I hate Safeway. Surprising? Probably not so much.
Have I mentioned I hate Safeway? It is the only grocery within walking distance of my house, so it's where I end up most nights, unless what I need can be bought in the bodega. Last night, Robin & Byron came over for dinner. I stopped in Safeway on the way home, all set to buy shrimp to make barbeque shrimp. (New Orleans style. Which involves neither barbeque sauce nor a grill, but are delicious.) The seafood counter was closed!
I sort of freaked out, because I had nothing else in mind I could cook, and I asked the woman behind the deli counter where the seafood guy was, and if someone could just go in the back and bring me shrimp. She said the seafood guy just didn't show up for work that day, but she got another guy to help me. He said he couldn't get me shrimp from the back, and I was getting increasingly upset. He suggested I buy the frozen ones, and told me how to quickly defrost them. I wanted shrimp with the heads still on, and I asked him for those, and I got a lecture on why you should never buy shrimp with the heads on. I don't know what he said, because that is so ridiculous I stopped listening.
The shrimp turned out to be that oxymoron of the seafood world, jumbo shrimp. They were gigantic. Byron said he thought they were prawns, but I think prawns are just the British word for shrimp. Like those weird prawn flavo(u)red chips (crisps.) I think one of the shrimp was the size of a small lobster tail.
They were good, but still, I hate Safeway.
5 Comments:
People use the word prawn to describe large shrimp (or just shrimp in general as in England), but actual prawns are a different species from shrimp...real prawns are in the lobster family. Stupid factoids. And what's wrong with buying shrimp with the heads on? Any good Asian will tell you that the head is the best part (though I don't eat them...I pinch them off).
Fascinating. I learned something new!
I don't know what's wrong with the heads, 'cause I stopped listening. I don't eat them, either, but they do add a lot of flavor.
Nice to know they have a contingency plan if a specialized worker just decides to NOT show up for the day...
I, too, HATE Safeway. Always have. They are far more expensive than Giant (Giant always has good sales, too), and their selection SUCKS. I almost never go to Giant, either, but between the two, my choice would never be Safeway. I usually end up shopping in the local market, or if I am feeling extra generous with my money, Whole Foods.
Penny, you are right, Giant's sales are better. Also, their stores are, in general, cleaner and have more selection.
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