Mark's Next Chapter

星期天的雨有點打亂整個週末的計畫，我最後決定等雨小點去 Columbus Circle 閒晃，再到地下室的 Whole Foods 超市買晚餐。這間超市有用秤重的熟食部。

傍晚的超市比想像要擁擠許多，甚至覺得大部份來購物的人都跑到超市來了。以前在南加時，每次到 Whole Foods 幾乎都是空手而回，他們的東西實在太貴了。但以紐約市的物價來說，這裡只能算比平價略高。

Sunday was all rainy and wet. I just didn't feel like cooking. I decided to go over to Columbus Circle to do some window shopping and grab something to eat.

Whole Foods is on B1 of the shopping center. It was, as always, unbelievably crowded. I remember when I was in So Cal, I usually ended up being empty handed almost every time since prices were just not so friendly. Now in NYC, this place turns out to be one of the more affordable choices. How ironic.

我覺得他們消化大批排隊人潮的方法還蠻聰明的。排隊的地方分成三區，中間這一區是買 10 件或以下的，兩側的兩區則是 10 件以上。每區又排成三條線，每條線有一個代表的顏色。每當有一個收銀員有空時，上方的螢幕就會在顏色的方格裡顯示號碼，輪到你時就知道去哪個號碼的收銀員。

They have a clever way for this crazy crowd: 3 areas, the middle for people with 10 items or less, the sides for those who have more items. Each area has 3 lines, with a color sign in front of the lines. Whenever there is an available cashier, the above screen will show his number in the color square. The next person will know immediately that it's his turn.

Whole Foods' paper box

除了周圍有壽司、pizza、麵包的吧台之外，熟食區的選擇也很多，甚至還有湯和甜點。我通常是選擇平常很少烹煮的材料，像這次我就挑了魚和一些很少吃或花時間煮的蔬菜。能夠自己組合一餐還蠻令人滿足的。

There are actually a lot to choose from: American comfort food, Mexican, salads, even soups and desserts. I usually choose something I rarely or don't cook with. This time I chose pollock (fish), brown rice with broccoli rabe and collard greens on the side. It was a satifying meal and was not too heavy. I still had room for dessert after this.