[DanaMarley]

where is a good place to buy, say, ground beef, hamburger? Steaks? Lamb Chops? Pork Chops?
Now BJ's, I know of that place, they sell food too, huh? What does it cost to join them?

[Stylo]

Fresh Market is fairly expensive based on my one visit to the one in Westport. No cheaper than Trader Joe's or Whole Foods.

I do a mix of shopping. Mostly Costco and Whole Foods for staples. Whole Foods isn't that expensive on certain items. You just have to watch out, as certain things are outrageous. But it doesn't deserve its reputation fully, as many products are priced well. And the shopping experience is nice, their customer service is excellent, and the stores are really nice and clean. I'll pay a little extra not to buy junky food in a dumpy store.

Costco is great for bulk, of course. Also good for meat. (or BJ's, or Sam's)

I don't like Stop & Shop. I don't think they keep their stores very well, their prices are high, and their produce/meat is not great. Therein lies the perception difference - on natural and organic items, Stop & Shop is no cheaper than Whole Foods and sometimes more expensive.

Shop Rite might not be the prettiest stores, but their prices are great. Definitely prefer them over Stop & Shop.

Aldi is great for deals. Haven't been in there for a while though.

Big Y's prices are more comparable to Stop & Shop, but much nicer stores. I wish there was one closer to me, but I think it's only a matter of time before one opens in Milford or Orange.

We have a great local farm that I get a lot of produce from when it's in-season. I get raw milk from a farm or a health food store.

[CTGirlNoMore]

I agree that Aldi's can be really nice. However, not all - just the newer ones

I refuse to go anywhere near the Aldi's in my area, but have no problem going to the one by my mom.

Stop and Shop is expensive, yes. I prefer Shop Rite.

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by DanaMarley

where is a good place to buy, say, ground beef, hamburger? Steaks? Lamb Chops? Pork Chops?
Now BJ's, I know of that place, they sell food too, huh? What does it cost to join them?

Skip the meat at BJ's. It's just fair overall, and not exactly bargain priced either. When i had a Costco membership, i thought their meat was a better value than BJ's, but still nothing great either.

[Grubasek]

Ok folks!! I like to buy my sandwich meats and cheeses at Polish Deli's. The meat is great and much cheaper than Stop and Shop. I typically pay between $4 and $6 per pound. My favorite is in Vernon, CT directly off I-84, its call UNICORN POLISH BAKERY. Their meats and cheeses are delicious, cost effective, and you can buy really good fresh bread while your there. They the jars of REAL Polish dill pickles too, nothing like the Valasic typical pickles you get. You can also go to Broad Street in New Britain. There are several good places to shop there. Pol Mart, "Green" Grocery aka Zieleniak(means green in polish), Roly poly bakery, and Kasia's Bakery is too die for!! All these places sell great food at very reasonable prices.

There are several produce markets that have opened up in CT, one of them is Apple Tree in West Hartford is great for lower cost decent produce. There is a produce Market in Vernon on RT 83 near Dunkin Donuts that is cheaper too.

Lastly, I am shocked to hear that people still purchase meats from Stop and Shop or any grocery store. You must go to Bogners Meats located in Vernon and Manchester. They have Fresh meats at a fraction of the cost. If you buy their bulk meat packages you can save even more money. - Home

You can go to just one place for everything, you will get better deals by shopping around and going to multiple stores that are LOCAL businesses opposed to the main stream expensive Super Markets.

FYI- I do frequent Aldi as the mirror exactly how European markets are laid out. Its smart and its cheap.
A neat story is that my father purchased drink mixes from Stop and Shop all the time. He decieded to begin purchasing them from Aldi, the packaging looked different but the drink packets inside were EXACTLY the same on the inside. They were literally HALF the price compared to S&S.

I also recommend visiting the We Use Coupons forum (not part of city-data) to find out what combinations of coupons will work best in your favor in relation to sale items for the week. You can find ways to get stuff super cheap and sometimes FREE.

[parentologist]

Walmart neighborhood store in Bishop's Corner, West Hartford, has overall cheaper everyday prices on most items. Shoprite with sale items and circular's coupons next best, very wide variety. Aldi in WH is terrible - would not ever go in there again. Price Chopper is pretty good with sale items, fantastic bakery in Southington. Stop and Shop and Big Y pretty expensive, even with sale items. And of course, there's Whole Paycheck.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Grubasek

Ok folks!! I like to buy my sandwich meats and cheeses at Polish Deli's. The meat is great and much cheaper than Stop and Shop. I typically pay between $4 and $6 per pound. My favorite is in Vernon, CT directly off I-84, its call UNICORN POLISH BAKERY. Their meats and cheeses are delicious, cost effective, and you can buy really good fresh bread while your there. They the jars of REAL Polish dill pickles too, nothing like the Valasic typical pickles you get. You can also go to Broad Street in New Britain. There are several good places to shop there. Pol Mart, "Green" Grocery aka Zieleniak(means green in polish), Roly poly bakery, and Kasia's Bakery is too die for!! All these places sell great food at very reasonable prices.

There are several produce markets that have opened up in CT, one of them is Apple Tree in West Hartford is great for lower cost decent produce. There is a produce Market in Vernon on RT 83 near Dunkin Donuts that is cheaper too.

Lastly, I am shocked to hear that people still purchase meats from Stop and Shop or any grocery store. You must go to Bogners Meats located in Vernon and Manchester. They have Fresh meats at a fraction of the cost. If you buy their bulk meat packages you can save even more money. - Home

You can go to just one place for everything, you will get better deals by shopping around and going to multiple stores that are LOCAL businesses opposed to the main stream expensive Super Markets.

FYI- I do frequent Aldi as the mirror exactly how European markets are laid out. Its smart and its cheap.
A neat story is that my father purchased drink mixes from Stop and Shop all the time. He decieded to begin purchasing them from Aldi, the packaging looked different but the drink packets inside were EXACTLY the same on the inside. They were literally HALF the price compared to S&S.

I also recommend visiting the We Use Coupons forum (not part of city-data) to find out what combinations of coupons will work best in your favor in relation to sale items for the week. You can find ways to get stuff super cheap and sometimes FREE.

The problem with Bogners is that their store hours are limited and it is not convenient for most shoppers. We also do not like to buy meats in large quantities because it is not convenient for us. I do not like to freeze meats and never seem to remember to defrost it when I need it. Jay

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by parentologist

Walmart neighborhood store in Bishop's Corner, West Hartford, has overall cheaper everyday prices on most items. Shoprite with sale items and circular's coupons next best, very wide variety. Aldi in WH is terrible - would not ever go in there again. Price Chopper is pretty good with sale items, fantastic bakery in Southington. Stop and Shop and Big Y pretty expensive, even with sale items. And of course, there's Whole Paycheck.

I make an occasional stop at ShopRite for the bargains, but by and large, i go with Big Y. I'm willing to pay a little extra for a clean and well lit store. My tolerance for seedy stores is now at zero. No thanks...

[basehead617]

There used to be a great high-end grocery store in Ridgefield though I can't remember the name of it now so I don't know if it exists. Anybody know what I could be talking about? (sort of Whole Foods-ish but even nicer, IIRC)

[parentologist]

Interesting you should say that. Shoprites are individually owned franchises, so I guess there is a lot of variation among them. The ones I've been to are great - clean, huge selection, good prices, great sale items.