One of my favorite sayings is “Not all those who wander are lost.” It’s from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, and I’m a huge fan. The phrase specifically describes my hostile relationship with GPS when driving, much to my family’s dismay, but relays my approach to life in general. I’ve always tried to slow down and smell the roses, even when the direct route would get us to our destination quicker.
I appreciate the moments, people, and places that disrupt our modern world’s relentless push for frictionless efficiency. I enjoy snowstorms that stop the city in its tracks, paper concert tickets, walking to the neighborhood business district, and stick-shift cars. They’re kind of like the speed bumps of daily existence. The friction is often the fun part.
So, I’m pumped to explore the small independently owned grocers highlighted in this month’s “Local Markets” section. The words “chock full” and “overflowing” appear in a lot of descriptions of the shops’ food and household goods selections—which sounds like an adventure to me. Especially when a good number of those markets serve specific immigrant populations by importing tastes of home that I’m not familiar with.
Senior Editor Aiesha Little, who organized this section, tells me some ethnic markets are hesitant to participate in these types of guides because they aren’t necessarily interested in wider exposure. The customers who need to know about them already know.
In my experience, market owners and staff don’t mind explaining non-English food labels and recommending products and recipes. They got into the grocery business to nourish bodies and souls and to create communities around food, certainly not to get rich. Not even Barney Kroger.
One of my favorite bands, The Clash, once sang, “I’m all lost in the supermarket / I can no longer shop happily.” That second part isn’t true for me. I challenge you to slow down and wander the aisles at a neighborhood grocer, a weekend farmers’ market, Findlay Market, Jungle Jim’s, and everything in between.
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