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.

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.

Is this fun or is this lonely?

 I just bought 8 liters of Diet Coke and 50 pizza rolls.

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.

What's On Sale This Week?

 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.

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.

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.

What's on sale this week?

 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.

"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 is on sale? (Pre-Thanksgiving)

 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.

Some of the things I bought today

 I haven't updated in a while. I guess I've been eating a lot of eggplants. Usually tomatoes get cheap in the summer, but I haven't seen many on sale and when they are, they are pink so I'm not going to buy them. I keep finding eggplants though. They are good on focaccia. Today at Mr. Plum, I got 3 for $1. I also got a seedless cucumber for $0.50 and 4 plums for $0.50.

Since I had already started making dough using my sourdough starter, I went to Ozzie's. I got a pound of Genoa salami for $6 and a fresh mozzarella log for $4. And I got 5 lbs of pasta for $4. The best part was that this counted as a small business for American Express's current small business promotion and I got $5 off.

I'd never pay $6/lb for regular meat, but then I do on salami. I guess my standards go out the window.

Yesterday I went to Western Beef and got a dozen medium eggs for $0.89, some pop for $1.25/bottle, 3 lemons for $1, and 3 green peppers for $0.99/lb. Then when I was walking home, the bus pulled up beside me, so I got on it. It was my first time on public transportation since the pandemic. It was free.

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.

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.

Western Beef

I go to Western Beef a lot more these days. If I walk 1.3 miles east, I pass very few people and then am in a vast store. If I walk 4 blocks west, I pass way more people. Even if I walk 3.5 blocks west to Ozzie's I pass more people. So I go to Western Beef.

I went today because I thought pop would be cheaper than it is up here. It was not. But I did get 3 lbs of bacon for $10. When I got home I saw that it was weird pieces "Great for recipes."

I got a 24 oz jar of red peppers for $3. I found a dozen eggs for $1.19! I paid over $4 for eggs last Sunday. I got a loaf of bread for $1.29 I think. Three bags of pasta for $1 each. I got weird shapes: both ditali and ditalini. I also got 2 flavored seltzers. Then I walked home.

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.

The Sales

Whole Foods keeps emailing me about parmigiano reggiano being on sale, and I am just about out of my parmesan, but I am not going to go because I'm not a Prime member anymore. I do need to go for olive oil soon.

Bravo:  nothing

C-Town: Romaine lettuce is 99 cents/lb. Palmolive dish soap is 79 cents. Coke products are 4/$5.

Key Food: Gorton's fish is 50% off. For Lent.

Doug and Coral just brought me canned salmon and anchovies. That will be nice for Lent.

Super Bowl sales

I'm not going to watch the Super Bowl. I saw that Trump bought an ad and I thought "I don't want to see that! It's going to ruin the whole thing waiting for him to show up." But then I realized I don't want to see the football part either. I like eating nachos and dips with my friends. So I might try to arrange that. I do like seeing the sales too.

I wonder how many circulars might use the words "Super Bowl" and risk the NFL suing them. Time to dig in.

C-Town: Its headline is about its birthday. The bottom of the page says "Kickoff to Savings." Wishbone salad dressings are on sale for $0.75, good for wings. A 5 lb bag of frozen wings is $13.

Bravo: Cracker barrel cheeses are $2.50. I hope I can find asiago. Two liter bottles of Coke products are $1.25. It has "Football Festival of Savings" and the same "Kickoff to Savings" as C-Town.

Food Bazaar: No mention of the Super Bowl or football. A 5 lb bag of frozen wings is $8 or $11 (if you want the same brand as at C-Town). Two liter bottles of Pepsi products are $1, which is as low as you ever see in New York.

Green Corner: There is Valentine's Day imagery. There's nothing on sale I'd go here for.

Key Food: It clearly says Super Bowl LIV, but it's inside a Tostito's ad that says "official sponsor of the super bowl." Avocados and cilantro are both $0.54 each, which is the cheapest avocado I've ever seen. Other prices that end in .54:  Lemons, limes, baby carrots, guacamole, celery, grape tomatoes, blueberries, and some stone fruit. Also some salad and dressing off to the right. On a later page, watermelons and mag melons are also -.54.


Crack Barrel cheese is also $2.50 here, so I have a better chance of finding asiago. B&G red pepper slices are $3/jar.

Western Beef: They have "Big Game Weekend." Wings are $0.59/lb if you get a 7-10 lb bag, so that is by far the cheapest wing available. If I go for wings, I can also get the Cracker Barrel here for $2.50. A head of iceberg lettuce is $1. There are many other wing prices too. $10 for 4 lbs. $30 for 10 lbs. Why??