Post-Thanksgiving Sales

Black Friday doesn't really apply to grocery stores, but they did update their weekly sales and I am going to see what I can get. I got a turkey on Wednesday for $4 or so.

C-Town and Bravo don't have anything of note.

Key Food: Avocados are 3/$2 again. A twelve pack of Miller or Coors would be $5 if Key Food did rebates right. Bananas are $0.39/lb.

I'll look at one more store. This isn't an exciting sales week.

Food Bazaar: $2.50 for a 4lb bag of navel oranges. Mussels are $3 for 2 lbs.

My Whole Foods cashier said "wow"

Because I only paid $0.53. Because I had a $10 off coupon for spending $10 3 times last month (which is when I got a frozen pizza).

Today I got dried shiitake mushrooms ($19.99/lb), dried woodland mix mushrooms (?), 3 cans of pumpkin ($1 each),  and a bag of arborio rice that I think is 16 oz and cost $3. That came to $10.53.

I haven't used my other dried mushrooms yet, but I'm getting ready. I will probably use some sort of mushrooms in risotto.

Why's celery so expensive?

I notice sometimes that celery seems to cost way more than I expect. I don't buy it then, of course, but I get surprised that it's like $4 for a bunch.

The New York Times has explained why.

Pre-Thanksgiving Sales

This week of grocery sales is the last full week before Thanksgiving, so they will be gearing up. (The next batch will end on Thanksgiving.) I'm going to start with the Associated in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens because I am going to go live there for the weekend.

Associated: Five pounds of potatoes for $1.50. Cabbage is 39¢/lb. 2-liter Coke products are $1.25. This speaks for itself.

A one pound bag of black or kidney beans is 79¢.

Green Corner: nothing good

Ozzie's didn't update again.

Bravo: $2.50 for mozzarella or ricotta. Cracker barrel cheeses too. I need asiago.

Key Food: Their circulars are in pdfs these days, which I prefer.

A turkey is 29¢/lb if you spend $50. I want one even though I do not have Midnight Thanksgiving anymore. A ham is 99¢/lb. Broccoli rabe is $1.99/lb. Avocados are 3/$2 which is the lowest price I think I've ever seen. Pecorino romano is $5/lb. Frozen vegetables are $1.50. Eighteen packs of certain beers would be $9 but Key Food is always a scam about that.

C-Town: Broccoli rabe is also $1.99/lb here. Canned clams are $1.69. I'm not interested in anything else because I'm still thinking about that turkey.

Must be grapefruit season

And I don't mean because it says "new crop." They say all sorts of things. I mean that grapefruits are cheaper than oranges right now.

This is at C-Town. I bought regular colored grapefruits at Associated in PLG yesterday for 80¢ each. I was going to make them into a salad, but now I want to make the red grapefruits into the salad and I'll drink the regular ones with gin.

Feedback on my Wegmans Review

Someone was unhappy.


For the record, I am in the same state that Wegmans is based in, so I have to conclude that my state is clean enough.

The sales this week

I don't know what I'm looking for. Something to eat with dried porcini mushrooms maybe? Something to make with hatch chiles? I have an unlimited metrocard for a bit so I will probably go to Trader Joe's but they don't have sales so I'm not writing about that. I want asiago. Inexpensive asiago. I hope Cracker Barrel Asiago is $2.50 for 8 oz. I also need mayo so I can go back to eating fish tacos several times a week.


Green Corner: They actually updated their website on time! Nothing is good enough to make me go there, but I'm glad I know that.

Food Bazaar: Galbani mozzarella is $3.33 for a pound. I'm not going all the way there for some cheese I don't need.

Ozzie's Fresh Market: not updated

Key Food: Honeycrisp apples are $1.49/lb. I never tried one of those. I doubt I'd notice a difference. Fishsticks are 50% off. I need to find mayo!

C-Town: nothing

Bravo: nothing

Associated on Flatbush Ave in PLG: Chicken quarters are $0.49/lb. They have a 2-day sale for Monday and Tuesday when you can get a pound of carrots for 33¢. Or beef chuck for stew for $2.99/lb. Maybe I'll make stew!

Apple Pay

Since my trip to Wegmans on Sunday, I have been hooked on Apple Pay. It is so much faster than waiting for a chip to process, hoping the card is in there right, then often signing my name. Somehow C-Town is the only store that reads chips quickly.

I used Apple Pay at Whole Foods on Monday. I tried to use it at Ozzie's on Wednesday. Despite the sign saying "we have Apple Pay" and the annoying announcements that often mention having Apple Pay, it wouldn't work. Last night, I used it at Lincoln Market in Prospect Lefferts Gardens.

I like it so much that I think I better get my phone battery replaced so I can be sure I have it. So I need $50. Click on my ads and buy stuff!

What do I do with dried porcini mushrooms?

I went to Whole Foods today to buy frozen pizzas because they were 50% off and because if I spent $10, they would give me a free $10 on my next visit. They were almost out of frozen pizzas, so I got fewer than I expected and did get a brand I didn't want at all–Amy's. Oh well. That was $4 so I still needed to spend at least $6 more. I got a can of pumpkin for $1. And I got dried porcini mushrooms. They were $49.99/lb and I got $6 worth. There were some other mushrooms too. I think morels were $249.99/lb. And dried shiitakes were about $15/lb. I almost got a mix of forest mushrooms or something like that, but they were also cheap and I couldn't find anything else in the store I wanted (even a second Amy's pizza) more than I wanted to upgrade to porcini mushrooms, so I got them. And I was happy I got to use Apple Pay again.

But I don't know what to do with them! I have used them to make a vegan gravy before. I know I could make risotto. What else? Make chicken marsala extra luxurious?

Ozzie's Fresh Market on Yelp

Wegmans inspired me to write a review, and it didn't exist on Yelp before so I had to add it.

I gave it 4 stars.

