They say there’s no free lunch, but after scavenging for samples at several upscale groceries and gourmet food and wine shops we found that you can come away surfeited—without spending a penny
By Barbara Ballinger and Margaret Crane
Photograph by Katherine Bish
To prepare you for the holiday season of overindulgence and give you an idea of the variety of samples available, we spent a few days grazing in the aisles of favorite shops. We were surprised by the disparity in what was served, but what shocked us most of all was the lack of posted rules of restraint or video cameras to record greedy samplers. (Scales at entrances and exits to weigh shoppers when they enter and leave wouldn’t have hurt, either.)
Our advice for sample shopping: Head out hungry but not starving, wear comfortable walking shoes, and bring along napkins, forks, spoons and toothpicks. It will be easier to eat ... and run.
Provisions. A half-eaten plastic container of Taleggio cheese, placed adjacent to toast points and a few chips-and-salsa remnants, barely beckoned, but the nice variety of fine wines made for tasty sampling. (Nobody was available to pour and pontificate about the five white, red and rosé domestics and imports, so we helped ourselves.)
Trader Joe’s. A superfriendly server handed each of us a fork and a paper cup filled with a zesty ginger-chicken noodle salad with shredded carrots, which we followed with a chaser of lemonade and freshly brewed coffee. Because the staffer was standing there, though, we were loath to take seconds. (Recipe cards for re-creating the dish at home were a nice touch.)
Whole Foods. Portions were small but delicious and made us want seconds, thirds ... and fourths. After fresh cantaloupe came Cheddar cubes served with an imported marmalade and fancy crackers. Across the aisle, crisp tortilla chips and a piquant guacamole called to us loudly—and we answered. Next we grabbed a few handfuls of cheese curls and salted tortilla chips—then doubled back for more guacamole. After a dollop of pineapple-and-lemon gelato, we finished off our mini-meal with sips of Guenoc, Moscato, a French Merlot, a California Chardonnay and a Sauvignon Blanc.
Gourmet to Go. Typically stocked with two daily samples, it provided slim pickings on our visit. We settled for a few delicious brochette bagel chips with scoops of a tasty artichoke-Parmesan dip. The pound-cake sample tray offered only crumbs.
The Wine Merchant. We celebrated happy hour with a sampling of five Australian wines. Feta cheese and crackers were at our fingertips on the counter. We ambled over to the main cheese counter, where co-owner John Nash doled out more cheese samples like a carnival barker. We went away with cheese-smeared fingers, purple teeth and two bottles to try at home.
Wild Oats. Selections were surprisingly prosaic: Crackers were accompanied by someone spinning the virtues of Cheddar served on toothpicks, reminiscent of a ’50s-style cocktail party. There were a few peanuts in shells to sample in another aisle, but we felt guilty taking too many.
Straub’s. At the bakery there were blueberry-muffin pieces and cut-up yellow cupcakes with sprinkles but no toothpicks or napkins. With nobody looking, it seemed OK to help ourselves to seconds. The cheese counter offered a pedestrian trio of chips and dips—crab, ham/green onion and French onion.
Volpi. It may have shelves and refrigerated cases filled with tempting cheeses, pastas, cured meats and more, but its counter offered just a tiny taste test of thinly sliced hard Genoa salami, paper-thin prosciutto and cubes of Gruyère cheese. The salami called for a second nibble—and inspired us to take some slices home. We added some ravioli filled with pumpkin for good measure.
