First Lidl, not already Aldi!

 Aldi opened on Wednesday and I went that evening to check it out. I've been in Aldis before, mostly when I am in Pittsburgh, but sometimes in New York. Even earlier this summer on my trip to downtown Brooklyn, I went to both Lidl and Aldi and only liked Aldi.

Well, now I only like Lidl. The basket situation at Aldi is even worse. The prices are fine, but I don't know if the food seems as good. And I waited about 10 minutes in line, which is more than I've waited combined total at Lidl and the new Whole Foods on Grand St. Aldi doesn't have self checkout and they have separate lines for each register instead of 1 feeder line. So it's slow.

I bought a big bag of tortilla chips for about $3.90 and a flavored sparkling water for 80¢ I think. I drank it when I got home and it was gross.

I just got back from Lidl though where I got chicken breast for $1.59/lb, shredded Mexican cheese for $2.50/lb (other places charge $2.50 for 8 oz), and a bunch of reasonably priced flour tortillas. I'm making quesadillas tonight for old times sake.

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. 

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.

What's on sale? - Short Week

 I usually do a sneak peek at the coming sales on Thursday and view the rest on Friday and then I don't write separate posts or any posts. But I didn't look yesterday, so I guess I will today. I have eaten nothing but soup since Sunday so I am eager for new foods. I have been buying foods though. I got 2 cans of chipotles in adobo for $2.29 each and a can of whole jalapeños for $1.25. They tried to overcharge me but they fixed it. I can shop at Green Corner again because I have the Savor One card I wrote about in my last post. I also went to Food Bazaar and got crema mexicana for $3, queso fresco for $4, and 5 lbs of wings for $10.

Also, I'm going to Atlanta for 4 days this week so I can't plan to buy or cook all that much.

Bravo: Iceberg lettuce for $1.49 for my tacos and tostadas.

C-Town: Tomatoes are $1/lb but I am worried they would be pink.

Food Bazaar: A 2 pound bag of squid tentacles is $10.

Foodtown: Morningstar Farms frozen fake meat things (like chicken nuggets) are $4 and you can get $0.75 off using Ibotta. 

Green Corner: Nothing.

Ozzie's: Iceberg lettuce for $1.49. Beefsteak tomatoes for $1.49. Seltzer 4/$3.

Queso Fresco at Food Bazaar

 Usually 12 oz of queso fresco is $5.49 but Food Bazaar had it for $3.99. I am mad at Food Bazaar because they got rid of their shopping baskets, but I figured I would go check to see if they brought them back. They did not, but the cheese was a good price.

What's on sale? I'm back after traveling

I've barely been around for a month and I wasn't shopping intensely before either of my trips. Now my refrigerator is fairly empty and I need to shop.

In Pittsburgh I did get banana peppers for 25¢ each and hatch chiles for $5 for 18 oz, so those are in my refrigerator and I need to use and/or freeze them. I can never find hot banana peppers in NYC.

Bravo White tuna is 3/$4

C-Town Cracker barrel cheese are $2.50 for 8 oz. Often I find deals on Ibotta for $1 back, which makes them $1.50 and quite a good deal. Jif peanut butter is $2.69, which after recent inflation, is a pretty good price. The tuna deal is here too.

Food Bazaar I'm still mad at them, but I will look because I might like to get salmon. In Pittsburgh at Giant Eagle, I got a piece of salmon for $6/lb and I dry cured it. It's $10/lb at Food Bazaar. Coke products are 3/$5 for 2 liter bottles. Can of coconut milk are 4/$5.

Foodtown (fka Brooklyn Harvest Market) London broil is $4/lb. A jar of mayo is $4. Pepsi 2-liters are 3/$5. Kraft shredded cheeses are $2 (and on Ibotta for another $0.50 off). Seltzers are 5/$3 per liter.

Green Corner Four pound boxes of shrimp for $3.50/lb.

Ozzie's Sardines 5/$4.

Brooklyn Harvest Market Changed Its Name to Foodtown

 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.

new credit card for the 4th of July

 I got a new credit card that gives you 5% back on whichever category you spend the most on every month. Which is grocery stores. And I got it just in time to spend $200 on groceries for the 4th of July.

Cheap hot dogs were harder to find this year. I got them at Dollar Tree. You can get 8 turkey or chicken hot dogs for $1.25. They are only 10 oz instead of 12 like most places, but I don't care. People want the condiments.