Here's my review:

I went to that new Wegmans today and it just made me wish I stayed home and went to Ozzie's which is better in almost every way.

The fresh bread is a good price and good quality. Produce is good. The other week, every type of pear was on sale for 99¢/lb. London broil and chicken dark meat quarters are always good. This is my go-to spot for eggs. So many hot sauces. Best deli counter in the neighborhood. I like the cashiers; they are nice but don't talk to me too much and I don't want to talk too much. When people visit me from out of town, this is one of the places I bring them.

The absolute worst part of this store is the horrible announcements which read out prices of things that are on sale, then repeat them. Or quote Steve Jobs saying "the best part of having a team is everyone is smart" or something equally dumb. And I wish the online circular updated more reliably on time. This used to be an Associated, which I liked more. The announcements were still horrible then too though. You have to go to C-Town if you want to hear good things. But this store has better prices for most things.

The Wegmans in Brooklyn–Not Good!

Lewis made me go there today. I bought 1 hungarian wax pepper for $4.49/lb and so it was $0.52. I also rang up Lewis's marinated meat because I had a coupon on my app and his app wasn't working yet.

Butter was $2.99 which is a good price.

Overall, I didn't like it! On Twitter, I said it was like a Giant Eagle if Giant Eagle only had 1 brand of canned tomatoes. I really did like the app and using Apple Pay. I really can't understand what people like about it. It is significantly worse than the Giant Eagle in North Huntingdon, PA. And I don't even like that Giant Eagle. It's just that Giant Eagle does a way better job of executing that kind of approach than Wegmans does.

Here is my 2-star Yelp Review:

This isn't a very good grocery store. First, the things I liked: their app is good! I had coupons, it shows up on my phone easily, it integrates with Ibotta. I also liked that Apple Pay was so easy to use there. I never use that because nowhere I shop takes it, but I did like it. And the cashier was very nice. Nicer to C-Town? No, but nice.

Bad things: The parking lot was hostile to bikes and pedestrians. The hot bar of prepared foods was expensive (it tasted ok). The store seems to have been laid out by someone at Ikea, but without the method to the madness. It just didn't have things you would think a big grocery store would-there were no anchovies in jars. There were no brands of canned tomatoes except the store brand. It has Wagyu beef for $200/lb, but for a shopping experience, it is worse than the Key Food near me, the C-Town, the Ozzie's Fresh Market, every Trader Joe's, every Whole Foods, the Giant Eagle in my parent's town, the Bravo near me, and especially worse than Food Bazaar, which is an amazing shopping experience that has everything.

I do not think this store will be open very long. There cannot be enough deluded people from Rochester to sustain it when everywhere else is better.

Oysters seemed reasonably priced. Cheese wasn't. Overall, if you care about prices, and you know I do, this was a bad store. This is a store for people who don't know the value of anything.

Oh, back to positive things. The maple walnut ice cream for $2.50 tasted good. And the frozen pizzas for $4 looked good, but I didn't try them. The beer selection was good.. better than Stop n Shop at Rockaway. But not any better than C-Town. 

New Sales

Last week I got 2 zucchinis, a pint of kumato tomatoes, and a pound of organic strawberries or $3 at Mr. Piña. I wonder what's on sale this week. I'm hungry so maybe I'll find a lot.

C-Town: Coke products are 4/$5 for 2 liters.

Food Bazaar: Kielbasa is $2.50. Frozen vegetables and mussels are $3 for 2 lbs. I want peas. And mussels.

Green corner and Ozzie didn't update.

Bravo: Chicken quarters are 59¢. I could make chicken paprikash.

Key Food doesn't have anything I want to write about.

The sales for the next couple days

I was in Pittsburgh this weekend so I haven't looked at grocery circulars yet. I came back with hatch chiles and a loaf of bread I like for sandwiches.

C-Town: Ajax dish soap is 69¢. Nice. Scalfani crushed tomatoes are $1.50. I can't remember if I like that brand.

Bravo: nothing

Key Food: Five pound bags of apples are 48¢/lb. 16 oz mushrooms are $2.98.

Ozzie's: they didn't even update it

Green Corner: They updated, but have nothing good.

Food Bazaar: 10 pounds of potatoes are $2.99. Nothing else is good, but if you are carrying 10 pounds it would be hard to buy much else anyway.

The Sales

Let's see what's on sale this week. Besides the parmesan from my last post. Today's also the day that Trump's tariffs go into effect. I might go stock up on liqueurs before that filters through the supply chain.

Ozzie's: They finally updated their online circular! So I will do them first. Several meats have ok prices: beef liver, london broil, chicken breasts, pork butt. All 3 types of pears are $0.99/lb. (Bosc, anjou, and bartlett. The 3 main types you ever see. I don't know the difference between any.) Green cabbage is 29¢/lb. Wow. Hellman's mayo is $4.50. Yesterday I saw that one of my roommates threw the nearly empty jar of mayo (there was still some left!) in the garbage (didn't even recycle it!) so now I'm on the hunt for more. $4.50 isn't good enough. Parmesan is on sale here too. I don't know if $12.99/lb is more or less than 30% off then 10% off at Whole Foods. I guess I'll go find out.

Food Bazaar: Red peppers are $1/lb. Mussels are $3 for 2 lbs. A 5 lb bag of grapefruit is $4.

Bravo: nothing good

C-Town: Yeast is on sale for $1.50. I have old yeast and tried making focaccia and it didn't rise at all. So maybe I will spend $1.50 so I only have new yeast around. Or maybe I'll try the less old yeast first.

Key Food: This circular isn't online. Maybe the sales are the same as at Ozzie's.

Green Corner: This isn't updated yet.

Western Beef: I looked at this, but there's nothing good.

