Fresh wild salmon is a couple of days away

I bought a seedless watermelon at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack today, and paid $6.99. My wife also bought a seedless watermelon, but she went to the ShopRite in Englewood, and although it was slightly smaller than the one from Costco, it was on sale for $3.99 or $3 off.

In 2012, fresh wild sockeye salmon from the Copper River in Alaska appeared in the refrigerated case at my Costco Wholesale in Hackensack on May 24.

I drove there today, only to be told by an employee putting out trays of wild-caught flounder the fresh salmon hasn't arrived yet.

I took home a little under 2 pounds of Canadian flounder as a consolation prize ($7.99 a pound). 

The first air shipment of 24,600 pounds of Copper River salmon arrived in Seattle on May 17, according to The Associated Press.

Comparing the Can Can Sale to Costco's prices

A 2013 Can Can Sale! display at the ShopRite in Englewood.

I expected a bigger crowd at the ShopRite in Englewood today, the start of the 2013 Can Can Sale! 

Or as the sales flier wrapped around the front page of my daily newspaper called it: "The Greatest Sale Ever!"

All those exclamation marks can't hide the sad realization that the first of this year's Can Can Sales is a mere shadow of past discounts.

And when I compared ShopRite's Can Can Sale  prices to the everyday low prices at Costco Wholesale, I saw the supermarket chain has an edge only in variety. 

A couple of items I regard as staples aren't as big a buy as they were in the past at ShopRite:

ShopRite's 100% Italian Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, which was cut to $5.99 per liter, compared to $4.99 in the past; and 12 packs of Adirondack Seltzer, which were $2.50 each, not the $1.99 I paid last July at the Summer Can Can Sale.  

  

ShopRite's imported Extra-Virgin Olive Oil.

I could find only a few 12 packs of Adirondack Seltzer.

 

I had to buy 10 cans of low-sodium Progresso Soup to get the Can Can Sale price of under $1.19 each.

I came across boxes of 40 Melita No. 2 Coffee Filters (brown) for 99 cents each or half price, even cheaper than ShopRite's white filters.

Five 15.5-ounce cans of low-sodium Goya Beans were 5 for $3, but green pigeon peas weren't included for some reason.

I also bought uncured, antibiotic-free Applegate Naturals Black Forest Ham, which wasn't on sale, because the Englewood ShopRite is one of the few that carries that brand.  

Similarly, there was a barnyard full of low-quality chicken on sale, but none of Readington Farms' antibiotic-free poultry or the chicken parts from Coleman Organics. 

Naturally raised, uncured ham wasn't on sale in Englewood.

  

The Can Can Sale price for Florida's Natural Premium Orange Juice is $5 for 2 cartons (59 ounces each), compared to 4 full half-gallons of Tropicana Premium Orange Juice for $11.19.

That works out to .043 cents at Costco and .042 cents at ShopRite.

Poland Spring Water is 13.4 cents a bottle at Costco and 13.8 cents a bottle at ShopRite, but you have to buy 72 bottles to get that price at the supermarket, compared to only 35 at the warehouse store.

A 40-ounce jar of Victoria Marinara Sauce, which uses Italian tomatoes, is $3.99 at ShopRite.

I couldn't find the same pasta sauce at Costco, although I've bought it at the Hackensack warehouse store before. 

Costco has an annoying habit of moving products around -- to create a treasure-hunt atmosphere -- or my store may have run out of it.  

Food treasure at Costco: hand-made pasta from Italy.

   


To get Can Can Sale prices, you have to present the ShopRite Price Plus Card.

To get the biggest bang for you buck, search for coupons in sales fliers that will get you an even better buy when combined with Can Can Sale discounts.

I also use an American Express Blue Cash credit card, which gives a 3% rebate on groceries. 

Exploring my pantry, fridge and freezer

I'm determined not to go food shopping, even though my wife made a list over the weekend but didn't follow through by actually going to her favorite ShopRite, in Englewood. This morning, she promised to go tomorrow. (See earlier post, "Are we sick of food shopping yet?")

We have plenty of food in the freezer: steak, chicken (feet for soup and pieces), wild salmon, lobster bisque, spinach pies, but I am also trying to eat some meatless meals, so I will serve big spiral pasta in tomato sauce with sardines (lots of Omega-3s and Vitamin C), plus salad and bread.

I have half a pound of the spirals, a half bottle of Fairway Market garlic pasta sauce and three cans of Moroccan sardines in spciy oil from Fattal's in Paterson. There is romaine and green-leaf lettuce, too, plus terrific dinner rolls from Balthazar Bakery in Englewood. And I could open a bottle of red wine and enjoy a glass or two with my dinner, then fall asleep in front of my TV.

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Full refund for overcharge

The ShopRite in Hackensack refunded me the full price I paid for elephant garlic, $3.49, when I returned to the store today and pointed out the sign in the produce section said $2.99 on the day of purchase. It still said $2.99 today. (See earlier post: "Another fast one at ShopRite.")

I had feared I was going to get only 50 cents back and didn't want to make a sepcial trip. But an errand brought me near the store and I had tucked the receipt in my wallet just in case.

I applaud the store for its full-refund policy. The Englewood ShopRite, owned by a different company, used to give full refunds for overcharges, but abandoned the policy years ago.