Smiley Fritz

Alison pointing to a crumpet. Our guest, Will, was not so impressed with this brekkie option.

In our early days here, one of my challenges was to sort out all the shopping options for stocking in food. We live within easy walking distance of a Foodland IGA (whose charming slogan is The Mighty South Aussies), a green grocer (fruit and veg), a butcher, and several bakeries. Prices for food and drink are a bit more than in the states. Coupling this with a strong Aussie dollar means that we have become budget shoppers. As one of my favorite things to do in a new country is to visit the grocery, it has been more fun than hardship to sort out all these options.

As best I can tell (or have been advised), the green grocer and the butcher carry slightly higher quality products than the Foodland. One of the fellas at the green grocer amused me by advising that the green grapes I purchased were “sultana grapes, and a lot better than those bloody tasteless Thomson seedless grapes over at Foodland”.  It seems that competition in that little shopping block is alive and well. We didn’t do a side-by-side comparison, but the sultana grapes were very tasty. The butcher has some lovely prepared meats, and I’m always tempted by the chicken wellington as I walk by their shop. Thus far, we’ve kept our purchases there relatively simple – marinated chicken kebabs, mince (ground beef) and rashers (bacon).

We were lucky to discover the “Sunday markets” early on in our time here. These outdoor affairs are held in many towns around South Australia. They are a fun mix of farmstand and “boot sale”, meaning that you can pick up produce from a selection of stands while checking out all the used items brought in the trunks of sellers cars. I picked up a 4-cup french press at the Brighton Sunday Sale on the same day that I discovered that fruit/veg prices were significantly lower than anywhere else AND that strawberry season lasts for many months. That was a bonza day! The only problem is balancing a week’s worth of produce in one’s backpack and shopping bags for the bicycle ride home.

We’ve discovered some fun food items along the way. The kids are always offered a slice of “fritz” at the butcher or at the Foodland deli. On our first visit, the butcher explained to us that this is the name for boloney in South Australia. After doing a bit of research, I learned that every single state or territory in Australia has its own name for this luncheon meat - "polony" in Western Australia, "luncheon" in Queensland, and "belgian" or "devon" in Victoria. Who knew? The Foodland fritz is “smiley fritz” – a scary prospect, but the kids love it.

Smiley Fritz

 Another yummy discovery – and one that originates in Australia - is the Lamington. This dessert is a cube of sponge cake, dipped in chocolate and coated in flake coconut. I'm really not sure whether this is something that is considered a kid's dish or whether adults eat them as well. Lord Lamington, Governor of Queensland until 1901, was reportedly not so much a fan of his namesake dish and is reported to have called them "those bloody poofy wooly biscuits". Chris says this is pretty much how he feels about Lamingtons, but then, he doesn't really like coconut. Lord Lamington apparently lacked some political savvy, and you can read more about him at Australia: The tale of Baron Lamington and an Improvised Cake.

Finally, there is the crumpet. This tasty morsel seems like a cross between an English muffin and a pancake. Alison and I love them for brekky or morning tea – smeared with butter and jam, they are a rich mess of goodness. And yet another reason I’m glad to be doing so much walking, running and biking around this little corner of South Australia.