A Guide to Supermarkets in the Berkeley Area

Recently, I’ve gained a whole new appreciation for the supermarket shopping experience itself—the luxury of strolling down the aisles with shopping basket in hand, wide-eyed and spellbound at the overwhelming amount and variety of foodstuffs available. 

One would think that as a stereotypical frugal graduate student living on a tight budget (in the expensive Bay Area no less!), my ability to take pleasure in supermarket shopping would have diminished considerably, especially since, for all my strolling and contemplating and fingering various products, the contents of my basket in the checkout line end up being quite unimpressive: bread, inexpensive vegetables and fruits, cans of beans, cans of tuna, etc.  Ironically, as my purchasing power has diminished, my love for the actual time spent in the supermarket has increased dramatically.  Like a Holly Golightly gnawing at a breakfast-pastry and staring wistfully at the window displays at Tiffany’s, I marvel at all the amazing items to which I may treat myself someday when I’m feeling more the spendthrift.  I weigh the papaya in my palm carefully, examining the color and feel before putting it back on the pile with a sigh.  I gaze longingly at the rosy pinkness of wild salmon steaks before pressing onward toward the canned tuna section.  I luxuriate in selecting which jam I would like to buy: shall I treat myself to the organic Frog Hollow Farm nectarine and pear preserves, or should I go with the plain and simple—a jar of marmalade or blueberry jam perhaps?

Like the guy in that song, I get no kick from champagne.  But I sure get a kick out of doing the grocery shopping.  I would even go so far as to call myself a supermarket connoisseur.  Which is how I am now able to present you with this modest guide to supermarket shopping in the Berkeley area. 

Berkeley Bowl