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.

Summer's here!

Summer's here. Limes are 10/$1 at the Jesus grocery. That's as cheap as they'll get. Roma tomatoes are $0.99/lb which is as cheap as they'll get, but they're not good looking yet. What's surprising is that this year, the tomatoes still on the vine are $0.99/lb there. I had never seen them below $1.49 in all my years.

To translate any of these prices to Key Food prices, just multiply by two. Key Food has no deals this week. None. I might have saved a few pennies on my ricotta, but that's it. The sausage in a container that is already broken up and you can just cook with it is always a good deal, but it wasn't on special or anything.

I am going to keep my eyes peeled for jars of minced garlic that are on special, because they vary widely in price, and I'm almost out.

I need to become a better pickler.

Mission Tortilla Chips

Mission tortilla chips are $2.99 for a bag at C-Town. The best price other than that I can get is $1.99 for Herr's. I think Mission's are so much beter that they're worth the dollar. They might give you more in a bag too, but I didn't investigate that.

Yesterday I bought tortilla strips. I don't think they were that good for standing up to my guacamole. They're long and thin. They weren't all that bad, but triangles would have probably been better. I might use the strips if I were fashioning an appetizer that had to be surrounded by chips, because the strips are pretty fashionable. And they weren't so bad that I couldn't ever use them again.

Excerpts from Emails and a Weekend Update

Today I wrote a lot of emails about prices. Here's a summary.

At Warehouse Liquors on Broadway and 8th St, you can get Seagram's Gin, which is the smooth gin in the bumpy bottle, for $19.99. That's for 1.75 liters. If you're paying $13 for a 750ml bottle, they must have seen you coming. You can get 2 750ml bottles of Evan Williams black label, which is the best whiskey there is, for $18.99. You can also get a 1.75l bottle for Boru vodka for $18.99.

Key Food has 1 lb of Sorrento mozzarella on sale for buy one get one free. Luckily, the jesus vegetable store has tomatoes that are $0.99 for on the vine and finally, $0.99 for roma. As always, you can get basil for $1 a bunch and there you have your caprese salad. Olive oil's on sale at Key Food, but nothing special. You should never pay more than $7.99 for a liter. You can often find it for $6.99. Extra virgin that is. There's no reason to get anything else.

Key Food had Oscar Mayer extra thick cut bacon on sale for $3.99 for a pound. I tried cooking some in the microwave and some in the oven to put in my dill chicken salad. Microwave wins. Use a bunch of paper towels and cook it until you want to eat it.

Organic bodega still has avocados for $1.49 each. I bought 6 really ripe ones and made my really good guacamole.

I finally was able to make mayo from scratch. The secret was I added another egg.

Here are things I made my the Memorial Day cook out Andrew and I had:
chicken salad with homemade dill mayo and bacon
caprese with fresh pesto
corn and black bean salsa
3-ingredient guacamole

There were at least 2 other parties on the roof yesterday, but we were regarded as having the best food.

Chinatown, etc.

I went to Chinatown for groceries on Monday. I think Dynasty Supermarket changed its name sometime over the last several years. They had a sale on dumplings for $10 for 3 bags, but they seemed to be out. Or I didn't read Chinese well enough. You can get 3 dozen brown eggs there for $2. Or if you don't want that deal, you can get a dozen for $1. I am hard pressed to buy eggs for under $2 anywhere else.

This isn't a grocery, but Old Navy has a sale on swim pants now. Everything was $12.90. But I didn't like anything.

Last I saw, spaghetti, macaroni, and maybe another shape of Ronzoni pasta were on sale for $0.80 at Key Food. You must buy five. The cheapest sauce they had was $2 for a jar.

You can buy a container of chicken livers there for $1.79, but figuring out what to do with them is the hard part. A duck cost me $15 and it was good, but it wasn't 4 times better than roasting a chicken. Nor was it better than having 4 chickens.

Where I Spend It

I just figured out how to see where I spend my money with American Express. Since I use plastic money, especially American Express, for almost everything, this is a pretty accurate measure of where my dollars go. This excludes rent and metrocards, however.

Here's how it breaks down.

1. Warehouse Liquors - 20%
2. Key Food - 15%
3. Botanica - 12%
4. Trader Joe's - 10%
5. Apple - 6%
6. Virgin Mobile, C-Town, Time Warner Cable - 4% each (tied)

Chicken parts

On Sunday, I bought 5 chicken thigh/leg combos for under $4. They were $0.79/lb. That's the beat deal in chickenry.

