Groceries don’t have to be expensive if you’re willing to go a little out of your way for them. If you live in a city or town that has a produce market or farmer’s market, you’ll save a ton of money. Go to a butcher rather than a supermarket for your meat, and you’ll have more to spend on Surge.
For example, today I went to my butcher at the Haymarket here in Boston. They’re known for their sign that says “Order your freshly killed GOAT. Half or whole!” But they have great beef too. Today I got 3.5 lbs of steak for $9. It would have been $10.50 but I go there often so he cuts me a deal sometimes. Still, 3.5 lbs of quality beef for that price seems like a no-brainer.
The Haymarket has tons of fresh produce for very cheap. I’ve seen such deals as twelve lbs of tomatoes for $2, three lbs of strawberries for $1, five lbs of bananas for $1, etc. You can get a pound of spring salad mix for a buck, a pound of blueberries or raspberries for a buck, or 6 ears of corn for a buck. They were selling large boxes of mangos for $3, bags of pistachios and other nuts for $1, and bags of exotic spices for $1. Next week I’m going to try some of the Indian spices they sell.
All in all, today I got 6 lbs of potatoes for a buck, 4 lbs of bananas for a buck, and a pound of spring salad mix for a buck. Not to mention those delicious-looking steaks. Fourteen and a half pounds of food for $12. Not bad at all.
My point is, if you have the option, forget about your grocery store and go to the farmer’s market. Sure it’s loud and it can smell bad from all the people, but it’s a damn sight better than Shaw’s or Winn-Dixie.
Going to my farmers market this morning and I also agree on the butcher deal. I actually hit up a butcher when I go back to Kansas and ship meat back it is SO damn much more reasonable than the Coast.
farmer market’s are seriously amazing, I get my bread there, my horse meat ( 9$ for 5 lbs) buffalo meat or sausages, fruits and veggies, nuts, flax seeds you name it.
ack! We were just talking about horse meat today at work, I dont think they sell it in the U.S…
I know they do in Canada, and its really big in France.
I have never tried it, not sure i could do it if i had some in front of me, I would keep on thinking of my Moms horses.
Horse is leaner than beef and cheaper here at the farmer market. I cook it in a big wok with some pam, than put them in 200g portion in ziploc bags in the freezer. The cool thing is that when you nuked it, it taste a lot better than microwaved beef. So anyone that got a chance to try it, go for it.
I think our farmers market is every bit as expensive as the store… I’ll have to look around for some new ones… And a butcher.
We have a store called Karns here in PA, you can get an entire NY strip steak for $4.50/lb instead of just by the lb at $11. Of coarse a whole strip is about 13lbs of steak.
[quote]OneEye wrote:
Groceries don’t have to be expensive if you’re willing to go a little out of your way for them. If you live in a city or town that has a produce market or farmer’s market, you’ll save a ton of money. Go to a butcher rather than a supermarket for your meat, and you’ll have more to spend on Surge.
For example, today I went to my butcher at the Haymarket here in Boston. They’re known for their sign that says “Order your freshly killed GOAT. Half or whole!” But they have great beef too. Today I got 3.5 lbs of steak for $9. It would have been $10.50 but I go there often so he cuts me a deal sometimes. Still, 3.5 lbs of quality beef for that price seems like a no-brainer.
[/quote]
Is meat bought from a butcher generally better quality than storebought? (Taking into account that it depends on the butcher) Any butchers in your area who sell free-range beef?
Is meat bought from a butcher generally better quality than storebought? (Taking into account that it depends on the butcher) Any butchers in your area who sell free-range beef?[/quote]
I’d say quality is a bit better at my butcher than at the local supermarkets, but I can’t be totally sure because I can’t afford the same cuts from a supermarket to try them out (college student). I’m sure I could find a place that sold free-range beef but since my butcher is located in the same place as the produce market, I just make one stop for the majority of my groceries.
[quote]Todd S. wrote:
I think our farmers market is every bit as expensive as the store… I’ll have to look around for some new ones… And a butcher.
We have a store called Karns here in PA, you can get an entire NY strip steak for $4.50/lb instead of just by the lb at $11. Of coarse a whole strip is about 13lbs of steak. [/quote]