my trip to Food Bazaar yesterday

 I wanted to make chicken paprikash and I wanted mashed potatoes to go with that. So I went to Food Bazaar because they were supposed to have 10 lbs on sale for $4. I didn't see that, but 10 lbs is heavy anyway. I got 5 lbs for $2.50.

It was too crowded and everyone was pushing around empty carts and leaving carts everywhere. I survived.

I bought so much stuff I usually wouldn't. Like korean rice cakes, genoa salami, provolone, leeks. The leeks had a price on their sign that didn't make sense and then they were expensive. I spent over $5 on leeks. I got buttermilk for my mashed potatoes.

They had a lot of Mexican stuff I didn't notice before like cueritos (pickled pig skin) and huitlacoche. 

Dried chiles at C-Town

 I'm back from Mexico City. I am going to start blogging about my grocery stores there too because I go to Sumesa, Chedraui, Tiendas 3B, and Walmart a lot. I got Tequila Cazadores marked down from 530 pesos to 130.

Anyway, this is about Brooklyn still. The last two times I bought dried chiles at C-Town, the cashiers actually asked me which ones they were instead of just guessing. That's an improvement. Also C-Town has chiles anchos again ($8.99/lb) which is good. I got arbol ($7.99/lb) the other day and guajillo ($6.99/lb) today.

Ozzie's is Closing, Whole Foods is Opening

 I just got back from Mexico and before I even got to my apartment building, I saw the new Whole Foods on the corner is almost open. Based on the shelves, it looks bigger than I expected. Maybe smaller than the usual Whole Foods I go to, but I think it will hold a lot of stuff. I only buy 2 or 3 things from Whole Foods, so if it carries those, I'll be happy.

Later I went to Ozzie's and saw 20% off everything signs on the windows. That reminded me it's closing for a new building. The store is only 1 story tall, so we definitely need the housing. Because of the 20% off, it didn't seem to have the usual weekly sales so there weren't actually good prices. The shelves are emptier though.

What's on sale? Summer is starting

 I've been buying one tomato at a time lately because they are good enough to eat now and cheap enough to buy. I wonder if I'll find anything good in the ads this morning.

Bravo: La Colombe cold brew is $5 for a 42 oz bottle. I don't like their bottles now because they got taller and barely fit in my refrigerator. I also don't like that they're 42 because I currently have a 48 Califia in my refrigerator that was $5. But I will buy it. I use their light roast when I make carajillos on the weekends. The only other good deal here is cilantro for 79¢.

C-Town: This will be all the same stuff I bet. Bags of frozen vegetables are $1.25, so I will probably get some of those. They have Cafe Bustelo cold coffee for $5, but it's only 40 oz. I've never tried it for that reason. I want my ounces. Looks like they have Califia for $5 too, which is 48 oz.

Food Bazaar: Plum tomatoes are 99¢/lb but they are always super pink at Food Bazaar. Peaches are also 99¢, so maybe it's time to make my summer peach and corn salad.

Foodtown: This says Eid Mubarak. I wonder if there are specials for that. It's above the meat section of the ad, which includes pork, so I don't know....

Green Corner: Poblano peppers are $2.49/lb. Jalapeños are $1.29.

Ozzie's: Their circular hasn't loaded for a few weeks. Who knows what's on sale.

I can't wait for the Lidl and Whole Foods bodega to open.

I shop at Bravo again

 I quit shopping there because I tried to buy romaine lettuce that was supposed to be 99¢/lb and the cashier tried to charge me $2 each and I said it was per pound and she said no lettuce is each. That store sells it sometimes per pound and sometimes each. So I quit shopping there until I left New York for a week. Leaving New York is when I reset my grudges.

I bought a bag of rice and a bag of frozen vegetables and spent about $3.50 and paid with a credit card which probably took all their profit. So I still have some grudge. But I will let them back in my rotation. I also like Foodtown of Grand St again and deleted my negative Google Maps review (because they stopped doing the thing I was mad about.)

New grocery stores coming to Grand St!

