Imperfect, Misfit, Etc. (The Food Delivery Services)

[Annie_H]

5 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Sandwich was 87 degrees!  The cheese was nice and melty 🙄

🤢

[Annie_H]

When trying something new, especially food delivery services, I always do a bit of research. Especially during lock-down with so much free time. I used iGourmet a couple times and Eataly only once having a healthy gift card that had been in my wallet for years. (no expiration date). Delivery was pretty new to us as we always shopped Fairway for everyday but they went bankrupt. 

 

FreshDirect I didn't bother having so many friends that have used them happily for years. Had no idea the Bronx distribution is the size of 11 football fields. What an operation. Surprised they miss a beat but human error always comes into play. A few behind-the-scenes videos but this is the most recent. FreshDirect behind the scenes That is nuts. 

 

Amazon is building a distribution center in my tiny hometown just a couple miles from my parents home. They are even widening the road through town. Two lanes with a center turn lane now. Such a depressed area I suppose the jobs it creates might help. 

[Annie_H]

I've come across this y-tuber randomly. I've not subscribed to any but in a google search I see this one when looking for grilling, etc.

Posting the link to give credit to the internal/external temps....not suggesting it be watched. steak temps interior/exterior over time

He did the work. I do think he misunderstood the 'bring out on your counter at room temp'. (20 minutes/half hour) Not bring up to your room temp. He left his steak out until the exterior hit his kitchen temp...74F. 🙄

For steak to hit 54 internal at delivery, that is an odd crazy human error. Somewhere in the delivery chain with FreshDirect went bonkers. 

One un-boxing from FD had ice cream and popsicles fine. Can't figure out the color coding with the crates. 

 

*I don't play the 'bring out on the counter' game. Not one that suggests it could ever give me a good reason. Sure 20 minutes might loosen the exterior for better contact to the pan? but I prefer, for me, to keep it fridge temp and hit the pan cold for a better sear. Especially for salmon/scallops/shrimp. Steak/burgers I get consistent cooking. Rare/med-rare every time. 

Dinner often gets delayed by an hour or more with work calls and family. 

 

[Annie_H]

WaldenLocal delivery for the Fall. Lots of bones for a stock. Still too hot for that. Maybe a batch of paté. One master stock should cover us through the holidays. --back burner pasta pot. 

2 dozen eggs and a couple pounds of bacon ends no pic. 

 

[gfweb]

https://www.winsightgrocerybusiness.com/retailers/online-grocer-misfits-market-acquire-imperfect-foods?LID=35857737

 

Will it be twice as good or twice as bad?

[Shelby]

30 minutes ago, gfweb said:

https://www.winsightgrocerybusiness.com/retailers/online-grocer-misfits-market-acquire-imperfect-foods?LID=35857737

 

Will it be twice as good or twice as bad?

I'm glad it's not the other way around......I hope they don't stop service in my area like Imperfect did.....

[gfweb]

On 9/1/2022 at 11:18 AM, weinoo said:

For about the 5th time, my Fresh Direct order was late (this time by 2 hours) and delivered to the wrong apartment. After contacting customer "service," the driver went back, picked up my order wherever the fuck he dropped it off, and brought it to my apartment.

 

Frozen bagels...

 

 

 

Their "prime reserve" NY strip...these are pretty darn good steaks whenever I've had them in the past:

 

 

And Alaskan king salmon, fresh, never frozen...

 

 

They were "delivered" at 8:25 AM. And then delivered to me at 10:25 AM.

 

Morons.  I was never late with a delivery during the heart of the pandemic. Now...it's been a nightmare.

 

Wild Fork always delivers it frozen solid

[weinoo]

22 minutes ago, gfweb said:

Wild Fork always delivers it frozen solid

 

This stuff is only supposed to be refrigerated properly, not frozen (except the bagels, which don't really matter that much).

[Shelby]

I've still been ordering weekly from Misfits, just haven't been taking pictures because it's been the same old stuff that I've posted before.

 

But, this week they had figs!!!!  Happy dance in the kitchen.

 

 

 

The cans of sparkling water were 4 for $2.39.  I just opened one and they are pretty good.  Some flavored waters leave a bad taste in my mouth.

