Woburn loca-
tion. “I can understand on a Monday morn-
ing, but mid-week, I expect everything to
be back in stock.”
Sally Theran of Needham, who has been

going to the Wellesley store for more than a
decade, says it's “disappointing overall.”
But she says, “everyone who works there is
always so nice and so helpful.”
No one wants to blame store employees.
“They're very nice at customer service,” says
Solomon. “Still lovely to interact with,” says
Bartlett about the Woburn staff.
Madeline Searle of Newton, who shops
at the Newtonville store, and has a laundry
list of items she's seen past their sell-date,
commends the staff, but has heard custom-
ers yell at them.
The company, which was bought by Am-
azon in 2017, has 32 stores in the Boston
area. Delivery is available at 14 of them.
“Our goal is to ensure that our custom-
ers have an exceptional experience and ac-
cess to the same high quality products, re-
gardless of whether they shop in our stores
or online,” wrote a Whole Foods Market
spokesperson in an e-mail.
“When products are out of stock for any
reason, we work as quickly as possible to
find solutions and provide alternative op-
tions that meet our unparalleled quality
standards,” says the statement. “As Whole
Foods Market continues to grow, we are
working diligently to continue to meet the
expectations of our customers, and we rely
on their feedback to make sure we are do-
ing so.”
Maybe we have no one to blame but our-
selves. You can hardly call out stores for giv-
ing shoppers what they’re asking for. Fully

uSHOPPING
Continued from Page G1

cooked hot meals, salad bars, and grab-

and-go lunch items have been growing in

all supermarkets in the last dozen years.

Add to that the popularity of semi-prepared

foods — whole roast chickens, meat mari-

nated and skewered, burgers already

shaped — and it means more and more

space devoted to their merchandising. And

yes, it probably means there are fewer cuts

of specialty meats and fewer choices in the

seafood case. Since the building isn’t made

of elastic, this comes at the expense of ev-

erything else in the store.

As for staffers with carts in the aisles,

this is a back-to-the-future moment. Gro-

cery stores weren’t self-serve until the early

20th century. You’ve seen this in films: A

woman goes into the market with a basket

on her arm, chats with the grocer, hands

him her list, and waits for her order to be

filled or has it delivered.

Today, in the face of all the changes, you

have to change, too. Try a new tack. Some

of these ideas come from readers, some are

my own tried-and-true approaches, some

good old common sense.

StartwithanefficientlistI mark a

cross on a piece of paper and the four quad-

rants are separated into produce, meat and

fish, dairy, and groceries. I’m not constantly

retracing my steps in the store. Other ideas:

an app like Bring! to make lists you can

share with other people in your household

(if you dislike seeing customers looking at

phones while they shop, this isn’t for you);

a list in Evernote or another note-taking

app that you can add to and delete as you

shop; a photo of your fridge and/or pantry

to refer to; a list written in the same order

as the aisles (this works only if you shop at

the same store all the time).

TimeofdaymattersSo does hunger.

Try not to shop on the way home from

work, when you’re starving. If you only

have weekends to shop, go early in the day;

on Sunday, go before churchgoers descend.

Get to know the rhythm of your market. If

the produce isn’t out at opening bell, adjust

your trip to that timing.

StaplesrequirenojudgmentEven if

you dislike online ordering, you may want

to order nonperishables. Name the brand,

tick off the box, and click send. For the peo-

ple who worry about all that packaging, go

to a brick-and-mortar where the prices are

good, and stock up every other month. (You

need storage space for mega rolls of paper

towels and such.)

Lastin,firstoutThe oldest inventory

trick in the book is FIFO — first-in, first-out

— applies to all the displays. It matters

most for fresh and refrigerated items. For

instance, produce clerks put the newest

vegetables in the back, or on the bottom,

and the older ones on top. In non-refriger-

ated produce displays (citrus fruits, onions,

potatoes), you know what’s freshest be-

cause it’s still cold. This will last the longest

in your fridge.

UsethatboardinghousereachIt’s use-

less to buy milk with a pull-date that's only

days away. As is the case with produce, the

oldest is up front. The ones in the back may

have a sell-by date that's a week later than

the ones in the front. So reach way into the

back or ask a clerk to get you a fresher car-

ton. Same goes for clamshells of lettuce.

Ditto bread, all the other dairy products,

and so on.

TimeandenergywhereitcountsCen-

ter-cut pork chops, salmon fillets, ripe

peaches, and everything else from the

butcher, fish, and produce sections need

your attention. This is the area where you

personally, or a trusted surrogate, want to

make good choices.

TeachakidtoshopOK, so you’ve off-

loaded the pantry staples, the weekly shop-

ping is done, and weeknight suppers are

moving along nicely. But you’re out of milk

and eggs midweek. Send a teenager to the

store and when he or she returns home,

even if it’s the wrong brand or something

you really dislike, deliver your thanks with

compliments. Next time, be more specific.

Keep adding to their shopping list until

they’re doing much more.

WorkaroundsSay you want to make a

big salad and all the lettuces look pathetic.

You’re loath to buy big boxes of mesclun

greens because they deteriorate so quickly.