A Parmesan sale post tariff? Whole Foods surprised me

I just got this in my Whole Foods email. The October 18 date stuck out to me, because I was planning to go buy parmesan before then because that's when Trump's tariffs on everything good kick in. Of course, I didn't know how long those prices would take to filter their way to the consumer. But now I am going to buy parmesan tomorrow after I get a flu shot. It's actually a bit more than 30% off for Prime members.

The sales this week

I should have done this when I was hungry instead of eating two peanut butter and pickle sandwiches.

Bravo: A big can of pineapple juice is $2. Those are good to have around. 7-up and Canada Dry type pops are 3/$4. Krasdale's version of tater tots are $2.50 for a bag. A 5 pound bag of potatoes is $1.50. That's the only thing so far that might get me in this store. Celery is $1.50.

C-Town: Boneless whole chicken breasts are $1.59. Since these go on sale so often, maybe I'll skip this time even though I love chicken piccata and chicken marsala. Tide Simply detergent is $1.99. Tuttorosso crushed tomatoes (and all other kinds) are $1/can. Celery is $1.50 here too.

Key Food: What a selection of things for $0.88! Zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, green pepper, plum tomatoes. That sounds like I should make ratatouille. Broccoli rabe is $1.48/lb. Celery is $1.48. So many 8s. Coke products are $1.25. You can get 5 lb bags of apples for $0.88/lb. I might do that. Red cabbage is still 49¢/lb.

Green Corner: They haven't updated their site. Neither has Ozzie's.

Food Bazaar: Bags of black or small red beans are 99¢. Frozen ravioli are $1.25 for 12 oz. 15 oz of sardines in tomato sauce are also $1.25.

Western Beef: I haven't gone here in a long while and I haven't included it in a long while. But Citibike is creeping closer to it so I am going to check its sales.

Chicken breast cutlets are 99¢/lb. Five pounds of onions for $2. Same sardine sale as Food Bazaar. Pears are 99¢/lb. A 44 fish stick bag is $6.

Planters Cheese Balls cans

I'm back with the Amazon affiliate links because I'm hungry and I haven't gotten around to writing the grocery circular ads.

You can buy 12 cans of these cheese balls (remember them?) for $20. Or you can get a 6 pack for $30. Or you can get a 2 pack for $14.

If you buy these, you could donate a can or two to me for alerting you to how good these are.

Excellent to take camping.

Things to buy for your kitchen (especially if you are Agnes)

On Saturday, I made fresh pasta in Agnes's kitchen. I kept looking for kitchen tools she didn't have. She said I should go on her Amazon and buy them. But I was cooking, so I am making this list. And maybe I'll get affiliate cents if anyone buys things through here.


Tongs: I was trying to lift all the pasta out of the pot into a bowl because I didn't want to drain the pot so I could make the next batch. Tongs would have been so much easier than trying to use two weird spatula things. Tongs are also good for serving salads, deep frying, and general touching. I picked these because they have a locking function to keep them more closed.


Squealer: Having a pasta toucher (as I usually call it) or a "squealer" as my dad once called it when he couldn't remember the name would also have helped make the pasta. This is one of my most used kitchen items. This one seems nicer than mine.




Fish spatula: I use this for all my turning and flipping. I don't think I've ever used it on fish. Rubber spatulas are not very good.

Serving Forks: It would have been nice to have a giant fork to serve the food with. I am in the market for serving forks myself and I am tempted to buy these.



Knife Sharpener: She doesn't actually need to buy this $6 knife sharpener because I can bring mine over sometimes if I remember. But it's great to have around! I was trying to slice her tomatoes and it was hard.



Wide mouth funnel: Lewis said to add this. He gave me one and it's pretty useful sometimes and only $5.



Zester/Microplane grater: I have this one and it's good. I had a different one and it was worse. I have no idea how it disappeared but this one's better anyway and it's less than $6.



Cheese knife set: This set is a little nicer looking than mine, which has wooden handles.

The Whole Foods in Williamsburg has self-checkouts now

I went at 8am because I was awake and it's going to rain today. It was nice and empty. I only bought a 3 liter can of olive oil. I was surprised by the self-checkout. There also are a lot more regular cash registers.

The oil cost me $19.89 after my discount for bringing my own bag.

What's on sale this week, now that I'm back and need food

Lots of posts today! I wonder what I will eat in the coming week.

Ozzie's: Still hasn't updated the website since August!

Green Corner:  Pork shoulder is $0.89/lb. (That's another thing you can't get cheap in Pittsburgh). I could celebrate Oktoberfest with that. Chicken quarters are $0.49/lb. Chicken cutlets are $0.99/lb.

Bravo: nothing i want to eat

C-Town: nothing i want to eat. even though i'm hungry. maybe this isn't a good time to write this post

Key Food: Iceberg lettuce is $1. Tomatoes are $1/lb. A pineapple is $2. I like them because they are decorative. Mozzarella is $2 for a pound. Gorton's seafood is 50% off, for all your fish taco needs. Butternut squash is $0.79/lb. It's soup time. (So is acorn, spaghetti, and kobucha.) Green or red cabbage is $0.49/lb. What a deal on red! That's a good price for green too. Tonic is $0.60.

Food Bazaar: As mentioned in a previous post:

Kielbasa is $2.50.

Brooklyn Harvest Market: Since I learned one is moving close to me, I'll check their circular to see what it's like. A 12 oz jar of roasted red peppers is $1.69. Mozzarella is 3 lbs for $5 here. I guess this store celebrates Columbus Day too. A fennel bulb is $2.

Not bad. Its sales seem like normal grocery store sales.

Coconut Milk in Pittsburgh

I just got back from a week in Pittsburgh. Delallo's had cheaper food than I expected, including a little glass jar of anchovies for $3.33 or so. I should have stocked up. I taught my brother how to make green curry while I was there. It involved buying a tub of it on Amazon then getting some coconut milk. We went to every store and it was so expensive. We checked Aldi, Shop n Save, Giant Eagle, and Walmart. I think the best we found was $1.60 at Target (that was after we got it somewhere else).

