Austin Whole Foods

So, I haven't blogged here for months.

I have lots of activities and cool stuff to report on, especially since I'm at my first--first of many, I hope--SXSW.

So, what am I going to write about first? Groceries. Specifically, the amazing Austin Whole Foods and how it made me feel.

In approximate order: awe, excitement, painful envy, jealous irritation, finally settling on a combination of "this is obscene" and outrage at the unjustness of it.

First world problem, I know, but it made every Florida grocery store I've been in feel like a 7-11. Minimal exaggeration involved. There were separate nut and roasted nut bars, a chili bar, dessert and candy bars, at least three juice sections, a bakery with a fiery oven, and a chocolate/candy case the likes of which I haven't seen since my last visit to Europe. There was a beer alley that I couldn't even bear to walk through; there were enough beers I'd never seen before outside it that I knew it would be too depressing. (If there's a store in South Florida with a truly exciting variety of beers, I haven't found it yet.)

The picture? Why that's just a gingerbread-style house made of gourmet dog biscuits.

Like I said, obscene. And I didn't even mention the live music!