Brooklyn

Danielle is a stalwart defender of Brooklyn, and so she spent much of our time together showing me the virtues of living in the borough.

We walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, and then stopped at the local Coop for snacks, and then took in the sky at Prospect Park. Quite an impressive sky for New York City - voluminous enough to give you the momentary sensation of living somewhere quieter and greener than New York.

The Coop is a completely foreign concept to someone raised in Dallas, home of the most beautiful strip malls in the world. So I'll try to explain it. Essentially, much of the markup in Ralph's prices comes from 1) good old fashioned capitalism and 2) the cost of processing, storing, sorting and selling products. The Coop neatly sidesteps both; it's owned and run by the neighborhood residents.

In order to earn the right to shop at the Coop, you have to commit to work there a few hours of month, during which you might cut wheels of cheese into wedges, or sort bags of trail mix. Owing to the strident community spirit that is rampant in Brooklyn, there is actually a waiting list to work at the Coop. That's right - you have to wait a few months before you can work at the grocery store, so that you can be allowed to buy groceries. This would never fly in Texas.



But the payoff is sublime. The prices are unbeatable, even in the mass-market items, and the choice of gourmet items is easily comparable to Whole Foods. I bought a large bag of the best raisins I've ever had for a dollar. Danielle showed me a large packet of handgrown spice being sold for fifty cents. My favorite European cookies were being sold at a price I've never ever seen.

Is there a downside to the Coop? Most definitely. The store is small and crowded by supermarket standards, and the checkout procedure is arcane in the manner of an Eastern European motor vehicles bureau.

But you can't argue with the prices, and the warm and fuzzy feeling of defending your municipality against the onslaught of self-checkout machines and privacy-invading discount cards is definitely a plus.

Personally, the Coop's selection is more suited for those who spend a lot of time cooking. For someone (such as myself) who is a mere dilletante in the kitchen, Trader Joe's still represents the best balance between gourmet offerings and convenience.