Visiting Al Campo

One of my (Heather’s) favorite things to do in Madrid (or anywhere, actually) is to grocery shop. Last time we lived in Spain, I became very attached to our local grocery store, Al Campo; Seth and I would go two or three times a week while Jon took the big kids to their after-school swim lessons. So I was particularly excited to go back.

My first stop at Al Campo was the wall of ham:

A leg of ham is a staple in many Spanish kitchens; prices run from about $60 on upwards (just passed a ham in a store window sporting a $500 price tag). 

Next stop was the aisle of Manchego:

The picture doesn’t do this justice – it’s really almost a whole grocery aisle filled with Manchego. Except none of it is labeled as Manchego; in Spain most cheese seems to be Manchego, and thus labeling it Manchego would be like calling cheese cheese in the U.S. Non-Manchego is clearly marked (mostly as goat cheese).  

Next I said hello to real Spanish chorizo:

No more traveling to Las Ventas in South Boston to restock twice a year. 

Next stop, the cereal aisle, where you can buy candy for breakfast:

And Al Campo-brand cereals marketed as a sugar drug:

 

And where the proportion of suitable options for health-conscious American children (well, to their sugar-averse parents) has shrunk owing to what looks like a chocolate cereal craze:

There is no apparent irony in the chocolate-flavored fitness cereal. I should note that this aisle is separate from the “breakfast cookie” aisle, which is elsewhere in the store. 

Next I walked by the table wine:

Note the prices – yes, that’s about $2 for what is a pretty decent bottle of Rioja. We sampled a lot of these last time we were here (though I remember the prices being a bit higher, more like $5 a bottle). 

A short distance away is the eco-wine aisle:

A two to four times the price of chemically-wrought wine, still a bargain.

Last stop was check-out. No picture here, but remarkably, I didn’t get yelled at by the clerk for some grocery-store-etiquette infraction. Progress.