Then I looked through this week's Food Bazaar ad back in Brooklyn.

A new grocery store is coming to the neighborhood!

A Brooklyn Harvest Market is coming to Metropolitan Ave where White Castle used to be.

It has some other locations and I think they are too expensive, but I'm glad to see another one. People who live north of Metropolitan were stuck with C-Town and now they have an option.

It's supposed to open in the middle of next year.

Trump is raising the price of your parmesan

To get back at the European Union for subsidizing Airbus, the Trump administration is raising the price that American consumers pay for French wines and Italian cheeses. These will go into effect on October 18. The new tax we will have to pay is 25%. This also applies to prosciutto, luxury butters like Kerrygold, "liqueurs and cordials" e.g. Campari and Fernet.

I am so mad.

Better stock up. The Trump administration is doing this to protect Boeing. But we have to suffer.

A full list of products is here. And this article is also helpful.

The Sales 9/6/19

Last week I didn't buy any groceries until the last minute. I went to Key Food for the Cool Whip and ketchup, and also bought mushrooms, jarred hot pepper rings (which they overcharge me for), jarred red peppers (which were $1.69 and I guess evens out with the pepper rings). Then I went to Bravo and got salad dressing, pizza rolls, plums, mozzarella, cheddar, onion rings, Diet Coke, 7-up, Fresca, and sweetened condensed milk. So now I have too much stuff and I don't know how much this list of sales will help me. But I will look anyway.

I'll start with the stores I went to yesterday.

Bravo: Pork shoulder is $0.89/lb. Bananas are 49¢/lb. Green peppers are 99¢/lb. I could make ratatouille. Luigi Vitelli pasta is 79¢, but I have a lot. On the other hand, that's what I want to eat every day. Table salt is 69¢. I don't know if that's a good price. Some things I bought yesterday are more expensive now, like pizza rolls and Polly-O cheese. Cilantro is 79¢.

Key Food: London broil is $2.99/lb. A big chunk of pecorino romano is $4.99/lb. People really should be buying that. Both iceberg and romaine are 99¢. You can buy a gallon of corn/canola/vegetable oil for $4.99. Tide Simply is $1.99. Pepsi products are $1.25. You can buy 2 pounds of Velveeta for $10, which makes it the same price as imported pecorino romano. I'm not saying Velveeta is bad. Just expensive.

Green Corner: Mussels are $3 for 2 lbs. Cilantro is 3/$2. Eggplant is 99¢/lb. Nothing else is very good.

C-Town: Bananas are 49¢/lb here. An 8=12 pack of Bounty paper towels is $9. Shredded cheese is $1.50.

Food Bazaar: Cantaloupe is $1.50. Medium shrimp $6/lb. The Canada Dry/7-Up family of pops is $1 for 2 liters. A ceramic/copper frying pan is $5. Table salt is 80¢ here so I guess it's a better deal at Bravo. Kielbasa is $3. A pack of hot dogs is $1. Maybe leftover from Labor Day inventory. Beef tripe is $4/lb. Why is it more expensive than the good parts of a cow?!

Labor Day Deals

I assume there are some! Let's look together.

Key Food: Nine page circular. That's a good sign. I bet they have a beer rebate scam that no one can use. Cantaloupe is $1.5 (I still have a honeydew to use... but I could get another one for $2.5). Corn is $0.29 per ear, which is way less than a pirate would pay. So many cereals are on sale, for school starting I guess. I don't dabble in cereals. Hot dog buns are $1.25 so maybe I should make banh mi hot dogs again. Big Heinz ketchups are 2/$5 (must buy 2) but I might do that anyway. After the rebate (that no one can use) an 18 pack of Bud Light would be $9. Oh well. Pierogies are $2.5 for a box. Cool Whip is only $1! Time to make Koolaid Pie again!  Well, Cool Whip will last a long time, so when I find pie crusts on sale is when it is time to make Koolaid Pie. Romaine is on sale for $1 or you can get 3 for $4. Smh. "Super select" cucumbers are 3 for $2. I don't know what makes them super select but they look long. Maybe the flipped the pic with the seedless ones. Tonic water is $0.60 for a liter. A 12 pack of hard seltzer is $8 after the rebate you can't use. :-(  A pie crust is $2.49 but I am not willing to pay that.

Bravo: Plums are $0.99/lb. Mozzarella is $3 for a pound and ricotta for 2 lbs. Sweetended condensed milk is $1.69 here (it was $2.50 at Key Food). That's another important ingredient in Koolaid Pie. Pizza rolls are $2 for 40. They seem to have a bunch of the sales that C-Town had last week.

C-Town: Wishbone salad dressing is $0.79. I can use that with my pizza rolls (if I buy them). Pepsi products are 4/$5, which is what the circular said last week but it was Coke products in real life. Plums are $2.99/lb here. What a big difference. "Prune plums" are only $1.99. I looked that up yesterday because that phrase didn't make sense. It's an Italian variety.

Green Corner: Nothing much.

Ozzie's: Didn't update their website yet again.

Associated on Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Lefferts Gardens: I am going to be in this neighborhood so I will look. I got so many good deals last week. Heinz Ketchup is $2/5 but I do not have to buy 2. Coconut milk is $0.69. Cracker barrel cheese is $2. Grapefruits are $0.80 which I think is a good price.

Why didn't anybody tell me that C-Town had such a good olive deal?*

*I don't like when people use that phrase because it sounds like they are entitled to be alerted to things without having to pay attention. But it did cross my mind just now. But who would tell me about a grocery deal? I am the teller of grocery deals, so here I am telling you.

C-Town has all these different types of olives for $4 for a tub like this. Which is 1 lb of olives (plus another of brine, etc.. I weighed it). I got pitted Sicilian and Ligurian taggiasche, which I don't know the meaning of, but they are good.