The milk I bought at Trader Joe's doesn't expire until May 25. How do they make it last so long?

All the Deals I Found on Saturday Afternoon

C-town has avocados on special. They're 2 for $3. The organic bodega on Graham that isn't Khim's but whose name I should know still has them for $1.49. So a penny cheaper. They're also riper. I don't really trust C-town's produce.

C-town still has tuna on sale for a dollar a can. I haven't seen it cheaper than that for a long time.

At Key Food, boxes of Barilla pasta are on sale for $1. It used to be I'd never pay a dollar for pasta, but now if I see it for a dollar, I snatch it up. Usually the only kinds you can get for $1 are spaghetti, thin spaghetti, elbows, ziti, penne rigate, and rotelle. But this sale has every shape on sale, including some whole wheat ones. I got pipette, cavatapi, gemelli, large shells, and cellentani. I'm going to make pesto for one of them.

Barilla pasta sauce is on sale for 2 for $4, and I haven't really seen pasta sauce cheaper than that for a while.

Andrew's going to puree some carrots this afternoon. I don't know what I'm going to puree yet. I'm going to make more guacamole though. Here's my recipe.

Guacamole
2 ripe avocados
1/2 a ripe tomato that isn't too juicy
1/2 a jalapeno pepper

Cut the avocados in half and remove the pit. Scoop out the part you eat into a bowl. Mash it.
Dice the tomato. Slice the jalapeno into small pieces. Put them in the bowl. Stir.

That's it. No salt. No other spices. No nothing. Oh you could certainly add a number of good things to this recipe. I'd eat those too. But I don't have those things so this is my recipe. Well, I have salt. I won't pretend I don't have salt.

Avocado's Constant

I was wrong to report that you can get avocados for $1.19 at the non-Khim's organic store on Graham just south of Metropolitan. I'm not saying my source lied. I'm saying the price went up.

I bought some yesterday for an ersatz Cinco de Mayo. And boy did I make the best guacamole I ever made with them. I used 2 avocados, 1/2 a tomato, and 1/2 a jalapeno pepper. That was it. I didn't even use salt. Just the vegetables. Or fruits, if you want to be particular, because the pepper and the tomato are both fruits and the avocado seems like it's technically a fruit too.

SOUP UPDATE: Andrew was scandalized by paying $1.89 for a can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup at Compare, but that's also the price at C-Town. If you know of a better price, please let me know. I'd travel. We go through that stuff like water when we eat our Sausage, Biscuits, Scrambled Eggs, and Gravy brunch that we eat all the time.

Evil Willy

The worst day of my life was when Warehouse Liquors quit offering Evan Williams in the 2 pack. It cost $17.99 for the two, and then suddenly it was $11.99 each. They had some Grande Canadian for that price, but it wasn't the same. It was like losing a friend.

Today I went on my weekly liquor run and when I saw it, I stated to cradle it. I also got a 2 pack of rum and a bottle of white tequila.
I also saw 8 limes for 99 cents at Associated. I can't afford not to get them at that price. But I also couldn't carry anything more because I had just been to Key Food.

Things I Made on the First Day of Owning an Immersion Blender

-pesto
-mayo, but I messed it up twice before my roommate fixed it.
+tuna salad with that mayo
-white bean puree
+crostini with the tuna salad and with the bean puree. I put a slice of sausage on the bean ones
-a very very very minty mint julep
-a very very minty mojito. But it was only 2 verys of minty. The julep was 3 verys.

Today I want to puree meat. I never want to chew again.

I'm back! I think

I'm back, but without the facade of being a guy in a wig wandering around C-Town. That's partially because over the last two years, I've switched most of my shopping to Key Food because when I want to eat raw meat, I trust their raw meat. Also, the C-town doesn't really have produce, but Key Food has overpriced produce, but the Jesus vegetable store has cheap produce and is on the way.

Someone told me about avocados that were $1.19 on Graham Ave, and she didn't even know I used to have a grocery store blog, so I thought I'd fire it up again. And because people are moving to the neighborhood and I need to learn them where to shop.

Lately I've been happy with the price of butter. I can get a pound for about $2.50 at Key Food. C-town has it for $2.99. And I FINALLY found Koolaid in the packets at Compare Food, which means I can start making Koolaid pie again. That store is going to be my new beverage center. It has cans of tomato juice for $1.89, while they are $2.09 at Key Food. They also have a lot of ginger beer, which is pretty hard to find.