Good Deals at C-Town and Anthony & Son

After seeing Laura for the last time that she'll be a resident of Brooklyn, I walked home. And remembering what Tom wrote about cheap good beer at Graham & Frost, I peeked.

The second beer stop was at Anthony & Son Italian Deli on Grand Street at Frost. This is a deli that I typically go to for good pasta (to make at home), and occasionally for an Italian sandwich. When I was there a week ago there was a big stack of Oskar Blues Old Chub, the 8% abv Scottish Ale. Old Chub has a nice sweet caramel body with a little hop bitterness, hints of smokey malt, and a bit reminiscent of whiskey. Typically a six pack of Old Chub runs in stores anywhere from $9-$12, but for some reason there is a big stack of it as soon as you walk in to Anthony & Son’s that has a sign on it: “Special: $5 a Six Pack.”

I haven't tried it yet.

At C-town, I got a dozen jumbo eggs for $1.79. That beats Jesus by 20 cents. Tuna was 3 cans for $2. I haven't seen it under $1/can in forever. Luigi Vitelli whole tomatoes in a jar were $1.69 or so. I'd expect to pay $2 for that.

I was going to make penne bolognese, but Lewis didn't want that so I went to different stores to get ingredients for eggplant parmesan. I should have started to make that already but I read about health care instead.

Carried my raw meat in my own bag

Months ago, Roxy and Allan left one of those reusable Trader Joe's bags here. Today I took it to Key Food and used it to carry my groceries back and I probably saved 4 plastic bags that way. Now I don't have to fill up my garbage with them and I can take the garbage out less often.

I got mostly liquids, 2 cans of beans, and raw meat. I want raw meat for lunch today.

Trader Joe's

I hear they have a hiring freeze right now. There goes my only chance at a future.

Joose

Today on the way to the beach, we found Joose at the Hess station. It is an energy drink that is 9% ABV. Also, it's pretty good. I bought one on the way back too. It was $2.69 for 23 oz. I read on the internet that someone in Massachusetts got it for $2.25. I'd like that price better.

Food Bazaar

I went with Lewis on Monday because he was cooking me dinner either because I got fired that day or because I kept telling him to cook me dinner on Sunday before I got fired or because he does that sometimes. He made green curry with chicken and squid, and it was good, but this is not an eating blog. It is a grocery blog.

Limes were 10/$1. Pretty good. I had recently seen 12/$1 at the Jesus store, but they are now 8. And 10 is about the best I've ever seen. I think there are a dozen limes on my kitchen table right now, which means I should probably make daiquiris.

You could get a dozen jumbo eggs for $1.29. The only time I've seen a better price than that was in Chinatown where you could get 2 dozen eggs for $3 or you could get 3 dozen for $3. I was with Ramon; he got 2 dozen. He could have given me the extra eggs. I love eggs! I just don't love to clean the pan. I should hard boil them.

When we tried to leave, the lines were the longest lines ever. They were the worst. They were like Whole Foods lines at Union Square, but with only 3 cash registers open.

Since then, I haven't shopped much. I keep forgetting to eat when I don't have work. I did save a bunch of money at Waldbaum's on the way to the beach though. They gave me discounts even though I didn't have their card.

Hot Dog Party Results

I think I spent over $100, but I did get the best deals. Hot dog buns were $1 for 8. I did end up getting the hot dogs at Associated where 2 packs of 10 were on sale for $4. So 50 cents/hot dog.

Before I proceed, here is the menu so you have some context.

-hot dogs like lobster rolls, served on garlic bready buns
-baked potato hot dogs
-banh mi hot dogs
-everything else
-potato salad
-koolaid pies
-tint

I found Cheez Whiz for a dollar under the going rate at Associated. I got a bag of radishes for $1 at the Jesus store and pickled some of them for the banh mi. Ice is $1.69/bag at Associated, whereas it's $2 at Key Food. And I bought a case of Charles Shaw Merlot for the tint. I think we went through half.

