Bravo almost stole me away from C-Town

Bravo used to be Cat Pee, but it remodeled and fired the cat. Now it's well-lit and the food is nicer looking and it's still cheap. I had a pleasant time there today. I was about to announce that it won me over from C-Town until they wouldn't let me use a credit card because my purchase wasn't $10. I can't commit to spending $10 every time I go to a grocery store, so now I won't go there often.

Tons of Bad News about C-Town

Remember the last time I tried to say something nice about C-Town? I praised their price of frozen vegetables. I guess they marked that broccoli down to $0.99 because they were getting bags with a new design that they charge $3.49/lb or so for. There is now not a single thing for which I'd go to C-Town over any other local grocery store. I guess I know its hours and it's open late, and sometimes it has beer on the way to where I'm headed.

The other bad thing is that I was just ousted as the Foursquare mayor. Usually you get ousted when you haven't been to a place for a while, not 30 minutes after you get back from it. Based on my feelings about C-Town, I doubt I'll have that mayorship back anytime soon, but maybe I can get Key Food's again.

Good Sales for the week of 9/16 - 9/23

There aren't any. I'm not leaving the house.

The best thing about C-Town anymore: frozen food

It seems like their prices are going up faster than other stores around here, but the one thing you can still find cheap there is frozen vegetables.

I got this 1 lb bag of broccoli for $0.99. So while I was there, I got some fish sticks and salsa. They brought back my favorite brand, La Costeña, which is both the cheapest and the spiciest. It's made in Mexico.

Seafood Deals at Food Bazaar

I've been reading a book about oysters and New York City that Dylan left here, so I went to Food Bazaar to peep their seafood. They have the best prices in this part of town and they don't say your selection is gross and wipe off their hands and cash register before finishing your transaction like Key Food does.

Oysters and clams are $4 for a dozen. They were $3 in February, but this isn't bad.
Mussels are $3 for a bag, which holds 2 lbs. That's a great deal.
Live crabs are $2.49/lb. I think that's a good deal, but I've never had a crab. If someone wants to buy a crab and prepare it for me and tell me how to eat it, I will tell you where to get them for a pretty good price.
Medium raw shrimp are $4.99/lb, which is also a pretty good deal.
I think the octopus was $3.99/lb, but I don't know how much octopus should be. The only time I tried cooking it I made a very very chewy food.

Lobster is $5.99/lb, which is a very low price as far as I can tell for lobster. Like crab, I've never had one. Everything I know about cooking lobsters and crabs I learned from the Little Mermaid.

Grocery Shopping as Civic Duty

President Obama just took to the airwaves to tell us denizens of the northeast to go grocery shopping.

Don't mind if I do, Mr. President.

R.I.Pee

Compare Foods on Grand St, better known as "cat pee" because of its most distinguishing feature, has shuttered and reopened as a Bravo. I haven't checked it out yet. I wonder if they fired the cat.

Giant Eagle Sucks - Produce Edition

I'm in Pittsburgh for the weekend so I can go eye Giant Eagle. By the way, "Giant Eagle sucks" is usually one of the most frequent search terms that lead people to this blog. I think people look it up a lot.

I was horrified by the produce prices.

 Here you have limes that cost more than lemons. You have limes that cost more than gold. At Western Beef a lemon is 5/$2 and a lime is 14/$2. No wonder people in Pittsburgh don't make ceviche.

 I wouldn't pay more than $1.50 for an avocado in Brooklyn. $2.50? No wonder people in Pittsburgh don't make guacamole.

Eggplant was $1.99/lb ($0.99 in Brooklyn). Zucchini was $0.99/lb, which is the same. I said to my mother that the price wasn't bad. She said zucchini around here at this time of summer is usually $0.00/lb because people grow it and have too much and beg you to take it from them. You can't beat free.

 Here was Giant Eagle's strength. I'd be delighted to find buttermilk in Brooklyn for under $2.19 for a quart. $1.35 is amazing! Why does Giant Eagle subsidize its buttermilk with its produce?

And below the jump, the results of its blood pressure machine. That's my favorite part of Giant Eagle.

I'm like a fox and Western Beef is the henhouse

Because I just came out of there with a lot of chicken.

If I told you to buy 13 lbs of chicken, how much would you expect to pay? $10.50? $12? $18 even?!

No, not at Western Beef. Look at this deal.

 Your eyes aren't fooling you. That says $0.49/lb! They are practically paying you to take it off their hands. If I know anything about you, you are probably already halfway out there door to get to Western Beef and buy some chicken.

Wait. There's more!

Do they even have margaritas in Pittsburgh?

My brother told me that my parents drink margaritas now. Even at home! How is that possible/affordable? A single lime costs about $0.70 at Giant Eagle. For comparison, I can get 6-10 limes for $1 now, depending on where I go. I buy so many limes because they're so cheap that I throw a lot away. It's worth it to have the option for a lime.

The Whiskey Rebellion Was Fought Over This

It turns out $6.49 for Haller's Whiskey is before tax, which is $0.39 in PA. I get Fleischmann's for $6.50 total, so I win.

The Whiskey Rebellion happened near Pittsburgh, by the way. If I ever invent a distillery, I'm going to make it in Pittsburgh and dub it Rebellion Whiskey.

Still not the mayor of Western Beef (plus the most heinous use of Instagram ever)

 I went to Western Beef to get a loaf of bread. It's $1.79 for wheat bread there and you have to pay at least $2.50 anywhere else. Sometimes $3.79! I figured I'd look at the ricotta cheese too because that's good on toast. I didn't get any. What happened to the price of ricotta? I used to pay $2 for a pound of it (when it was on sale) and now it's more like $4. Maybe I should make my own?

I got a Florida avocado for $0.99. I've never eaten one before--only Haas. I bought one last year but I let it go bad.

I also bought DeCecco pasta for the first time. It was finally affordable. It was $1/box. The non-sale price was $2.19. I wonder if it's better than the Ronzoni/San Giorgio/Barilla I usually buy. I hope not, because I don't want to acquire any fancy tastes.

I wonder what this Warka beer is like. "Unique taste" and "strong beer" make me think it's awful in a way that I'd learn to like.

And I got some sardines. And then I took a picture of my receipt and used Instagram on it. I think this might be the worst, most heinous, abuse of Instagram in its storied history.