I can't get chicken quarter for less than $1/lb. Peaches were $1.49/lb at the best place I could find. Onions are $2/bag everywhere. Ketchup was $3.50. I got buns for $1/bag of 8, which isn't that bad. And a watermelon was $5 which is fine. The cheapest tomatoes I could find were $1.49/lb. I spent over $7 on Cheez Whiz! Bulgarian sheep feta was $5/lb but that's still a good price. Pasta is over $1 box. I got 3 bags of chick peas for $1.25 each though which is an incredible price. Cracker barrel cheese is $2.50 but then I got $1 back from Ibotta. I should go get more. I had to pay $4 for a pound of store brand mozzarella.

I'm not even making dessert this year. I'm too worn out.

Trader Joe's in Williamsburg is opening December 10!

 I guess I will buy capers and nuts and buttermilk and gorgonzola more often.

Trader Joe's Williamsburg outpost will officially open Friday, Dec. 10, the store announced Thursday. https://t.co/TfEsO0UJhZ

— Brooklyn Paper (@brooklynpaper) December 3, 2021

Where's the tea?

 I'm out of tea bags. I make a pitcher of iced tea every night before I go to sleep and go through 4-6 bags a day. Dollar Tree tea isn't good enough, but store brands are good enough and name brands are good enough. Since I am specifically looking for that, I might as well write about what else is on sale everywhere this week.

Bravo: Canned clams are $1.99. I like when they are $1.69 though. Heinz bbq sauce is $2 but they don't carry the kind I want (Carolina). A blue cheese wheel is $6/lb, but I needed that last week and I still have gorgonzola after overpaying for it. No tea.

Brooklyn Harvest Market: What is wide meat?

Herbal teas are on sale ($3 for 20 bags) but I bought that for $2.50 earlier this week.

C-Town: This is the same stuff as Bravo.

Food Bazaar: Beans are $1/lb but I have been stocking up too much already. A dozen large eggs are $1.

Green Corner: Lemons are 7/$2. I could make limoncello but my roommate started drinking my spirytus and I think he's probably now dead. Lipton tea is on sale for $4 for 100 but that doesn't seem good enough.

Key Food: A cauliflower is $2. Mushrooms are 3/$5 for 8 oz. Heinz bbq sauce is also on sale here but they don't have Carolina either. Pepsi is 3/$4 for 2 liter bottles. I may just get some Super Pepsi for my caffeine to get me through the weekend. McCain frozen french fries are 2/$5 and I kinda want them. This ad says buttermilk is $1.69 but I don't believe it. A 15 pack of Natty Light is $10. Tetley tea is $3.49.. maybe I can do that.

Oh.

Ozzie's: Luigi Vitelli pasta is 88¢. Cauliflower is $2 here too. This circular seems too short. It probably has a lot of the same stuff as Key Food.

Western Beef: Everything is cheaper somewhere else.

So I guess I will go to Key Food (or Ozzie's?) for Tetley tea.

UPDATE: I went to Ozzie's for tea and Natty Ice. I almost got Bromley's for $3.29 but I decided to spend 20¢ more to see if Tetley's is great.

"Ohh, that saved you a lot!" -the cashier at Brooklyn Harvest Market

 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.

What's on sale? I'm hungry

 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:

Grapefruits are $0.50 each and serrano peppers are $1.39. Lemons are 7/$2. I hate that kind of math. I do it in my head as "6/$2, but a free lemon."

Brooklyn Harvest Market: I've already been looking at this one and am going there later, probably. I like their online coupons that go to my card. I'm disappointed that the Ibotta link doesn't work. 3 lbs of sweet potatoes or 5 lbs of regular potatoes for $1.50. Cafe Bustelo bricks (10 oz) for $1.98. I will buy the 4 maximum. I could buy 20 lbs of rice for $8.88, which is almost tempting me to become good at cooking rice. A 14 oz package of "stuffing mushrooms" is $2.50, which is pretty good. Galbani mozzarella is $2 and ricotta is $3. So I'll get the mozzarella here and the ricotta at Ozzie's, if I have room in my refrigerator. Coke products are 4/$5 but you have to buy 4. I guess I can handle that, if I make more than one trip here this week. McCain frozen onion rings and potatoes are 2 bags for $3 with the online coupon. I hope I have room in my freezer too! Two pounds of mussels go for $6.49 here. They're organic.

I got a 2 lb bag of frozen shrimp for $10 last week here, but I didn't write about it. Now I am.

