Shopping Wizardry and Grilled Cheese Magic

My local grocery store of choice is Giant. Most folks go to the trendy new Wegman’s with their oversized cheese shop and sushi bar and movie-night and … well, I could go on and on, but what Giant lacks in glamour and chic, it more than makes up for in a little something I like to call being-a-grocery-store. That’s right. It’s a grocery store, not a destination. But, with their new shopping tool, it offers quite the entertainment.

The tool is a wand that lets you scan in and tally up your products as you shop. The one I used had a core of unicorn hair... it really was quite magical.  When you are done, you just hand the wand to the cashier and pay; there’s no lines, no conveyor belts, no bagging, no awkward small talk. It is wonderfully easy, especially with U-Go bags which are reusable bags that clip onto your cart. (Note: not all small talk is bad, but good cashier small talk is hard to find… and always appreciated.)

There are a couple of downsides to these shopping wands. First, they are located to the side of the entrance, so they are easy to pass as your mind is busy focusing on either the mental grocery list that is too large to remember or on the front right wheel of your cart that is already driving you crazy.

Secondly, it really tests your good behavior. The wand operates on an honor system similar to the self-checkout lane. The only thing stopping you from taking the five-finger discount is that little voice inside your head. The two are different however as there is some face-to-face time before you leave when using the wand. Whether that is enough to deter vile miscreants from taking advantage of the system, I’m not so sure.

I should say that many of the self-checkout lanes around where I live have reverted back to the manned lanes. Presumably, the honor system had some flaws. Low-lifes… ruining it for the rest of us.

Not entirely unrelated, after my first time using the wand, I excitedly rushed home to continue on my Quest for Grilled Cheese Perfection. This time I used thickly sliced “Texas Toast” bread and two pieces of haughty Jarlsberg cheese. The results were delicious:

Jarlsberg Grilled Cheese sandwich with Spicy Mustard

I had thought Texas Toast was a brand of frozen garlic bread, but it is a thick soft white bread that other breads should emulate.  I think the only way to improve from Texas Toast would be to use birthday cake for slices of bread.  But let's don't be silly.

I had high expectations for this pricey Jarlsberg cheese, being featured in a movie and all, and it did not disappoint.  Jarlsberg cheese melts up and becomes the right amount of gooey for the perfect grilled cheese.  In fact, where other great grilled cheeses (mainly Cheddar on Rye) have slipped is in their melted-gooey levels.  If we were measuring on a scale of 1 to Awesome, this sandwich would be Stupendous!

The flavor of Jarlsberg is unique but reminded me a little bit of Swiss cheese, so instead of ketchup, I went with a dijon mustard knock off.  It was a great choice.

Long Live the Grilled Cheese Sandwich!