4th of July sales

Grocery stores often will take a loss on one product in order to get you to buy its complement at the full price. Hot dog buns and hot dogs for instance. And I am exploiting the dickens out of that strategy this week.

C-town has hot dogs at 2 for $5. (Associated has them for 2 for $4, but I'm skeptical.) Their sale on buns was 2 for $4 I think. Which was still a sale, of course. But at Key Food, the hot dog buns were $0.99, whereas their hot dog sale wasn't very good. Nathan's hot dogs were buy one get one, but there was a limit of 3. So tomorrow I am going to buy all my buns at Key Food. I will test Associated for the hot dogs, then buy them either there or at C-town. The grill will be from Gem. The iHorn will be from the Apple Store. The canola oil will probably be from wherever because I'm not buying it en masse so it doesn't matter. The eggs will be from Jesus store. The wine will be from Trader Joe's Wine Store.

I am shopping because I am having a hot dog party tomorrow. It is a whole lot like a 4th of July party only smaller and tomorrow. I don't know if I'm having a 4th party, but if I do, the premise will be "I am doing NOTHING except having a roof and a bathroom you can use."

Hot dog menu:
1. Hot dogs done up like lobster rolls
2. Hot dogs with melted cheese studded with something I haven't decided yet
3. Hot dogs with cole slaw, tomato, relish, and maybe some other vegetables
4. Hot dogs with normal condiments
-Potato salad
-Orange koolaid pie
-Some weird berry koolaid pie
-Pitcher after pitcher of tint
-

Nickel

I just had a transaction that was a nickel. I bought a small jalapeno pepper to make corn & black bean salsa to go to the beach. They were $0.69/lb. It was five cents!

At Jesus, limes remains 12/$1. Strawberries are $1/lb! I got 2 lbs. For the beach.

LIMES!

I bought some at 12/$1 at Jesus store. Best price I ever saw in my life except for the time Laura and I were charged under a dime for a lime, and appreciated the rhyme.

Clean Freezer

I have a new roommate moving in, so I'm trying to clean out all my food in the freezer so he has room to have food. His name is Dan. I had people over the previous 3 days to eat. All the food is still there. There is no noticeable decline. I cooked 3 lbs of pasta, a lb of bacon, a bunch of gorgonzola, a stick of butter, 2 bags of asparagus, and maybe that's it. In the mean time, I bought 2 bags of ice, a bunch of bread, and some milk. After the first attempt to clear up space, I had left space because both Ridgely and Dylan were kind enough to bring beers. Fortunately, we drank them all the next day.

This is getting serious. He's coming soon and won't have room for food. I think my problem is not inviting enough people so I can't cook enough. Also, it's inviting Ridgely, because he's a picky eater. No cheese.

Another Ice Update, plus Key Food finds

Last Sunday I was at brunch at Roxy's house and her friend Evan showed up with the best bag of ice I had ever partaken of. The ice was nearly chipped and didn't stick together in huge chunks at all. I asked him where he got it because I was so impressed. I think he found that to be a weird question. The answer was the Associated on Grandparents Ave. I have never been there. I could go for some right now.

At Key Food, they had 5 boxes of Barilla pasta for $5. Any shapes you want. I like medium shells and farfalle a lot. Tuttorosso pasta sauce was $1.69. There were no other good deals. Well, I got some bacon for $3. I think I want to keep bacon on hand just in case brunch happens.

Ice, Tomatoes, Meat

You can buy ice in Prospect Heights for $1.25 for a 5 lb bag. I have to pay $2 here. Prospect Heights has a comparative advantage in summer parties. I was going to one on Saturday and saw that ice and showed up with 15 lbs.

Tomatoes on vines are now $2.49 at the Jesus store. They had been $0.99/lb. There are now no $0.99/lb tomatoes there.

I bought cubed steak at Key Food. I unwrapped it. Everything that was not visible before is brown. I feel betrayed. But on Sunday, C-Town failed to have anything useful for a brunch. Time to move. I can't find a roommate anyway.

Non-grocery update: All men's stuff at Old Navy was 50% off today. Yet, I am not happy.