Harrods was founded in 1824, by Charles Henry Harrod. The flagship store is in the fashionable Knightsbridge district of London. It's now the largest department store in Europe.
Among other things, Harrods is famous for its window displays. This one featured Paddington bears and a smoking hot mannequin.
Right now, there's some sort of "Dior" exhibit.
So Harrods has built a "London Eye" facsimile Ferris wheel using little bottles of Dior perfume.
There's also a "Tower Bridge" with floating handbags and double-decker buses carrying shoes. (I incorrectly thought this was "London Bridge")
But enough about the windows. When you walk in, Harrods looks like your dime-a-dozen New York fashion store.
There's a Miu Miu boutique right at the front, for example.
But what makes Harrods Harrods isn't the fashion. It's the combination of fashion with everything else. Harrods' motto is "Omnia Omnibus Ubique" ("All Things for All People, Everywhere"). And that "all things" includes food.
Harrods aficionados say that walking into Harrods' food halls used to be an over-the-top wow experience. One, recalling the Harrods of her childhood, describes "a tree made out of fish." So it is this standard that long-time Harrods fans compare today's version to.
The first thing I saw when I walked into Harrods's food halls was a massive football-sized lobe of foie gras. So that was a promising start.
It was in the "Iranian Caviar" section. I didn't even know that Iran made caviar.
You can buy plates for your caviar at Harrods, too, by the way. They're gigantic scallop shells.
Then there is the "lamb" department. In addition to ribs and racks, it appeared to include what looked like a nearly whole lamb (minus head and feet)
Next door was the beef. The display case included this massive hunk of something called "Black Gold" that sells for about $20 a pound.
The counters are manned by sharp-looking gents and ladies in porkpie hats.
Across the room is the fish department. And more dudes with hats.
The fish section displayed all the usual fish. Along with some "King Scallops." And that England specialty, Dover Sole (in the middle, next to the scallops. I've never seen one with a head).
There's a whole section of the fish department dedicated to crustaceans.
And something called "gambas."
Buckets o' shelled mussels, oysters, clams, etc.
And, of course, you don't just have to shop at Harrods. You can also eat there. In this meat+fish food hall alone, there were 5 restaurants. There was the Oyster Bar...
...and the chicken bar. (Sorry, the "Rotisserie")
The next food hall was dedicated to produce, groceries, picnic baskets, and... Easter.
Life-size chocolate bunnies.
Huge Union Jack eggs (two feet high)
A truly giant Easter egg (three feet) called, quite directly, Giant Easter Egg.
(The "Giant Easter Egg" costs $1,211 at today's exchange rate)
There's a whole special Easter counter.
They'll customize your eggs for you.
You can pick up your Easter flowers, too.
Lest you think you can't buy actual food at Harrods, however, no worries. There's plenty of it.
You can also get "bespoke hampers," which, if my English vernacular translation skills are up to snuff, are customized picnic baskets. They're big in England, apparently.
In the next hall is the Harrods Fromagerie.
And pies. (English pies--meat pies--not the big fruit kind.)
The "Flavours of..." motif is quite popular at Harrods. On the other side of this Easter egg tree, for example, you can sample...
...Flavours of Morocco...
...and Flavours of the Middle East.
If you're not in the mood for all those foreign flavours, you can get Harrods "Home-Cooked Suppers," too. These feature traditional English food. Like Shepherds' Pie....
...and Beef Wellington...
And, of course, Harrods salmon en croute.
And, of course, you can eat at the sushi bar...
...or the dim sum bar, too.
The last big Harrods food hall is devoted to chocolate, coffee, tea, and dessert.
The dudes in hats selling tea don't like having their pictures taken.
But those are a couple of huge honking coffee-bean-dispensing machines.
And you can get more pink champagne truffles than anyone would ever want.
So, that's a taste of today's Harrods food halls. Is the place going downhill? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Now see what it's like to fly across the ocean in American Airlines economy class...
