A thought experiment: Suppose you have decided to serve fish for dinner. You have two options for where to purchase it: the fish counter of your local supermarket or the local specialty fish store. Which do you choose? Reflect on your decision. What were your considerations in choosing between fish counter and fish store? What expectations do you have about the quality of fish under each option? Which option has lower prices? Which alternative offers a wider selection of fish types? What do you assume about the expertise of the help? My guess is that you instinctively think the specialty fish store has higher quality seafood and more varied fish alternatives. You reason that the help at the specialty store will be more expert in fish matters than will be the help at the supermarket fish counter. You also surmise that the fish store's fish will probably cost more. Further considerations might prompt more complex deliberations about where to buy tonight's fish. If you need to purchase rice pilaf and broccoli to round out the meal, buying your fish at the supermarket is probably more convenient, and likely represents a savings in time, gas mileage, and parking meter fees. On the other hand, if you have your heart set on mahi-mahi and haven't a clue about how to prepare it, the lure of seafood store expertise might be compelling. Perhaps you are hoping to impress a new inamorata/o with the best oysters this side of the Mississippi; the presumably plumper, fresher, never frozen offerings of the specialty store are essential. Of course, because the fish store must spread its overhead costs (rent, salaries, administration, and taxes) over a smaller product base, you should expect to pay more, even if that day's fish offerings and accompaniments are of no higher quality than those offered at the supermarket. And if you change your mind about the dinner entree, say to Rock Cornish game hens, then the greater variety of fish alternatives at the specialty store is of no use whatsoever, whereas the poultry shelf of the supermarket is.

Then all you need to do is find someone to eat it with.......November 21, 2000