[TalkinFood]

Do you have a specific grocery store you choose to shop at...or do you travel with the sales?

[KYHeirloomer]

A lot depends on what and when.

There's not a lot to choose from here in town: five supermarkets offering more or less the same mediocre quality and limited selection.

We generally head to Lexington once a week, therefore, and make the rounds. On any particular trip this could include Fresh Mart, the local food co-op, either or both farmer's markets; any of several ethnic markets; the specialty food counter at Liquor Barn; Wild Oats, etc.

During the week I may fill-in at Kroger or the like. But prefer not to.

[Mezzaluna]

I buy whatever's best at that particular store: produce and special occasion meats at Sendik's (an upscale market); everyday stuff at the local mega-mart (if it's worth buying). Italian ingredients I buy almost exclusively at Tenuta's in Kenosha. There's no place here to buy good kosher food; the local kosher "supermarket" often has long-expired items on its shelves, so I don't bother.

[MuskyHopeful]

I do a lot of shopping at the same Sendik's as Mezzaluna. I know what she looks like from the gallery, and I'm keeping my eyes open.

I buy seafood from Grasch's, another specialty store. They also sell prime meat, and I occasionally pop for a steak there, but they're really pricey. We have Pick 'n' Saves for can goods and coupon stuff. My wife does that shopping. A Fresh Market opened here recently, but it does not stand above Sendik's. Produce there seems comparable. Their deli stuff seems inferior. I've tried chicken and tuna salads there, and I like the salads and Boar's Head meats from Sendik's better.

Kevin

Put 'er in the ol' vise.

[shel]

Originally Posted by TalkinFood

Do you have a specific grocery store you choose to shop at...or do you travel with the sales?

None of the above.

I shop where I can get preferred items at the quality I want. That means for meat or poultry one of three butchers or poultry mongers. Seafood at one of two seafood places. Vegetables and produce split about 50-50 beyween the local farmer's markets and one of three produce stores. There are about 10 items I get at Trader Joe's, likewise for Whole Foods.

There are thre or four bakeries I frequent for bread, each has a couple of preferences.

There are three sources I use for cheese, a small Italian deli for certain spaghetti and some cold cuts.

I don't buy with sales in mind, but I do keep an eye out for prices, so if I see an item that I regularly purchase that's on sale, I may stock up on it.

shel

[Mezzaluna]

I do a lot of shopping at the same Sendik's as Mezzaluna. I know what she looks like from the gallery, and I'm keeping my eyes open.

Kevin, you have the better of me- I'll have to take a chance it's really you. Or, you can stop in at Mike's bbq place and say hi. I've been there a lot lately too.

[oldschool1982]

We don't a great deal of choice here, sometimes it's take what ya can get, yet then again what we have isn't all too bad. Ukrop's is our local more upscale store. I can usually get any produce from them I need with 3 days notice. The fact thay have an excellent Exec Chef on the staff helps with that as well as other things. Then there is the Kroger a couple miles down the road. When I need certain things for special meals we have a Fresh Market with-in a 30 mile drive (one way) and I have made the trip to Charlottesville (that's 92 miles one way) for the Whole Foods. When picking up relatives and visiting a High School friend down in Raliegh we've visited the Whole foods there as well. There is talk of a Whole Foods opening up in a section of town called the West End but that too is around a 30-40 mile drive depending on which end of the "end" they put it. There is a Trader Joes in the Yorktown/Norfolk area but that's still 60-90 miles one way. That difference depends on whether or not you want to take the ferry. Some days the ferry ride is 40 minutes others days it's taken as long as 2 hours. All depends on traffic.

Still have to find a decent Butcher shop for my sausage casings since most of the local places don't have them on site any longer.

[shroomgirl]

3 farmer's markets....
2 on Sat, one on Wed.....pork from pork farmer, lamb from lamb guy, chevre from Goatsbeard farmstead dairy, Chickens are hard too find as is beef.
Eggs from the market...most veg from the market.

Trader Joes...bananas, some breads, precooked shelf stable brown rice...love it, yogurts, some dairy, some nuts, some dried fruits, occasionally wine, sometimes frozen pizzas....

Whole Foods.... good cheeses, breads, sometimes dairy, occasionally coffee,
sometimes figs or some fruits...local fruit is not always plentiful....especially this year.

Just got in 14# of Almond paste, pinenuts, raspberry compound, fechiline cocoa, vanilla bean paste.....got dk chocolate cups on order for parties.

Asian stores for various herbs, noodles, bizarre shtuff....oh and hoisin

G&W german butcher for weiners, smoked liverwurst etc.

Volpi Italian butcher, great reduced cream, italian cheeses, pancetta, proscuitto, etc.

