I returned to Western Beef because it was over 80 degrees in March and I wanted to bike somewhere

I figured I'd get milk and giardiniera and whatever else I found. But the milk was $1.59 for a pint and I thought it should be $1.39 so I didn't get it. (Later I went to Ozzie's and paid $1.49). The giardiniera was on sale for $2 for a 32 oz jar. I got brown mustard for $1. Broccoli rabe was $1.99/lb and I will always buy it when it is that price.  Tuna was $0.80/can (I got 2).

I might as well write about my trip to Ozzie's later. I got that milk. Chick peas were $0.99/bag so I got 3 and am going to make hummus shortly. I got 32 oz of Chobani Greek yogurt. Fage is much better, but it was $3 for 17 oz so I got the cheaper one I like less which will last me too long since I like it less. I keep doing this. I got a bottle of Gatorade for $1 because I need to fight hangovers.

I went grocery shopping for the first time in over 2 weeks

Key Food still publishes a circular, but they don't abide by it in-store. So of all the things I was looking forward to, only mushrooms were a good price. I left without buying anything because the lines were also long.

Since I had empty bags, I went to Ozzie's Fresh Market. I got popcorn, milk, and white bread. The shelves were stocked a little better and there were no lines at all.

Then I went to Jesus and got celery ($2) and a bag of 3 romaine hearts ($1). The romaine was the only good deal all day.

Some Good Deals at Key Food

Orange juice was $1.69 for a carton, so I'm going to drink some screwdrivers when the sun sets. Colavita crushed tomatoes are still $1.50. C-Town charges a premium for them. The Key Food tomato sauces were 3/$1 and I want to make chili soon so those will be good. Eggs were $1.79, which is an ok price. It beats C-Town. Giardinera was $2. Rice is $1.49 for a pound. The 2 pound bags are $2.99, so I think I'll just save myself the penny and let them store the extra pound for more. That's penny-wise AND pound-wise. Milk is $2.69 for a half gallon. I have no idea if that's a good price. I can never run for president because despite buying milk and having a grocery blog, I don't know the price of milks.

They had buttermilk for either $2 or $2.50. Trader Joe's has it for $1.69, same brand. These buttermilks all expired yesterday or in 3 days. With prices like that, no wonder they have no turnover. With no turnover, no wonder they have prices like that. Not my problem--I'll wait til I'm at Trader Joe's.

Key Food has some good sales right now. So does Jesus.

I haven't been that interested in eating or cooking lately, but that might be because there weren't any good deals. I had a good time at Key Food today though, and later I'm going to figure out how to cook things.

Key Food had mozzarella for $1.99/lb. I got that. Earlier I got 2 lbs of ricotta for $2.99, which is the best price I've seen in months. So I have cheeses again. I bought Hunt's barbecue sauce for $1.29, which I think is a good price. I don't buy it very often. Fresh mushrooms were $0.99 for an 8 oz package. I got some iodized salt for $0.69. It's usually $0.79, so don't make a special trip. I got iodized because I don't want a goiter.

I went to Jesus on the way home. They have avocados for $1, but I didn't get any. I bought fennel for the first time. I don't think I've ever even tasted it, but from what I learned in my studies, it looks like dill and tastes like absinthe.

I buy a lot of Dairy

I went to Key Food today to buy Fresca, which is advertised at 5 2 liter bottles for $5, and San Giorgio pasta, which is supposed to be 5/$4. They have no Fresca. Sometimes they carry it, but not when it's on sale I guess. And there were no signs up for the pasta, and I don't trust them so I didn't fix either of my problems.

I got milk, cheese, butter, yogurt, and Gatorade. I'm only missing buttermilk.

I only really want to eat toast anyway, so who needs pasta and Fresca?

Why I Keep Shopping at Western Beef

As my unemployment benefits ran out today, my mind turned to converting my illiquid assets to liquid ones. And as far as I can tell, cheap beer is more liquid than a dollar bill, and that's why I go to Western Beef, even in the rain.

Here's what I hauled in today.

