I couldn't find any differences though. And my BHM loyalty card still worked. It always had Foodtown branded things so who knows why they did this. Now I'm going to have 2 Foodtowns within 5 blocks of my apartment. I wonder if the same owners will run both or if there will be a difference.
I got so much Cracker Barrel and Kraft cheese because it was on sale and there were good scams on Ibotta so each 8 oz CB cheese was $1.50 and each Kraft shredded cheese was $2 after scams.
I just saw the sign. This is where the Gem store used to be. The space has been empty since that building was redeveloped into affordable housing.
As soon as I got back, I applied for a new credit card for groceries. Now I need to go out and use it to replenish my refrigerator and freezer. I wonder what is on sale. I need kosher salt. Now that I am going to be around, I can attempt live herbs again.
Bravo: Krasdale frozen vegetables are $1.25 for 14 oz. I got some broccoli cuts last night. Colavita pasta is 3/$5. I'm not sure what shapes they have or what I need. A 24 oz container of kosher salt is $2.29 but I want a 3 lb box. Camaronazo is $3.29. That's like Clamato but based on shrimp instead of clams.
Brooklyn Harvest Market: Clamato is $3.50 here.
C-Town: Romaine is $1/lb. Frozen vegetables are 5/$4 for 8 oz bags. Mixed vegetable bags (like California Blend) are 3/$5 for 14 oz.
Food Bazaar: Nothing
Green Corner: Cilantro for $0.59! Limes 8/$2! Nopales $1/lb! I can try my hand at Mexican things.
Quite a price difference on these chicken feet:
Ozzie's: I'm afraid to go here because I hate their announcements, which I think should be an OSHA violation. But they have cans of coconut milk for $1.50. Tomatillos are $1.49/lb.
I just got back from Philadelphia. A coworker might come over for dinner tomorrow. And I have some stuff from before my trip, but I should replenish. Also I'm hungry right now so I might come up with good ideas.
Bravo: nothing. well, white button mushrooms are always $3/lb there and you can get as few or as many as you want, so I still might end up going there.
Brooklyn Harvest Market: Frozen ravioli are 4/$5 for 13 oz. They would be good with the zucchini pesto I made before I left. Super Pepsi (the kind with the most caffeine.. aka Pepsi Zero Sugar) is 3/$5. Beef hearts are $3/lb. They don't usually have beef hearts.
C-Town: Butternut squash is $1/lb and I just remembered when I made a salad of it using it raw, with gorgonzola and nuts.
Food Bazaar: Nothing. Well, the apples for $1/lb inspired me, but I'm not going all the way there for just apples.
Green Corner: Lemons are 3/$1 and my coworker might want a cocktail that could benefit from lemon. Nothing else is remarkable.
Ozzie's: Lemons are 5/$2 here. Will I walk 0.75 miles each way to save 7 cents per lemon at Green Corner? (I don't know.. I might.) Canada Dry's family of pop is 3/$5. Coke products are "buy 2 get 1 free" and they are $2.50 each, so that's the same price presented in a more confusing way.
Western Beef: I didn't see anything.
Maybe I'll make sourdough pizza with mushrooms and maybe yellow and/or orange peppers. And A fennel and apple salad. And a butternut squash with nuts and gorgonzola salad.
I don't update that much because there's nothing to talk about. And the Wall Street Journal covered why. There just aren't any deals out there anymore.
I am going to go buy 5 lbs of potatoes today for $2.
I don't even know what might be on sale because I haven't looked at circulars for 2 weeks (the week before the trip I needed to eat all my inventory). I am very hungry right now, so I hope I find things. Also my trip made me fat, so I hope I find healthy things.
Bravo: Frozen vegetables are 3/$4 for 14 oz bags. Those are good for fried rice. Big cans of tomato paste are 3/$7 but I'm not made out of math to divide things by 7. Seems more expensive than when they used to be 3/$6 though, so I'm not buying that out of spite. Frozen spinach is $1.5 for 14 oz.
