Food Freebies

Today was disappointing in terms of mall food. Usually, meandering through the mall presents many opportunities to sample a wide variety of edibles. Several restaurants in the food court - nearly always a Chinese and a Mexican place, but sometimes Chik-Fi-La and Cinnabon - hand out a tasty morsel or two. Of course, the person offering the nibble will be disappointed and hurt if you refuse, so I think you're obligated to try whatever is on the tray. However, no such luck today.

In addition, Harry and David frequently has bowls of Moose Munch in assorted flavors along with small chunks of fancy cheesecakes. Alas, only coffee and jelly beans were available this afternoon. On the bright side, Tea Nirvana offered two kinds of steaming liquid to passersby. Jeff tried the jasmine - which smelled like a spring garden, but tasted like unsweetened fruit cocktail - and I went for the cinnamon, which had a spicy flavor of warm cloves that matched its rich aroma.

As we sipped our warm tasties, we strolled towards Barnes and Noble, where I spent a good deal of time leafing through gardening books and bargain-priced recipe collections. Upon leaving the store (and having spent at least half an hour staring at food), I hoped to find some tempting morsels in Williams Sonoma, but it just wasn't meant to be. The store was offering small cups of scrambled eggs with hollandaise sauce, which was left over from a cooking demo conducted in the morning. (I don't know about you, but left over eggs isn't something I hope to taste in a gourmet culinary establishment.)

Our final hope for a bit of glamour faded as we walked into the Godiva Chocolate shop. The window displayed some yummy confections I hope to replicate at home. There were small chocolate shell cups (which can be made using melted chocolate and muffin cups) filled with fresh raspberries and blackberries and drizzled with more chocolate. These looked delectable! In addition, there were skewers of fruit - glorious strawberries alternating with ripe banana slices - again drizzled with dark, wonderful chocolate. Our mouths watered as we passed these lovelies and stepped into the shop, only to find it to so crowded there was no hope of reaching the counter for a taste of decadence.

Ultimately we left the mall with appetites unappeased. I guess we should have tried our Super Target - which has multiple tasting stations every weekend featuring wonderful cheeses, something from the snack aisle (perhaps the latest trail mix or granola), another goodie from the breakfast aisle (usually an interesting cereal choice), and something from frozen foods (like pizza or potato puffs). World Market also has munchies out on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, including their ultra-yummy veggie chips and spicy rice snacks. Of course, they have coffee and tea samples daily positioned to pull shoppers to the back of the store. (Friends tell me that Sam's Club practically serves a full meal on weekends, but we don't currently have a membership.)

It's pretty amazing how much free food is available to potential buyers, especially on weekends. Our grocery store (Fry's) has quite a few samples available from the deli on Saturday mornings ranging from cheese and crackers to pita chips to fresh breads and cookies. The sushi station at the back frequently offers tidbits of whatever is being rolled at the time. But the hands down best sample we ever had at the grocery was Domain St. Michelle champagne. We had to show I.D. and I harassed the guy serving because I had at least 15 years on him. Come to think of it, we have also sampled several wines and vodkas at the local BevMo store on weekend afternoons. Perhaps I should start a list of everything we get to eat for free. That could be a flavorful project, indeed.