And you're paying.....what?

[Dave the Cook]

Fruit Loops

Please pay attention. The correct spelling is:

Froot Loops®

Hence my ambivalence. Obviously we're dealing with a store-brand knock-off.

[aliwaks]

shopped yesterday bought:

3 limes

1 lemon

1 mango

5 nectarines

container of fresh mint

2 hass avocados

$12.41

really your Chicago haul is unbelievable.... i'm so jealous

[Wild Pegasus]

Food Basics, which seems to be the only Ontario supermarket to put their flyer online,

Try http://www.flyermall.com/flyers/store.php which has all the major Ontario chains - Loblaws, Sobeys, Loeb, IGA, A&P, etc. Also, Ottawa area chains Farm Boy, MarketFresh and Produce Depot all have their specials online.

[fresco]

Thanks, Pegasus. Now if I could only find a way to prevent the people who produce the truly terrible local weekly stuffed with flyers from flinging it at my front porch, I'd be all set.

[Jonathan Day]

Some things about life in the USA are very good.

At our local fruit and veg / cremerie in France the quality is superb -- virtually every piece of fruit or vegetable is perfect in flavour, texture, ripeness, aroma. It approaches slkinsey's heirloom product wrapped in spider silk by blind virgins. Anything that isn't absolutely perfect, they will cheerfully take back -- but in several years of shopping there, we've never had to do that.

But the price! My guess is that the limes, potatoes and corn alone would together cost at least EUR 12 = US$14.

The prices (and quality) would be lower at a supermarket, or at a farmer's market.

Europe has its compensations, but low prices are not among them.

I will try to do some comparative pricing here in London and then in France when we are there in August.

[Fritz Brenner]

20 packages Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup Mix  (He likes them)

Are you sure he's the only one? I seem to recall a certain Maggie saying something on another thread about the virtues of Maruchan noodles.....

P.S. I love that Jumex nectar stuff. Mmmmm.

[suzilightning]

wha?  you're joking, yes?  limes are about 3 for a dollar here in northern NJ.  i'll be right over...

edit:  on a different note, 5.31 would buy me a beer and a small tip on the way home from work. 

4 limes - .50

2 lemons - .50

3/4 lbs mixed baby greens - 1.75

2/3 plum tomatoes - .75

apple tree in wharton today

ps - tommy sorry about the beer

[gus_tatory]

great thread, maggiethecat!

interesting, as you said, to find availability/pricing in diff cities...

5.31$ at an asian grocery in montreal = bag of frozen edamame, bag of dried shiitakes, small container of kimchi

5.31$ at my favourite neighbourhood grocery = a kilo of over-ripe tomatoes, a canteloupe, dozen small eggs, bag of "mini-brownies" that are actually really good

5.31$ at butchers' = about a kilo of "roti de pallette a l'europeenne", which i think is blade-steak (?)

5.31$ at "health-food" store = kasha, couscous, adzuki beans dry, oatmeal, sesame seeds, no-salt chicken stock powder (exposing myself to censure here hehe), brown rice, buckwheat flour, small bags of cumin, coriander seed, etc.

no agenda, re: health-food store, just noticing i get a _lot_ more food there for the same filthy lucre...

gus

edited to fix "barbie says math is hard" problems

Edited July 9, 2003 by gus_tatory (log)

[tommy]

wha?  you're joking, yes?  limes are about 3 for a dollar here in northern NJ.  i'll be right over...

They are?! Man... I think limes were something like 8 for a buck the last time I was at Fairway... and the Korean owned/Mexican staffed market on 104th and Amsterdam has them for something like 12 for a buck. $5.31 would get me almost my weight in limes!

i might be thinking of lemons.

but still, they ain't that cheap 'round my parts. but i only shop at the most expensive of stores.

limes have been 2 for a dollar at Kings for a while. granted, it's not the cheapest store in NJ, but it's a baseline for comparison.

[slkinsey]

wha?  you're joking, yes?  limes are about 3 for a dollar here in northern NJ.  i'll be right over...

They are?! Man... I think limes were something like 8 for a buck the last time I was at Fairway... and the Korean owned/Mexican staffed market on 104th and Amsterdam has them for something like 12 for a buck. $5.31 would get me almost my weight in limes!

i might be thinking of lemons.

but still, they ain't that cheap 'round my parts. but i only shop at the most expensive of stores.

limes have been 2 for a dollar at Kings for a while. granted, it's not the cheapest store in NJ, but it's a baseline for comparison.