Brooklyn Harvest Market: A 12 pack of Sixpoint Hard Seltzer is only $10. I wish they sold the cucumber ones separately because those are great and the rest are ehhh. A pound of hummus is $4, which seems like a good price, but I will just make my own. That's a good idea. Cabot Greek yogurt is $5 for 2 lbs. I haven't bought greek yogurt in a while and I can't remember if I like that brand. Bac'n bits are $2.5, which I could use for the 4th of July.
C-Town: Romaine is $1.49/lb. This is mostly a repeat of Bravo.
Food Bazaar: Limes are 9/$2. Corn tortillas are $1.5. Mussels are finally on sale!
The backstory is I got a frozen duck from Gideon for my birthday in December. It is too luxurious to eat by myself, so I stuck it in the freezer. Now it's April and the Omnicron wave around my the end of the year has subsided, the weather is nicer, and it is time to cook a duck.
The first problem with my meal plan is the flip side of it being too lonely to eat a fancy duck by myself. I started by inviting Yasmin. Then I invited Matt and Emily because they also gave me lot of fancy ingredients for my birthday (most of which I still have, and may incorporate into the meal). And I had to invite Gideon of course, but he hasn't told me if he will come. Also, roommates. So I am dealing with not a lot of duck per person and also a lot of uncertainty about how many people I even need.
Two people have suggested I make Peking duck. I do not know how to make this. I am not really sure how to make any duck (that is the point of Gideon's gift.. he gets me weird things I have to figure out). But I especially don't know how to make Peking duck.
I currently think I will make a large amount of some sort of risotto (that was a gift from Matt & Emily) as a first course, then a small serving of duck with a side of some vegetables as a second course. This is basically the Italian meal style. Which means I could flesh it out with an antipasto course. My main risotto ideas are either mushroom (risotto ai funghi), saffron (risotta alla milanese) or to be very weird, strawberry (risotto alle fragole). This one for orange risotto sounds good too. (risotto all'arancia)
The point of this blog post is to take notes while I look through all the grocery circulars to see what is on sale this week and maybe come up with ideas. The title of the blog post was accidentally SEO bait and then I thought it was funny so I made it more baity.
Bravo: Asparagus $2/lb. Mozzarella $3. They don't list them on sale, but they sell bulk white mushrooms for $3/lb which is a pretty good price and I could use a ton of those with a few porcini (gift from Matt & Emily).
Brooklyn Harvest Market: Asparagus. Mozzarella.
C-Town: Asparagus. Mozzarella. All the sales are the same this week. Escarole $2/lb.
Food Bazaar: Lemons 5/$2, but I'm not dealing with that whole store for that.
Ozzie's: Asparagus. Mozzarella is 2/$4 (must buy 2) so at least that is a little different. And ricotta is only $3.
Green Corner: Strawberries $2/lb. Lemons 5/$2 (I will go here just for that).
I went to Pennsylvania for over a week, which disrupted my habits. I only spent about 20 minutes in a Giant Eagle during that whole trip, so there isn't much to say about it. I did come back with a lot of frozen banana peppers my brother grew and some Tabascos my mother grew.
When I got back, I noticed Bravo renovated its entrance. I haven't bought anything there yet.
I got flour and onions at Brooklyn Harvest Market. Mushrooms and sweet potatoes at Key Food. I did eat the mushrooms (with a lot of polenta and some asparagus I found on sale at Mr. Piña.)
On Monday, I got my Covid booster then walked to Western Beef where I got a 2 pound jar of giardiniera and a 5 lb bag of carrots. I refrained from buying another 6 lb can of tomatoes.
Tuesday (yesterday), I went to Food Bazaar and got a pound of frozen squid ($5), 4 cans of coconut milk ($3), a frozen spinach and frozen peppers & onions (each $2.5 for 2 lbs).
Last night I cooked some of the peppers and onions and made bulgur wheat I've had for a while. I didn't realize how long I have had it but the bag said to use by 2018. Well, I used it.
Coming up, I need to eat a lot of pasta and my various rices and some cheese. Plus those carrots.
I don't have anyone to cook for anymore so I don't know what to make.
Last week I put pictures in my post and they didn't show up. That's annoying.
Bravo: I don't know why I'm even looking. I went on Wednesday and bought 5 tins of anchovies but the store was so crowded I didn't look at anything else. They have Colavita pasta for $1, but I bought 5 pounds of that at Key Food on Wednesday. (It was a big shopping day for me.) Fage greek yogurt is $6. I didn't get my greek yogurt last week because Key Food was out.