Mexican store for tortillas, salsa fresco, crema, etc.....

well and then there are the major grocery stores for shtuff.....and that doesn't include shopping when out of town....KY for their stone ground grits, flours, syrups, hams.
Southern flour in Illinois
New Orleans....now that's a town that's worth a few coolers....Martin's andouille, Community coffee, Camilla red beans, stansil's popcorn rice, satsumas, creole cream cheese, used to get boudin....on and on....
SF, NYC, Chapel Hill.....all great places to find special things.

[JCfantasy23]

I don't have the time or patience to track sales papers. I love the Dollar General Market here, though, as some of their prices wipe out the competition, and their supply is pretty decent. Some things I get from Walmart, but other times that can be more trouble than its worth. Winn Dixie is pricier but there are deals to be had with their shopper's card and weekly specials if you catch them. I want to try Sam's club but the one here is brand new and I haven't a card yet.

[KYHeirloomer]

Membership in Sam's Club is forty bucks, JC. This can be worthwhile if you take advantage of the quantity breaks or if you're shopping for utensils and the like.

For example, you can buy a complete beef tenderloin at a pretty good per pound price. The thing will run you $75-80, and you have to factor in the time it takes you to break it down, to determine if that's a good value for you.

Same thing applies with their industrial sized cereal packs and the like.

Although there are exceptions, I haven't noticed a comparable savings on frozen foods or fresh produce---although the produce at our Sam's tends to be higher quality than what's available at WalMart. Go figure.

Were it me, I'd either find a friend who's a member, and tag along with them; or pay the premium for shopping as a non-member just to get a feel for whether or not the place is right for you.

[allie]

I shop several places depending on sales and what I need for the menus I've planned. We have Scotts which was just bought out by Kroger. They carry some items that Kroger doesn't have and run some pretty decent sales on meats, produce, and other goods. SavALot has pretty good meat, surprisingly, and I stock up on some staple goods and produce. Sometimes I go to Meijer for sale items. They're a local chain that is similar to an upscale Super Walmart with better brands and higher prices. lol Whatever I don't get at those stores, I'll pick up at Walmart. I don't usually buy a lot of produce or meats at Walmart because I don't like the quality.

For large quantities of meat (like a party), a local farmer who butchers his own hogs and chickens (supplies some restaurants in Chicago) will sell to you. He doesn't have a shop and doesn't do small orders. His meat is really good and one day I'll have a freezer so I can buy a large quantity at one time.

We also have a ShopRite that is locally owned and they have really good meats and at times, good sales as well.

In summer, I shop the local produce stands in the area and we also grow some of our own veggies.

We're going to be getting a Sam's Club membership. We don't necessarily want it for grocery items but for other things they carry which is a lot better priced in bulk than on the shelves of the local stores.

[henry]

I was listening to Clark Howard (clarkhoward.com: Save more, spend less and avoid ripoffs) on the radio one evening and he said a new trend in shopping was to buy bulk and other items at Amazon.com, especially if you could take advantage of the free shipping, or had to travel far to get certain items they handle.

I was wondering if anyone ever bought grocery items from Amazon.



I like to shop @ WM Neighborhood Mkt, Sam's, Wild Oats (steel cut oats in bulk). My favorite fast food is Subway.
We don't have fish mongers, lamb mongers, artisan bread mongers, cheese mongers, and the farmers markets are very expensive.

[bubbamom]

Sendiks, Grasch's, Rupina's, (for all the reasons mentioned above) Empire Fish, Gooseberries in Burlington and Larry's Market in Brown Deer for cheese, farmer's markets for vegies and apples (but they will pretty much be closed on or before 11/24), Usingers and Neutzke's for sausage and bacon, and for the "every day" items - - the local grocery stores like Pick 'n Save or Sentry. In fact, I just came home from the farmer's market in West Allis. Didn't realize we had such a strong representation from Wisconsin in this forum!

[Tasty Thoughts]

We don't have a lot of great shops - few decent bakeries without driving 1/2 an hour and no fish markets whatsoever. However, there are some decent butchers. My favorite grocery store would have to be Trader Joe's. They have some unique items and really decent prices. We also belong to BJ's for bulk items. With 4 kids, it is a great place to go for sandwich bags, snacks, etc.

[Free Rider]

Originally Posted by shel

None of the above.

I shop where I can get preferred items at the quality I want. That means for meat or poultry one of three butchers or poultry mongers. Seafood at one of two seafood places. Vegetables and produce split about 50-50 beyween the local farmer's markets and one of three produce stores. There are about 10 items I get at Trader Joe's, likewise for Whole Foods.

There are thre or four bakeries I frequent for bread, each has a couple of preferences.

There are three sources I use for cheese, a small Italian deli for certain spaghetti and some cold cuts.

I don't buy with sales in mind, but I do keep an eye out for prices, so if I see an item that I regularly purchase that's on sale, I may stock up on it.

shel

You go to Trader Joe's. I consider that a grocery store. I also consider the little "farmer's market" where I shop to be somewhat of a grocery store because he sells groceries and in a store at that. A grocer is someone who sells foodstuffs. What you call a grocery is actually a supermarket.