Grocery question (Pittsburgh, Oakland, Penn: credit card, buying, organic)

[khyron]

I will pile on with everyone who has recommended Trader Joe, IGA, the Indian and Korean grocers in Oakland, and certain items at Whole Foods as well as basically the entire Strip District which is like a dozen amazing places...and I particularly back the suggestion of Right By Nature. Right By Nature is not as expensive as Whole Foods, and more so than any store in Pittsburgh (other than a co-op or CSA) they try to regionally source everything they possibly can (meats, poultry, baked goods, you name it).

Also, Right By Nature has their own parking and they'll validate you for hours...so you can always park your car there and then walk the rest of the Strip! I do this every couple of weeks, I walk the whole strip with my bags in hand, then dump them into my car, then run through Right By Nature picking up a few items and getting my free pass out of the garage. It's awesome!

[jenniferprestia]

Creepsinc has point out the family connection between Aldi's and Trader Joes so I don't need to. All I can say is that I now do maybe 75% of my grocery shopping at Aldi's (and interestingly, you can find the same products as at TJs sometimes, with slightly different packaging). Aldi's can be very variable and I suspect they tailor heavily to the specific place they find themselves in. For example, the one off McKnight Rd seems to have a wider selection than the one on Rt 8 (near to Etna). I have also shopped at Aldi's in both Virginia and Maryland and they have a lot more latin american foods. So, it's variable.

I, personally, would starve rather than shop at Walmart but I don't much care for GE either (for different reasons). My ideal grocery experience is in and out within 30 minutes or less which is one of the attractions of Aldi.

[creepsinc]

Originally Posted by jenniferprestia

Creepsinc has point out the family connection between Aldi's and Trader Joes so I don't need to. All I can say is that I now do maybe 75% of my grocery shopping at Aldi's (and interestingly, you can find the same products as at TJs sometimes, with slightly different packaging). Aldi's can be very variable and I suspect they tailor heavily to the specific place they find themselves in. For example, the one off McKnight Rd seems to have a wider selection than the one on Rt 8 (near to Etna). I have also shopped at Aldi's in both Virginia and Maryland and they have a lot more latin american foods. So, it's variable.

I, personally, would starve rather than shop at Walmart but I don't much care for GE either (for different reasons). My ideal grocery experience is in and out within 30 minutes or less which is one of the attractions of Aldi.

So true about Wal-Mart. And you can find a lot more at Aldi than you would think at first glance. It just isn't brand-name. It's kind of funny how they think of a new brand name for every single item they sell, too. Our student seemed kind of shocked at the size of the average supermarket here. Of course, it's mostly a dozen different versions of the same thing, which seems pretty unnecessary when you think about it. And, I've had no problems with the quality of Aldi brands. I don't eat meat, though, so I still go to GE or elsewhere for some of that stuff. Aldi's verion of "meatless" is turkey burgers.

[Hopes]

In the Summer, you can take a 15 minute drive and buy directly from a local farm.

[ferrarisnowday]

Or just go to the farmer's market. There is one in Oakland. Though it is probably ending soon for the year, if it hasn't already.

[groar]

right by nature has really good produce prices (often their organic prices are cheaper than giant eagle's conventional prices). and i do appreciate their efforts to source locally. other than produce and things that are on sale, their prices are pretty high. i went there for produce last winter and probably will again this winter.

[Kate88]

I'm very disappointed with the IGA on Forbes. Overpriced and a small selection. Still, for those carless in Oakland, it's better than nothing.

[Chichappens]

anyone a member of Costco? I have been to one but never joined tried a few samples of food they demo an was impressed...what bothers me is you have to pay a $100 a year membership and when I looked at the prices of lets say Crush, Fresca, tab it was no cheaper then Walmart

[greg42]

It's only $50/year. If you pay $100/year you get a rebate of a certain percentage (I forget, it's 2 or 3%), and if the rebate doesn't equal more than $50, you get the difference back. Either way, the most it costs you is 50 bucks.

Costco is good for various things. Their house-branded stuff (Kirkland) for certain items is quite good. Pricing for certain things may or may not be any better. Most things come in pretty large quantities, so for food you have to have a way to use it quickly or freeze it. A lot of the advantage can come from non-food items. I've bought tires a couple times. The savings on those easily covers a year or two of membership. Not everything is cheaper than sale prices at other stores, though.

With just a two-person household, I probably would not belong to Costco except that my typical shopping area is Cranberry where one is located. That's just 5 miles from the house. So, it's fairly convenient as well.

[hempfield mania]

We belong to Costco and for a family of 4, we have the $100 membership. You need to spend about $250/ mo there to make it worth your while. We buy diapers, soap, shampoo, etc. when we get their coupons and the kids love their Tyson real breast meat chicken fingers! We get our moneys worth over the course of a year.

During the summer, we buy the large containers of fruit and veggies and almost never waste any. Heck, when I bring a cooler with me in the car to work and hit Costco (in the Waterfront) at lunch, I probably make up $25 worth of food over the year just in lunches due to all the free samples they give out. Freeloading, maybe, but hey, I'll take it when I can get it!

As already mentioned, we like McGinnis (awesome chocolate milk there) and other produce and meats and Delallo has some great cheese and lunchmeat. We do most of our meat shopping at a local butcher shop (CW meats on Rte. 993 between Westmoreland City and Irwin) and the line can be 30 deep to be waited on during the weekend. Good stuff at great prices. I hate GE but it is practically a monopoly here in western PA. I try to only shop there for their sale items with coupons because they are so overpriced, that is the only way to get a deal. I do hit Wally world for more of the junk food/staple type stuff when I can. Just a for instance, a $2.92 jar of Prego at GE sale priced at $2.50 is always $1.92 at Wally world in West Mifflin. Cereal is another thing we get only when on sale. I grow my own produce in the summer and try to can as much as we can.