Fruit & Veg

Reading Melinda’s post about her ortolano, green grocer, in Florence, I was inspired to write about mine in Buenos Aires.

Here we call them verdulerias. They are all over the place here, in just about every neighborhood.

On my block there are two verdulerias that I like, depending on what I need. One is right downstairs (well, on my street anyway) and one is around the corner. I mostly go to the one downstairs because the verdulero is just wonderful with me. He helps me learn the Spanish names for the various items and he is patient with me. I never touch the produce, he picks it out for me - and he really knows what he’s doing. I’m always happy with what I get.

He also will sometimes suggest things that are particularly good right now, or steer me away from something that might be just average. He always knows where something came from. If the price of a particular item has inflated a lot (which happens here), he will tell me right away and give me a chance to decide if I really want it (or that much of it).

It’s something I’ve always loved to do. In Seattle there is Pike Place Market which Seattle residents enjoy in the winter and avoid in the tourist-filled summer. Pike Place can get expensive though, so there are also local farmers markets in most Seattle neighborhoods that I found a lot of times to be more affordable (and delicious!) than the supposed “organic” sections in the supermarkets.

I always try to buy produce from markets/ortolani/verdulerias because it’s fresh, in season, (mostly) local, harvested when ripe, rather than supermarket produce that lacks luster and is kind of sad to look at under fluorescent lighting.

There is something romantic and so human about being able to walk a few steps down the street, and make contact with another human being as they personally help me pick out fruits and vegetables.

There is something quite satisfying about coming home with colorful vegetables that still have their dirt-covered roots in tact. Something so natural and real about having fruit that has seeds (read: non-GM) and tons of flavor. (Might I add that the grapefruits here are the possibly best I’ve ever had?)

Since getting over my linguistic shyness that prevented me from going into verdulerias and finally taking advantage of the ready availability of delicious, nourishing produce, my energy level has gone up, my skin is clearer than ever (a side benefit of eating more fruits and vegetables) and I have been more inspired to cook interesting things.

We also have a butcher in the same location (I’m finally over that linguistic fear too and have started going), and across the street there is a panederia, bakery, where one can buy some different kinds of bread and various facturas, pastries. I realize that this way of food shopping is not possible everywhere (at least in most cities in the U.S.) so I feel fortunate, grateful, that I have it right at my fingertips.