I only went to buy a bag of frozen onion rings for $1.69 and some salad dressing and I bought so much stuff.

Prices of Various Combinations of Chicken Parts

Green Corner updated its circular. Nothing is worth making the trip for, but this is fascinating.

You can get quarter chicken legs for $0.69/lb. They have the drumstick and the thigh. I often buy that piece and cut it apart into the drumstick and the thigh.

You can get that part already cut apart. If you want all thighs, it is $1.29/lb. But that's not because the thigh is so valuable compared to the drumstick part, because if you want all drumsticks it's still $1.29/lb. It must be the act of cutting that makes that chicken so much more valuable.

But if you want both the drumsticks and the thighs, it's even more expensive. I would have to investigate to see if this costs more because the previous two types were both family packs and maybe this comes in a smaller quantity. That could make some sense. Otherwise,  WHYYYY!!?!?!

The Sales This Week

I bought a lot of tomatoes yesterday so I probably won't need them.

Bravo: 2-liter Pepsi products are $1.25. Carrots are $0.79/lb and cabbage is $0.59/lb. I could make coleslaw. I don't know if that adds up to their credit card minimum though so I might not go. I hope C-Town has some of those sales.

Key Food: Woah, 9 page circular. Bananas are $0.49/lb so I can finally make vegan banana ice cream and also pickled bananas. Peaches and nectarines are $0.99 and plums are $1.49 so I can still enjoy my stone fruit. Large eggs are $0.99. Key Food never has eggs on sale. Raviolis are half off.

C-Town: The Pepsi sale is here. Onion rings are $1.69. I have been hungry for ketchup lately and onion rings would be good. Pizza rolls are $2 for 40 but I don't know if I should get them. They might make me lonely. Krasdale cheeses are $1.79 for 8 oz.

Ozzie's: They still have the Aug 1-8 circular online.

Green Corner: They still have last week's online.

Ozzie's raised the price of club rolls

I frequently buy club rolls at Ozzie's. They were 3 for $1 for as long as I can remember, including as recently as Saturday. But today they were 5 for $2. So an increase of 7 cents per roll. Consequently, my roll expenditure fell from $1 each trip to $0.80.

Chicken Breast

I bought chicken breast for the first time in probably 10 years, maybe more. I certainly never write about it in this blog. I don't even monitor the price of it. But on Saturday I didn't know what to cook and I happened upon the idea for chicken piccata (which I had on my to-do list twice, because it is that long). C-Town had chicken breast for $1.59/lb, which I knew was a good price even though I never pay attention to that. So I bought 3 lbs (it was only in the big size) and made chicken piccata. It was good.

Bon Appetit told me that chicken piccata was so good that you could even mess it up and it would still be good. That is true. I messed it up and it was still good.

I might go buy more chicken breast and make chicken marsala next.

Sunset Park Chinatown

This article in the Brooklyn Eagle about the Chinatown in Sunset Park makes me want to go buy groceries there. The Manhattan Chinatown is a lot closer to me though, so maybe I should just browse.

The Weekly Sales

I didn't buy much last week, so I better find some stuff if I'm going to eat.

Green Corner: They didn't update their circular all last week. I went anyway but only got 2 cucumbers. But they already updated this week so I'm happier. Cabbage is $0.59/lb and radishes are $0.99/bunch which isn't good enough to make me go there.

C-Town: 3 liters of Colavita pure olive oil is $16. I think I have about 2.75 liters remaining in my last can though. Other people should buy that. Radishes are also here. And romaine, chicory, and escarole are all $0.99/lb. And zucchini.

Ozzie's: Cantaloupe is $1.50. I still have one I haven't cut when I bought it 2+ weeks ago. I should not get sucked in again.   Wait, this ad isn't updated. What a scam. How did they get worse than Green Corner?

Key Food: Things that are $0.99/lb: romaine, plum tomatoes, broccoli crowns, yellow peaches and nectarines, red and black plums, and bartlett pears. I'm going to buy some of those things. Corn is 3 ears for $1, and maybe I'll get that too. Tuna is $0.89/can and I realized last night I need that. Cabbage is $0.59/lb here so I definitely don't need to go to Green Corner.

Bravo: Cantaloupe is $1.50, so what I said early about Ozzie's, but timely this time. 38 oz of Heinz ketchup is $3. Maybe I will buy that because my apartment is almost out and my roommates might bring disgrace upon this apartment by buying some weird brand. Then people will come over and say "Why don't you buy Heinz?" and I am put in the awkward position of either throwing my roommates under the bus or pretending I invited that ketchup in. Or maybe they'll buy Heinz. They use it a lot more than I ever do.

Food Bazaar: I don't remember. I looked yesterday and nothing was as good as the week before and I was sad I didn't go there then.

What's on Sale this Week

I am back to shopping I think.

Bravo: Cantaloupe is $1.50. I bought one yesterday for $1.67 and I didn't even cut it yet, so I am ripped off! Plums are $1.49/lb, which is a good price. I would make a plum crumble if I had friends. When I used to have friends, they liked that. Pasta is $0.79 per bag, so I can stock up on some penne, ziti, and other extruded noodles. Extroodles. Mushrooms are $1.67 for 8 oz.

C-Town: Krasdale cheese is $1.50. I might own too many cheeses right now to buy more. Paper napkins are on sale, but I am a Millennial. Cantaloupes are $2.50 here–what a scam! Beefsteak tomatoes are $1.49/lb which might be worth going for.

Ozzie's: Beefsteak tomatoes are only $1.48/lb here! Now I don't need to go to C-Town at all. Romaine is $0.98/lb and plums are also $1.49/lb here.

Key Food: Same tomatoes and romaine as Ozzie's. White peaches are on sale instead of plums. I take that back–plums too! All the stone fruits. (Apricots are $3.99/lb so I don't buy them). I guess cherries aren't on sale.