Key Food: This is the other place I shop the most of late. That shrimp bag would be $14 here this week. "Fresh" mozzarella logs are $4. Cafe Bustelo is $2.50 here. Pepsi products are 4/$4 with a $10 purchase, but I don't know if I can reach $10. Polly-o is $2 for mozzarella (must buy 2) or $3  for 32 oz of ricotta. Colavita pasta is $1, so I might go there today instead of BHM because I want fettucine and meatballs. Yellow onions, but not red, are $1 here. Canned clams are $1.69/can. I would stock up, but I already stocked up because this was the sale 2 weeks ago and that price is so good. Usually they're about $2.49 or $2.69. Linguine and clam sauce is only a few minutes away when you have a can of clams. Hot cherry peppers are $2.50, which I might get so I don't have to bike to Western Beef.

You can get a 40 oz box of cleaned squid for $15. That is too much for me, but I like the idea.

Bravo: Cream cheese is $1.50 but I already have that.

C-Town: Cream cheese is $1.50, but I already have that and Bravo is closer to me.

Western Beef: nothing, unless i take a chance of saving $0.50 on cherry peppers

Food Bazaar: Coke is $1, but you can only buy 2. Which sounds better than having to buy 4... I should have gone when I walked by today. Mozzarella is $3 here. Cheese is never a good price here.

Weird Receipt at Brooklyn Harvest Market

 Maybe I'll keep posting these.

Here is what I got. Five things.

Here is my receipt. Fourteen line items.

I'll translate. The ricotta was $2.99. The mozzarella was $1.99. The lasagna was $1.24. The diet tonic water was $0.60. The buttermilk was $2.

I did get to use a coupon on the buttermilk that I added to my card through the website. That was thrilling.

Brooklyn Harvest Market opened on Metropolitan Ave (where White Castle used to be)

 It opened on Friday. I went on Friday, of course. I got my loyalty card. It has a pretty good beer selection. Its prices seem not very good except for the stuff that is on sale, which is pretty good. I'm gonna buy 50 or 100 pizza rolls.

C-Town has an entrance on Metropolitan Ave now too. It's a busy grocery block.

One of the best things about BHM is my loyalty card linked directly to Ibotta! No other stores around here do that.

I'm probably going to go back there after I eat lunch. I realized I was trying to play it cool and not go there too much in the first week, but then I had a better realization which was "why bother!" and that I can go to the new store every single day if I want to.

You can look at the circular here. Here's a preview.

The cheese section was very expensive. Like, pecorino romano was $12/lb. It's $6 at Key Food.

I wonder if they take Apple Pay. My credit card doesn't like readers sometimes.

BHM has Foodtown as its store brand, so that adds a lot of variety to my life. (When Associated turned into Ozzie's, it became a Food Universe store, which is the same as Key Food).

Eight Pounds of Food for $7.50

 I was just at Key Food. I got 5 lbs of flour for $2, 2 lbs of mozzarella for $4, and 1 pound of tofu for $1.50. It's funny to think of food in terms of dollars per pound.

In other news, Green Corner delivered a circular to my building! Rather than hit refresh all day on Fridays, I can just look at it. And it looks like ground beef is $1.99/lb again for the 6th week in a row or so.

I haven't been shopping too much because I made Oktoberfest food twice and live off leftovers.

How I wound up with a free avocado at Key Food

I went to Key Food for pop and provolone. Coke product pop sale was 4/$4 (must buy 4, with $10 purchase) and the 7up products were 4/$5 (must buy 4).

I got provolone ($5/lb) and a half pound of salami ($6/lb) and wound up with a bit over a pound of provolone. I also had an avocado in my basket. I got out my calculator, since math in my head is too hard, and found I had $9.81. So I got an overpriced lime for $0.25, picked my 4 pops, and went to check out.

The pops rang up at $1.89 each, not the sale price. I questioned it, and the cashier told me it was from the bottle deposit and tax. I questioned that, so she asked her manager. The manager added stuff up in her head and said I was short of the $10. I thought I had double checked, but I could be wrong, so I said I'd grab one more thing to put me over. They said I was about an avocado short. I like avocados enough, so I got another one, and the price came down, and I left.

Then I looked at my receipt and saw only 1 avocado on it!

Memorial Day sales during coronavirus time

Food Bazaar's ad is back! It's only 4 pages (used to be 6) but it's back. Jumbo shrimp are $9/lb. Hamburger and hot dog buns are $0.79. 4 lbs of frozen hamburgers are $8 and hot dogs are $1. Celery is $1. I haven't been to Food Bazaar since this started, but I'm happy about this.

