Jenn's trapped in Westchester or White Plains or somewhere for the forseeable future

[conuly]

working on a trial.

She forgot a few things, so I ferried them up to her job for a co-worker to bring up later. Alas, I forgot the tennis balls in my backpack, and so she's out of luck on that front. To make up for it, I ordered her some tea. (No, we haven't agreed to never buy tea or hot sauce again, who told you that?)

Since I was in the city anyway I stopped by whole foods and got spiced roasted chickpeas, which are delicious. And also canned tomatoes, which are on my running list of "things that are cheaper at Whole Foods than at my local store". It's such a random list, too. Butter and yogurt, but not milk. Canned crushed tomatoes, but not tomato paste.

We go through a lot of tomatoes, so it's always better to stock up.

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Comments

[delight]

White Plains is in Westchester so it's probably both!

(I was in the White Plains community theater in high school.)

[conuly]

Ah, that explains it. My mother is like "Oh, but that's commuting distance!" and I'm just... I'm pretty sure you take the Metro-North to get there? My foster sister used to go back up to the group home at the end of every weekend and it was a long trip just to get to Grand Central every time.

[bibliofile]

Totally focusing on the prices of canned goods instead of all the news links as a deliberate distraction (not because the news isn't important). Wait, Whole Foods is cheaper than your local store? That's ridiculous. If I ever drive to Staten Island, I'll be sure to get a shopping list from you and fill up the trunk with inexpensive food from Wisconsin and Chicago....

[conuly]

If you're not mostly buying treats, whole foods is actually close to comparable with other grocery stores. With the caveat that if you buy organic, you'll always pay more. (Unless you're buying organic canned tomatoes. JFC, it's cheaper by nearly a dollar a can than the conventional ones at my grocery store by home!)

Though when it comes to butter, it's not that whole foods is cheap, it's that my store is really gouging us and I just don't know why. WHY do they charge us so much for butter? It's a total rip-off. How much do you pay for a pound of store brand butter where you are?

prices from the Dairy State but not Whole Foods

[bibliofile]

Brand butter (Land o' Lakes) is $4.50/lb. Small brand butter is about $2.60/lb.

Kerrygold is $3.59/8 oz.

Organic Valley is $7.19 -- though if you can go to Costco and buy multipacks, it's cheaper (not sure of current prices).

A gallon of 2% standard milk is $2 + change; sale prices run $1.88. Organic milk is more like $6-$7/gal.

(Muir Glen organic tomatoes are 1.69/14 oz. can and 2.69/28 oz can.)

Re: prices from the Dairy State but not Whole Foods

[conuly]

Lately our crushed tomatoes at my local store have been going at closet to $3 a big can, which is... I mean, it's okay. They did finally go back on a regular sale price recently, down to $2.50.

But obviously the <$2 price at WF is better if I don't mind lugging them home.

America's Dairyland pricing, WF edition

[bibliofile]

WF organic butter: $5.29/lb
OV organic butter: $7.29/lb
local non-organic butter: $4.69/lb

Canned tomatoes:
WF, org. - $1.79/28 oz
WF, trad. - $1.39/28 oz
(whoa)
Muir Glen (org.) - $1.79-2.19/14.5 oz, $2.99/28 oz.

Re: America's Dairyland pricing, WF edition

[bibliofile]

Interesting: WF apparently prices its own-brand stuff consistently from store to store. (Checked Chelsea and also a CHicago suburb)

Re: America's Dairyland pricing, WF edition

[conuly]

How much is the WF conventional butter? Because here it's $3 pretty consistently.

Re: America's Dairyland pricing, WF edition

[bibliofile]

I don't see that online (ETA: at the 3 nearest stores, which includes Milwaukee), so I don't know about here. In Evanston (suburb next to Chicago), it's $3.49/lb.

Re: America's Dairyland pricing, WF edition

[conuly]

That's not too shabby. At my local store the store brand hovers between $4.50 and $5, which is absurd. If I don't have a metrocard I go to the tribeca whole foods and stock up, and if I do I go to trader joe's and stock up even more because it's even cheaper there.

[calimac]

"The sometimes-innovative power of things that can be scratched"

The first thing I thought of that can be scratched is "itchy spots on your skin."

[conuly]

Oh, don't say the i-word. Every night, I turn off my light, and before I even get into bed I itch and itch.

[captainsblog]

https://youtu.be/bb3kSib82I8?t=141

[greghousesgf]

your local store must be super expensive, Whole Foods is overpriced enough.

[conuly]

It's not really, except for the butter. WF just has some really affordable things which you'll find when you look for them.