[Food] New Normal - Where you buy your food

[clapham_gull]

Don't think this needs to be on the main thread.

I've changed completely and realised how "lazy" I was before. I say lazy but I live within 5 minutes walk of a Waitrose, 10 minutes to a Sainsburys and a couple of Co-Ops within easy walking distance.

I'm also a fan of Amazon Prime Now, because they can deliver in an hour round here.

Because of the queues, deliveries going pop and those panic buying weeks, I've had to adapt but the independent shops have adapted too. Also a number of restaurants have converted to shops.

The food I'm buying now is just better and unexpectedly as cheap or cheaper.

Blinding Polish supermarket near me, never bothered before. Went into today and asked them to pick out some nice cheese and ham. All put on the slicer and sell you just what you want.

Then went to the local "Turkish" one. I say Turkish, but their wine selection puts the Supermarkets to shame. Came back with a couple of Spanish favorites of mine. They've actually doubled the size of the shop.

Couple of times a week I go to a "converted" Italian restaurant. The stuff they are selling in there is amazing.

I'm not going back now. I'll go the big supermarket as an exception.

 

[Madafwo]

Like most people I've gone back to one big weekly shop, although it's just Asda. I'm spending a lot less than I used to as although I'm spending roughly £100 a week I used to go 3 or 4 times a week and spend £40 a time on crap. Now we're planning our meals and I'm generally eating better.

 

[Southcoast Corsair]

Goodness me. All along there was the Butcher’s in the village, and I had been buying my meat from Tesco’s or Sainsburys. No going back now. The difference in quality is far greater than I thought possible.

 

[Baker lite]

Sainsbury’s local, Littlehampton road has served Me well since the start of all this, still do our weekly shop in Tesco.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Grombleton]

I'll still use the supermarkets for the bigger shops and the 'everyday' things, but I still frequent a bakery local to me and a local butcher and wouldn't go back to the supermarkets for those. The local farm shop also does quite well out of us.

Trying to get more out of the garden this year, to try and stop relying on spending money on veg.

 

[Stat Brother]

Aldi as always.

I still have no idea why people prefer Tesco Sainsbury's and Morrisons.

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

I feel so lucky, I have always had the Open Market, Five Ways and Sunny foods on my doorstep. Plus we now have Waste Not, Store and HISBE who all do refills of most household things and you can buy what you need quantity wise. The only thing I struggle to get outside a supermarket are Corn Tacos.

 

[dazzer6666]

Supermarket click and collect or a delivery every few days for the vast majority of things (have been much better at planning meals ahead as a result - but that has been easier as no travel/commuting etc to worry about so we've had a 'normal' family mealtime), supplemented with things like fruit and veg and meat from local independent places.

 

[Nitram]

Meat delivered from local butchers. Waitrose click and collect. Aldi for shopping in person. Bread delivered - Real Patisserie.

 

[ManOfSussex]

One weekly shop at both Morrisons and M&S (guarantees everything needed) and in the early days Poundland too, topped up with other bits from a local shop up the road that's had roaring trade for a few months now.

Sainsbury's Home Delivery slots have recovered to something near normal near me too now, so that may now come back into play.

It was noticeable in the weeks before lock-down that a Wetherspoon's I was drinking in after work had quite a bit of custom from young couples who were eating in there as the shops had nothing in for dinner when they went in after work. The days of diving in a shop after work for the bits for your evening meal have been replaced by the weekly shop for now. Who knows if they'll ever come back, particularly with WFH going to be more commonplace.

 

[Madafwo]

Aldi as always.

I still have no idea why people prefer Tesco Sainsbury's and Morrisons.

I'd be the same if it wasn't for one thing, Asda have these bad boys, and there is no substitute at Aldi for these if I make a home made Kebab.

 

[Live by the sea]

I agree , have converted to getting veg / fruit delivery’s from my local greengrocers , meat from my lovely butchers & fish from a lovely local fishmongers . I get other stuff from Waitrose .

In Hove I’m fortunate there’s lots of choice of decent independent places to shop & who will deliver as well. I know lots of people who live in other parts of the country who have to rely on supermarket deliveries .

Price wise it works out about the same as buying everything in Waitrose but the quality is just as good if not slightly better and I was quite surprised at that because in my experience Waitrose quality of meat , veg, fish etc is largely better than the other supermarkets with exception of M & S which is similar. I must sound like a right snob ! Lol

 

[Gwylan]

I feel so lucky, I have always had the Open Market, Five Ways and Sunny foods on my doorstep. Plus we now have Waste Not, Store and HISBE who all do refills of most household things and you can buy what you need quantity wise. The only thing I struggle to get outside a supermarket are Corn Tacos.

The new taco place in the Open Market sells packs of blue corn tacos

 

[Stat Brother]

I'd be the same if it wasn't for one thing, Asda have these bad boys, and there is no substitute at Aldi for these if I make a home made Kebab.

View attachment 124745

That's nothing.
While on a ride with the kids I popped into a (bigger) corner shop, that happens to be half a mile from my nearest ASDA, for drink/ice cream.

In there I was taken aback by what I saw.

On my way to the chiller cabinet, I went through the cooking sauce section.



You'll never believe what I saw...



...Taking up most of the shelf...




...THE WORLDS BIGGEST NAAN BREADS.

They are too big to sit side by side in the oven.
I could use one as a sleeping bag.
They are bigger than the original Wagon Wheel.