 

 

Don't judge the amount of Cheez Whiz 🤣.  They've offered it for a few weeks now.  We think it tastes much better than the Velvetta bricks and it's waaaaaay cheap on Misfits--$3.60 a jar.  Ronnie went to the grocery store in town yesterday and took a picture of what the price is there:

 

 

$5.99 a jar!!!  I wonder if it's that expensive elsewhere or just in this area?

 

I think I've probably bought at least 12 jars of the stuff--I can't pass up a good deal 😬

 

Cost for this order (2 boxes worth)

 

$99.85 subtotal

9.85 tax

3.99 cold pack fee

7.99 shipping

 

$121.34 total

[Annie_H]

Figs! Not here unfortunately. Just dried. 

I'm in a rotation with FreshDirect and Misfits. Order Sunday mornings but skipping this week altogether. Full fridge/freezer and crisper. 

Finally figured out and cashed in my market points. 

And a new gouda treat.

[dtremit]

A belated, picture-free report on the amusingly named Weee!, which is another delivery service focused on Asian products and produce.

 

I placed an order from them a couple of weeks ago — mainly I was aiming to buy some fun lunch stuff for my partner, and stock up in advance of a dinner I was cooking for some friends. So my order wasn't entirely comprehensive; in particular, I didn't order any frozen items or raw meat as I knew I might not be able to get to the box right away.

 

That said, I did order some refrigerated items — tofu, herbs, etc. — and they came in great shape. Similar packaging to Imperfect, with a silver bubble bag containing the refrigerated items and an ice pack. Produce was all fresh.

 

They also did a good job of separating heavy items like glass bottles from lightweight snacks and noodles, and the glass items were *very* well wrapped in expandable paper and tape; I had to get out a knife to cut them out of the cushioning. Big thumbs up for that.

 

One thing I really liked was their ordering system — you place an order for a future date of your choice. Right now (a little after noon on Saturday) it's offering me a range from next day (Sunday) to two weeks out (Saturday the 15th).

 

You get free shipping on any order over $35; it's $5 if you order less. But — after you've placed your free shipping order, you can add on additional orders of any amount for the same day, with no additional shipping charge. I had forgotten a few items in my first order, and that feature was really convenient. 

 

I'm not sure who they use for delivery — I suspect they contract it to someone but it wasn't obvious to who — but they had good tracking and notifications the day of shipment, and the order was delivered well before noon.

 

Definitely would order again. I doubt I'll ever stop going to our local markets, but as someone not fluent in Chinese, it's really helpful for me to be able to browse slowly and translate things to make sure I'm getting the right fermented bean product for the recipe I'm planning to make. You can search by Chinese characters on the English site, which is really nice for things that have variable translations like 甜面酱 (tian mian jiang) — the English translations for that range from "soy bean paste" to "sweet bean sauce," "sweetened soy bean paste," and "sweet soybean paste." Just being able to figure out things like that without staring at shelves and characters on my phone for five minutes per item is enough for me to order occasionally.

 

Prices are generally quite reasonable and they have a lot of specials. Quantities can be a little more than I need for some things — I don't really need half a pound of Thai basil, but I don't mind a bit extra when that half pound's $4. A few things seem high — a lot of these Asian mail order services seem to have super fancy fruit at super fancy prices, and there's definitely some of that here (a single Diamond Sweet Melon for $10, or longans for $14/lb). But they don't seem to upcharge for basic stuff like green papaya, and they do have some interesting stuff at reasonable prices (lots of interesting varieties of grapes for $2.99/lb). 

 

My only other wish list item would be better representation of SE Asian ingredients — they don't consistently have things like makrut lime leaves or galangal, and their selection of Thai pantry stuff is pretty limited. UmamiCart seems slightly better for these but neither is really comprehensive.

 

Compared to UmamiCart, which I wrote up previously — there's a lot of overlap, I would say in general Weee! is better for staple ingredients, whereas UmamiCart has a lot more fun stuff and small batch / artisanal / fancy products. When they offer the same produce items, though, Weee! appears to be a bit cheaper.

 

Overall, a thumbs up from me; already looking forward to my next order.

