live. work. dream.

This week started our first real Workamping gig at Safe Harbor Animal Rescue in Maysville, North Carolina. We’ll get to talking about that soon. But today, we went out exploring on our day off, to secure provisions and check out the nearest big city, New Bern.

Our route included a stop at the Piggly Wiggly.

Most West Coasters like me probably haven’t been to one, but might have heard the name in movies, like Driving Miss Daisy. The Piggly Wiggly stores are a slice of American history. They were the first true “Self Service” grocery stores, founded in 1916.

Today, their stores look low budget compared to the megalomarts nearby, like Harris Teeter, and you get the sense that they’re hanging on by a thread. But we were told by a local here that if we wanted a true sense of local flavor, and didn’t expect to see things like organic flax seed multigrain bread, to be brave and venture inside.

What a hoot! Potted meat. Pork brains. Pig’s feet. Canned collards. And a wide variety of Franzia wines right alongside paper towels and household cleaners.

The Piggly Wiggly is a throwback to a time when few people gave a rat’s ass about their health. Much of the food is artery clogging, but the cashiers are warm hearted and welcoming. Real Down Home.

And goin’ to the Piggly Wiggly is much more fun than shopping in the cold and impersonal Harris Teeter down the street, stocked with great gourmet foods, but seriously lacking in personality or friendliness.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 16th, 2007 at 10:58 pm and is filed under Good Eats, Local Flavor, Best of, Attractions, Dream. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.