Dominick's, Jewel-Osco, Whole Foods, Meijer: where do you get groceries?

I prefer Dominick's myself. I know they tend to have higher prices than Jewel, but Dominick's is closer and the Jewel by me is a smaller one. I also find Dominick's to be cleaner and have better lighting than Jewel. Maybe it's just my local one.

I know I'm missing Schunck's, Aldi, Shop N' Save, Cubs Food, and I'm sure many more but I could only fit so many in one title.

We're carless at the moment, so I go to the one that's closest to my job and open late (since I leave work late and my company pays for me to get a cab at night anyway, I might as well bring a load of groceries too). That would be the one at Grand and State. There's also a Whole Paycheck just a few blocks away, and sometimes I go there for nicer stuff for special occasions and the like.

then Jewel-Osco or Dominicks depending on sale items. Jewel seems to always change their stores around. Every year you need a new roadmap to find where stuff is at. Dominicks is quieter and saner. Would like to see one of those Woodsman stores. They advertise they are "company owned". Does anyone know much about them?

Woodmans are great, I was in the new one in Carpentersvill a few months ago. How they work is that every employee gets a bonus check at the end of the month whish is a percentage of the store's profits divided by the employees weighted by the number of hours the employee works.

Its a great way to keep sales up and shrink down.

BTW I work for Jewel-Osco so I am a bit bias due to the 5 to 10% "employee discount"

Which is a big shift from even 5 years ago for me. Now:

1. Fruits and veggies - Russo's - a wonderful mega-farm stand-like place with the cheapest, freshest, most varied fruits & veggies in town. Here in the greater Boston area, it's a mecca year-round. It's in Watertown. You can get standard things or you can get exotic fresh Asian greens in over a dozen varieties, fresh curry leaves, and lots of things I've never heard of. Prices and freshness are much better than supermarkets, too.
In season, I do go to some of the many country farm stands and pick-your-owns, though Russo's is cheaper. Best apples ever around here in the countryside orchards: Honey Crisp and (almost as good) GingerGold. Some farmers also bring their produce to the city centers one day a week in season - more expensive than Russo's but fun.
I raise my own tomatoes and herbs in my tiny back yard and share them with my landlord's family - a good arrangement for all.

2. Miscellaneous stuff - Trader Joe's. I get a lot of things there, it's a great chain. Those of you that frequent them know what I mean. My favorite store-bought bread is there, which surprises me given the many other good stores for bakery stuff.

3. Detergent, toiletries, office stuff, paper towels and such, some foods, miscellaneous stuff -- CostCo. Just down the highway and they treat their employees well.

4. WHole grains except lentils, all the limited meat I eat except fish -- Whole Foods. (Used to be Bread & Circus here.) I don't eat beef and I only eat natural-raised, "certified organic" chicken or lamb occasionally.

5. Spices and dals (lentils, various kinds of chickpeas, other beans and peas), other Indian supplies - Indian grocery stores in Waltham, MA (a short drive to these wonderfully fragrant places).

6. Fresh fish - one of the joys of the Boston area. Pick your favorite local fish market or go to the Pier. It's all great.

7. Non-Indian Asian specialty foods - Asian supermarket chain, Super 88 - a few stores, all very large, full of amazingly varied foods from all over Asia, and quite cheap. Local Asian markets are also often good. Found plentiful fresh Kaffir lime leaves in a little Cambodian/Viet-Namese/Thai one in Lowell last week. There are also specialty stores for Japanese, Korean, or other national cuisines and I go there as needed for cooking ingredients.

8. On those rare occasions when my sweet tooth twinges or I want to spoil someone with a sweet gift -- a local Danish bakery that uses only Danish ingredients, has a native Danish head baker, and ships their delights all over the area. Their strudels, breads, marzipans (usually not a favorite for me, but theirs are wonderful), all pastries are to die for, nothing like what you get in other local bakeries. They also sell the best quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar in refillable bottles at a good price, a real find.

9. There are probably even more on this list before I finally get to my local supermarket chain, Shaws. (Used to be Star Market.) Standard big supermarkets. I get some staples there, like the kind of skim milk I like best. and a few other things I don't find in other places. Interestingly, a couple of years back they made over a significant part of the store as a whole/natural foods sub-store and they also maintain a good fish market --with sushi yet! -- and have reasonable fruits and veggies and a wine selection. I just don't get much at these stores, there are just so many other even better places.

They are closer to home than Jewel. Closest Jewel is a small store and the narrow aisles annoy me.

I work in SE Skokie and do some grocery shopping during the week at Happy Foods on Central, just north of Devon, in Edgebrook. It's a great little store with friendly people and better meat than you find at the chain supermarkets.

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For one, they're a union shop. I imagine it's just the one near you that's not great - the one up here in Zion is clean, big, with good prices.

Dominick's is WAAAAAY too expensive. And how could you forget Piggly-Wiggly?

I didn't know there was one of those left anywhere on the planet

My folks live in Appleton. They love the Pig.

n/t

and I drive a long way to get there. Come on! All the left wing radicals and burned out hippies shop Whole Foods or their local co-op!

