Bodegas: what more can be said? They’ve become high concept art installations. They occasionally act as low budget movie sets. They’re the home to New York’s bravest felines. But mostly, they’re where New Yorkers do their snacking. Some of it upscale (I’m looking at you, British chocolates) and some of it, not so much (Please. Step away from the Slim Jims). But whichever snacking option we choose, it’s really all about our mood.
I decided to take my love affair of snacks in wrappers and pair it with my narcissistic obsession with my own general feelings. What drove me to which particular snack, and what was my mindset when I bought and consumed it? Was I feeling happy? Confused? Heartbroken? Gloomy? Reflective? Murderous? Romantic? Whimsical? Follow me on this journey—won’t you?—through processed food, bought exclusively in bodegas, and how it gave me “all the feels.”
DAY I:
Food: Pocky Chocolate Cream Covered Biscuit Sticks
Mood: Hopeful
Of all the snack foods that can be purchased at a bodega, Pocky definitely lives on the more sophisticated end of the spectrum. First of all, it comes from Japan, not a conveyor belt at the Hostess factory. The packaging design is subdued—chic. There’s very little shame in having them in your bag. Oh, this? Just an artful little snack to get me through my Uber ride. On this late afternoon I am in a hopeful mood. Perhaps it’s the warm weather. Perhaps it’s because I’ve figured out the perfect project to distract me from my real obligations. Life is good.
DAY 2:
Food: Little Debbie Swiss Cakes Rolls
Mood: Shame
Day two and it’s come to this? Little Debbie is the trash of snack cakes. Fifty cents for god’s sake. What could be in here? Chemicals, it turns out. I eat one and it’s fucking delicious by the way. Which makes me a little ashamed of my taste palette. It could be worse. I could throw in a pack of smokes and a $2 lottery ticket, but I don’t smoke and I don’t have cash. Oh my god. Shame.
DAY 3:
Food: Sour Cream and Onion Pop Chips
Mood: Flirty
Oh, hello, handsome fellow bodega shopper. Yes, I am buying chips but they are popped, not fried. Whatever that means. I hope you think it means I am a regular exerciser, which I am not. If this bodega flirtation goes anywhere, I might regret the flavor choice (sour cream and onion). My hand hesitated over the Sea Salt flavor, but in the end I had to go for it. I’ll throw in some breath mints.
DAY 4:
Food: Kinder Egg with Toy Inside
Mood: Amused
I have often wondered about these Kinder Eggs. Are they a distant cousin to the polarizing Cadbury Creme Egg? Well, these sound German and Cadbury is British, right? No matter. I have to have it. (They’re from Italy by the way. Thanks, Internet). I am excited to learn these were once banned. Edgy. Apparently, any treats containing plastic toys were banned in the U.S. until recently. Much like Prohibition, I celebrate that this silly rule is now over. The Kinder is sort of good and there is a plastic Daisy Duck in it. Amusing.
DAY 5:
Food: Candy Buttons
Mood: Nostalgic
I have to confess, I did not buy these in a bodega, so I’ve already broken my one rule. I bought them in a hipster card store in Brooklyn. But I couldn’t pass up this weird childhood favorite, bringing back waves of nostalgia as I sucked the buttons off the paper while walking down the street in public. This reminds me why I am single and then I am nostalgic for some past relationships (but not all of them).
DAY 6:
Food: Pink Hostess Snowball
Mood: Restless
Do I want to take a trip? Should I move to a new apartment? Should I dye my hair (never)? What is this life anyway? When existence seems like an endless rerun, sometimes you have to do something ridiculous. Instead of getting bangs, which is never a good idea, I get a Snowball to fight this ennui. It’s both disgusting and kind of good. I eat half of it.
DAY 7:
Food: Hippeas, Vegan White Cheddar
Mood: Regretful
As an adult woman, I should not be eating pink foods, making yesterday’s choice regrettable. Today, I go healthy, with “Hippeas” in Vegan White Cheddar. That’s right. These are organic chickpea puffs and I don’t mind them. I feel my regret pass with each handful.
DAY 8:
Food: Smartfood
Mood: Calm
Smartfood, I like you. I am calm. I am vaguely satisfied with life. I am walking from my job to my evening class. Maybe Smartfood is the Normcore of snacks. Do the kids still say “Normcore”? I don’t know and I don’t care. Calm.
DAY 9:
Food: Oreos
Mood: Sad
Today, I feel a little sad. Things are not going my way. Fortunately, there are Oreos which are both delicious, and oddly enough, vegan, which makes me happy because I like critters. It also makes me suspicious because what is in the cream filling if it’s vegan? I am a medley of moods but I love Oreos. I eat two.
DAY 10:
Food: Low Fat Cheez-Its
Mood: Grumpy
I am on the Long Island Railroad and the only thing that makes me feel better about this painfully long ride to my parents’ house is Cheez-Its. I console myself that they are low fat, although I know deep down that just means they are also full of something very wrong.
DAY 11:
Food: Lenny & Larry’s The Complete Cookie (Peanut Butter)
Mood: Stressed
I am at an airport and I have pre-packed these cookies because they looked good and I hate airplane food. When I’m in airports, I often buy the Sabra hummus and pretzels package because it is reliably good. I am stressed because I am running late but I now congratulate myself for getting TSA Pre-Check a year ago and quietly celebrate with a cookie.
DAY 12:
Food: Think Thin High Protein Bar in Creamy Peanut Butter
Mood: Frugal
Is frugal a mood? Regardless, these Think Thin Bars were free in the kitchen at work, so I did not buy them in a bodega, which I know was my one rule. But I want to a) Think Thin and b) save money. So here we are. It is sort of good for something with zero sugar.
DAY 13:
Food: Moon Pie
Mood: Wistful
Well, here is something you don’t find every day. I love Moon Pies. My ex loved Moon Pies. We bonded over Moon Pies and he would buy them for me. We’re divorced now. Wistful.
DAY 14:
Food: Twinkies
Mood: Excited
I am excited that my self-imposed project is done. I am disappointed that I no longer have an excuse to snack every day. I am relieved I have gained no pounds (okay, two). I go for a classic. It tastes like a sad sponge. I eat it in three bites.
Jenny Ryan Bowman is a 2nd year MFA, Fiction student at The New School. Her writing focuses on characters who desperately want things they shouldn’t and also prefer to do their unraveling publicly. She often does inappropriate things just for the story and her most overused phrase of 2019 is “this is going in the book.” She lives in Brooklyn.
Comments are closed.