Darcie wrote:
Of course we missed you! I was wondering of the shock of produce prices had stunned you into silence...
Did you go anywhere fun?
Just Ottawa, for our annual developer conference.
Quote:
I would guess that I do pay less for meat than folks in SF (not that you would know of course!), but probably more for lower quality seafood. Not surprisingly, we have awful seafood selection here.
Well, the seafood at our local market is pretty expensive; starts at around $10/lbs for rockfish (so-called "red snapper") and goes up to $26/lbs for premium fish. The quality is very good, though; the only way to improve on it is buying directly from a fisherman.
I think the meat is expensive too, but it's also only really in the range from good to super-premium (Neiman Ranch Organic Select, etc.). So it's not so much that it's expensive, as that our grocer doesn't carry and of the more affordable brands. That's true in general of what he stocks.
Thing is, premium suppliers (organic milk, Neiman Ranch, Arrowhead Mills, Far West Fungi) are used to delivering small orders anyway, whearas the large suppliers (Foster Farms, Folgers, etc.) charge premium prices for anything less than an entire flat. This means that the prices I pay for gourmet stuff are about the same as you ... I just don't have the opportunity to pay less, unless I drive to Costco. Heck, due to the imbalance of discount pricing, Straus Cream (super-organic premimum) costs the same as Clover at our grocer.
Since I'd buy the gourmet stuff anyway, it's not that much of a hardship, but if I was raising a family of six, it would be impossible. Not that I could afford a big enough house, anyway ...