Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Turkey

Amusing moment of the day:

I walk into my local butcher shop on Tottenham High Road (a traditional English establishment with wood shavings scattered on the floor, run by three or four men in white coats and pink, plump, smiling, mischievous faces) and the main guy smiles and says, without saying hello, "Isn't it about time to order your turkey for Thanksgiving?" Slightly stunned that he has remembered this for the forth year in a row, I stopped and replied that yes, it was about time. I told him the date of my dinner and he instructed me to come by the week before and it would be fine.

It's nice to know that you can still have these kind of interactions, even in the biggest city in Europe. I know he's just looking for business, but that takes some skill to remember! I guess in my neighborhood of African, Turkish, Eastern European and Roma immigrants, I'm probably the only American in the area. Or at least the only one who wants to buy my turkey unfrozen, free range and from the local butcher. Let's hear it for local shops.

More on my recent trip to the States with some foodie recommendations coming soon.

1 comment:

freedom of the city said...

My mother's butcher in Thornton Heath is the same - good old fashioned customer service. For Christmas meat orders he has a hand written ledger with all his customers' orders going back years. Also, with a large Caribbean clientele, he can do all sorts of exciting varieties of smoked turkey and ham. He once received a shipment of smoked meat that he didn't think was quite up to scratch, he didn't even try to sell it, he sent it back immediately - he knew his customers so well, he just knew they wouldn't have it!