First, I don't know why this is going grey at my time of writing because it's true and if that's unsexy I guess me and a lot of Americans are just not meant for a life in France because bouncing around small specialty stores sounds like hell. Second, I honestly don't get the hate for super markets. You might not find high-end wagyu beef at Wal-Mart but you'll find basically any spice you want, a few different varieties of fish, lamb, beef, basically the same staple meats as any other country, and lots of regional 'niche' things from around the world. If the variety was bad it'd defeat the whole point of going to a supermarket. Yeah I guess you might miss out on the "opportunity" to buy a twelve dollar loaf of bread but if you can't make at least ten different good meals out of what's available in a supermarket your issue is frankly skill and not ingredients.