Hunting and gathering

I loathe the grocery stores in San Francisco. They are small, crowded, and overpriced. I often have to go to different stores to find a single item I need for a particular dish.

They all have their own discount card programs, so my wallet is full with their damn cards. I love how they always display the regular price along with the special discount price so you see exactly how much you can save. Just eliminate the &#$@*! discount program, and give customers the low price every day. The items are usually on "sale" most of the time anyway.

Today, however, I was in grocery store heaven. After a 20-minute drive, I found myself in a nice, big Korean grocery store, looking around in wonder.

Not that I hadn't ever seen a large Korean store before. A few years ago, my 언니 had taken me to a huge Korean grocery store in Virginia, which was absolutely amazing because it also had an unbelievable selection of housewares, CDs, DVDs and videos, magazines, books, and beauty products.

But in San Francisco, up to this point I had only found small stores in my neighborhood (which I love by the way because I can stop for 김밥 [kimbap] whenever I get a craving for it, and they often give me free stuff, too).

A Korean friend told me about the store I found today a few months ago, but I hadn't gone in search of it until now. I'm so glad I did.

I instantly fell in love with the store when one of the first items my eyes zeroed in on was 비빔밥 (bibimbap) ingredients already prepared in the deli section. Just add rice -- and I got rice, baby!

The store's meat counter was just lovely with perfectly cut beef for 불고기 (bulgogi) and 갈비 (galbi). No more asking butchers for special cuts.

There was an actual produce section, not a produce cooler, and multiple checkout stands. In the frozen foods section, I got almost dizzy from the array of 만두 (mandu).

If I'm shopping there one day and start to feel faint from hunger, not to worry. The store has a deli counter and dining area.

On my next visit to the store, I'm determined to spend more time exploring all the wonderful aisles and products.

But today, I left the store with bags of basic groceries (김치, 김, 만두, 떡, and meat for 불고기 and 갈비) ... and a grin on my face.