I have to preface this blog entry by saying that those readers who are unfamiliar with Iowa City and its surrounding area probably won't appreciate the magnitude of this discovery. But for those of you who have moved to other parts of the country, you know what I'm talking about.
Let me back way up, to my first year in Iowa City. I was at a friend's house and opened a cupboard to find it packed with little plastic spice containers. My question: "What ARE these? Why don't you have spice containers from the regular grocery store?" Her response: "Don't you know yet about Stringtown? I'll have to take you there."
Stringtown Grocery: inexpensive spice and bulk foods mecca, located 15 miles away in Kalona, Iowa. I don't think I ever spent more than $3 for any spice I bought, no matter how exotic. When I knew I'd be leaving Iowa, I did a Stringtown run and splurged on all the spices I could. I restocked my entire spice supply for $25 (and that's a lot of spices, trust me).
As my spice supply dwindled, I started looking for an equivalent bulk store. I mean, come on: Stringtown is Amish-run and I live six miles south of the Pennsylvania border. There had to be an Amish store somewhere, right? I looked. I asked friends who were also looking. No luck.
Until this past Friday. I went with a couple of friends to the Springs Arts and Crafts Festival, located in Springs, Pennsyvlania, about 35 minutes' drive away. We ate homemade bread with apple butter, sausage sandwiches, freshly roasted peanuts, homemade fudge. We were happy. Two quick errands to run on the way home. I had already had a good day. First stop: Springs Grocery. I walked in and knew I'd found my mid-Atlantic Stringtown. Talk about making my entire week! Who would have thought a $1.34 plastic container of curry powder could be such a mood enhancer?
Life is good.
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6 comments:
Congratulations! (Is it worth the gas, though? Probably, huh.)
Oh yeah! It's not like I'm doing my weekly shopping there. Mostly it was the emotional lift of finding it that I needed. It's not like I'm scraping by on cream of tartar or something.
I hear ya, Sheila. I still have several of those cute little containers from Stringtown, and I have to smile every time I use them (usually for kid-sized portions of leftovers...) I haven't tried as hard as you have, though, to locate a replacement shop. Guess it's a good thing we're headed back to the Midwest soon!
~AmyJ in Buffalo
You're going back to the Midwest? Have you told me details? Where in the Midwest? C'mon Amy, work with me here!
I'll have to check this place out someday. I've been looking for a place like this!!
It's not far from Cumberland, off I-68 (I think it's the Glenville exit). Definitely worth checking out.
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