[Annie_H]

On 9/20/2022 at 3:28 PM, weinoo said:

This stuff is only supposed to be refrigerated properly, not frozen (except the bagels, which don't really matter that much).

FreshDirect is a grocery delivery system. 20 years NYC. My last week delivery had two bags of frozen peas. Frozen solid. Frozen should be delivered frozen like ice cream. My pork shoulder was very cold and the PatLefreida burgers were cold un-frozen. My choice to freeze or cook within a couple days. I like the 5-7am delivery window. Makes me nervous every delivery but so far so good. Lobsters are lively, cold, but wake up on the counter feisty. 

[Shelby]

 

 

No figs available .....I bet they won't offer them again this season.

 

Oh, and you can go ahead and judge me on the Cheez Whiz now.  I have more than a person needs at one time.  I can't stop myself.

[gfweb]

21 minutes ago, Shelby said:

 

 

No figs available .....I bet they won't offer them again this season.

 

Oh, and you can go ahead and judge me on the Cheez Whiz now.  I have more than a person needs at one time.  I can't stop myself.

 

I'm with you on the Whiz.

 

That's a shitload of romaine though

[Shelby]

2 minutes ago, gfweb said:

 

I'm with you on the Whiz.

 

That's a shitload of romaine though

They sent me an extra I think.  We eat a lot of salad for lunch and some at dinner so it won't go bad for sure.

[FauxPas]

6 hours ago, Shelby said:

No figs available

 

I wish I liked figs more! We have a couple of places realy near our house where they sell figs and small fig trees, just small home-based stuff with a stand by the driveway/garage. They had figs available for a long time and I suspect the price would have been pretty reasonable. But I only checked it out once when a friend was visiting and she was all excited about fresh figs and bought a bunch to take with her. 

 

I really need to develop a taste for them, I think.   🙂

 

[Anna N]

6 hours ago, Shelby said:

They sent me an extra I think.  We eat a lot of salad for lunch and some at dinner so it won't go bad for sure.

Mmmmmmm. Grilled romaine. 

[gfweb]

3 hours ago, Anna N said:

Mmmmmmm. Grilled romaine. 

 

Or sauteed in brown butter

[Shelby]

 

 

I may need a Cheez Whiz intervention 😳

 

In my defense, I DID give one to my mom.....AND Misfits threatened me and said it was my last chance to buy any.......

[lemniscate]

@Shelby  What's in the "odds and ends" cans?

[Shelby]

1 hour ago, lemniscate said:

@Shelby  What's in the "odds and ends" cans?

Tomato paste.  They just recently started selling it.  Odds and Ends is Misfits own "brand" or "label".  99 cents a can.

[kayb]

On 10/8/2022 at 8:17 PM, FauxPas said:

 

I wish I liked figs more! We have a couple of places realy near our house where they sell figs and small fig trees, just small home-based stuff with a stand by the driveway/garage. They had figs available for a long time and I suspect the price would have been pretty reasonable. But I only checked it out once when a friend was visiting and she was all excited about fresh figs and bought a bunch to take with her. 

 

I really need to develop a taste for them, I think.   🙂

 

Try a salad of grapes and figs. Tart dressing, sort of a mustard vinaigrette. Surprisingly good.

 

And, of course, split them in quarters almost to the base, stuff with blue cheese, broil and drizzle with honey.

[Shelby]

My mom sent me an email from Misfits that had a $15 off coupon because it's their 4th anniversary.  So, I decided to get some wings.  We are out and they are still expensive/hard to find around here.

 

 

Apples were 90 cents a piece.  I thought that was a decent price and they are really pretty.

 

 

 

Figs!  They had figs again!

 

 

Look at those carrot tops!  I think I'm going to make a pesto out of them today........

[Shelby]

Misfits delivery yesterday.  They started offering "Perks" a while back.  You get points for each item you order.  They accumulate and they give you different options for if/when you want to cash them in.  Free items....money off etc.  I chose to get $35 off this order.  Thought that would be a good time for another wine order.  You get a free cork remover.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful green beans and leeks.

 

Our hunter friend arrives on Nov. 30th so I'll be placing a largish order before that.

[Shelby]

We put quite a hurt on my above wines when our friend was here so I ordered another batch that got here yesterday.  Some the same as before, some new ones.