Ew Gross (Ew Gross) Ew Gross

I was walking down the frozen food aisle of Key Food with my basket as full as it has ever been. I noticed a worker behind a table up ahead with what looked like free samples. That's the first time I ever noticed free samples in Key Food. I was coming from behind her because I was walking the aisles in the wrong directions today. As I got even, I noticed she had drinks.

"Would you like to try a sample of malta?" she asked.

I quickly imagined myself swallowing it, grimacing, and spitting it on her white coat if I accepted it. It would have been unavoidable.

"No thanks," I replied, heroically.

My First Purchases at Trader Joe's

I went with the commenter known as Italian Grandma to Trader Joe's on Monday night and since she was buying sea salt and olive oil and I'd be waiting in line anyway, I bought some things.

First I bought meatballs because there was a bag of them for about $3. Then I got separated from Ms. Grandma but wanded by the mozzarella and bought some for about $3. I found Ms. Grandma and I found Brunswick sardines for about $1, and I thought that was a good price. We got in line, which was a long long line. It snaked past the cereal and I picked up Kashi Go Lean cereal for $2.50. It costs $3.79 at C-Town.

The meatballs were pretty good. This picture isn't them.

Pomade

Giant Eagle lowered their price and it's cheaper there now than at Target. It's $2.06 at Giant Eagle. It's not just a sale.

Prices up at C-Town!

Sound the alarm! Inflation has struck! Coleslaw is now $1.49! Potato salad is $1.49! Macaroni salad is now $1.49! Just a week or two ago, they were $1.29. A year ago, they were, if I remember correctly, only $1.09. Back then, shrimp salad was $5.99. Now it's $7.99!

With prices like these, it's easy to starve oneself.

Ginger Beer

Last night, I went to the Giant Eagle in Greensburg,PA, and found this Jamaican Country Style Ginger Beer. It was $2.99 for a 2-liter bottle, which seems expensive, but it's not really that bad when you remember a 12-ounce bottle can cost over $1.50.



I got a 4-pack of Ginger People Ginger Beer12-ounce bottles for $6.26 (tax included) at McGinnis Sisters in Monroeville, PA. It's really good. Not spicy. Tastes like ginger, though. Has ginger juice and ginger extract in it.

Belarus

After reading about a placed called Belarus II in the Gothamist, Debussy and I decided to make the trip to Brighton Beach to see it ourselves. She's a big big Belarusian fan.



When you go in the store, on the left is a long counter of prepared salads (think macaroni salad and egg salad, only Belarusian), pastries, and some other things. A lot of it wasn't labelled in English. On the right are the meats and fishes. In the middle you can find things in cans and jars. The back has some buckets of pickled foods, including apples.

Debussy and I got 2 of the salads. The cashier assumed we spoke Russian or Belarusian or something because we look so slavic, but we don't. We went to the McDonalds down the street to get some forks and try them.



They weren't very good. Maybe next time we'll pick two different ones and get something better. Then we can take them to Coney Island and eat them at the beach.

We also went to the Key Food next door. It's slightly cheaper than my local Key Food.

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Belarus - 495 Neptune Avenue, Brooklyn

Cherry-pickers

Sale Shoppers Annoy Grocers as They Save

Grocers loathe the shoppers known as "cherry-pickers" — people who visit several stores on a single grocery run, choosing only the sale items in each. "I remember working with a grocery company, and the head buyer was talking about cherry-pickers. He used terms like 'rape,' " said Edward J. Fox, a professor of marketing at Southern Methodist University. "They feel it's a violation of trust."

So is charging me too much.

Titan Foods - Astoria, Queens

Today I went to Astoria to watch soccer at a beer hall with people from work. The line for the beer hall was around the block and I don't like soccer, so I went to Titan Foods. That's the grocery store I saw the last time I went to the beer hall. This time I went in.

It didn't do anything for me. I don't know how to cook Greek dishes. It had lots of authentic-looking Greek ingredients. I couldn't compare prices to things I know because they didn't sell much of what I know.

A review that's more positive than mine.

By the way, C-Town FINALLY put frozen pizzas on sale. Elio's are buy one get one free. They always make you buy two to get the deal. I did.

Local Deals

At Key Food:

All forms of Coke are on sale for $1 for a 2 liter bottle. Dr. Pepper too. I got Dr. Pepper, which I'm drinking with cachaca. I'm trying to acquire that taste.

Braunschweiger's on sale too. Someone tried to steal braunschweiger from a Giant Eagle in Pittsburgh and a security guard shot him. It's $1.79 at Key Food this week.

C-town has Kraft salad dressings on sale for $0.99, but if you have a C-town card, $0.69. Tuna is on sale for 2/$1, but there's a limit of 1 per family and you have to spend $10.

Pomade

Pomade was a good 20 cents more expensive at Giant Eagle than at the Target next door.