Julia Child Haunts the Sneak

A few days later, I went to get lunch at the newly-opened Culinaria, Schnuck's awesomely tarted-up urban grocery store. As someone with an office Downtown, I've been eagerly awaiting the store opening and giving me world of new eating possibilites - pizza by the slice, a salad bar, deli case, everything! So for my first carry-out lunch, I came ready to conquer and walked out feeling...well...confused.

Like a bullet, I bypassed all the things I had been looking forward to trying and went directly to the cold, prepackaged soup case. With so many hot, freshly-made choices, I went directly to the one thing would ensure that I would be standing at the microwave in the office kitchen once again, tapping my toes. Or would I? After pausing only very briefly to consider a cold strawberry soup with champagne, my fingers darted to a container of cold soup and latched on: Vichyssiose.

Vichyssoise, of the cool, leeky refreshment and smooth texture! Vichyssoise, so very, very French! Vichyssoise, probably not a fair thing to choose when trying out the quality of a new grocery store! Vichyssoise, why on earth would I ever have thought you would be a convenient thing to eat at the office? Vichyciosse, on the highest shelf of soups - quite a reach for a 5'5" Sneak but right at eye level for someone who is 6'2".

Damning and disconcerting enough, I know, but I also grabbed a salad of marinated shrimp and scallops with black olives and roasted red peppers. I HATE olives. I always have. I cannot wrap my palate around their essential olivosity to get to their other virtues. Somehow, I loved it

I also got a tiny baguette of crusty bread, but that's inconclusive. Spectral Julia Child haunting or not, I already love crusty bread to the degree that I would marry it in some sort of carb-loaded ceremony sanctioned by the pasta pope. I just hope that no-accout brioche doesn't show up to pound on the glass and confess his love. I'm not in the business of giving second chances.