Behind the meat service counter, my eye was drawn to the big orange sign advertising that you can get fish fried for free. (Well, "free + tax" -- I'm not entirely sure how you can get taxed on something that's free, but this is California, which is famous for bizarre, convoluted rules.) I've never seen anything like this elsewhere! It's also weird seeing a fancy service like this advertised on Fresh for Everyone-style promotional signage, which always looks cheap (and which I associate with lower-end brands since QFC doesn't use it).
Huh, I've never heard of a free fish frying service at a supermarket before. I wonder if this is specific to this location or if it is a Ralphs thing more generally. I wonder how they even fry it, that seems like quite a labor-intensive thing. Free + tax is also a strange thing, I wonder how that works.
ReplyDeleteMy guess on the free + tax thing has to do with the fact the fish will now be cooked once it's fried. I know in Florida, while you aren't taxed on uncooked foods, once the food is cooked, the stores have to charge sales tax on it (such as when you buy deli prepared foods, those are taxed). So while the store fries the fish for free, you now have to pay the price of the fish + tax instead of just the price of the fish had it not been cooked. That's my guess, anyway.
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