It felt melancholy to see the beloved grocery store, The Milk
Pail Market in Mountain View, closing its doors after 45
years. Not sad as not many things make me sad these days;
just a sense of loss, inevitable but nonetheless. One less
reason to come to Mountain View, I guess. I learnt the news
on Friday when I suddenly craved Belgian chocolates and
dropped by on my way home. I hadn't shopped there for a while.
For me, a first-gen Chinese immigrant, one best way to learn
about other cultures including the free-choice culture of
America is through food (I love to eat, by the way) and the
European style open air grocery store was to me an
education center. Years ago, I learnt the kinds of canned
tuna and whole tomatos for the pasta sauce made a world of
difference after trying those imported by Milk Pail. This
was way before similar Italian products showed up in Walmart
and Costco and the said pasta has survived my carb-phobia
in our home. The Acme whole wheat walnut artisan bread was
my bread of choice for a long time before I gave up wheat. My
recent re-connection with carbs through running made me
want to try it again. Tim loved to sample their cheese whenever
we visited together. Despite of all the Asian markets, I have to
get the Benedicta mayonaise(French) here to pep up my
popular gimbap. I noticed earlier this year the place added
garlic greens, a key ingredient in a few mouth-watering
SiChuan dishes. Most recently, I had a great experience with
the raw milk here and learnt about the Claravale farm in the
central valley.
Grocery must be a tough business. I learnt afterward that
despite its loyal customers, Milk Pail was losing money
since they started revamping the San Antonio Center. It's
also hard work. The owner's family needed a break after 45
years and I am glad that they had the choice as the place, a
piece of prime real estate, must be worth a small fortune.
Meanwhile, this gives me opportunities to explore new
sources for some of my favorite foods.