Downstate and in the STL suburbs you have Krogers and Schnucks. They are both United Food and Commercial workers union stores.

since I work for them. Our prices are WAY lower than Jewel or Dominick's. I do prefer the meat at Jewel when I can afford it.

Foods, and if I have to, Jewel. If Trader Joe's were open 24 hours and had bigger produce and deli sections, I'd be content to never go to Jewel or Whole Foods again. Jewel because they suck (so does Dominicks, Cub, Aldi, and all the other big chains IMHO). Whole Foods because they're too expensive and the owner is not as progressive as you might think he'd be.

and once in a great while Trader Joe's and even more rarely, Whole Food

One of my co-worker's wives was part of a research study comparing the children who where raised primarily on organic meat and dairy vs. those that weren't. The conclusion was that those who were fed a diet from the general market (again, focus on meat and dairy) matured faster than those that didn't. The scientists suspect that it's all those growth hormones in the food that's playing with our aging system. Think about it -- perimenipause at 35 was UNHEARD OF 20 years ago. At the rate we're going, we won't be alive to collect Social Security (exaggeration for point).

We're not rich so we now use meat and dairy as a condiments and mostly live on produce (again, I know it's not the best, but we're not rich). Also, the meat at Whole Foods definitely tastes better and fresher. Also, their 365 (house brand) canned tomatoes are wonderful. They actually taste fresh because they are skinned using a steaming method rather than lye.


Paula

it was always Jewel/Osco. Dominick's did something to piss me off long ago, and I forget what it was, but I never went back again.

For a while, I shopped at Treasure Island on Broadway.

RL

I used to go to County Market and Schnucks when I lived there.

:evilgrin:

Jewel because I'm used to it and Trader Joe's because they're awesome! I'm ashamed to say that I don't know where my local Whole Foods Market is.

Oh, and for those in Aurora/Naperville, I also shop at Michael's Whole Foods - not to be confused with Michael's Crafts. ;) They have a great Indian food aisle.

However, occasionally I will drive to Kenosha to go to Woodmans....they are great!

Cheers,
Kim

I could live in their International Foods aisle quite happily. :D

It's the only place in the area I can get a Lion bar.

Cheers,
Kim

Or do you just like the chocolate bars? ;)

Swedish/American and having spent lots of time in Sweden...eating different candies, a Lion bar is one of the few I can get in the area.

I also like the lemon curd!

Cheers,
Kim

I'm a dual national, too, of course UK-US. Where are you from in Sweden? I've only been there once, but we visited Goteborg, where my parents met (they're both English).

I've not seen lemon curd at Meijer, but have found it at Trader Joe's and at Cost Plus World Market.

...Limhamn really, but Limhamn has been included in Malmö now.

What part of England are your parents from? Do you get to go back often?

I've never been to Great Britain, flown over it everytime....someday I'll get there.

Cheers,
Kim

Chelmsford, county town of Essesx. I left England in 1992 when I went to live and work in France, and moved to the US in late 1995, once married. I go back at least once a year. This year I'm going back twice, at least, as my parents (67 and 69) don't fare too well on the flights, even though they're both in excellent health. All those horrible germs being recycled get to them after 8+ hours. :( Anyway, I'm going for a weekend (I know, I'm insane!) in April, by myself, then taking daughter and maybe husband (hope so) for a week in July.

How often do you get back, Kim?

Cheers,
Maz.

and Stanley's (north & elston) for fruits and veggies.

Now I got to Lincolnwood Produce.

trying to kick the sam's habit. checked out costco the other day. it looks good, it was just so freakin crowded. and it is kinda far. but....
i also shop at the little fruit market near me, and sometimes the mexican grocery. hate the chain stores produce.

We buy our 'basics' here in town at the IGA, but we go to Champaign about twice a month to pick up 'exotic' and hard-to-find items at Meijer.

:)

I buy vino at the Trader Joe's on Lincoln and Grace, some stuff from Whole Foods (though rarely), basics at Jewel, and my massive weekly grocery order from Peapod. Oh, I love Peapod. I used it even before I had a baby. Mmmmm...

mc

*cyber-kisses*

Hi Maz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

xxx

Because it's close and I'm carless, and the Safeway store brand stuff is pretty decent - Jewel brand stuff generally sucks, and their meat is ecch. The worst thing about Dominick's is that when their produce is on sale, you'd best use it right away because it's usually ready to turn. You're right about the cleanliness - Dominick's is generally cleaner and better laid out than Jewel, IMO.

If I wasn't carless I'd shop Trader Joe's and Costco too. Sometimes I go up to Devon for Indian ingredients. If you can get past the shopping experience at Aldi you can find good quality there for much less than the other chains, but I don't shop them because their locations aren't convenient for me. I used to do Peapod but they screwed up two orders in a row so I dumped them.

I know...mostly imported. We're a one income family and since I've been going to Aldi's, I've been able to cut the grocery bills by at least 40% (honest!!).

I wish we could afford to keep going to Cub, Domicks's and Jewel. I'll hit Target Superstore for a few miscellaneous (they have the best price for the Nestle French Vanilla creamer that hubby has to has in his coffee), and Wal-Mart (paper towels, toilet paper, ocassionallay beans for soup), and Cub for Brooks ketchup and coffee. The meat stuff I usually get at Michael's...sometimes they have better prices on produce too.