I Heart FreshDirect

FreshDirect is not:

• a 1-800 hotline where masochists can call to be berated by sassy operators
• a CSA in which you have to buy a share ain order to get seven pounds of chard every other week
• an ovepriced, overcrowded national supermarket chain

I like to think I was chosen to host a FreshDirect House Party because I am such a loyal, admiring customer. (Also, because I am smart, funny, beautiful and humble. Yeah. Humble!) I’m a Chef’s Table member (membership is granted based on frequency of purchase, ha!) and am known amongst my friends and on Twitter as a FreshDirect fangirl, if you could imagine such a thing. (Imagine: me.)

FACT: FreshDirect is the best grocery delivery service on the planet, and even in outer space. My fandom is completely reasonable. No one would call me crazy. At least, not for this.

So, FreshDirect sent me enough swag for 14 goody bags, and gave me a gift certificate that covered my food expenses for the party! [Insert extra exclamation points here if you wish.] If I didn’t already have two cases of red wine left over from my housewarming party, I would have also gotten the wine for the party from FD, too.

Before and during the meal, I shared my favorite things and funny stories about FreshDirect.

• Favorite thing: ready-to-eat avocados! No waiting four days for them to ripen, nope! I can have guacamole immediately.This is a game changer, people!
• Another favorite thing: the customer service people are so kind and friendly. And helpful! And the delivery dudes are so respectful. And strong!
• Funny story: One time I was a little tipsy (okay, drunk) when I shopped FreshDirect. I guess I decided to browse the Brand-Name Deals. So two days later I opened my boxes to discover surprises like Teddy
• 

  Prepared just for my order, this platter of rotisserie chicken said "serves six" but I had 12 guest and we ate half the platter. Abundance!

  Grahams, Top Ramen and broccolini. This story is still cited by some of my Twitter followers as a classic@pigtailsflying tweeting moment.

The House Party people sent us quiz questions to ask but (no offense) they were really boring so I wrote my own. I also gave out cookbooks (thank you, employer) as prizes to whomever got the right answer. The right answer being of course highly subjective. Here is a sample question: Q. What is the best thing about FreshDirect?

1. Fresh, organic, locally grown produce
2. Cut-to-order meats and cheeses
3. Superfriendly delivery dudes
4. It keeps TK out of the grocery store

A: #4, of course! The only time I feel homicidal is when I’m in the grocery store. Shuffling old ladies squinting at labels on cans of creamed corn, snotty toddlers begging for Iced Cream-filled Extra Sugary Pop-Tarts, stoned frat boys buying beer and microwave burritos, moms in velour track suits texting their husbands, hipster couples discussing which French region produces better goat cheese. Shotgun, anyone?

Rotisserie Chicken (thx FD!), Baby Kale Salad, Guacamole, dipping veggies & tortilla. Not show: Onion & Anchovy Tart using FD's homemade puff pastry.

I also asked some icebreaker questions, which confirmed two things.

1. My mom still confuses Africa and Asia. Understandable, really.
2. Most of my friends are runners. WTF??

All joking aside, the absolute best thing about FreshDirect is that it makes it so insanely easy for me to gather up my friends and family and bring them together for libation and laughter. I love living alone (I fucking LOVE it), but my apartment feels most like a home when it’s full of people I love. The circularity of that formula is beautiful. There’s a reason that memories of taste, of dishes, and of meals are so resonant with us humans: we show our love for people by sharing our sustenance. FreshDirect allows me to love.

Thanks for the party, FD! xoxo, mwah! Ever yours, TK

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JJ: Rain, Reluctantly

I am definitely a girl who needs her daily dose of sun; I think it’s just one of the bunches of reasons why road running is such a good fit for me.  My Type-A personality is usually strong enough to get me to work on time even on rainy, overcast mornings.  Not today, though.  Today tested all my resolves (Yes, resolves with an S: I had to tap into my plural reserves to pull myself through this day).

Normally, running home in the rain is a test of my toughness.  I have the bridge to myself, the rumble and screech of traffic is muffled by the soft swish and patter of precipitation.  This afternoon, though I just wanted to wrap a big blanket around me and take car service home, rocked into a 5 PM nap by a Lincoln Town Car.  No time, though, for the comfy way out: at 5:15 I still hadn’t left, and I had to make it home for my 6 PM FreshDirect delivery.  Quickest way home: 32:24 minutes on foot, but those same 3.5 miles would have taken an hour in a car, and 45 minutes on the subway.

Of course, it ended up not being nearly as chilly and wet as I’d anticipated, and I do believe the cooler temps even helped me pick up the pace.  I’m hoping to get in a Wednesday and Thursday run, since Saturday is the Brooklyn Half-Marathon.  How is everyone getting there, by the way?  The whole thing gives me agita. There’s no easy way from Sunnyside, Queens.  Would love to catch a ride or share cab fare with anyone who’s heading there from LIC, Sunnyside, or Woodside…

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JJ: Racing FreshDirect Home

It’s baseball season, which means Husband is coaching his 7th and 8th graders up in Yonkers again.  Consequently, on game nights (of which tonight is one) it’s my duty to leave work at 5 PM to walk sweet, cooped up Matilda and prepare dinner. No problem.  But tonight, to add a little excitement into the run home, I also had to get home in time to walk Matilda before 6 PM, when our local grocery delivery service was sent to drop off our weekly supply of nutrition and hydration.

Another perfect evening for a run. I stepped outside of my office building and felt the cool hug of the spring air, the sun still doing its thing.  I set a quick pace, and enjoyed pushing each step away.  As I ran over the bridge, I saw the moon, a white ghosted semi-circle, trying to catch my attention in the midst of all that blue sky.  Oh, I noticed it alright, and it reminded me too keenly of the evenings I’d run home where it would be shining against a black sky.  More than the cold, it’s the early-onset darkness that makes me want winter gone baby gone.

Anyway, it was another great run, leaving me marveling at how lucky I’ve been all year with my sport.  3.5 miles; 31:25 minutes; 8:59 minute-mile pace. Needles to say, Matilda got her walk, her dinner, and here I am, still waiting for FreshDirect.

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