I *little cartoon* New York

When I walked out of my building today, wrestling with about a month's worth of back laundry, I noticed a little man near my stoop. This little man was not real, but chalk, with an upside down smiley face on a round squat body. There was an artists clean siganture next to it. I smiled at the twee little graffiti and was on my way. Afterwards, I took the 6 down to my bank, which is a somewhat horrifying twenty blocks away. But after a deposit I was (relatively) flush, and thus walked my way back up, seeing the sights and sounds of 3rd Ave.

On a whim, and since I needed speciality groceries anyway (I'm a FreshDirect devotee even at this tender age, though mostly just for staples) I stopped in at Zabar's grocery outlet, Eli's. It was a strangely set up grocery store indeed; first you go downstairs to produce, wend your way through meats and cheese, then upstairs to bakery and checkout. I made a few circuits before I understood intuitively where to shop next.

It is a very nice store however, well stocked with fresh produce. Nearly all the fruits were unblemished and pungent with summer smells, though my favorite, the golden cherries were squishy and sad. They sold potted herbs there as well, though the prohibitive prices kept me waiting for the Saturday where I could go down to Union Square and buy another 2 dollar basil plant. The fish was predictably astronomically expensive; I skittered, frightened, when the monger asked if I needed help, away from the $14.99 scrod.

Pre-mixed things also seemed to be the order of the day, bringing back memories from London's major food stores such as Marks and Spencers, the likes of which neither New York or the vast suburban sprawl of Vegas has quite gotten yet. There was a full wall dedicated to homemade soups of infinite stripes: from New York clam chowder to cream of mushroom, matzah ball to Chinse egg drop. I picked up and put down at least three flavors, choosig instead to walk down the line and get fresh made vodka sauce, since I like to save my vodka for swilling not cooking.

The cheese counter too, was lavish. There was a small section for goat cheese and other, mysterious French concotions, and there was very reasonably priced peppered Brie, which I picked up along with some smoked salmon to quel my whining fish hunger. Heady with luxury food, I would have picked up some pate, but either the signs were willfully misleading or I was so intoxicated by the surroundings that I missed it completely. So no cruelly made delicious guilt-inducing meatstuffs for me today, which was just as well. With that, the classic Water crackers, easily located on a shelf nearby.

I picked up the now-rapidly-endangered plastic lemons full of lemon juice (why would such a staple of the kitchen be virtually nonexistant in supermarkets these days? Even Freshdirect shuns them, deciding instead on the far less aesthetically pleasing glass bottle. Pucker up!), a box of De Cecco penne, and some fresh cut pineapple, a box of sushi for lunch and was on my way. Fifty dollars. Whew. Glad I deposited that check. My poordom is still unruffled but my inner gastronome, misguided through she is, thinks that my method is best: Cheap, convinient bulk food spiced up by slim applications of little niceties.

On the way back, I was shocked to see the same little cartoon man, twenty blocks from where I had first seen him. Walking up 3rd, I saw him no less than five times, sometime's shorter with a triangular head, sometimes with a lollipop in his hand, all signed by the artist which I made out as DeLuella. Then he tapered out approaching my street, then appeared thrice more. I think this cartoonist lives on my block. It's rather nice, it's like I had a shopping companion all the way home.

Saw on the way back, while noshing on my sushi and walking: A papya stand (though not Gray's, my favorite), A Krispy Kreme (hoorah! A Manhattan location? Who forgot to tell me this!), a very large video store called Champagne's (worth a looksee, definitely) and an Irish pub with very reasonable fish and chips. We'll have to be hitting that soon indeed.

The sushi was somewhat old and tasteless, nothing to the same little tray I got from my very very near Gourmet Garage. Save it for the places that make it twice a day, I guess. Regardless, my experience at Eli's was quite nice, for something I'd have to save for once a month, tops.