The Mother of all Pick n Pays

I took a Cultural Cooking class this morning courtesy of the International Women's Club of Johannesburg. Not so much because I necessarily need any more recipes to add to my bulging pile of recipes to try. No. I signed up because it was held at the Good Food Studio in the Mother of all Pick n Pays, the stand-alone Pick n Pay on the corner of William Nicol and Republic.

I pass it all the time on my way to and fro and to be honest, it kind of scared me. It is truly humongous. Like the size of a Super Walmart or Costco or Home Depot in the States. Most of the Pick n Pays I am familiar with are located in malls and shopping centers and are normal size supermarkets. This one is the size of an entire shopping center or mall all by itself. A Pick n Pay-a-saurus Rex.

I figured I would never go there as a part of my regular marketing. My corner market supplemented by stops at the organic and specialty markets work just fine for us. We do not need that much food on hand in general unless we are having a braai or a dinner party for friends. Vince travels alot and it's usually just moi during the week anyway and we eat out several times on the weekends.

The good news about the Pick n Pay-a-saurus is that the parking there is free. I never even saw a parking guard to tip. I was having flashbacks to the good ol' days of food shopping in the suburbs of New Jersey. And I admit, it really did have a much wider range of offerings than my local Pick n Pay.

P.S. the cooking class was good too. And I may have my menu for Thanksgiving - Pork Fillet in Balsamic Vinegar and Horseradish Sauce, Crushed Sweet Potato with Ginger and Green Runner Beans on the side, and a Pear, Pecan and Prune Salad with a Gingered Port Dressing. And for dessert, a Hot Chocolate and Coffee Fondant with Hazelnut Praline Ice Cream.

Not traditional I know, but living in Joburg we are well out of the bounds of the tradition gods.