Just Another Wednesday and Jungle Jim's

March 10, 2010

Cheese and crackers, warm plum Saki and a lap top at my fingertips. Yes, there could be better combinations. But it’s Wednesday, I don’t think you should expect much on such a day. On a side note, I don’t think there is a cracker or cheese best suited for Saki. If there is, it’s not in my house. I don’t remember too many recipes in any Asian cooking that uses cheese. I’m also unfortunately drinking cheap Saki, which is not remotely a go to for knowing what mixes with Saki well. I live in a town that reminds me of My Cousin Vinny. “I bet their Chinese is terrrrible.” The Chinese isn’t horrible, but I haven’t seen a Japanese restaurant in even a 30 mile radius.
It’s sad that one of the more exciting things Andy and I did one weekend was to go to a grocery store. Near Dayton, Ohio lives a massive, and I do mean massive, grocery store. I had first heard about Jungle Jim’s when I was working for a food distribution center, NashFinch. I thought it was a joke. Who would name a grocery store Jungle Jim’s? Apparently, they had awesome deals on different canned soups and Faygo. I had to check their pallets before they were packed into the trucks.
Later Jungle Jim’s showed itself again. Since moving to Lima, I have become addicted to a particular website, RoadSideAmerica.com. It is quite possibly the best go to site for any oddity of tourism in any state. I hear things by word of mouth too. RoadSideAmerica.com just gives me that much more to look forward too. It even has sites on there that locals don’t seem to know about. Jungle Jim’s was supposed to be one the stops.
Jungle Jim’s claim to fame is its extensive selection and decorations. On the windows is a sign “No Camera’s or Video.” Upon entering the main entrance, a singing voice and a familiar jingle greets you. In front of you is the basic canned goods aisle. Above though is a large Campbell’s chicken noodle soup can swinging on a piece of wood singing away. It’s motion activated and greets you as you walk down the aisle. Like a kid, I walked in and out of the aisle to see what he would say next.
Andy and I are fat foodie kids thankfully trapped in smaller bodies. We get excessively excited about different foods. Andy almost danced to see the olive and pickle bar and squealed in delight at a dairy and cheese section larger than your basic shoe store. I had only heard about half those cheeses on episodes of Frasier.
The produce section reminded me what life could be like if we actually had a farmer’s market year round. They had some root vegetables I'm still trying to understand and find recipes for.
Around the corner started the best part. Aisles upon aisles devoted to specific regions and countries. Are you in the mood for Indian? There’s an aisle for that. Missing the taste of a certain British early grey tea? There’s a whole room to look in. The decorations followed through each country. Tea and biscuits were under Robin Hood and his merry men. Hanging clogs point the way to Danish cookies and linden berries.
There was even a Hawaiian section. I quickly bought macadamia nuts and a juice I’ve been missing for years, Aloha Maid. I bought a case. Andy also found a bottled tea that he last had while in Iraq.
It’s the small things that make you happy.
When we showed up to Jungle Jim’s it was light outside. We left in darkness. We may have spent 3 hours in there. There was no way we were going to cook after all that. But with the hors d’oeuvres available, why should we? When we got home, we unwrapped all the goodies of cheese, crackers, veggies, fruit, olives, and pickles. Now I’m not one for cheese balls, but their “home made” cheese balls may make me change my mind. We lounged and ate like Romans for the night.