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.

Why Olive Oil Got So Expensive

 It's not just Whole Foods scamming me. It's climate change.

Grocery Inflation Part 2: Whole Foods

 Whole Foods has been the worst for grocery inflation because they don't update the prices on their shelves. They just charge you more. First I got charged $1.99 for my $1.79 tofu. This week, I went back to get 3 liters of olive oil before the quarter ended and my credit card quit giving me 5% on groceries. My $19.99 olive oil rang up as $21.99.

I had happened to take a picture of the shelf of the olive oil so I had the price. So I decided to complain. First I was going to complain to NYC to get them arrested, but there was a line on the form that said "did you try resolving this with the company first?" So I emailed Whole Foods.

Whole Foods ended up refunding me the entire $21.99. Which was a lot more than I would have expected ($2 would have been fair!) but they didn't say "and we will tell the manager to make the prices on the shelves right" so I still don't want to risk shopping there any time soon. But because I have so much olive oil, their plants aren't as good as they were in mid-March, and I got a rosemary at Trader Joe's, and their tofu isn't cheaper anymore, I don't think I need to shop there.

Whole Foods Update

 I previously wrote a guide to shopping at Whole Foods because it's cheap for some things. Later, I bought a big basil plant. Here is an updated guide.

I went to Whole Foods today because Chase Freedom's 5% back on groceries quarter ends next week and I wanted to buy 3 liters of olive oil. I got both extra firm and silken tofu because it's $1.79 for organic (they don't have non-organic). Tofu is at minimum $2.50 everywhere else. I got frozen spinach for $1.79 because it's usually $2 elsewhere. Food Bazaar was supposed to have 2 lbs for $2.50 this week but they were out of everything. I also got arborio rice for $3. I don't know if that is a good price.

The other stuff is from Mr. Piña, which I should write about more often. The pineapple was $1.49, the zucchini was $0.50, the peppers were 2/$1 and the bag of lemons, which contains 3, was $1.

What is on sale?

 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.

Guide to Shopping at Whole Foods

Last month a dimwitted anti-housing activist popped up in my mentions on Twitter to imply that I'm rich and talked about Whole Foods.

So I decided to write about how to shop at Whole Foods to get the good deals, which it has. On about 4 things.

Olive Oil

You can buy a 3 liter can of the store brand olive oil for $19.99. That's less than $7 a liter, and it's a better quality than Filippo Berio or those other brands (except Colavita). Trader Joe's has a fine store brand too, but this is cheaper. It also lasts a long time, which is ideal since there's not a good reason to go to Whole Foods all that often.

Fresh Herbs

No, not fresh like other stores sell fresh, which are always too expensive. Buy a whole dang plant for $2. That's cheaper than the little plastic containers of fresh herbs. It's cheaper than a jar of dried herbs. Use what you want and try your luck planting the rest.

I bought this parsley last fall. I should use it more often. It is still alive.

The basil is from this week. I hope it starts to thrive. The rosemary is hanging on from last fall. Thyme has 2 green shoots but it otherwise not doing great.

Anyway, fresh herb plants.

Frozen Vegetables

Frozen peas are $1.79/lb and Brussels sprouts were about $1.50. That's cheaper than Krasdale/Urban Meadow frozen vegetables. And look how small they are.

Canned Tomatoes

You can get the store brand canned tomatoes for $1.39 for 28 oz. You can occasionally find canned tomatoes at other places for less than that, but they're quite often over $2 and Whole Foods has them consistently at this price. Also, they are good. Luigi Vitelli isn't good.

A trip to Whole Foods under Covid-19

I just got back from Whole Foods. I wanted a 3 liter can of olive oil, like I usually get, and some herbs for my window. For 3 liters, it's worth the trip, and the herbs are $2/plant.

They didn't have the oil. I had to get 1 liter for $7 instead of 3 for $20. I did get 2 parsley plants and 1 thyme. I was hoping for rosemary. I had basil on my list, but the basil I bought in February is thriving in my window and I don't use it enough to want more.

I had to wait in line to get in. I was the only person in line for a while. While I was waiting, about 6 delivery people came. They can go directly in, but they need to have their temperatures taken and wear gloves. Customers only need to wear masks.

The store was laid out with signs for 1 way shopping to reduce people squeezing past each other in aisles. Some guy still went backward, which was annoying.

I did not find clothespins or course sea salt or harissa. I didn't look very hard because it was annoying to be there.

I liked that I can pay with Apple Pay. I liked that before, but now I like it more because I am sick of touching things.

My trip to Key Food yesterday

Sales are starting to come back. I got 4 bottles of pop for $5. I got 4 cans of crushed tomatoes for $5. I got a lot of twine for $4 (so I can hang up clothes after I wash them in a bucket). A bag of limes was on sale for $2.50, but I was packing up my own groceries and didn't notice that they rang up as a bag of lemons for $5. Oh well. I got an avocado for $1 and a bunch of cilantro for $0.75.

They didn't have the olive oil though.

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.

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.

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

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.

Olive oil disaster

My 3 liter can of olive oil fell out of my Citibike's front rack onto the street and got run over. It was $19.87 and now I don't have oil or my money.

What's on Sale This Week

I hope a big can of olive oil is. I'm feeling lucky, so I'm going to write about it.

