Town Talk. The Grocery Store.

Speaking of grocery store discounters.

The biggest discounter of them all is Town Talk. They are the anti-Central Market -- in every way -- except the one way that matters: name brand food products, sometimes the really good stuff, at bargain prices. I am not saying all the food is high quality, or even that most of it is, but occasionally the deals there are better than imaginable.

For instance, Marmite. I like Marmite. My wife is British. She introduced it to me and I like it. Most Americans don't. It's a yeast extract and it's tangy. It's about $7 for a small jar. She picked up 4 of them at Town Talk for $10.

How do they do it? Town Talk takes department and grocery store overstocks, item close outs, and store closings, and consolidates it by category for resale. The aisles are changing all the time.

They have no cappuccino bar to stop and relax while shopping, the floor needs sweeping, and the warehouse spills over into the aisles.

But it's kind of fun, you never know what you will find and sometimes the cuts of beef are just too good of a deal to turn down. It's an acquired taste and sometimes they sell things past shelf-life date. But if you haven't tried it, it is worth a visit.

http://www.towntalkfoods.net/

Town Talk Foods
121 North Beach St.
Fort Worth, TX 76111

Mayorga Coffees

A very nice website from a company of folks passionate about coffee. Referred to me by my brother.

http://www.mayorgacoffee.com/mayorga

Interactive Unemployment Map of USA.

Okay, it's kind of depressing, but for map nuts and statistics enthusiasts, it's interesting to go through:

Published by the New York Times online:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive

Search by metro area, county, and even housing bubble.

Most effected by the recession: California, Oregon, and Michigan. No surprise on Michigan, but southern California and Oregon surprised me. 20% unemployment in some counties of California, and most over 10%.

Least effected: Central USA, from North Dakota to south Texas. Tarrant County is doing better than most for many reasons including gas exploration and production.