Brooklyn Harvest Market: Beefsteak tomatoes are $1/lb. Hot dog buns are $1.25. Pepsi is 4/$5.
C-Town: Tomatoes on the vine are $0.99, but I would rather get Beefsteak across the street. Bill just texted me "Land o Lakes butter is on sale at C-Town. It's the best baking butter." So you can buy that if you want. I don't usually cover that topic here. Diet tonic water is 3/$2. C-Town usually has the best price on diet tonic water.
Food Bazaar: Mussels aren't on sale (I looked yesterday) but I will look at the rest now. A 3 liter can of Filippo Berio olive oil is only $12 which is a good price for a bad oil. Mozzarella is $3.34 which isn't bad. Cabot Greek yogurt is $4 for 32 oz. I should go there just for that and then see what mussels cost not on sale. I might go there right after this blog post! If mussels are a bad price I can get squids. Even though I'll get there too late to use my NYC ID and get 5% off.
Green Corner: Mussels are on sale for $3.49 for 2 lbs. That's too much. I would pay $3. Filippo Berio is $17 here and they spell it wrong in the ad. They also say calms are $8/dozen but show mussels. A 14 oz tofu is $1.79. I might get that.
Key Food: Peaches are $1/lb and beefsteak tomatoes are $1/lb so I will go here instead of BHM and then make a salad of those two things. Mushrooms are 3/$5. Coke products are 4/$5. Fage is $6, but I already decided on Cabot.
Ozzie's: They didn't update but they usually have similar sales to Key Food. Maybe I'll go get a paper circular. Or just buy the stuff there. No, their announcements are too annoying and I can't stand them anymore. I'll go to Key Food. It's too lonely to go to Food Bazaar and have mussels or squid without a plan for people to come eat them with me.
I did a good job of eating lots of the ends of containers from my refrigerator, so I'm ready to shop!
Bravo: $0.79/lb for "slicing tomatoes" but Bravo's tomatoes are always pink so this doesn't count. I would stock up on these $1.69 anchovies, but I did that last time. So I should use some anchovies from my cupboard.
Brooklyn Harvest Market: A 2-lb bag of onions is $1.
C-Town: They also have tomatoes for $0.79/lb and I trust them. Mushrooms are $1.5 for 8 oz. The anchovies are $1.79 here.
Food Bazaar: I peeked yesterday but they didn't have mussels, so I am not going to look again because I'm not going to go there.
Green Corner: Tomatoes on the vine for $0.69/lb! Extra large eggs for $1.25 Oh, further down the ad the tomatoes get cheaper.
Key Food: They still say a 3 lb bag of Vidalia onions is $2. I got a bag last week and they tried to charge me $5 so I corrected them. Colavita pasta is $1 so I will stock up I suppose. Both Cabot and Chobani Greek yogurts are $5 for 32 oz. I'll try Cabot because Chobani isn't as good as Fage and I don't know about Cabot.
Ozzie's: They didn't update their circular but it's probably similar to Key Food's
UPDATE! I went go Green Corner and the tomatoes were labeled at both prices even in the store, but they rang up as $0.59/lb.
I didn't even realize this was a mystery, and I'm not going to dig up my receipt, so this might not be a good post. I'll try to get some other pictures though.
I saw this lettuce for a good price even without the $15 requirement, so I bought it.
I also bought 2 bags of frozen french fries (2 for $3 after coupon), a liter of vanilla seltzer ($0.80), and a bag of raviolis ($1.25). So I thought I'd spend a little over $6.
But when everything rang up, the fries were over $5 a bag, the raviolis were $3, etc. And then the sales coupons were applied. And after everything, I got my lettuce for $0.66 because I originally had spent over $15. Wow! So my final total was about $5.80.
I still have to eat some leftover tacos, and a big zucchini, but after that I need to get more food, so let's see what's on sale.
Bravo: some frozen vegetables are 3/$5 for 14 oz bags.
