Shopping for The Dunces

Shopping for the A Confederacy of Dunces supper was unique because I got to buy some ingredients down in New Orleans, but I also had to use Amazon, I'm sorry to say, because one ingredient wasn't so easy to find.  I made up for that corporate purchase by stopping into many of my favorite local Astoria shops.

I came back from New Orleans with some Slap Ya Mama seasoning and the Mardi Gras King cake mix. After getting back from the south gritless, I did some research, and apparently it's not that easy to find slow grits, and only instant grits are readily available.  That's when I decided I had to go through amazon, and with my free shipping, it was pretty easy to get my hands on a container of real Quaker grits.  I went ahead and picked up an oyster knife for Liza while I was at it.

On Thursday I went over to my favorite Grocery store, Berry Fresh Farms, and picked up a lot of staples I needed for the menu, especially my ingredients for the olive salad (that would go into the "Ignatius Hot Dog") which I made that night to give it ample marinating time for Saturday.

On Friday I stopped into my fish store in Jamaica, Queens after work to pick up 30 Oysters, 8 servings of Sole and 1 pound of shrimp.  I took the subway back to Astoria and stopped into Muncan Foods on Broadway for a half pound of bacon and a dozen of their hot dogs.  This place is a meat lover's dream.  I've shopped here for three out my four suppers, and they never disappoint.  There are so many interesting types of cured and smoked meats from a range nationalities.  It's definitely worth a look.

On Saturday I stopped into The Ditmars Flower Shop for my New Orleans balcony-inspired fern-like center pieces.  This is a beautiful shop, the workers are always helpful and friendly.  The quality is great, and I find the prices to be very fair.  Then I went to Rose and Joe's Bakery under the N/Q for my 3 loaves of semolina bread.  This is great little bakery, and I can't believe I never realized they also sell Sicilian pizza in the back.  I'm definitely stopping there the next time I don't feel like cooking.  For the final stop, I went across the street to Rosario's Italian Deli to pick up the Genoa salami, Swiss cheese and Virginia ham for the Ignatius Hot Dog. Then I got my butt (and Liza's butt) into the kitchen.

If you're an Astorian and have not been to these places, I suggest that you do!