High-Tech, Low-Tech and No-Tech: Grocery Edition.

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Most would agree, technology is pretty amazing. But, that doesn’t mean that the most technological solution is the best.  I’ll propose some solutions for users with all levels of technological mojo.

Do you know how much you spend at the grocery store in a month?  Are you certain that you are getting the most bang for your buck at the stores?  Let’s take a look.

High-Tech:
Check out the award winning and very credible Mint.com. which allows users to enter their budget and see a visual representation and list of percentages of what each item takes up in the total budget and what percentage you have spent on any budgeted item during the course of a month.  This website very cleverly allows you to link to your checking account for instant gratification.

Google Documents is one of my favorite pieces of software.  I am intrigued by the notion of starting a multi-user cost comparison spread sheet for commonly used items from different stores.  Anyone care to try it out?  I have had great success hacking weight watchers by keeping a food journal on Google Docs.

Low-Tech:
I propose a basic excel spreadsheet or a legal pad for both questions.  Paper  is was technology too.

No-Tech:
To keep up with how much you spend on groceries a month, just save the reciepts.  It might be nice to come up with a clever way of organizing them.

As far as comparison pricing, I definetly use a No-Tech method;  I memorize how much any given product costs at a different store.  I use Ingles and Wal-Mart for day-to-day shopping, and Aldi for super cheap canned-good runs.

Frugal Friday: Saving Money at Aldi’s

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I just saved a ton of money at Aldi’s.  One opened in my home town about ten years ago; I never shopped there.  What I discovered today was grocery shopping with none of the frills, and therefore, none of the prices that come with the extras.  In short, Aldi’s is a lot like a Costco or Sam’s Club, but you don’t have to buy 90 lbs of rice or a membership.

Some things that Aldi’s “doesn’t do”
-Grocery Bags
-Bag Boys Bagging Personnel
-Elaborate displays
-Name Brands (there are some)
-wide range of options

For lack of all of this, Aldi’s is cheap.  I got the same thrill saving money as I do when I walk around the Fresh Market just to look and drool.

I also thought the buggy system was interesting.  In order to use a buggy you must remove it from the corral by inserting a quarter which you get back when you return your buggy.  No buggy herders, fewer stolen buggies = Save money.

If you want to spend less, try Aldi’s.

The Melting Pot: A Restaurant Review

Last night I had the good pleasure to dine at The Melting Pot.  No restaurant is perfect, but The Melting Pot scores high in my book.

The Melting Pot is a fondue style restaurant, which means you submerge bits of food into something to either coat it or cook it.  I know Mom always told me not to play with my food while eating, but I think she would approve of cooking the food and then eating it.

This is a place to hit for a big date or something special, otherwise, enjoy dinner at The Outback Steakhouse or The Olive Garden.  As you will be dining for a special event, go ahead and get all four courses.  The server tried to push “The Big Night Out” package, however my dinner for two with an ala carte chocolate course saved me a few dollars.

The first course is a cheese course; I had the fiesta style, as it came with chips.  This cheddar based fondue is infused with South American flavor and an obvious hint of beer.  They will make it as spicy as you like and it is prepared on the table, which features a fondue pot.

The second course was salad.  Salad is never remarkable to me.  They had nice dressings, and it serves to help fill up those who have heartier appetites.

The third course features a variety of meats that you select at the beginning and several sauces to enjoy them with.  Not only do you select your meats but also the liquid that you cook them in.  I had the coq au vin, which was a heady aromatic broth featuring liberal, but not overpowering, amounts of red wine and garlic.  Your server will advise you on cooking times for the meat, take these with a grain of salt.  Cook your red meat for about 40 seconds, your seafood for a minute, chicken for two minutes, and if you are interested in the potato, cut the pieces that they give you up once more and put them in directly at the beginning and they may be done by the time you have finished.

The fourth course was what set this meal apart for my wife.  The chocolate.  Many different types of chocolate were offered on a separate chocolate menu, and none of them sounded bad.  We had the ‘smores chocolate.  The dunkers (strawberry, brownie, rice crispies, etc) were fantastic and even friendly for those who do not prefer fruit.

Here’s the scoop:  if you are going here, come early or have reservations as it takes about 2 hours to complete your meal.  This might sound like forever, but it is quite relaxing.  A tip:  do not show up starving.

If you go to The Melting Pot’s website,  You can install a Facebook application which when activated and then used, will allow the user to download a free chocolate fondue for two when a dinner for two is purchased.  You can also join their email list which will allow you to download a similar coupon.

The Conch Cafe

Last night I dined at the sea side Conch Café near Garden City pier in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Seafood restaurants are a dime a dozen along the coast and throughout the marsh and the Conch Café is not in Murrells inlet which means that the traffic is lighter.

My wife and I started with the conch fritters.  The namesake appetizer set the par for the evening.  Slightly chewy and very fried; these fritters were served with a spicy cocktail sauce with a lemon wedge.  Conch turned out to be much like lobster and it was cooked very much like a hush puppy.  All things considered, eight dollars went towards being able to say I have consumed conch.