Brooklyn Harvest Market: McCain frozen french fries are 2/$3. That's a good price. Eggs are $1.66. Fage greek yogurt is $3 for 17 oz. Fage is better but more expensive than Chobani in general. Ravioli are $1.25
C-Town: Ground turkey is $2.5/lb.
Food Bazaar: moules aren't on sale and that's the only thing i want
Green Corner: vine tomatoes are $0.78/lb. Celery is $0.69
Key Food: Diet coke and its relatives are 4/$5. Mushrooms are $1.5 for 8 oz.
Ozzie's: Corn tortillas are $1.25. Eggs are $1. McCain fries are $3 here. What a scam.
Well it looks like Brooklyn Harvest Market wins and Ozzie comes in second place.
I went there because Barilla pasta was on sale ($1) and I need orzo to make wedding soup. Canned salmon was also $2.5 and I needed to get out of the house. So I went.
I found other Barillas for $1, like whole wheat spaghettis, so I got several. I also stumbled upon 44 fish sticks for $4.74 or something. I was shopping while hungry, so I got a bunch of stuff. Apricot jelly for $2.5 maybe? I forget... which is unlike me, but I am kinda drunk now.
When the food rang up, it was like $27, which is way more than I expected. I was confused, and thought I messed up, but was going to go. But then the cashier was like "... you wanted $9.02 of cash back on your Discover Card credit card purchase?" NO! I didn't even touch the screen where I would say that. All I did was scan my rewards card. But for some reason they added $9.02 to my bill and then gave me that in cash.
I am annoyed by having 2 more pennies in my life. But if Discover does something like bill me for a cash advance I am going to have a huge conniption. If they don't, I will accept this as a weird thing BHM does.
Discover gives 5% back on groceries this quarter, so I use it a lot. Next quarter Chase Freedom does. I spend half the year getting 5% back on groceries and half the year getting 3% back. Ask me about credit cards, because if I refer you I get $100 or so. And I know a lot about credit cards.
I went today before the blizzard. I got 4 2-liter bottles of Coke products, 4 10-oz bricks of Cafe Bustelo, 2 jars of Skippy peanut butter, 2 bags of McCain frozen french fries, and 1 lb of Galbani mozzarella. That would have been just over $50, but I paid $21.
The pop was 4/$5 instead of $1.5 each. The coffee was $1.98 each instead of $4.99. The french fries were $1.50 instead of $5.19. The cheese was $2 instead of $6.49. The peanut butter was supposed to be $3.79 but was $2 and then I had a coupon.
I ate some of the beer-coated french fries for lunch and they were the best frozen french fries I ever had.
I forgot to get eggs or milk, just like I did when I went to Ozzie's yesterday. I can never make eggnog.
I think Christmas sales are already showing up. And Christmas Eve sales. Lots of fish.
Ozzie's: Jumbo eggs are 3/$5. I might have too many eggs now, especially considering how many eggs my roommates have. However, I have been baking a lot of cookies. Polly-O mozzarella and ricotta (32 oz) is $2.50. Yellow and red onions are $1/bag. They're never the same price. That's it I guess. They have a short circular. Last week, I saw Natty Ice on sale in the Key Food circular, but the store doesn't carry that. I went to Ozzie's, which does carry it and has the same sales, more or less, as Key Food. It wasn't in the circular and it wasn't labeled on sale in the store, but I bought it anyway and it was on sale! That's not ideal, but I liked it.
Green Corner: Chicken legs are $0.49/lb. Polly-o is on sale here, but for $3 (mozzarella) and $4 (ricotta). Mussels are $4 for 2 lbs. No comment:
I asked my roommates if they would eat Thanksgiving foods if I made them. They said yes. So that was the go-ahead I needed.
Brooklyn Harvest Market had turkeys for $1.49/lb or turkey breasts for $1.99/lb. I went a few times but could only find big (minimum 17 lb) turkeys, which would be $26. I wanted a 10 lb one to spend $15. So I decided I would just get a breast, which were billed at 4-7 lbs.
I went yesterday morning, since I figured that would be my best chance to find a small turkey because that's what everyone wants, especially this year. Yesterday they had nothing good. Today I went back, and I found a turkey that was a "manager's special" for $0.99/lb! And it was 15 lbs, so it fit my $15 budget. That was the same total price of all the breasts I could find, so that is what I bought.
