I was in Grand Central Station last week for a meeting and decided to stop in to pick up some produce at their fashionable market on my way back up to CT.  For anyone that hasn’t been to the Grand Central Market it is a little paradise of food – farm stand produce, gourmet cheeses, artisan breads, jams, jellies, pastries, chocolates and truffles, cured/aged meats, fresh fish and poultry, and the list goes on.  As you can imagine, this little haven of food comes at a cost and is the biggest tourist trap going.  I knew I’d probably pay top-dollar, but I promised to bring a side to the dinner-party I was headed to that evening and knew I wouldn’t have time to hit up the grocery store beforehand.  Poor planning on my part.

As I scanned the abundant selection, I stopped short in my tracks at the sight of a table full of gorgeous vine-ripened tomatoes in every shape, size, and color known to the imagination.

Right now is probably a good time to pause in the story and tell you about how much I love summer tomatoes.  There are obvious reasons – I am half Italian, I grew up every summer picking them from my grandparents garden, I even have a best friend from college that loves tomatoes just as much, if not more, than I do – but aside from posterity and fond memories, there is an X factor there that I can’t quite put my finger on that makes tomatoes stand out.  Among the many splendid summer fruits and vegetables, garden tomatoes are by far those that I look forward to the most.  They’ve always just made me happy.

So as I was saying, I approached the tomato table and carefully selected 3 perfect tomatoes.  I was in a rush, half paying attention, and texting with my hubbie when I was rung up.  I’m not going to tell you how much my total came to (because it’s embarrassing), but let’s just say the cost was more than my round-trip train ticket to and from CT.

As mentioned, I was in a rush and really had my heart set on the tomatoes at that point so reluctantly forked over my card and ran out of the market to catch my train.  I vowed on the way home to never, ever again pay so much for produce, but I have to admit (and I think everyone at the dinner-party can tell you) that they were pretty outstanding.