The first item is 1% milk. I just started noticing the price of milk, which means I can survive a gotcha question when I run for president. At Key Food, a half gallon of milk is $2.50. The second item there is Vintage tonic water. At Key Food, I can get the store brand for $1. $0.67 is a $0.33 subsidy to my gin consumption.

I got some white beans for $0.67 too. I turn that into a tuna salad that I'll show you sometime. It's pretty good. I served it to my family for Christmas Eve and they liked it.

Next is a jar of anchovies for $3.49. I pay between $4.99 and $5.49 for a similar sized jar at Key Food and C-Town.

And finally, my traditional 3 bottles of Baltika. At $1.88/bottle, my assets could hardly be more liquid.

Eggs on Special at Associated. Beans, no.

I went to Associated today to buy some jalapeno peppers because my jar was running low and I devised a way to mass produce huevos rancheros which is going to make me famous. They were $1.59/lb, which isn't bad. At Key Food they're $4.99/lb. They were on the old side, so I almost left, but I saw medium eggs for $1.25. You can't beat that with a stick! You always want small eggs when you're making huevos rancheros, especially with my new way.

I was also in the market for some celery salt, but they didn't have it. I wanted chick peas, but they wanted $1/can for them and I was having none of that. $0.80 is appropriate. I needed milk too, but I don't think they have enough turnover of milk for it to be good so I still have to go shopping later. I didn't think their price on Mexican crema was that good either.

Here's what I do with my peppers. I chop them up and stick them in my jar of vinegar and salt. Later, they're good.















And here's the secret to mass producing huevos rancheros. Use a muffin pan. It's all in there. The best part is either that the tortilla is not soggy or greasy or that you don't need a fork or a knife to eat these. You can pick them up and they're perfect.

By my reckoning, I will be able to feed 12 people 2 eggs each for about $12, which is how much my huevos rancheros cost the last time I ordered them in a restaurant. And these are better, so I won't name the restaurant.

Question Time

At the same time, people have sought my grocery expertise. Maybe expertise is too strong a word. People have sought my grocery opinion. Since there is little in this world I like more than advising people about groceries, without further ado, let me opine.

I'm working on building up my whiskey inventory, but it's hard because I keep drinking it. any advice? -Tom

For everything that isn't liquor, I always say "inventory is death." Because you want to let the store keep your inventory for you. Liquor is another matter, and I actually have a system for building inventory that my friend Eric has started to use. You have to give yourself a liquor budget. Don't think of this as a budget you want to come in under. Pretend you're a local government and need to pave the roads, but you're a lot more fun. So if your budget is $30 a week, make sure you get yourself to the liquor store every Saturday morning and spend that $30. Being poor for so long, my liquor budget is down to $20/week. If I don't have them, I buy a jug of the cheapest vodka ($13.88) and a bottle of the cheapest whiskey $5.99. If I drink them over the course of the week, I buy them again. If I still have them come Friday, I venture for something more fun. When I came into some surprise money from Chase Freedom giving me it, I bought a jug of gin and some bitters. If I keep to my bottle/week pace, that should permanently add 1 bottle to my inventory. (It didn't. I reacted to having more booze by inviting people to come drink it more.)

But really, if you're drinking whiskey you like, that's a good problem to have.

---

Dear Grocery Chopin,

I was recently in a convenience type grocery store to pick up a few things. A half gallon of regular milk was $2.99 which was more than I would have paid at the regular grocery store. A half gallon of organic milk however was $4.49 which is the right price for organic. Is buying higher quality (more expensive) groceries at their correct price better than buying regular groceries at an inflated (but still cheaper) price?

Sincerely,
Milk Man

Oh that's a tough one! It's going to take me a minute to get into a mindset that allows one to not buy something for only the best price or to suffer. I have to say that buying groceries at their correct price is the correct way. While I like paying very little for groceries, what I really advocate is getting good values. I wouldn't tell you to substitute olive oil with vegetable oil spread just because it's cheaper. If I were in C-Town, I would tell you to get the regular milk, but I am skeptical of bodega's attention to milk freshness, so I think going for the ultrapasteurized organic milk is a wise choice.

That was fun. I miss giving advice. I used to be pretty prolific when I wrote for Eleanor Roosevelt.