We're having curry for tea tonight.
Later we will be riding to the secret location just to buy their naan bread.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

No change where (Macknade our 'farm shop' for as much food as possible, and Sainsbury for the rest). The big change is that Mrs T does the shopping almost all the time, now, because I can get a bit nasty with people who don't social distance.

 

[Bozza]

Aldi as always.

I still have no idea why people prefer Tesco Sainsbury's and Morrisons.

I've only been to an Aldi or Lidl once.

I'm not even sure which one of the two it was - it's in Shoreham on the seafront - which we popped into whilst the lad was on a cub visit to the lifeboat station.

My lasting memory of the visit is that very few checkouts were open - possibly just the one - and the farcical situation of the customer in front of us having so much in her trolley that it wouldn't fit on what seemed to be a small belt. So she was trying to pack her bags with the shopping and unload her trolley onto the belt simultaneously. And, because her trolley was still partially full with groceries, she had nowhere to put the bags she had filled up.

Anyway, we use Tesco as it's quite convenient for where we live but also because with the Clubcard points we collect, we're often able to fly Upper Class or Premium with Virgin. I doubt the savings we'd presumably make in whichever of Aldi or Lidl is in Worthing (which is it?) would run to the £000s required to pay cash for the same flights.

 

[RandyWanger]

The big change is that Mrs T does the shopping almost all the time, now, because I can get a bit nasty with people who don't social distance.

Missus RW banned me from the shops for calling someone out for hoarding toilet rolls when this all kicked off back in March. Since then she's done all the shopping. We've been busy in the garden too planting our own so that regardless of what happens we will have some of our own home grown which will be nice. Her parents have been doing this for years, we should have.

 

[Meade's Ball]

I've been to one shop since this whole murderous fiasco began, and that was a chemists, from where i was to collect a cream for, erm, well, you know, a sort of a, well, unusual series if Ireland-shaped splodges on my skin. I was bemasked, and the pharmacist, who was a tad twattish, didn't seem to be handling things well, alongside the fact that he couldn't see the personable smile welded to my face beneath the protective blue veil sent to us by post from Spain. Anywho, i get a weekly big shop, usually from Sainsburys, a weekly box of fruit and veg from Oddbox, and now a few extras during the week from the Co-op's same day delivery. Beer, cheese, beans, and meats for the co-residents.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

I've only been to an Aldi or Lidl once.

I'm not even sure which one of the two it was - it's in Shoreham on the seafront - which we popped into whilst the lad was on a cub visit to the lifeboat station.

My lasting memory of the visit is that very few checkouts were open - possibly just the one - and the farcical situation of the customer in front of us having so much in her trolley that it wouldn't fit on what seemed to be a small belt. So she was trying to pack her bags with the shopping and unload her trolley onto the belt simultaneously. And, because her trolley was still partially full with groceries, she had nowhere to put the bags she had filled up.

Anyway, we use Tesco as it's quite convenient for where we live but also because with the Clubcard points we collect, we're often able to fly Upper Class or Premium with Virgin. I doubt the savings we'd presumably make in whichever of Aldi or Lidl is in Worthing (which is it?) would run to the £000s required to pay cash for the same flights.

I've been to Aldi and Lidl a fair few times, and yes - they are shit, for the reason you allude to - utter lack of customer service. They don't give a ****. Stock thrown n the shelves - or in boxes on the floor. Never enough check-outs open.

Aldi do this insane check-out version of musical chairs, where they constantly open and close random check-outs for no obvious reason.

Still - under-staffing and cheap premises and fittings, mean you can save a few pence on a pack of pretend Penguin bars. If people think on balance it is worth it, more power to them.

 

[Stat Brother]

I've only been to an Aldi or Lidl once.

I'm not even sure which one of the two it was - it's in Shoreham on the seafront - which we popped into whilst the lad was on a cub visit to the lifeboat station.

My lasting memory of the visit was very few checkouts open - possibly just the one - and the farcical situation of the customer in front of us having so much in her trolley that it wouldn't fit on what seemed to be a small belt. So she was trying to pack her bags with the shopping and unload her trolley onto the belt simultaneously. And, because her trolley was still partially full with groceries, she had nowhere to put the bags she had filled up.

Anyway, we use Tesco as it's quite convenient for where we live but also because with the Clubcard points we collect, we're often able to fly Upper Class or Premium with Virgin. I doubt the savings we'd presumably make in whichever of Aldi or Lidl is in Worthing (which is it?) would run to the £000s required to pay cash for the same flights.

I wouldn't be so sure.

It took me 3 or 4 goes to get into the swing of Aldi.
Like you I hated my one and only trip around Lidl, again like you I vowed never to return (that could easily have been an Aldi).

I have the choice of the 4 main supermarkets and Aldi.
I will pop into any if I happen to be passing as Aldi isn't convenient to my commute, but every time I think 'I'm not paying that for this'.

Granted it's not flights to America but I always equate the difference between Aldi and Sainos, my former supermarket of choice, is a trolley of shopping plus a luxury.

If your thing happens to be a really nice bottle of wine but you can't justify the expense on top of the shopping, get your shopping from Aldi and spend the difference on the wine.

With 2 teenagers in the house, one being a 6'2 15 year old boy, shopping is all about quantity.
The surprising thing is, when you're in stride with their products, quality doesn't drop off in fact on some things it improves.