 Lidl is going to open where Key Foods used to be. That will be exciting. I've never been to one, but I know it's like Aldi.

And a mini Whole Foods is opening on Grand and Humboldt where Liberty Department Store used to be. As long as it has flowers, olive oil, and butter, I'll be happy. That's all I go to the regular one for. They don't even have sherry vinegar there anymore.

Sales heading into Presidents Day Weekend

 I made a lot of food for the Super Bowl and only 2 people came to watch it with me so I have been eating leftovers from that all week. I only left the apartment once all week to go buy hot dog buns. I'm not out of food yet, but when I am, I will want to shop. So let's see what's on sale this week. I hope coffee is.

Bravo: Romaine lettuce is 99¢. Pork chops are $2/lb. Tomates are also 99¢/lb but it's February so I am not hopeful. On the other hand, I got good enough ones from Green Corner for the Super Bowl. Canned clams are $2.69 and I think that might be a good price. I used up my clams on pizza for the Super Bowl. A bag of carrots is $1.

C-Town: The same tomato sale. Apples are $1/lb. I should get those since they're healthier than everything else I devour all day. Frozen mixed vegetables are $1.25 for 14 oz bags. I use those a lot for my various soups I make for lunch. Chock Full o' Nuts coffee is $5.49 which is not a good enough sale.

Food Bazaar: If I were going there anyway I would get a bag of tostadas for $2.50 but it's too far to go just for that. Lemons are 40¢ but I bought a lot last week at Green Corner. I need to make limoncello but I haven't yet and they are probably getting worse and worse for that as they sit on the table. Scallions are 50¢ and celery is $1.50 but none of that adds up to being worth the trip there.

Foodtown: I haven't been to Foodtown since I bought raviolis because they said they were $2 for a bag and then I got charged like $4.7. Maybe I will forgive them if there is a good sale this week. Seltzer is 75¢ but that's not enough to get me to go back. Pasta ($1.25) and cans of tomatoes (3/$5) are on sale, but I have tons of that so I don't need to return for that either. Romaine is $2.5 which is much worse than Bravo. Looks like I'm holding my grudge for another week.

Green Corner: Carrots are 79¢/lb here and they are sold loose. I think loose carrots taste better than bagged. Not as good as farmers market or garden carrots, but slightly better than bagged. Condensed milk is $1.25 which I think is worth the trek. I might have some already though. I don't use it that often.

Ozzie's: I don't see anything. Their circular shows up small in the browser now so it's harder to see anything, but I still didn't see anything.

New Sales for the New Year

 I have barely been in New York for the last 7 weeks, so even when I was here, I wasn't really shopping. Now I am back, so let's see what's on sale. Maybe this will remind me what I like to cook and eat. I ordered a pepperoni stick from Walmart.com last night for $7.

Bravo: Plum tomatoes are $1.49 but I bet they're pink. Frozen vegetables are $1.25 for a 14oz bag. Instant café de olla looks like it's $7.

C-Town: Even if they're not on sale, I need to stock up on dried chiles. A bag of 50 pizza rolls is $6. I could bring them to a birthday/NYE party tomorrow night. I always bring them there though and I don't know if I will develop a bad reputation.

Food Bazaar: I don't really want to walk this far, but who knows. Nah, nothing looks great here. Maybe I'm just not in the mood.

Foodtown: Chicken leg quarters are 69¢/lb. Pepsi 2-liters are 3/$5. Vintage seltzers are 5/$3. That's worth a trip. I know I need liquids.

Green Corner: I probably don't want to walk here either. A whole pig is $5/lb and a whole rabbit is $4.29/lb. One year Gideon gave me a whole rabbit for my birthday and I made rabbit cacciatore. A whole duck is $4/lb. A whole chicken is $2/lb. A pig head is $2.19/lb. A goat head is $13 each, but I don't know how much a head weighs. Tomatillos and jalapeños are $1.49/lb.

Ozzie's: Pizza rolls are 100 for $8 here, so now I feel like I am definitely bringing them to NYE. Plum tomatoes are also $1.49 here, but I bet they're still pink.

