For my 30th birthday, all I wanted was to go grocery shopping. Not my run-of-the-mill weekly run to Hannaford, but to someplace special. Someplace for people who love good food and who know how to make it. Cooking is one of my favorite things to do, and one of my favorite kinds of outings is to visit a specialty shop or a bigger grocery store (usually Wegmans) and pick up something a little different to experiment with.

I am also not a party person. So, with the, I am told, "momentous" occasion of my 30th birthday coming up, I thought I would go somewhere special to celebrate a little. I refuse to drive in Boston, because I am an anxious person and the traffic there is like an anxiety nightmare come to life. I asked my family if they would bring me, and since they like me a little, they agreed we would all spend the day together (they're actually the best).