Super Kosher (Supermarket)

Hello everyone and welcome to a Panama Veggie special edition of Panama Secret Shopper. Shop owners beware, I am your worst nightmare. I don't mean to be. But I am.

SO.

Just went to the Super Kosher a matter of hours ago and I am kind of shocked at what I found there. Let me start from the beginning:

My family is all from India and we eat a lot of Indian food. Though things like curry powder have become modern staples and are available at every supermarket in town, there are certain "specialty" items that aren't as easy to find. There's an Indian grocery called King's Food (thank God for you! :) and surprisingly, the Super Kosher also carries a small but great selection of ingredients used in Indian cooking, like besan (gram flour, you cannot make pacoras without it), puffed rice (we use it to make bhel) and sauces, pickles, papad, etc.

So generally we stop at King's Food or the Kosher once a month; it never mattered which, usually just depended on what was closer when we were running a particular errand. I like going to the Super Kosher and checking out all the non-Indian items. (I really love Jewish food; it all started with a visit to a great restaurant called The Jewish Mother in VA, where I attended the University of Richmond, aka UR. But I digress...)

As I pushed my cart through the aisles at Super Kosher, just a few hours ago, I found myself happily distracted by the fun and different food items. Cheeses you won't find anywhere else (like Syrian cheese) are way overpriced, but available here. You can buy the usual suspects (like tahine and Turkish delight) and fresh foods like labneh (with or without za'atar, one of my favorite spice mixes).

There are a great many random items, too. This time around, I found a soy-based vegetarian "Schnitzel" and "vegetarian caviar" (yes, I'm ashamed to say I bought both...curiosity and the cat and all that).

There were menorahs and a whole selection of different types of quinoa and rice and other grains (I bought a "red rice" that I'd never seen before) and party supplies and preserved lemons (SO GOOD) and Mukhi's pickled carrot salad (I'm kind of addicted) and a big array of spices, and...so much more. I was a happy shopper!

So I get to the fresh veggie aisle, expecting to see something new and interesting. This is what I found:

moldy shitakes

moldy, old, wrinkled, dried-out portabella (aka portobello mushrooms)

snow peas, drab and spotted with brown all over (this one really hurt, I adore a fresh, bright green snowpea!

Ugh, more moldy mushrooms, the stems on these have sprouted that lovely fine white tufty mold we all associate with rotting fungus!

moldy baby squash

And at these prices, which are high for produce in Panama, you kind of expect better quality:

So sad. I looked around for someone to ask...why are these veggies being left to rot? Don't you have a system in place for checking veggies, removing expired or rotted items, etc? But then I realized I had never seen a manager or concerned shop owner wandering the aisles, checking to see if everything is ok.

Disheartened, I said something to the cashier on my way out. She was like "oh, the vegetables are rotten? Did you tell anyone?" Gah! Exasperating! "I'm telling you, you work here, right?"

Can't blame her, though, the truth is that training at most supermarkets in Panama is deplorable...and that responsibility falls squarely in the hands of the owner/employer.

The Panama Veggie bottom line: I'm torn here. I love finding and experimenting with different ethnic ingredients, but seeing the state of the "fresh" produce made me begin to wonder about the other "fresh" items I bought. I stared into my fridge when I got home, thinking: how old is that labneh? Was it packed in sanitary conditions? What's the expiration date? (In Panama, it's the law, every item must have an expiration date clearly printed on the label).

Overall, I am a bit grossed out and not sure I will return. And there are a couple other kosher stores, so I might go and check out/give my patronage to the competition. Deli K, the massive kosher store at MultiCentro Mall (basement level), comes to mind.

Comments from anyone who might know what is up with the fresh veggies at Super Kosher are welcome!

One last comment, for anyone reading this who may not be familiar with Panamanian supermarkets: this is NOT the norm. You can go into upscale supermarkets like Riba Smith or El Rey (especially the one on Calle 50) or to "budget" supermarkets like Super 99 and Xtra or Machetazo...the latter may have zero variety and a few wilted items, but you will not find an array of moldy or rotted items. Even the little kioskos, mini-supers (sometimes referred to as Chinos), and deli gourmets / super gourmets have processes in place to ensure this doesn't happen. So in this one, Super Kosher, you are alone.