Associated: Peter Pan peanut butter is. After I wrote to them complaining that it was too hard to open, they sent me a coupon for more. 2 liter bottles of Pepsi products are $1. A 12 pack of Rolling Rock is $8. But nothing really catches my eye there this week.

C-Town: Also the Pepsi, but with a limit of 2. Colavita olive oil is on sale, but it's the 25 oz bottle for $10 instead of the 3 liter can, so I'm not going to buy that.

Bravo: Bravo has Earth Day specials. But nothing I want to buy. Plum tomatoes are $0.79/lb but I don't trust them to be good.

Key Food: Orange juice is $2. I could drink screwdrivers. Why do they put peanut butter in the "Breakfast" section?

Gala Foods: Their website doesn't work right, so I had to stop in and get their circular. Condensed milk is 3/$4. I don't remember what I make with that. Rolling Rock is $8 here as well.

Eh, nothing is great this week. I'll just go to Dollar Tree and buy beans and bread.

What's on sale this week?

I'm hungry, so maybe I will see things that interest me in the grocery circulars.

Key Food

Orange juice is $2. I could get hopped up on screwdrivers. That sounds good. Nothing else appeals.

Associated

Frozen cauliflower is $1.69. I can eat that. 8 oz of mushrooms for $1.50 is good. Mushrooms feel luxurious when I add them to anything. Butternut squash is $0.79/lb! I can make soup! Sweet potatoes are the same price. Fall is here.

Bravo

I never buy pork chops, but for $1.69 maybe I'll consider it. Everything Cento is on sale, so I want anchovies, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, caponata (I've never even bought that), tomato paste (which I already have and seldom use). I guess my hunger has kicked in.

Green Corner

Limes are 22 for $1.98. I did the math, and that's 9 cents per lime, which is the cheapest I've ever seen. 16 oz of mozzarella is $2.50, which is also the cheapest I've ever seen. But I don't know of any foods you can make combining the two.

C-Town

Colavita pure olive oil! 3 liters for $20! I'll be there later today in that case. Frozen ravioli are $1.50, which would be good with the olive oil. I make them in a skillet like pierogies. Mushrooms are $1.79 here. More expensive than Key Food, but maybe I'll spend 29 cents to avoid the extra trip. Or buy them twice so I have an average cost that is still good. Limes are 25 cents here.

Gala Foods

Gala Foods is still dead to me.

Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil's on Sale at Bravo

The 3 liter can (101 oz) is on sale for $23. That's a pretty good deal. Colavita has the best tasting olive oil. At C-Town, the 17 oz bottle is $7.50.

Whole Foods has the next best tasting olive oil, and it's usually about that price.

The sale's from September 8-15.

Salad avocados look to be on sale too, for $0.99 each. I guess I will get one or two to go with the rock hard peaches I got at Key Food today.

A price mystery at Fine Fare. And olive oil prices by volume.

This morning I went to Fine Fare because the circular said that 10 oz bags of Cafe Bustelo were $2.50. But they change their prices over on Sundays and no signs about new prices were up. The price on the shelf said $4.25 or so. I found a scanner to check a price and it said it was $3.33. I needed coffee, so I bought just one. It rang up at $2.50. I was surprised the self-scanner and the cash register would show different prices.

I was just thinking about the price of olive oil because I don't want to do my homework. My roommate has a 250ml bottle of Filippo Berio Pure that cost $5.49, according to the price tag on it. I am going to Key Food this week to buy a 3 liter can of the same kind for $16. I hope he quits buying the small one.

What's on Sale Next Week?!

I have to wake up early to attend a networking event, which I am trying to convince myself will be fun or good, but I just got an email from C-Town about next week's sales, so I am going to do something I like instead.

C-Town: Palmolive is on sale for $0.74! That's better than Dollar Tree. I like Palmolive, Ajax, or Joy for everyday use. Dawn Platinum for special occasions. But middle class people tell me to just use Dawn Platinum every day.

Colavita pure olive oil is $20. Hmmmm.... Key Food has Filipo Berio for $16, and I do need pure. And I only use pure for cooking, mostly. But Colavita is so much better. (If I won't use Dawn Platinum every day because that's too luxurious, maybe I will just buy the cheaper pure olive oil.)

Nothing else at C-Town looks like a good deal (their website's circular is terrible though), and I might be too embarrassed to go stock up on just Palmolive, so maybe I won't go there.

Associated: Asparagus is $2/lb, which is because it's spring and in season. I should get that.

A lot of Colgate products are on sale, but not Palmolive for $0.79 :(

Bravo: I don't trust their $0.79 tomatoes. March tomatoes taste like paper. $0.88/bag pasta is ok. I need some. They have $2/lb asparagus too. But like C-Town, I can't tell what Bravo puts on sale.

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Lucky trip to C-Town

I stopped in C-Town because I was buying duct tape and hair gel at the store on the block. They didn't seem to have anything I wanted so I walked to the exit, but it was blocked by a car and some people talking so I went to the entrance to leave. That's when I spotted some nice looking tomatoes for $0.69/lb. I wanted them, but I feel weird when I pay with a credit card and spend $3 or less, so I went walking to find something that was a good price that I needed anyway. That's when I spied a 3 liter can of Colavita olive oil on sale for $19.99! I thought I was running low on olive oil, but wasn't sure. It's too good a price to pass up and it lasts a long time in an unopened can. So that is what I bought.

I would have included pictures but Apple products are terrible and my phone Photos doesn't sync with my computer Photos anymore.