Fifteen pounds for 3 people... well, getting sick of Thanksgiving food is one of the parts of Thanksgiving food that I like.
I don't know if I will celebrate Thanksgiving. I'm definitely not having a bunch of people over, but I would like to eat turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing and gravy. Whether I do that will depend partly on what I find on sale and partly on how much room I have in my refrigerator. It's currently very full.
I think most stores don't put the price of turkey in their ads. They put the price "if you spend $100" or whatever. I'm not going to spend $100. I just want to know how much the turkey is!
Anyway, here we go.
Key Food: The turkey is $0.39/lb if I spend $50. I'm sure that will be the cheapest, but I definitely can't fit $50 of groceries in my apartment. Last year I went with Eric and he bought a lot of groceries and I tacked on a turkey. Sweet potatoes are $0.59/lb. A pound of mushrooms is $2.50 and a bag of cranberries is 3/$5 (they had been $2 all month). A bag of stuffing is $2.5. Butternut squash is $0.79/lb. There is something called "steamable sweet potatoes" for $1.67/lb but I don't understand that because all sweet potatoes are steamable if you put them over steam.
C-Town: I don't see anything I'd go here for. But maybe I'm not in the mood for this. I'll try one more store.
Brooklyn Harvest Market: 14 oz of "stuffing mushrooms" are only $2.50. Mozzarella and ricotta remain on sale. I haven't made lasagna yet, but maybe I will today. I think a turkey is $1.49/lb.
Groceries have gone too far.
Maybe I'll keep posting these.
Here is what I got. Five things.
So many stores to review these days. I specifically need to buy coffee, so I need to look through every circular, so I might as well take notes. I need eggs too. In the past week, I bought 100 pizza rolls and 2 lbs of frozen french fries, so I need to avoid more frozen food.
Ozzie's: coffee? but it says i need a card and i have refused to ever get a card here (even though i got one for BHM immediately). Boneless chicken breasts are $1.79/lb.
Brooklyn Harvest Market: Broccoli is 99c/lb. Both 7-up products and Coke products are 4/$5 for 2 liter bottles, but you have to buy 4 and that's a lot to commit to. A pound of mozzarella or 2 lbs of ricotta for $1.99 and $2.99 respectively. Lasagne (the noodles) is only $1.24. I think I need lasagna. I am Garfield. Hellmann's mayo is $2.99 "with digital coupon" but I don't see it. So I don't trust it. Bacon bits are $1.99, but they were not on the shelf when I looked last week. Vintage seltzer is $0.60/liter. I wonder if that includes tonic water. A box of 15 pizza rolls is on sale for $2. Last week, I got a bag of 50 for $2.50. That circular is so long. And I found the mayo digital coupon.
Food Bazaar: This circular is back up to 6 pages. I don't really want to look because I'm not going to go there this week. I can get Coke for $1. Ricotta is $4 for 2 lbs here. A dozen clams is $4. I never buy them, but maybe it would be nice. Bags of pizza rolls are $5 here. I sure got a good deal last week. Limes are 11/$2. Who can do that kind of math?!
Western Beef: I am unlikely to go here, but I do need eggs and jarred red peppers. They have the coffee I want (Cafe Bustelo 10 oz brick for $2). Too much of their circular is dedicated to meat and their prices for meat aren't that good. Limes are 10/$20 here, which is easier math but more expensive than Food Bazaar. Ricotta is $4. 100 pizza rolls are $10 here.
Bravo: nothing
C-Town: Mayo is $3 with a $25 purchase, but I can't even carry $25 of food. Ricotta is $4 and mozzarella is $3. Cream cheese is $1.50. I may go for that.
Green Corner: Limes are 20/$2 here. I can do that math and it's a good price. Chicken breasts are $1.49/lb here. Ricotta is $4 and mozzarella $3.33.
Key Food: Avocados are still $0.49 and they have been so good every time I get them. So I will get more. Mozzarella is 2 lbs for $3. Wow. Cafe Bustelo is 2/$5 if I don't want to bike all the way to Western Beef. Mayo is $3 here without needing a digital coupon. Buttermilk is $2.
I'm hungry.
