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salindgren 13 years, 1 month ago.
salindgren, aren’t you the same person taking brie, fresh hulled strawberries and Dom Perrion to the dive inn or bowling alley?
Find all that stuff at the 99 cent store?
Were a little more upscale here on the East Coast we have a Dollar Store.
Chow Jim
Oh, I forgot to mention, for those of you in Los Angeles, and probably other places around LA, there’s a really big chain called 99CentsOnly Stores. Now, I’ve spent 30 years here, and I always ignored this operation, because I thought it was just filled with junky sunglasses and stuff like that, but NO! They have food, too! The concept is that everything in the place is 99 cents. I was shocked and amazed. They even have a little produce, and frozen stuff. It’s a crap shoot, you never know what will be there, what you DO know is that every item is 99 cents, OK? Lots of canned goods, for those rainy days. Pastas. Brand names you never heard of. Kinda funky, but actually kinda fun. You can walk in with $7 and eat for a week. The problem with the restaurant supply houses, or Costco, is that you have to buy more stuff, at higher prices, than you want, often. This works for pepperoncini, or artichoke hearts (if you can afford them), but I don’t need a #10 can of soup or chili, you know?
-Scott Lindgren [email protected]
Don’t over look local farmers markets. Or better yet, a co-op. We pay one price every month and get a boatload of produce for way less than half grocery store prices. Always shop seasonal too! Some farms have a pick all you can carry for one price. It may cost a bit in the first go around but I buy in bulk, freeze or can the left overs. We only do grocery shopping twice a month.
If you have room for it you could build a cold frame outdoors for herb gardening. Just make sure if your ground gets cold to make raised beds. I can’t grow herbs in the house. I live in the deep south where large over hangs and porches are the norm to protect us from the scorching heat. The backside to that is no sunlight in the winter inside except in one room.
The oriental and latino markets here are WAY cheaper for stuff like beans, peppers, shallots, cilantro, ginger, etc.
I grow my own herbs, have had a greek oregano plant for 4 years now- outside- it has survived Dallas heat, drought, ice and wet! This year I added basil and lavender and tarragon and thyme- the lavender and tarragon are still growing outside- yes, even in the cold- but the basil and the thyme have given up the ghost.I have a friend who keeps me in rosemary and dill all year around and the only herb I use a lot, that I don’t grow is cilantro ( coriander,for those of you looking in Asian markets, is the same plant) I too, use the Latino markets in the area and also the Asian markets- the Asian rice has a different flavor that I really like- there is a large Asian market getting ready to open in the neighborhood close to where my son lives, and I can’t wait to go there. The pricing is always lower than the Kroger or Albertson’s and the freshness of veggies and fish is outstanding! And the baked goods are good too-especially the fresh tortillas!
I’m anticipating much higher food prices in ’08. Wheat, corn, soybeans, all trading at all time highs.
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Originally posted by ejavelina
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Originally posted by MikeS.
I shop a Latino mkt in Winchester for fresh tortillas and other Mexican products I can’t find anywhere else. I’m not in Calif anymore thats for sure.When I head towards Manassas, Va. I too take a cooler for tamales and fajita meat.
I visiting the outlaws for the holidays and would like to know where this Latino market is located.
Please help.
Eddie from San Deigo
Corner of Centreville Rd. & Manassas Dr. in Manassas Park.
quote:
Originally posted by MikeS.
I shop a Latino mkt in Winchester for fresh tortillas and other Mexican products I can’t find anywhere else. I’m not in Calif anymore thats for sure.When I head towards Manassas, Va. I too take a cooler for tamales and fajita meat.
I visiting the outlaws for the holidays and would like to know where this Latino market is located.
Please help.
Eddie from San Deigo
quote:
Originally posted by MikeS.
I shop a Latino mkt in Winchester for fresh tortillas and other Mexican products I can’t find anywhere else. I’m not in Calif anymore thats for sure.When I head towards Manassas, Va. I too take a cooler for tamales and fajita meat.
Manassas went Mexacali-North faster than Annandale went Seoul-West! I cashed out of the McLean bubble in 2005 and came to McKinney a northern suburb of Dallas where I bought a better house for 25% of my McLean cash out. Then yesterday I get an itch to make green bean casserole and paid $1.29 for a ^&*(%’in can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom condensed soup. Weren’t those 20 cents @ not so long ago?
I shop a Latino mkt in Winchester for fresh tortillas and other Mexican products I can’t find anywhere else. I’m not in Calif anymore thats for sure.
When I head towards Manassas, Va. I too take a cooler for tamales and fajita meat.
enginecapt, where are we talking about in K-Town? 8th St? Western Ave?
Ah, that makes me drive THROUGH downtown, a painful process. Chinatown is easier for me and all the loft dwellers, except for parking. But I kind of like sticking with the cheap Latino places anyway, it’s stuff that I more or less know.
I was thinking that these days, every big town must have the kind of one-off Latino ops I’ve discussed. Maybe not Boston, or Minneapolis, but certainly Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Atlanta, etc.
Look for "Zulka" brand unrefined sugar, from Mexico. I’ve bought "Sugar in the Raw" before, but it’s way more than the Zulka product. And don’t be afraid of the produce places with no cash registers!
-SL
Scott, have you tried the shops in Koreatown?
Huh… that’s interesting that people are mentioning Asian markets. There’s sure no shortage of those here in LA, I can walk to both Little Tokyo and even Chinatown. But in J-Town, things have never been cheap. Just the opposite. I have always been careful about buying anything there. Chinatown I don’t know about. They probably have very cheap ducks. But I’m largely vegetarian these days, and thus do well with the latino operations. I can make a bean & cheese burrito at home that kicks butt, for almost nothing. Chile peppers are almost free. Tortillas, onions, all of it really cheap. I have not gotten into Mexican rice yet, but I will.
Uh, on the Asian thing… I just am not crazy about most of those flavors… I don’t dig soy sauce, or seafood, so I’m kind of hosed there. Learning how to cook Indian stuff would be nice, but kind of a lot of work. I do like "improving" Campbell’s soups. Onion, asparagus, mushroom, it’s all as good as YOU make it. You know? The Progresso stuff is already too heavy to do anything with. And Wolfgang Puck’s is too expensive.
Anyway, I’d like to hear more comments about $ saving ideas…
Oh, I’m trying to grow my own basil, chiles, etc, not so much because of the cost, but because of the cost of DRIVING to the store, for a fifty cent bunch of cilantro! That’s crazy. I’d rather just walk to the window and grab some. Oui?
-Scott Lindgren [email protected]
Neesie, check it out – There’s an oriental supermarket near me, with fantastic prices on meat, fresh seafood, and produce. It’s also good for spices, condiments, as well. I don’t know what I’m looking at half the time in the some of the other sections, but wish I did.
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Originally posted by douginvirginia
There are a few Latino/Asian combo markets here in the Shenandoah valley. None in my town, but I frequent one about 20 miles down the road in Fieldthistle’s town, Harrisonburg. I usually only but those ethnic items there, although they sometimes have some seafood that’s very inexpensive.When I go up to the DC suburbs in NOVA I always take a cooler and fill it up. The Asian markets are fantastic! No longer just corner groceries, they are full fledged supermarkets with comprehensive inventory. I think one who lived close could save 40 – 50% on their food bill by shopping there.
Interesting…we have dozens of large Asian supermarkets in the Twin Cities, yet I have never gone in there. I wonder if it’s the same here?
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