Well, it looks like I'll eat pasta, mushrooms, and tomatoes this week.

A Dream Come True

Last night, I had a dream I went to C-Town to get saltines for $1.60 (for 4 sleeves, which is 16 oz) and cream cheese for $1.25/box. Today I went to C-Town and bought those things at those prices, plus some tonic water for $0.67.

In the dream, there were birds hatching in the egg section and no one was feeding them and they were chirping a lot. In real life, it was normal.

Lime Price

I bought a ton of stuff for the 4th of July, didn't write about it, and have barely shopped since. I'm getting back to normal.



You never see lime prices advertised like this. This is from Ozzie's Fresh Market. I've seen lower prices. Bravo was 10/$1 last week and Green Corner was 20/$2. But you never see a place just advertise a low number of cents without making you do math.

Good price on plums too. I might make my plum crumble. Except I don't want to even look at an oven.

I bought Heinz BBQ Sauce and it wasn't on sale

I was walking around after riding a bike a little bit and ended up cutting through the Food Bazaar parking lot. I wondered if they had the Heinz Carolina vinegar style bbq sauce, which is my favorite and the hardest to find. I went in, and they had it but it was $2.89 because it wasn't on sale. I bought it anyway. I also bought a Heinz yellow mustard for $2.50. I want brown but I can't find that either. Maybe it's at Western Beef.

Then I went to Kings Mart and got 2 big eggplants and 1 seedless cucumber for $1.50. The guy behind me got a pack of gum for $1 so I got the better deal.

My groceries just pile up because I don't have anyone to cook for.

Trader Joe's on the Lower East Side

I went there tonight. I wanted to get 3 things: a jar of capers, a bag of peanuts, and gorgonzola. I got 10 things. I also got 2 bags of orzo for $0.99/each, a box of water crackers, a bag of frozen brussels sprouts, a quart of buttermilk, a 2 lb bag of sweet potatoes, and a can of cannellini beans. I spent $17.42.

It was my first time at this store. It's pretty new. It's in the basement of a new building, so I didn't have cell phone service. I dislike that, but New York's zoning code forces retail into basements. The store was vast! Too vast! I had to walk all over the place. There's an almost empty corridor from the frozen section to the regular groceries. Once I made it to the nut area, I would definitely not walk back for something I might have forgotten early.

It was pretty empty and the line was short at 9:15, and it's right over the Williamsburg Bridge, so I'll go back. I just thought it was too big.

Ozzie's Fresh Market, which is Food Universe and not Associated, is Weird

They haven't updated their circular all day and I've checked at least 6 times. So many times that I have clicked on other parts of the site, and this is weird.

1. "Whilst"
2. "heart of Park Slope!"

Anyway, I liked the grocery store at 639 Grand St. I liked it when it was smaller. I liked it more when it expanded and added better produce. I liked it when it was Associated. I held off for a while when it switched to Food Universe, but I like it again. I don't need all this vision of a "sustainable community interest company."

My Favorite Grocery Songs

Anthony's Song.  (Also reminds me of C-Town because the manager is/was named Anthony)

Cut It. Cut It. Cut It. Cut It. Your price is way too high you know you have to cut it!   (I couldn't link to the right version so I hope this works.)

C-Town Update

I went there tonight to get the cranberry juice so I could make Cape Codders. They did have the cranberry juice. They did not have salad dressing on sale. I discovered that their everyday low price for Vintage tonic water is $0.79, so I got that too and I will consider returning more. I got a head of romaine, which at $0.99/lb was $1.21. So I guess that is how much romaine weighs. I ate it for dinner and I will get more before the week ends. I also bought 2 plum tomatoes.

The sales this week

I really ought to go buy olives and maybe tahini at Parrot Coffee. But this is limited to my local stores. I also bought 2 eggplants and 1 seedless cucumber for $1.50 at King Mart yesterday, and I made baba ghanoush so I should get something to eat that with.

Green Corner: Limes are still a dime. I bought 5 last night. Peaches and jalapeños are both $0.99/lb so maybe I should make peach-o de gallo. I got 2 serrano peppers last night though and made salsa verde. I don't know how many salsas I should have. A bag of yellow onions is $1.25

Ozzie's: Hellman's mayo is $3. A watermelon is $3. The last time I bought one it took too long for me to eat, but I might get another anyway. A dozen large eggs is $0.89. I should make another dozen hard boiled ones. I steam them in a metal colander now.  Oooh extra large eggs are $1. Heavy cream is $1.50. I could make ice box cakes if I find fresh fruit, which shouldn't be hard. Vintage tonic water is $0.60 for a liter bottle. A can of tomato juice is $1.69. I should have brunch. Lots of good stuff at Ozzie's.

C-Town: Salad dressing is $0.79. I need ranch for all my pizza rolls. Cranberry juice is $2.5, but I fell for this a couple weeks ago and they didn't actually have it. Romaine is $0.99/lb. I think that is good, but I don't know how much a head of romaine weighs. If it's 1 lb, that is good.

Bravo: "slicing tomatoes" are $0.99/lb which I would like, but Bravo never has good tomatoes. Sweetened condensed milk is $1.5, so I can finally make kool-aid pie.

Key Food: Iceberg lettuce is $1. They advertise a 12-pack of Miller or Coors after rebate but this store doesn't know how to do rebates. The egg sale from Ozzie's is also here. So is the tonic water. Heinz bbq sauce. I am still looking for vinegar carolina style.

The sales this week

Last week, C-Town's sales were mostly lies. I never found the cranberry juice, lemonade, or London broil. I did find london broil at Ozzie's for that sale price though and I made a delicious meal. I covered it with tomatoes, raw onions, and gorgonzola.

 

Anyway, I am probably not going to buy meat again this week. I got a lot of the beefsteak tomatoes while they were on sale and I'll be on the lookout for things to eat them with.