Further proof that it is actually cheaper to live in Manhattan than Jersey!

[mb7o]

Limes are 59-79 cents *each* at groceries in my neighborhood (normal-high end).

They're 8/dollar at Hau Hau (a supermarket in the 'international district' of Seattle, the veggies are outside in an ex-parking lot with a tarp for a roof).

Anyone know what the difference is? The air conditioning? The fruit itself?

[Marmish]

elfin:  The store in question is about five minutes from my house on Rte. 59.  It's located in the town of West Chicago, which has a sizable Hispanic population, and is run by two brothers of Greek descent in their 20's/30's. 

Maggiethecat,

Can you give me a cross street for that store? I live in Glendale Heights.

Thanks.

[KatieLoeb]

Yesterday at Italian market in Philadelphia:

Basket of limes (about 20!) - $1.00

12 Lemons - $2.00

1 large eggplant - $1.00

5 "sunburned" (halfway between green and red) bell peppers - $1.00

4 cucumbers - $1.00

Grand total $6.00!

[bao]

Maggie: This is THE place to shop: Valli Produce

[maggiethecat]

Maggie:  This is THE place to shop: Valli Produce

Welcome, to eGullet, Kristina.

Yes, Valli's is awesome, from both the quality and pricing standpoints, and we shop there once or twice a week. Thanks for posting the link. It's another perfect example of why there is almost zero reason (maybe catfood on sale, or paper towels) to shop at a major grocery store chain in the Chicagoland area.

[Rachel Perlow]

The receipts that are in my pocket right now are from PathMark in Edgewater, NJ. I have two receipts, each for $2.99, each for one whole gigantic seedless watermelon. There was a one-per-customer limit, so Ellen and I had to check out separately. So that's $5.98 for two watermelons. But of course they were on sale.

Hey Steven, could you let us know who has the best prices on watermelon each week? You guys seem to go through them like, um, water.

Hint: It's not Shop Rite this week - cut seedless for $.49/lb. However, they are going "Plum Crazy" with 8 varieties for .79/lb each (see page 15).

Edited July 21, 2003 by Rachel Perlow (log)

[bao]

Welcome, to eGullet, Kristina.

Yes, Valli's is awesome... It's another perfect example of why there is almost zero reason (maybe catfood on sale, or paper towels) to shop at a major grocery store chain in the Chicagoland area.

Hi! Thanks!!

You are absolutely right!

[Basildog]

$3.51 is about £2.20 (UK) right? Well i got a new keyboard for the laptop for £2.50 at the local Video shop..brand new in the box...thats just crazy

[maggiethecat]

thats just crazy

Yes it is, BD. Especially if you intend to cook it!

[Basildog]

I do use it to print menus, so its kinda relevent

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Chiming in from the West Coast, and listing those prices that 1) I can remember and 2) the prices I am willing to pay:

30 limes @10/$1 $3.00

3 pounds (really nice) new white potatoes @ .39 lb 1.17

20 packages Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup Mix (He likes them) haven't a clue

6 fresh flour tortillas about .50

5 lbs. sugar Off the shelf, about 2.79+ here. I won't pay more than 1.79 (I hoard it on sale)

3 ears corn 1.00

1 can Jumex Plum Nectar Sounds expensive. Again, haven't a clue

So shopping at my convenience and at best prices in my area, I would have spent essentially $7.00 and come home without either the Ramen Noodles or the Plum nectar. You do good, Maggie.

[tejon]

Wow - now I want to move!

Here's what I would pay for the same. I live at the southeastern edge of Los Angeles county, BTW:

30 limes - 3/$1.00 at the local asian market = $10

3 pounds (really nice) new white potatoes - .69 a pound, same place = 2.07

20 packages Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup Mix (He likes them) - $3.00 per case

6 fresh flour tortillas - $1.00

5 lbs. sugar - $2.50

3 ears corn - $1.00

1 can Jumex Plum Nectar - ? If it's anything like Kern's, it'd be around .80 for the can

So a total of just over $20 for me, too - and I am an incredibly frugal shopper (I spend less than $75 a week on food for a family of four).