Western Beef: Realistically I'm not going here. Vintage seltzers are $1 each here, so why would I go far away when they are cheaper at Foodtown? Western Beef rarely has good prices in these last several years.

Trader Joe's: They don't have ads, but I am going there today to get flowers and maybe beer.

Already sick of the new Foodtown

 Searching my bag when I leave? Ozzies, Bravo, C-Town, Food Bazaar, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and the other Foodtown get by without doing that.

Trump is so out of touch

 A woman at a town hall (maybe where he quit taking questions and writhed around to his playlist for 40 minutes) asked him about grocery prices. This was his response:

So, you know, it’s such a great question in the sense that people don’t think of grocery.

I'm sorry? What?

New Foodtown is open!

 It's been MONTHS! But it's finally opened. I haven't gone yet. I think it's going to have exactly the same stuff as the other Foodtown. The other Foodtown is 4 or 5 blocks away and this one is 1 block away.

What's on sale this week?

 I can't remember the last time I didn't look at the grocery ads until Saturday. Last week I only bought coffee and cheese, so I probably should find something I can cook today. And I need garlic.

Bravo: Cans of clams for $2.69 (the small cans). Small (8 oz) bags of frozen vegetables are $1. I need peas and carrots.

C-Town: This looks like the same ad as Bravo.

Food Bazaar: Iceberg lettuce is $1.29. Califia Farms cold brew is $5. Table salt is 75¢.

Foodtown: I wonder when the new Foodtown that is closer to me will open. The current one is 5 blocks away. A 2 lb bag of onions is $1.29. Califia Farms cold brew is $6 here, so I better go to Food Bazaar.

Green Corner: Jalapeños y tomatillos are $1.29/lb. I should go while Discover is still giving me 5% back on grocery stores (they don't take Amex there).

Ozzie's: Clams are only $2.29 here.

Food Bazaar's sales for Mexico's independence day

 Mexico celebrates independence day on September 16, and Food Bazaar put little Mexican flags next to a few things in its weekly ad. I didn't realize they carried Victoria. I drink that the most when I'm in Mexico City.

Mexicans celebrate with chiles en nogada, but that's pretty complicated for a store ad to cover. It's so complicated that the last chapter of Like Water For Chocolate is making them.

Beans!

 After my last post, I did go to Western Beef and they did have beans on sale. Cannellini were $2/lb and chick peas for $1.89/lb. I never see chick peas under $2 these days and cannellini are usually more than $2.70 minimum. So I bought 5 bags of cannellini and 3 of chick peas because I don't want to go back to Western Beef soon.

What's on sale for Labor Day?

 I realized I usually don't update for a new week because some circulars come out on Thursdays and others on Fridays and I don't want to update if I'm only looking at half. But this week I didn't look yesterday so I am going to review them all at once. I specifically want refrigerated coffee and iceberg lettuce.

Bravo: Dawn for $1. Seltzer 80¢. Not very good.

C-Town: I need chiles de arbol even though they don't go on sale. They're much cheaper to buy in bulk here than in bags anywhere else. I might get guajillos too. The better Dawn is on sale but it costs more here. Frozen vegetables are 4/$5 so I might see which types that includes. Starbucks iced coffee is $6.

Food Bazaar: Hot dog buns are $1.

Foodtown: Diet Coke is 4/$6. Seltzer is 4/$3.

Green Corner:

Ozzie's: Seltzer is 4/$3. Iceberg lettuce is $1.50.

Western Beef: I usually don't consider Western Beef anymore, but all these other sales are not very good. Iceberg lettuce is also $1.50 here. Peanut butter is $2.50. I might go here just to see what the price of beans is.

R.I.P. Mr. Piña

 I read on Reddit that Mr. Piña on Havemeyer closed. I walked by and saw like 5 people just staring at the empty storefront wondering what to do. There was also cheap produce there.

