Sunday's City section of the Times goes to absurd length to reveal a truth universally accepted, that Upper West Siders love their grocery stores more than any other New York City residents. But then, deep within 3,000 words of bullshit, we meet Steven Jenkins. Jenkins is the employee who--we are not making this up--writes the signs at Fairway. (You know, the ones in this sort of quirky conversational style: "Buy this moldy white root or we kill this truffle pig!"). Just for kicks, Jenkins delivers this smackdown to the residents across the park: "We heap scorn on anything that passes for gourmet. We heap scorn on Tuscan ethno-centrics. Maybe some East Sider thinks it's O.K. to pay $40 a liter for olive oil, but anyone who says it's worth it is a fool. We celebrate peasant food." Of course, the article does suggest a reason East Siders perhaps do not celebrate peasant food: "maids [do] much of the shopping." Natch.
· Obsessed! [NYTimes]
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