The main course offerings were mainly seafood, and if they offered it broiled it was not readily apparent.  We had fried grouper; a meatier fish, fried flounder; flaky white fish, shrimp; peeled tail-on, bay scallops; the succulent highlight of the evening, fried crab cake; with red and green roasted red peppers, and oysters; squishy blobs that I generally prefer not to eat.  All of the above were decent and some of them were less greasy than others.  I would recommend the fried grouper with shrimp as the bay scallops only seem to be available on the high priced conch platter.  The rice pilaf was beat out by the very creamy red mashed potatoes, but both were quite adequate.

The service was prompt without being overbearing.   The views were nice and the dining companions were mild mannered.  Altogether not a bad experience; the ambiance takes the day.  Try the Conch fritter and the bay scallops.  In Myrtle beach most always you are paying more than you would somewhere else, but the seaside location was desirable.  If you do not like the wind, you might consider dining inside.

Greek Festival

This afternoon hundreds braved the chance of rain  to attend St. Georges Greek Festival.  After paying a modest, though surprising dollar to enter, the smells of food began to percolate in our noses.  As we walked hungrily through the layout we sampled many of the traditional Greek foods available; beef and chicken souvlaki, baklava sundaes, the obligatory gyros and the omnipresent 16 oz. pepsi products.  The highlight of the visit was a tour through the church itself which is built in the cross shaped basillica style featuring numerous icons of the church.

All things being equal we were able to enjoy the event and be home before 1:30.  It was pricey, but enjoyable never the less.  Chandler yawned as we arrived home.

Chandler apparently slept through the festival

Pork Souvlaki

Artisphere

Heather and Drew at Artisphere 2009

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the 2009 installment of Artisphere in Greenville, SC.  The weather was very warm, and by the end my skin very pink.  A mixture of artists and colorful members of society made this event one to remember.

My wife Heather, a West Virginia ex-patirate has lived in South Carolina for about 14 years, and I am trying to fill her in on some of the finer southern things in life.  Namely, her first shrimp boil (last week), and her first experience with Fried Green Tomatoes.  I chose to sample Indian cuisine, as I earned my cooking chops in a southern style kitchen.  The festival prices of food were extremely low compared to the highish prices common in the downtown area of Greenville.  Artishpere is definitely an event to bring Cash to, you should absolutely eat some of everything!

Fried Green Tomatoes courtesy of "Smoke on the Water"

Though I am a food-centric fellow, the art is really what this event was about.  One performance by Brian Olsen who performs “Art in Action” was especially memorable.  Olsen paints mostly pop icons on a black canvas with his hands and fingers.  Our performance saw him create an iconographic image of Dave Mathews  set to music in about 10 minutes.

Dave Mathews

I have enjoyed all of the activities in down-town Greenville and plan to blog all of those which I attend.  I especially hope that you enjoy the pictures.

Artisphere 2009

Winding down for the summer

School at USC-Upstate is rapidly winding down and many of my fellow students are gearing up and stressing themselves out.  Pardon me, but, I don’t see the point.  If I haven’t learned something by now, I’m probably not going to.  Perhaps this logic is flawed, but I don’t have stomach ulcers either.

This morning finds me reading a two day old newspaper, drinking excellent coffee, enjoying boiled shrimp. Studying is hard I tell you. Try it sometime. Here is my recipe for academic success:

1 gallon of water

1 pack of pickling spice

1 lb. of shrimp

Thaw it. Cook ‘til pink.

Don’t get me wrong, do study. But you pain me when you study all night long and then sleep through the test. That’s not the way to do it.

Saffron

I had the pleasure of joining some friends for dinner at Saffron Last night.   Located on Woodruff Rd. In Greenville, SC (right across from fudruckers),   Saffron takes traditional Indian cuisine and serves it up right in the south land of fried chicken and sweet tea.  Of particular mention was the “Indian Tea” ,  any southerner would love this.  It has a pungent aroma and a strong, rich taste of cloves.  Sip into it slowly, and it will taste great after a while.

Prior to the entree’s we enjoyed the Garlic Naan, which is a potent flat bread that exudes garlic through every bite.  I am hooked.  I could come for the traditionally cooked bread alone.

Being an absolute neophyte to Indian cuisine I relied on the menu, and the advice of our fellow diners.  I selected the Lamb Tikka Masala with the mild sauce.  What came to the table was a little corningware dish, with sauce and meat in it, as well as a family style portion of long grain rice.  The rice was very nice, it had a delightfully fluffy texture, and a subtle essence of saffron.

Photo credit: Saffron

I was surprised at the lack of “heat” from the spice, the food was rich and aromatic.  I enjoyed the mouth taste of everything together, the sauce and the bread in harmony with the tea.  They are moderately priced at dinner 10-15$, but lunch finds all entrees under 8$.

http://www.saffrongreenville.com/html/bread.html