Bravo: nothing

C-Town: Heinz BBQ sauce is $1.79. I have a lot of that, but I want to find the Carolina kind again.

Key Food: Peaches are $0.99/lb. Last year on this day, I made "peacho de gallo" which was good. I should do that again.

Green Corner:  Limes are 10/$1! Zucchini is $0.79/lb. Cilantro is $0.50/bunch.

Ozzie's: Peaches, like Key Food. Last week Ozzie's had much nicer tomatoes than Key Food, so even when the sales are the same it can be different.

BQE Liquors: I don't usually include this, but there are a lot of good deals on Ibotta. I'm not looking them up, but I saw Cruzan rum, Sauza tequila, Evil Willy, the Smooth Gin in the Bumpy Bottle (Seagram's), Smirnoff, and more.

What's on Sale This Week

Last week I wrote a post about what was on sale and then I referred to it many times through the week and bought food I never even ate yet. So I will do it again. Let's see what we have.

Bravo: Pineapple juice is $1.99. That's good because I tried to buy it at C-Town yesterday but didn't see the sale.

Green Corner: Limes are 7/$1.

Ozzie's: Beefsteak tomatoes are $0.99/lb. (Why are they called that?) Powerade is $1. I need that.

Food Bazaar: nothing

C-Town: Colavita pure olive oil (3 liter can) for $15.99. I have a can from last time it was on sale, but you should buy this! Krasdale cranberry juice is $1.74. I could drink Cape Cods. I am fancy so I call it that. Lowlifes call it "vodka cran." Krasdale lemonade is $1.50. Maybe I only am looking at mixers because I drank too much last night without mixers.

Key Food: Beefsteak tomatoes again. Because Ozzie's is fake Key Food.

There is a 12 pack of beer for $5 after rebate. That is why I started a new paragraph to go on a rant. They had a rebate last week and I spent forever trying to access it. But the rebate requires you to scan a QR code or go to a website, which Anheuser-Busch changes for every rebate period. But Key Food had signs up for New Years, Valentine's Day, and all sorts of random dates. But now for last week! So I could not get it! I did end up buying Bud Light at Bravo, but now I am sick of drinking it.

I guess there isn't much on sale this week.

What's on sale this week

I'm going to look at all the grocery circulars and write what I see. I have all the tabs open. I am not looking for anything in particular, but I might like to have a roof party, a Memorial Day party, or a burrito party. I don't have any friends or money though, so I will just imagine what I would do with any deals I find.

Green Corner: They didn't update their circular again. They're bad at that. I went there this week and bought 2 beets, 1 bag of onions, and 1 carrot. It cost $2.67.

Food Bazaar: Shrimp are $6/lb. 2 liters of Pepsi are $1, but I am trying to drink less pop. That doesn't make me less fat though so maybe I'll go back to the pop life. Kielbasa is $2.50. I should go on the kielbasa life too. I haven't bought any meat in 2 weeks, but that also has not made me any less fat. Moules are $3 for 2 lbs. Not bad. I should get those. A cucumber is $0.40. I still have most of a seedless cuke I got for $0.50 this week though. (I ate it on a sandwich with luxury butter and Ikea cheese and it was good).

Bravo: 38 oz of Heinz ketchup is $2. Stock up! (I have ketchup in my cabinet waiting for action, so I won't. But you should.) A pound of different Krasdale cheese is $3.49. That could be good for a burrito. Sour cream is $1.50 which could also be good for a burrito. The avocado price is not good, so it shall not be mentioned. White mushrooms are $1.50 for 8 oz. That's good.

Ozzies (fka Associated): Peaches are $0.99/lb. I can make peach salad! Cans of Starkist tuna are $0.89. Starkist is my favorite tuna brand because it's from Pittsburgh. I used up all my tuna this week making pan bagnat.

 

Chicken of the Sea solid white tuna is only $1 so maybe I'll get that too even though I never like it much. Flour tortillas are $2.50. That could be good for a burrito.

Key Food: This probably a lot of the same sales as Ozzie's because they are both distributed by Key Food. Peaches are $0.99. A watermelon is cheaper here: $4. And Key Food has 9 pages of sales so maybe more stuff is on sale. 18 beers are $9 after the digital rebate. A bag of lemons is $2. I could make limoncello. That's nice for summer.

C-Town: A can of pineapple juice is $2.29. That's the best price I've seen in a while. A can of olives is $1.49. I need those. A lot. I can make tapenade.  Cool Whip is $1.50. I can finally make Koolaid Pie! Cream cheese is $1.50. I should stock up on that for cheese balls and pimento cheese.

Onion Night

I need both yellow and red onions and I want to make cast iron skillet pizza. Gideon showed me a deal on stem tomatoes at Green Corner for $0.69/lb. They usually have good onion prices so I went there. They never update their website anymore so I usually don't go. The prices were bad (I think $3 for a 2 lb bag of red, $2 for yellow) and the tomatoes didn't look that good. So I went to Ozzie's Fresh Market (formerly Associated).

There they had Vidalia onions for $0.99/lb so I got one. And a shallot for $2.99/lb. (And Heinz Memphis bbq sauce for $1.99). The cashier charged me $1.29/lb for my Vidalia onion as if it were a large yellow onion. Also that store has stupid annoying announcements. Today there was one "As Steve Jobs once said...."

I went on a journey to Associated

The Associated near me switched to an off brand Key Food, but I sometimes check the Associated in Prospect Lefferts Gardens. There were a lot of good sales this week so I biked 4.5 miles each way to go there. There are closer Associateds, like in Greenpoint, but the sales are completely different.

I did not get a "barril."

