No check out line technology

Quote: Pacomartin

I think they should do away with all self serve. You should go in a store and hand your list to a store employee, and he returns with your bag of goods. Then you hand him some money. It promotes friendliness and reduces petty theft.

What a terribly barren lonely place a bookstore would be.

Even a dry goods store as you depict would have a candy barrel and a pickle barrel on your side of the brass tacks.

Basically stores can OUTSOURCE their digital processing while maintaining a local, customer-oriented approach.

Quote: Nareed

The other day I found an "organic" sugar-free yogurt I didn't know about. It's got a consistency between regular and Greek, tastes rather good, and it's cheaper than most regular kinds ...

Siggi's yoghurt or Skyre (Scandinavian product). Exploration has to be online or social network, as in wine from a hobbyist wine maker.

Quote: Nareed

I doubt people who need a snack, coffee, a drink, a sandwich, etc. will hunt for an Amazon store if they have a 7-11 nearby.
Restaurants are a more complex thing.

Probably not, but the local supermarket with $6 meals has posed a serious challenge to the fast food industry. McDonalds meals are often in the $6 range.




The biggest annoyance of going to the supermarket is the checkout time, as you could wait behind 10 people easily. A phone app purchase arrangement could erase that time.

In Oaxaca City there is a lot of street food or casual places in the market. I don't know if Mexico City is to sophisticated for places like these. I did see what looked like hundreds of venders selling sandwiches in the park near Chapultepec.

Quote: Pacomartin

Probably not, but the local supermarket with $6 meals has posed a serious challenge to the fast food industry.
]

For $12 I can feed myself for 6 days
easily. $8 for a 5# pork roast, $2 bag
of onions, $1 3# bag of carrots, $1
loaf of bread. All Walmart prices.
I can make 6 different meals from
this, no problems. In the pic that's
about enough food for small woman.
I eat half again that much.

Quote: Evenbob

In the pic that's about enough food for small woman. I eat half again that much.

Eating out is expensive. I am just saying it is comparable to fast food prices.

In Mexico you can eat on the streets. It helps if you don't wander a lot about running water or toilets.

Quote: Pacomartin

Probably not, but the local supermarket with $6 meals has posed a serious challenge to the fast food industry. McDonalds meals are often in the $6 range.

I'd no idea.

Then again, I haven't visited a supermarket in the US since 2006...

Wal-Mart and others here sell prepared food, but it's to take home, not to consume in the premises. Typically it's sold by the kilo in kilo and half kilo containers.

Quote:

The biggest annoyance of going to the supermarket is the checkout time, as you could wait behind 10 people easily. A phone app purchase arrangement could erase that time.

There was a systems tested not long ago where you scanned items at your cart, then just paid the cashier on the way out. I suppose nothing came off it.

Quote:

In Oaxaca City there is a lot of street food or casual places in the market. I don't know if Mexico City is to sophisticated for places like these.

Ha!

There's a taco stand, a burger stand, and two torta stands just 50 meters from my office. You go a hundred meters, you hit a few more.

Quote: Pacomartin

In Mexico you can eat on the streets. It helps if you don't wander a lot about running water or toilets.

There are some cities where street vendors can offer gourmet items and some wherein street vendors offer contaminated food. Often the same cities.
Can those familiar with Mexico city comment on inspections, investigations, etc. Does the US embassy issue instructions to its employees?

Quote: Pacomartin

In Oaxaca City there is a lot of street food or casual places in the market. I don't know if Mexico City is to sophisticated for places like these.

About that, there's some sort of fascination for eating at such places I just don't understand.

There's a really good sit-down restaurant called Los Panchos that's famous for its carnitas tacos (they're very, very good). On the ground floor there's a serving window and a small grill to serve tacos (mostly) to people on the street. The tacos, quesadillas, sincronizadas, etc. are the same you get at the dining room and cost the same as well.

Quote: Fleastiff

There are some cities where street vendors can offer gourmet items and some wherein street vendors offer contaminated food. Often the same cities.
Can those familiar with Mexico city comment on inspections, investigations, etc. Does the US embassy issue instructions to its employees?

I think most guidebooks simply say don't eat street food, and I imagine the US embassy says the same thing. As corn is what the Mexican indigenous civilization was built on, you can buy corn everywhere. I would never get butter on the street, only chili peppers. I don't think you can maintain butter well sitting on a hot street.


A lot of places had meat prominently displayed, and there is usually flies. But they tend to cook it so it is like jerky, so there is no real danger.


The grilled chilis and baby spring onions are delectable



But you are probably going to get sick at some point outside of Cancun, no matter how careful you are. Your system is just not used to the bacteria, so the food can make you sick even if there is nothing wrong with it. Stay away from leafy green vegetables if possible.

Quote: Pacomartin

As corn is what the Mexican indigenous civilization was built on, you can buy corn everywhere. I would never get butter on the street, only chili peppers. I don't think you can maintain butter well sitting on a hot street.

It's mayonnaise, not butter.

Mayo, lime, chili powder and cheese.