Grab a head of cabbage, slice it very thinly,

and toss it with vinaigrette. Or get kale,

strip off the leaves, wash and spin, and

work olive oil into the leaves with your

hands to massage it. The sturdy greens

break down and make delicious salads. Is

the garlic sprouting? Buy a shallot. Think of

every can of beans as interchangeable in al-

most every recipe. Crushed red pepper, hot

paprika, or ground chili pepper can all go

into a dish instead of a jalapeno. Splash

white wine vinegar on seafood that calls for

a sprinkle of lemon. Think of recipes as

guidelines.

FollowthetrolleyWhen you see a store

employee putting out fresh broccoli or car-

rots or whatever’s in the box on the trolley,

ask if you can choose from the new box. Did

you come in looking for green beans? Well,

you may be going home with broccoli.

ShopthesalesEveryone tells you to do

this, but no onereallydoes it. During the

Great Recession in 2008, for an entire year,

when I wasn’t testing recipes, I bought only

protein on sale and no out-of-season pro-

duce. I had guests for dinner and served

cuts of beef that took many hours to tender-

ize. I gave my pressure cookers serious

workouts. Accompaniments included

white beans (dried, soaked, and sim-

mered), caramelized carrots, roasted ruta-

bagas, shredded cabbage, and other cheap

sides. My first course was often a ramekin

of soft scrambled eggs, which I learned

from the most stylish woman I’ve ever met,

who served it to me in her grand house on a

French vineyard. It was a fascinating exer-

cise that I still practice. I never ever eat as-

paragus in winter. Nor strawberries.

“Stophatingyourcar,Julian”This is a

lesson I learned from my late, beloved car

mechanic, a Middle Eastern immigrant

who taught me half of what I know. When

it was time to pick up your car, you sat in

the garage office while he pulled out two

Dixie cups and a bottle of whiskey from a

file cabinet. My decade-old tin-can of a car

was breaking down and he knew I couldn’t

afford another one. “Stop hating your car,

Julian,” he told me one day. “It will be easier

to take care of.” So I’m telling you to stop re-

senting grocery shopping. Tell a manager

(nicely) what’s on your mind. Take things

back (without an attitude) that aren’t up to

your standards. Learn to make do, get orga-

nized, prioritize. It’s a life lesson. Practice in

the supermarket.

Sheryl Julian can be reached at

[email protected]. Follow her on

Twitter @sheryljulian.

DOLLY FAIBYSHEV/NEW YORK TIMES/FILE

Don’t be afraid to dig for the freshest vegetables. Or ask a clerk nicely to let you pick right from the box.

Supermarkets are changing, so you

have no choice but to change, too

‘AsWholeFoodsMarket

continuestogrow,weare

workingdiligentlyto

continuetomeetthe

expectationsofour

customers,andwerelyon

theirfeedbacktomake

surewearedoingso.’

WHOLE FOODS MARKET
in e-mail from spokesperson

DAILY SPECIALS

3–5PM

Buy 2 Get 1 FREE

FREE Mussels

or Fried Shrimp

With $35 Purchase or More

HAPPY CRABHAPPY CRAB

CAJUN SEAFOOD & BAR

* Cannot be combinedwith Lunch Specials,

HappyHour or anyother offers.

OPEN: Sun 12–10, Mon–Thurs 3-10, Fri & Sat 12–11

1137 Broadway Somerville, MA 617-718-1666

happycrabcajunseafood.com

833.580.0872

Woodstock,Vermont | http://www.woodstockinn.com

Vermont’sMostBeautifulAddress

SugarSeasonEscapes

SugarSeasonmakesgettingawaytothe

beautyofWoodstock,Vermontandthecasual

eleganceoftheWoodstockInn&Resortevensweeter.

Vermontisfamousforhavingthebest

MapleSyrupintheworld,andwearecelebrating

thesugaringseasonwithsomegreatoffers.

Mid-weekratesstartingat$189pernight

Weekendratesstartingat$219pernight

BROOKLINE

COOLIDGE CORNER THEATRE

290 Harvard St. 617-734-2500

56

http://www.coolidge.org

WENDY(PG-13)11:30, 2:00, 4:30, 7:15,

9:20

EMMA.(PG)11:15, 1:45, 4:15, 6:45, 9:30

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE(R)11:00,

1:30, 4:00, 6:30

THE TIMES OF BILL CUNNINGHAM(NR)

11:45, 2:15, 4:45, 9:45

PARASITE(R)9:15

#ANNEFRANK. PARALLEL STORIES(NR)

7:00

LEXINGTON

LEXINGTON VENUE

1794 Massachussetts Ave. 781-861-6161

56IAD DOL DSS

http://lexingtonvenue.com/

EMMA.(PG)(3:45) 6:30

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE(R)(4:00)

6:45

INFO VALID 3/11/20 ONLY

The Boston Globe Movie Directory is a paid

advertisement. Listings appear at the sole

discretion of each cinema. Towns may ap-

pear out of alphabetical order so that listings

will remain unbroken from column to column

Bargain show times are shown in

()parentheses

G Restrictions apply/No Passes

5 Handicapped accessible

8 Stadium Seating

6 Hearing Impaired

IRear Window Captioning

DOL Dolby Stereo

DIG Digital Sound

DSSDolby Surround Sound

K Descriptive Video Service

ADAudio Description

AccessyourGlobe

subscriptionaccountonline.

You can also take advantage of GlobeReader to have

the news delivered straight to your desktop.

bostonglobe.com/subscriber