Laughing All The Way To The Store

I was reading a post at Prior Fat Girl and got intrigued by a snack. Of course, I immediately went to the Vitalicious website to find out which stores carry the Vitatops.

Since I thought I was going to indulge in some baked falafel at Natural Fact Deli, I was closest to Straub's but I didn't see anything. I asked a manager who led me to the frozen section. I didn't know the Vitatops were frozen so I didn't taken any with me because I wasn't headed straight home.

When I get intrigued by something, I need the object of my curiosity soon. Later on, I went to Dierbergs but since I was tired, I stopped by customer service to see if they had any in stock which they did but I wished that I had gotten them at Straub's because they were a dollar more at Dierbergs but I wasn't trekking back to Straub's.

While I was waiting for the manager to get a lock on the Vitatops, I checked out a Kids BEE healthy: Better Eating & Exercise brochure. I chuckled when I read this segment in the product guidelines:

Vegetables may be fresh, frozen or canned and should not be fried

Vitatops also makes me think about this Seinfeld episode which never fails to elicit a laugh.



I'm hoping that the Vitatops will provide just as much enjoyment.

Old Jones, #2

I was going through some clutter and found this relic.


I can remember hauling myself across town for Il Vicino when I could have been making my own pizzas. Besides having good pizza, I liked that Il Vicino's was not Pizza Hut where they would unceremoniously dump almost whole red onions onto the pie.

Il Vicino is inviting. The interior and exterior is visually appealing. If you sit outdoors, you can look at the beautiful metropolis of Clayton and contemplate where to dine next at perhaps First Watch or City Coffee House & Creperies or...

Usually, I would pick up my pizza from Il Vicino then head straight to Straub's. How could I not go? Straub's was right up the street. And as Shug said to Celie in The Color Purple : I think God gets angry when you walk past the color purple and don't pay attention. I felt the same way about Straub's and getting to the dessert corner.

Food Landmarks

Lori called me and, as we're in the middle of our conversation, I hear "Give me two tacos and an apple empanada."

"Who sells apple empanadas?," I inquire. Lori informs me that Taco Bell has them on the menu and, of course, this reminds me of when I used to get empanadas at La Tropicana Market and Deli, a Cuban eatery. I liked La Tropicana for more than the empanadas and yucca; it reminded me of a confectionery that used to be in East St. Louis across from Dunbar, my elementary school. The tres leches cake at La Trop wasn't bad either.

I also remember the huge deep fried empanada that I bought from a street vendor in San Juan; it had more fried dough than meat. I knew that I should not have indulged but I was very hungry and about to get whiny and toddler-like.

My food landmarks are many. Whenever I pass by a McDonald's, I remember going there just for french fries and apple pies (2 for $1). I used to marvel at how you could get a bag of food for under $5 bucks.

Whenever I cross Kingshighway, I'm fully aware that Straub's is in the vicinity which also makes me remember how I used to go to the now defunct Pandora's bakery just for brownies. And the Chocolate Bar? Well, you can see how this walk down memory lane could easily spiral out of control but let me not forget to reminisce, briefly, about the slices of birthday cake that I had when it was neither my birthday nor anyone else's. How nice of the store to cut up those unclaimed cakes.

And speaking of Straub's, I ran into one of my favorite high school teachers there. We had not seen each other in ages and bumped into each other twice in one week in the dessert corner in the back of Straub's. If I known that it would take years to see her again, I would have just made a date to rendezvous at Straub's.