Downtown Food Mart

I’m just a lone lady, hitting up a low-​budget bodega for a Valentine’s Day dinner consisting of clearance-​priced Fuego-​flavored Takis so she can go home, sit on her couch with a bunch of cats, hit ‘refresh’ on her computer 10,000 times, and watch a marathon of HBO’s brutal prison series, ‘Oz’.
Don’t cry for me, Argentina. This is basically my dream evening. Alone doesn’t mean lonely for this little lady. I’ve got my opinions to keep me warm. Hashtag Favorite Valentines.
After sitting in mind-​numbing traffic for a 3-​hour drive from the north shore, I started to get the 4^th meal hunger pangs, but was dreading the thought of going out to eat on Valentine’s Day and having to look at people who weren’t stars of the show ‘Oz’, my current obsession, if yo haven’t figured that out already.
I decided to utilize the #3 speed dial on my phone and put in a take-​out order at Downers Grove’s Thai Café… only everyone else in the area had those same plans so instead of my order taking the typical 15 minutes, it was going to take 35. My plan was to wait it out in the strip mall parking lot and go in when could see my order come up through the window so I would have to talk to as few people as possible, but then I saw Downtown Food Mart just a storefront away in the same strip, and decided I’d spend my time in the rather dicey looking convenience mart in hopes of them having Takis, my favorite snack/​breakfast, lunch, dinner food.
I go in, and think, ‘erm, this place is kinda set up like a crap hole.’ Empty displays, weird non-​stacking of 89 cent cat food cans that for whatever reason made my blood boil, and no Takis in the snack and chip aisle. What the hell? This place is NOT for anyone with a hint of OCD.
I still had a good 15 minutes before my bulk Thai food order would be ready, so I decided to continue to peruse every aisle, and the more I looked, the more I liked. They had a pretty good selection of wine. It’s over-​priced, obvi, but pretty much all the wines are discount wines anyone so still nothing that’ll break your bank.
I was super pissed about the non-​presence of Takis until I got to the marquee, front and center stand by the register that was chock full of Takis. Like, 4 different kinds, and all were super cheap at $ 1.39, compared to the $ 2.49 I’d pay at other grocery stores. Bada bing!
I’m checking out and the guy behind the counter doesn’t mention anything about the stupid non-​holiday that’s occurring, which I greatly appreciate, and instead asks if I like spicy stuff. Well, heck yes! I live for spicy! And then he proceeds to give me his spicy food recommendations and we swap ghost pepper stories for the next 5 minutes and part by exchanging names. His name is Raj. Raj is awesome. I will be back to purchase more Takis (possibly also overpriced wine and cat food if the hour is right) from Raj.