[clanter]

bread.... the twist ties date the bread...the colors are alphabetically arranged starting with Monday

Monday = Blue
Tuesday = Green
Wednesday = ??
Thursday = Red
Friday = White
Saturday = Yellow.

[MsM]

Bread - the bakeries do not have to honor that system. I had heard that before, but when I looked at the bread I buy, all the ties are always white! Your bakery may do that, but it is far from universal.

Re supermarkets:
For general stock-up, I like my local Stop & Shop. I love to get the scanner and scan and bag so that checkout is a breeze. And their self-checkout actually works.
OTOH, the people stocking shelves are often inconsiderate with the way they park their carts and themselves - and chat to each other. Why are they almost always at the yogurt I want?!?
Most people are good about pulling out of the way to chat, but, yeah, the people blocking an entire aisle are really annoying. I aske them to move, but it is just inconsiderate.

BTW, you should have seen the parking lot yesterday in advance of the snowstorm! (No, I didnt have to get groceries!)

[trubandloki]

One place I cannot stand is Tops! People always say it is less expensive than Wegmans and it is not true.

My MIL will not shop at Wegmans. She insists not only is Tops cheaper but the Wegman family is rich enough and they are not getting her money too.

I tried once to show her that Wegmans is not really more expensive and frequently it is less expensive, but she just not believe me. It is like the whole smartpak thing, people want to believe what they want to believe (that smartpak has to be more expensive) and no facts are going to change their mind.

[ViewParadise]

I prefer Smiths. Very good prices, GREAT specials! I always find good buys and I don't feel like I overpay. I use my card and get points toward gas discounts too.

[ViewParadise]

I never go to Trader Joes. When we first moved to our current town, our new insurance agent told us that she gets more claims from the TJ's parking lot than anywhere else!

[Rubyfree]

Wegmans supports my family

One place I cannot stand is Tops! People always say it is less expensive than Wegmans and it is not true.

*Singing* Tops never mops... look at their floors!

I love these threads because all of us WNY folks come crawling out to sing the praises of Mother Wegman's. People think we're nuts, you know. People from other places find rabid passion for a grocery store to be bizarre. They just don't understand.

No, it isn't perfect, but they're so far ahead of everyone else it's almost not fair.

I lived in Aiken for a few months and Kroger's was OK... but it's just not Wegman's.

[ybiaw]

PUBLIX UBER ALLES!

[laskiblue]

I adore Winco. As an ex-Michigander, I do miss Meijer.

For those of you who have crappy Trader Joe's, dang, that stinks. The Trader Joe's stores here in So Cal (at least the ones I've been to) have plenty of fresh things, a nice meat selection, local artisan baked goods, and so on.

[DeeThbd]

*Singing* Tops never mops... look at their floors!

I love these threads because all of us WNY folks come crawling out to sing the praises of Mother Wegman's. People think we're nuts, you know. People from other places find rabid passion for a grocery store to be bizarre. They just don't understand.

No, it isn't perfect, but they're so far ahead of everyone else it's almost not fair.

I lived in Aiken for a few months and Kroger's was OK... but it's just not Wegman's.

As a Canadian who lives minutes from the border, I loff Wegmans! They have soooo much cool stuff, and I like how clean their stores are. I find prices pretty much the same for a lot of stuff as over here, but I can also find thingsI can't find on our side of the border. Plus the one I shop at is next door to an Aldi! and it is clean and not ghetto - always a nice bonus The new Aldis look really sharp!

[Peggy]

I never go to Trader Joes. When we first moved to our current town, our new insurance agent told us that she gets more claims from the TJ's parking lot than anywhere else!

Trader Joe's has some of the worst parking lots I've experienced, including their original store. They're great for a lot of things and I probably shop more there than anywhere else. The produce, especially the fruit, can be hit and miss: once upon a time, they only sold produce in packages and it seemed like you'd always get one funky thing. We call this produce roulette. If I want nice fruit I go somewhere else.

[nevertoolate]

We just got a Wegman's a few months ago and I love it! Best grocery store ever!

[laskiblue]

Trader Joe's has some of the worst parking lots I've experienced, including their original store.

I must agree. The TJ's parking lot in Redlands, which it shares with several other stores, is a particular miniaturized ring of hell.

[KathyR]

I love my local Publix-everyone is so friendly and helpful. They're also a huge sponsor of Special Olympics, and one of the baggers is a special man who rides. He loves to tell me about his rides and competitions. Makes shopping fun. The local Food Depot sells the BEST steaks. So tender and juicy, and half the price of other stores.

[Peggy]

I must agree. The TJ's parking lot in Redlands, which it shares with several other stores, is a particular miniaturized ring of hell.

Ring of hell describes the original and especially the one in Redondo Beach where you have to drive around it 1.5 times to get parking and then another 1.5 times to escape. This takes some time with waiting for people who are waiting for other people to back out. I avoid that one, or park across the street in the paid parking. It's worth it.

[Justmyluck]

PUBLIX UBER ALLES!

Omg Publix has got to be the cleanest grocery store ever. Nothing is ever out of place and the staff is also always super nice.

[EponaRoan]

2. I'm the stranger who you'll see dropping things in your cart. I thought it was my cart, okay? See #1, above. It could be worse, I could have walked off with it. Sorry again.

It could be fun to drop totally random stuff (lube & a cucumber would be a good one) in peoples' carts and then see their reaction at the checkstand when they unload.

[McLeanHunterRider]

The Trader Joes in my old town also had an awful parking lot. It must be a requirement when they decide to build new stores

They recently opened up a store near me, and it's their smallest store to date (downtown Boston). The aisles are really small and cramped, you're constantly bumping into people, and the line for the register snakes around the store. But, the line moves and you get good, inexpensive food. And this location doesn't have a parking lot

Does anyone else do Peapod? I'll be using them for the next few month during busy season, so I can do my grocery shopping when I want to, and choose when it gets delivered. It's a great choice for those that don't have cars and a fantastic time-saver.

[danceronice]

Around here, my choices are Martin's, Family Fare, Save-a-Lot, Harding's, Meijer and Wal-Mart. I will go out of my way to Meijer (it's about a half-hour to the one in Indiana) if I can really justify it as they have the best balance between selection, freshness, and pricing. Second choice is Family Fare--selection's pretty minimal, prices aren't bad especially with the Yes Card, it's on my way and if you spend $50+ you get a scanner slip for 5 cents/gallon off your gas and you may stack those at the pump, as many as you have. Third is Wal-Mart, mostly for dry goods staples. Martin's is next--they're nice, but their produce selection is only so-so and badly laid out, and their prices are just too high on most things . I went into a Save-a-Lot looking for directions and the look of the place convinced me my old coworkers were right to say avoid the one in my town. Never been in Harding's but they're even smaller, even if they are cleaner.

In Boston I was lucky, I had a Hannaford's in walking distance at one place and...I think a Shaw's at my other apartment. I liked Trader Joes but they rarely had the fresh produce in any quantity, and I tried to avoid Whole Paycheck whenever I could because the ready-to-eat foods were good but in general everything was just WAY too pricey.

[shakeytails]

I'm jealous of those who are able to shop at Wegman's. When I lived in Ithaca I LOVED that store. Topps was good, too, but Wegman's was my favorite.

[lawndart]

I too love Wegmans. Unfortunately, they are 45 miles from me. I stop if I'm in the area for other things.

Never met a bad employee at Wegmans either.