On the Cover of the . . . (and an Update on Black Pepper)

. . . Eddie Bauer catalog?

KZog sent me a photo of the latest Eddie Bauer catalog yesterday:

JZog's Doppelganger?

I would prefer to see KZog and JZog on the cover of the Rolling Stone as the folk-rock duo The Traveling Zogs, but I'll take my doppelganger on the Eddie Bauer catalog. (I think I need this dress now, no?)

So, since my first report on the absence of black pepper at the Carrefour hypermarket I have returned to the store to conduct a thorough search for this apparently elusive spice. I still could not locate any black pepper at the Carrefour. Now, I did find some at Jones the Grocer, an Australian-based eatery meets high-end grocery, and my new favorite place to grab a bite. The problem? Two ounces of pepper costs 100 riyals!   

Qatari riyals (QAR) do not equal the dollar; the exchange rate is roughly 3.5 QAR to 1 US dollar. But that still makes the pepper $27.37! Seems pricey to me, so I will do without until KZog smuggles me a good 'ol shaker of $3 McCormick's later this year.

In general, food here costs more than it does in the US, though the quality is quite high. The produce section rivals any Whole Foods I have seen and the range of products more than meets the needs of this discriminating expat (save the black pepper). I don't really need the entire aisles of chocolate (No joke! And there are entire sections of Nutella and Nutella-like spreads.), but I still meander down them, as a test of my intestinal fortitude, I suppose. Otherwise, my dollars go quite far. Also, Qatar does not add sales tax, so the price you see is the price you pay.

The Real JZog, at the Corniche 

This evening I head over to the Souq Waqif and tomorrow to the Islamic Museum of Art. I will post full updates after the weekend!

XO,
JZog