felix qui possit rerum cognoscere causas
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February 26, 2003
Substitutes in the shopping experience
Buying groceries is one of the more infuriating aspects of life here due to the limited opening hours of supermarkets. These in turn are dictated by various laws that restrict the number of hours that shops are allowed to open. This means that the only day that I can buy my groceries is Saturday. My usual supermarket is open on weekdays till 8 PM, which is not late enough. I seldom get out of the office in time to get to the store in time and do all my shopping by 8 PM, so I don't even try. There are a handful of supermarkets open on Sunday, but they're either far away or parking is impossible (in the center of Amsterdam). So I waste a good part of every Saturday at my local Albert Heijn (part of the troubled Ahold group; if you live on the East Coast, you're likely shopping at an Ahold-owned supermarket too.) I am always struck by a palpable sense of liberation whenever I am in the US; I can go grocery shopping any time I want! Although it's nowhere near the size of an American supermarket, my local store does have a fairly extensive range of products, and I can get my shopping done relatively painlessly, if only on a Saturday. It also happens to be one of the supermarkets where they're testing self-scanning. You get a portable scanner to scan the bar codes of the products you're buying. This cuts down dramatically on waiting times at the check-out, because your total has already been calculated. The scanners also have an LCD screen with which you can keep track of your running total as you add (and potentially remove) items. While scouring the cheese section last Saturday, I was adding one of my long-time favorites (Port Salut) to my cart. Then I stopped, because I realized it was French. It just felt wrong. I put it back. I've never been much of a fan of organized boycotts, but at this point I just could not bring myself to buy it. Same for Camembert. So the quest has begun for suitable alternatives. I realize it does not matter one whit in the grand scheme of things, but it makes me feel better not to buy French products. There is also a more serious issue than just the cheese. Occasionally as I sit down at night to blog, I will fortify my spirits with some spirits (purely for medicinal reasons, of course). These can take many forms, but two variants predominate: whiskey and cognac. The former does not present any problems, obviously, but the latter does. Over the years I have unfortunately acquired an appreciation of XO cognacs. I say unfortunately because the financial consequences of such appreciation are not neglible. On the other hand, it has kept my consumption fairly limited. I may go through a bottle in the course of a year. But my bottle is running out, and this is going to leave me looking for a worthy alternative. I'll still have my whiskeys (and wine to go with meals), but surely there must be some alcoholic beverage somewhere in the world that resembles cognac? With wines I had long since relinquished any dependence on French products. They're good, but tend to be overrated, and there are plenty of high-quality alternatives around. For the time being I'll be stuck with Gouda cheese and whiskey. It could be worse I suppose if I liked beer... imagine the horror of not being able to buy Belgian and German products. Apparently Prazdroj is good, but not being a beer drinker I can't vouch for that. Time to finish my drink. Comments
Fine Cognac is the pinnacle of the art of making consumable alcohol products. Unfortunately, it is a French delicacy. Whoever said that having the courage of your convictions would be without sacrifice anyway? And if you can't sustain the courage of your convictions, go past the XOs and try Paradis. Posted by: Michael Gersh on February 27, 2003 09:32 AMWell, you could always try Vecchia Romagna, preferably the Etichetta Nera variety. It's no XO Cognac, but it's quite fine. And it's a lot cheaper, so what it lacks in absolute quality can be made with quantity. I have another problem though. I bought a Peugeot last year (but before the French started their charade in the UNSC) and I am now driving around in a constant state of disgust because of it. Posted by: Peter on February 27, 2003 02:37 PMI console myself with the knowledge that my VW New Beetle was built in Mexico :) Even if it means it's in the shop more often than it should be ... :( Posted by: FeloniousPunk on February 27, 2003 02:38 PMWell, if it's really a problem, I'd be happy to take that new Peugeot off your hands for a couple thousand euros... enough to get a nice used Cinquecento! Or a Seat Marbella! Posted by: vaara on February 27, 2003 03:55 PMYou're in the Netherlands and you were eating French cheese?!?!?! Get yourself a nice hunk of Edam and brimful glass of Genever. Vaara, A couple of thousand euro won't suffice, I'm afraid. A new Italian car would be quite nice, though. What about a Alfa 147 ? And with regards to that Seat, it may be built in Spain and Aznar may be a decent guy, but Seat is actually a VW brand. That's too much Schroederlike for my taste. And let's not mention the founder of VW. Posted by: Peter on February 27, 2003 04:31 PMWell, if you're really serious about proving how much you hate France, money should be no object! I'll throw in a genuine made-in-USA bicycle if that'll help... and heck, why not, a made-in-USA leather jacket that I bought last fall in Oregon. (Or is Oregon too much of a left-wing state?) Good point about Seats. I suppose Skodas are verboten for the same reason. Ladas? No, the Russians are part of the Axis of Weasels. Saabs or Volvos? Nope, the Swedes are too neutral. Nissans? Nope, they're allied with Renault. Besides, the Japanese aren't pro-war either. Hey! How about a new Mini? Oh, never mind: they're made by BMW. *sigh* It's so hard being politically pure nowadays. I'm a leftie, so I should know. Posted by: vaara on February 27, 2003 05:12 PMIt gets worse: what to do about a Chrysler? I'm thinking of opting in to the company car scheme, and I could get a nice Chrysler on that. One of my colleagues drives one, in fact. So would I be supporting the US economically by buying an American-built product, or would I be subsidizing a German company? How about both? I am not going to get obsessed by this though (my Obsession Quota has already been exhausted.) The discussion does show how interlinked the global economy has become. A global division of labor is good, as it enhances the overall efficiency of the capital allocation process. So I'm all in favor of that. If we were to return to a more fragmented world as seen in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (culiminating in World War I and the Great Depression of the 1930s) the future would be bleak, both for the US and Europe. Posted by: qsi on February 27, 2003 08:37 PMThanks for the tip about Vecchia Romagna; I'll be in Italy next week, so I should be able to sample some. I am not a big fan of jenever (nor do I care much for gin), so that's not really an option. I vaguely remember that there was some kind of brandy-like product in South Africa... I'll google for it later. What about grappa? Posted by: vaara on February 28, 2003 08:02 AMForget Cognac. Learn Whiskey. Like Jamieson's Whiskey... Posted by: ymr on February 28, 2003 09:04 AMIf you think you've got it bad trying to maintain moral purity when shopping, imagine what it was like for communists having to buy Ladas and fly Aeroflot. About the only quality consumer product produced under communism that I can think of were Cuban cigars. In any case, to get quality mouldy milk you don't need to buy French. The King Island Dairy in Tasmania produces the best brie and camembert I have ever tasted, and it's relatively inexpensive. And remember, whatever make of car you buy, you're supporting Islamic terrorism. Posted by: Clem Snide on February 28, 2003 11:01 AMWell, only if the car runs on petrol or diesel, and only if you actually drive it. Posted by: vaara on February 28, 2003 11:32 AMI have a supply of grappa, and I like it, but it's not as smooth as a cognac. I also have a collection single malt whiskeys and some bourbons, all of which are fine too. Surely there must be someone, somewhere who's copied and improved on the French process for making cognac? Admittedly, it's hard to produce something as smooth as an XO if you're just starting, because it takes a lot of aging. The Paradis that Michael Gersh mentioned in the first comment is a blend of cognacs, some of which can be over 100 years old. It's ridiculously expensive though. There's always sljivovica, which can be used as motor fuel if you're in a pinch... 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