I got a 9 oz jar of garlic powder for $2.50 (marked down from $4.19). A pound of dried chick peas for $1.69 (not on sale, but that's just a good price). A can of chick peas for $0.69 (usually $1.19, but I would never pay that). Coconut milk for $0.89 (was $0.99), evaporated milk for $0.79 (was $1.49), sweetened condensed milk for $0.99 (was also $1.49), 2 cucumbers for $0.25 each (usually $0.67), a pound of carrots for $0.79. I think those are usually $1. A lemon was $0.40. I guess that's not a great price.

Overall I spent $9.24 and the receipt says I had $4.21 of savings. I also got 5 Citibike points.

Bravo Update

A month ago I wrote that I thought Bravo would go out of business soon. It is now under new management, and I just investigated it. The shelves are stocked once again. Prices seem a little higher (on onions and potatoes and beans). Tomatoes were nearly white, but that is the same. They painted the windows. There is tonic water there now.

I just (re)subscribed to Bon Appetit

I subscribed for a little while many years ago, but I canceled it when every issue was about restaurants and the story about Amish food was just restaurants to go to in Pennsylvania and a recipe to change up Amish food by making chicken curry. But more recently I have been reading some issues friends give me and it is great and I love every issue.

But what really convinced me is Amazon has it for $5 for a year's subscription. If you buy things through my link, I get free money.

I bet Bravo is the next to go

Bravo is sucking more. Its shelves are starting to be empty, just like Gala Foods' were before it went under. I went there last night and they didn't even have tonic water. That might be unrelated to the empty shelves, because that store has always had a weird selection. That just means I have 2 gripes instead of 1 gripe if those issues are unrelated though.

Mussels

Two pounds of mussels are $5.99 at Key Food, but $2.50 at Food Bazaar. They are better at Food Bazaar too.

For St. Patrick's Day, I ended up getting 5 lbs of corned beef for $1.99/lb. It was $2.99/lb but if I spent over $25 at Key Food, I got $1 off. I never made corned beef before but it was good.

What to cook for St. Patrick's Day

I don't know! I hope the Key Food and Bravo circulars inspire me. I think they made their St. Patrick's sales last week because that is when cabbage was $0.29/lb everywhere. But I didn't get any. I'll make colcannon (mashed potatoes with kale) and I don't know what else.

Bravo has some Irish beers on sale. Kerrygold butter is on sale, but it's $4 which isn't a good enough sale. I could do $3.49. Pizza rolls are on sale! I think we're going to eat pizza rolls, onion rings, and colcannon.

Key Food has avocados for $0.97. I have long thought that guacamole and margaritas are good for St. Patrick's Day because they are green and Irish food isn't that good (except colcannon). Nothing else good at Key Food.

I'll check Food Bazaar too. Corned beef is $3/lb. Hmm.

Chicken-free dog food?

Screech is my foster dog. He has alopecia and his hair fell out of his face and sometimes it thins elsewhere. When we first got him, we fed him regular cheap dog food and his fair fell out a lot. I read something that said he might have a grain allergy, so I got him turkey based grain free food, I think Rachael Ray Nutrish brand. His hair didn't grow back in his face, but the rest of his coat started to look healthy. One roommate bought that kind twice more, and still it was fine. Then I read Please Stop Buying Your Pets Grain-free Food in Slate which said most animals aren't actually allergic to grain but to a protein. Around the same time, my roommate bought a new bag of the Nutrish, but chicken-based instead of turkey. Screech just finished that 25 pound bag, and his hair is thinning everywhere again.

I went to Ozzie's (formerly Associated), Bravo, C-Town, and Key Food. All the dog foods have chicken except fancy grain-free kinds. So I ended up buying a salmon and rice bag that was $16 for 4.5 lbs. That is more money per pound than I spend on my food! But I don't know what kind of food to get him. Maybe back to the old Nutrish with turkey.

An online circular

The store that was Associated and is now Ozzie's Fresh Market (Food Universe) finally has its weekly circulars online. I had just been looking at Key Food's and assuming it was the same, and also picking up the paper one.

http://ozziefreshmarket.com/weekly-circular/

Pork butt is $0.79/lb. Mushrooms are $3 for a lb.

I got a lot of anchovies for $2.89 at Whole Foods

 I went to Whole Foods with my friend. I wasn't going to buy anything, but I noticed this big jar of anchovies for only $12.99. A similar jar (different brand) is $15 at Key Food. That's been on my shopping list forever, so I got it. Then I noticed that Whole Foods was giving me $10 off for having Amazon Prime. The icing on the cake was saving $0.10 for not needing a bag. I haven't eaten them yet, but they look good.

I got Amazon ads now!

If you click on them and then do your regular Amazon shopping, I will get rich. That's what I plan to do.

These ads are supposed to look at what I wrote on this page and be about that. I'm interested in what that will look like. That's why I put the ad at the top. The first ad I see is for 40 meat sticks. This is great.

Shrimp with heads

I've never eaten, much less cooked, shrimp with heads on. They're creepy. But they are on sale this week at Food Bazaar so I keep thinking about them.

Gala Foods seems to have shut down

The doors have been gated the last several times I walked past it during normal hours. I think it was last open during the Super Bowl.

Before closing, it seemed to have given up. Products didn't have prices. Then shelves didn't have products. It was a very frustrating place to shop.

I hope an Associated or Met replaces it. I miss Associated.

All the good sales at Key Food are over

From before Thanksgiving through the new year, Key Food had such good sales on the things I want. Mainly mushrooms and all types of cheeses, but also roasted red peppers, olives, etc. But that seems to be over now. I won't buy anything this week.

I went on Thursday, the last sale day, to get 2 more packages of mushrooms (sliced cremini and regular for $1.67 each) and pepper jack and cheddar. The cheeses were supposed to be $1.99, and they were on Monday, but they rang up at $2.49. I didn't feel like corrected them, so I am just complaining now.

That was also the first time I used my Discover Card in real life in years and years. It's giving me 5% back on groceries this quarter. That also means it's the first time I didn't have my American Express in my wallet in years.