C-Town has been back for 2-3 weeks, but with only one page of sales. I haven't been there in forever.

Key Food has been publishing its sales and has been good at actually having the things on sale in the store. I'll look at that circular now. Peaches are $1/lb. A peach in May though? (I usually make them into salads, so it would work. It makes use of its firmness and tartness.) Cracker barrel cheese are $2. (I doubt those will actually be on sale.)  Hot dog and hamburger buns are $1.25. Coke products are $4/4. Hellman's mayo is $3.49.

What might be on sale at Key Food this week? Corona uncertainty

Key Food is the only store that still publishes a circular. Once I'm in the store, some of the sales show up on price tags. Usually produce is good. But I still read the circular and think about all the things I can buy. I'm going to go there shortly after I write this.

Red onions are $1.67 for a bag of 2 lbs. (So are yellow onions, but I have those.) An avocado is $1. That's the cinco de mayo sale. Tuna is $0.89/can. Canned salmon is $3 and I might get that. I made a good salmon dip not long ago. Cranberry juice is $2. Pepsi 2 liters are 4/$5 (must buy 4). I never do that because it's heavy, but I might make an exception today. A carton of orange juice is $2. Probably the diluted kind. Frozen raviolis are 50% off. (I am pretty good at speaking Italian, but I am still going to pluralize ravioli like that when I speak English.) A 3 liter can of Colavita pure olive oil is $16 and more than anything else, I hope this is actually a sale! Scalfani canned tomatoes are 4/$5. Various Old El Paso things are on sale for Cinco de Mayo.

That's a lot of food! I guess if some isn't on sale, I won't be too disappointed. If nothing is, or if the oil isn't, I will be very disappointed. I haven't been outside since Saturday.

By the way, I turned my bacon into carbonara last night and it was good.

Update: Nothing was on sale except the avocados. The onions said they were on sale but weren't on the shelf. I walked out with nothing. I would have gone to Ozzie's afterward but I didn't have my gloves with me.

Key Food is the only store that still publishes a circular

So I'm going to read it! I haven't been in a grocery store since March 21 :-(  But I think I will go sometime this week.

I wish I could go to Whole Foods and buy potted herbs to plant in my window too. Basil, parsley, rosemary, and thyme.

Anyway, Key Food: Ham is $1.29/lb because Easter is soon. I want one. 16 oz white mushrooms are $3.49, which isn't bad. 30 oz Hellman's mayo is $3.49. A pound of PollyO mozzarella is $2 and 2 lbs of ricotta are $3. I want both! Cracker barrel cheese is $2. Canned tomatoes are 4/$5 and you must buy 4. Usually that is too many for me, but in these Covid times, I can take 4. This says flour is on sale, but I doubt it's in stock. Pepsi and Schweppes 2 liters are also 4/$5 MB4 but I don't think I can carry 8 liters of pop in addition to everything else and I'd rather not make multiple trips. Tonic water is $0.60 per liter. Jarred fried peppers are $2.50. A pack of hot dogs is $1 and I'm tempted.

What's on Sale This Week - St. Patrick's Day and Coronavirus

Last year Key Food has very cheap corned beef, so I ate it for the first time in my life. It was good, but it's not the same sale this year. Also, I wouldn't invite a lot of people over because of social distancing. My kitchen is pretty full with stuff, but I'm going to see what is on sale this week anyway.

Western Beef: nothing

Food Bazaar: A 44-pack of fish sticks is $6. I can't remember if that's a good price. Considering how many fish tacos I could make with 44 fish sticks (22), it's a pretty good price. That's the only good sale, so I won't go there.

Green Corner: Nothing really.

Key Food: (I hope I find good sales, even though I looked yesterday and know there aren't any as good as last week's.) Cabbage is $0.27/lb. (It also lasts a long time, perfect for a quarantine or even social distancing.)  Flour is $2 for 2 lbs. I have been making a lot of focaccia. The corned beef is $1.99/lb with a $25 purchase. Scalfani canned tomatoes are 3/$4 (must buy 3). Usually that would deter me, but in these times of hoarding I might do it.

C-Town: Nothing

Bravo: Luigi Vitelli pasta is $0.79. I am up to my gills in pasta though. Krasdale cheese hunks are $1.67 for 8 oz.