There are other Mr. stores around and the closest one in Greenpoint probably isn't farther than Mr. Piña was, but I liked it because it was convenient for my citibike points and my trips to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

Sausage pasta

 This is the story of how I wound up with my pasta last night, which was rather good.

A month ago I went to the local library to get a cookbook, The Art of Mexican Cooking by Diana Kennedy. She told me to buy lard. So I went and bought lard (I got ripped off too. I paid $5 and the other store 3 blocks away had it for $3).

Then I had too much lard, so when pork shoulders went on sale I thought I could make sausage and incorporate the lard. I don’t know if that’s how sausage is actually made, but I read a different cookbook about sausage once that said anything qualifies: meatloaf is sausage. A hamburger is a sausage. So no one can yell at me. I froze my sausage when I was done.

A local vegetable store had fennel bulbs for $1 and I had never seen such a good price so I bought one. Then I hid it in the refrigerator and forgot because I rarely own fennel.

Later in the week I remembered it and my sausage and thought it would be a good basis for pasta. I bought some nice lacinato kale to add bitterness against the fatty spicy sweetness of the other stuff. And I turned that into pasta. 

But I still forgot the fennel! So the next day I cooked the fennel down and then blended it with some cottage cheese and reheated the pasta with that. And it was delicious. And nobody will ever know because when am I ever going to have this same turn of events?

But next time I’m going to cook the sausage with dandelion to really amp up the bitterness.

Olive oil got really expensive.

 For a long time, a 3 liter can of olive oil at Whole Foods was around $20. Then it went up to about $25-26, which I didn't like. But I just was at Whole Foods and saw that it's $35 now. That was really fast.

Here's a chart about the price of olive oil.

What's on Sale? I'm back from Mexico

 I've been back for over a week, and I have been to stores, but I still feel like I don't have anything I can eat yet. Last night I went to Trader Joe's and then ate cottage cheese for dinner. Before Mexico, I just kept eating Mexican food and in Mexico I ate Mexican food. I might end up just eating more of that. I also met my new credit card's sign up bonus so now I can go back to using the right card at grocery stores. Time to see what's on sale this week.

Bravo: Honeycrisp apples for $1/lb. I eat a lot of apples, celery, and cheese. Tomatoes are $1.49/lb but I don't trust them to not be pink.

C-Town: Also tomatoes. Slightly less likely to be pink at C-Town. Pork chops for $2/lb.

Food Bazaar: Tomatoes are $1.29 here but they're definitely pink.

Foodtown: Seltzer is 5/$3 for 1 liter bottles. Should I buy a gallon of Tide for $8? I just bought laundry balls from Amazon and I could start leading a fancy laundry life. London broil is $4/lb.

Green Corner: they didn't update yet

Ozzie's: Peanut butter 2/$4. Heirloom tomatoes are $3/lb. At least they won't be pink.

What's on sale? - it's cold edition

 I have barely been in my apartment for 3 weeks in a row for a long time, so my grocery shopping has been crimped. But now I'm back. So what's on sale? I need kosher salt specifically. And I got a new sourdough starter for my birthday so I need to start buying flour again.

Bravo: I've mostly ended my feud with them. Other stores overcharged since then. Quartered chicken legs are 69¢/lb. Red onions are $2/bag.

C-Town: Boneless chicken tenderloins are $2/lb. I paid that for chicken breasts last week. I think this would just save me a cut before I turn them into shreds for tacos. Broccoli rabe is $3.

Food Bazaar: They charged me $2.49/lb instead of $1.49/lb for tomatillos so it will take an exceptional sale to make me return here, even though I need to go to their parking lot to recycle some clothes. Or maybe when I make hot pot and need shrimp. But nothing's worth it this week.

Foodtown: I wonder when the new Foodtown 1 block away will open so I don't go to the one 4 blocks away. I can get 50 pizza rolls for $4.49. I brought that many to a NYE party and people ate them all. They're a good food.

Green Corner: Dried hibiscus is $2 for 3.5 oz. My parents asked me to bring some for Christmas because it's easier to find here.

Ozzie's: nothing