Where the Deals Are

I went to Trader Joe's today and got Kashi GoLean cereal because it's $2.49 there. It was $4.29 or so at Key Food. I also got some pecorino romano for $5.99/lb because I figured that's a standard price for it. Later I saw it on sale at Key Food for $4.99/lb! I also got shrimp and pork pot stickers. Shrimp were $3.29 for a bag. Pork was about $2.99. I got some turkey meatballs too. And salsa for $1.99, which isn't too bad but isn't as good as my C-Town $1.99 salsa.

At Key Food, I got shoulder steak on sale for $2.99/lb. I craved country fried steak after reading about Southern cuisine on wikipedia this morning. Maybe I can figure out how to make that. I also found Plochmann's chili dog mustard. There was only 1 bottle and it wasn't labelled on the shelf. I don't know why it was there. It cost $1.99, which is well worth it. Sardines were on sale for $0.79 for a can.

The Jesus grocery store has pints of cherry and grape tomatoes for $1. At Key Food they are $2.99 and $3.99.

Now go shop!

A Dream

Last night I had a dream that C-Town sold produce. It was a good one.

Unrelatedly, I got a coworker hooked on ginger beer.

Plum Tomato Prifces Around Town

The Jesus vegetable store had nice plum tomatoes for $0.99/lb last week. Now they have gross ones for $0.79 lb.

Key Food has some better ones for $1.49/lb.

Sunac has disgusting ones for $1.49/lb, but they do have wasabi horseradish there.

Associated in Greenpoint has subpar ones for $1.29/lb.

The vegetable store right north of C-town has bad ones for "2 for $1 (lb)". They put their damaged produce out front by the sidewalk, so they have an excuse.

None of them were good enough to buy.


The difference between grape and cherry tomatoes.

Krasdale Pasta

Krasdale is the generic brand at C-Town. I buy a lot of Krasdale things, such as hot dogs, frozen pizzas, and mozzarella cheese. They're all pretty good. Last week bags of Krasdale pasta were on sale for about $0.40. No other pasta had been on sale for a while and I was running low. Pasta was the last thing I expected to be much worse from the generic brand. I was wrong. It's not good. I'm never buying it again. The macaroni has an odd taste and it sticks together too much.

Pasta's one of those things you should never have to pay full price for. It's almost always on sale and you can stock up because it doesn't go bad (very quickly?). A good price for a 1 lb. box is $0.50. A frequent price is $0.67. A price at which I'll still buy it is $0.80. $1 is too much. I feel about $1.10 boxes of pasta the same way I feel about $48 Levi's at Macy's. I can't believe they have the gall to charge that!

I threw a sausage party (with a bonus recipe)

I have more sausage than I can eat. I threw a sausage party yesterday to try to get rid of some of it but I didn't get rid of enough and I might have to have another one. I spent so much more money on the things to go with the sausage than I did on the sausage itself. Here's what I served:

1. Baked ziti with sausage sauce
2. Sausage and white beans (specifically cannellini ones) in garlic sage sauce.
3. Caprese. Actually, a variation of it. I diced the mozzarella and tomatoes and tore up the basil. I dressed it with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.
4. Garlic bread.
5. Ice pops.

The bonus recipe was going to be the caprese one, but I just typed it. That's the whole thing. Mozzarella is on sale at C-town. The 8 oz package is, at least. It's cheaper to buy 2 8 oz ones than 1 16 one.

I just got one of the best deals of my life!

I just got 24 Italian sausages for $2.49! It had a label saying "Special: Today" and I didn't believe it but I got it because I didn't know what to eat for dinner but I knew I wanted meat. I haven't eaten Italian sausages since I lived in Italy back in my heyday.

I also got balsamic vinegar, mozzarella, anchovies, capers, and penne rigate. I like C-Town because it has all my Italian food. Key Food isn't as good for that.

Salsiccie!

Ew Gross (Ew Gross) Ew Gross

I was walking down the frozen food aisle of Key Food with my basket as full as it has ever been. I noticed a worker behind a table up ahead with what looked like free samples. That's the first time I ever noticed free samples in Key Food. I was coming from behind her because I was walking the aisles in the wrong directions today. As I got even, I noticed she had drinks.

"Would you like to try a sample of malta?" she asked.

I quickly imagined myself swallowing it, grimacing, and spitting it on her white coat if I accepted it. It would have been unavoidable.

"No thanks," I replied, heroically.

My First Purchases at Trader Joe's

I went with the commenter known as Italian Grandma to Trader Joe's on Monday night and since she was buying sea salt and olive oil and I'd be waiting in line anyway, I bought some things.

First I bought meatballs because there was a bag of them for about $3. Then I got separated from Ms. Grandma but wanded by the mozzarella and bought some for about $3. I found Ms. Grandma and I found Brunswick sardines for about $1, and I thought that was a good price. We got in line, which was a long long line. It snaked past the cereal and I picked up Kashi Go Lean cereal for $2.50. It costs $3.79 at C-Town.

The meatballs were pretty good. This picture isn't them.

Pomade

Giant Eagle lowered their price and it's cheaper there now than at Target. It's $2.06 at Giant Eagle. It's not just a sale.

Prices up at C-Town!

Sound the alarm! Inflation has struck! Coleslaw is now $1.49! Potato salad is $1.49! Macaroni salad is now $1.49! Just a week or two ago, they were $1.29. A year ago, they were, if I remember correctly, only $1.09. Back then, shrimp salad was $5.99. Now it's $7.99!

With prices like these, it's easy to starve oneself.

Ginger Beer

Last night, I went to the Giant Eagle in Greensburg,PA, and found this Jamaican Country Style Ginger Beer. It was $2.99 for a 2-liter bottle, which seems expensive, but it's not really that bad when you remember a 12-ounce bottle can cost over $1.50.



I got a 4-pack of Ginger People Ginger Beer12-ounce bottles for $6.26 (tax included) at McGinnis Sisters in Monroeville, PA. It's really good. Not spicy. Tastes like ginger, though. Has ginger juice and ginger extract in it.

Belarus

After reading about a placed called Belarus II in the Gothamist, Debussy and I decided to make the trip to Brighton Beach to see it ourselves. She's a big big Belarusian fan.



When you go in the store, on the left is a long counter of prepared salads (think macaroni salad and egg salad, only Belarusian), pastries, and some other things. A lot of it wasn't labelled in English. On the right are the meats and fishes. In the middle you can find things in cans and jars. The back has some buckets of pickled foods, including apples.

Debussy and I got 2 of the salads. The cashier assumed we spoke Russian or Belarusian or something because we look so slavic, but we don't. We went to the McDonalds down the street to get some forks and try them.



They weren't very good. Maybe next time we'll pick two different ones and get something better. Then we can take them to Coney Island and eat them at the beach.

We also went to the Key Food next door. It's slightly cheaper than my local Key Food.

---

Belarus - 495 Neptune Avenue, Brooklyn