where do you get your groceries?

[Matryx]

I been doing a lot of my own shopping these past few weeks and was wondering where everybody go for their groceries? Do you go to ones that have sales or do you go to the most convenient ones?

I live where all grocery stores are only 5-15 minutes away. I don't have a main store I go to but I'm usually at Sobeys, Walmart Supercentre, No Frills or Food Basics.

Share with us which ones do you prefer and why.

[Jucius Maximus]

No Frills - Best value IMO

Loblaws - Better quality for produce and better variety than NF, so I go there for stuff I can't get a NF.

Costco - More unique items, some really low prices for certain things, top quality meats

T&T - Good for the asian stuff and especially the prepared food that gets cheap later at night.

[XxXSnake23XxX]

Price Choppers for randoms/cravings since i live 2 min away from one
Loblaws for produce and hardcore groceries

[originalnutta]

Metro
No Frills
RCSS/Loblaws

[Spongeg]

RCSS - mostly here
Extra Foods - when i don;t want to waste time
Safeway - if its after 11 pm and i need it
Save On foods - sometimes if i see a deal in the flyer
Price Smart - if I pass one and I need something for dinner

[stealth]

I personally like RCSS, but my wife has a vendetta against them, so I rarely go. Yes, my life is like a Seinfeld episode.
Her favorite is Michaelangelo's.
Costco for meats, period.

Rest of my shopping is either at Longo's (its a block away from our house, and has a good bakery/deli/produce), Food Basics (also nearby, best prices for staples), Metro (my favorite for late night shopping, after a late hockey game or just a bout of insomnia...its vastly improved IMO since becoming Metro...produce was dismal during the ironic "fresh obsessed" Dominion days).

No frills may have good prices, but I feel dirty everytime after I shop there.

[Spongeg]

for produce the best bet around vancouver are the produce storesd like kins farm market or whatever - pretty much every mall has one - they are the best places for produce

[rdtx2002]

Foody Mart

[ipxxx]

RCSS in Westboro (Ottawa)
I find their prices a bit better than the other grocery stores

[rookie]

Food Basics - Walking distance

[AudiDude]

No Frills - Best value IMO

Loblaws - Better quality for produce and better variety than NF, so I go there for stuff I can't get a NF.

Costco - More unique items, some really low prices for certain things, top quality meats

T&T - Good for the asian stuff and especially the prepared food that gets cheap later at night.

+1 for all except T&T. I don't dislike T&T, but I am not "asian" and I hate seafood. T&T smells like fish to me and almost every "asian" place I have been to has tried to slip me fish or something that ultimately contains something made from fish or that was touching fish. There aren't any around my house anyway...

[angekfire]

Primarily for weekly groceries, I got to the Metro because I don't have a car, and it is literally across the street from my place, so it is convenient. This week they had some pretty decent sales too.

For bulk stuff, I go to Costco about 1/month. I don't buy bulk meat usually because I prefer it fresh, so I just get it at the metro. My experience with them has been pretty positive, so no complaints.

That is basically it.

[Matryx]

No Frills I only go if I need something since they are the closest to me. I don't really like the shopping enviroment there though. I prefer Sobeys and they are 24HR so thats a plus. I also like how they're setup and it's not crowded with people like No Frills. I do have a Longos nearby that I should check out, but I think they are pretty expensive.

[ahmad416]

Food Banks

[EchoAngel911]

+1, costco saves you money when you buy in bulk

No Frills - Best value IMO

Loblaws - Better quality for produce and better variety than NF, so I go there for stuff I can't get a NF.

Costco - More unique items, some really low prices for certain things, top quality meats

T&T - Good for the asian stuff and especially the prepared food that gets cheap later at night.

[comicbookguy]

i live on my own in midtown toronto, and i prefer going to metro for the following reasons:
1) location - there are two very close by, five minutes away
2) amex - metro accepts amex, loblaws doesn't
3) meals2go - their pizza is surprisingly good and great value
4) air miles
5) open 24 hours

i tried going to loblaws a number of times. the first time, they overcharged me and i had difficulty correcting their $40 error. the second time, RCSS didn't have onions (this was shocking). overall i find the availability of products such as bread and produce very, very limited. maybe i just have bad luck.

i also like going to longo's. sobey's is a little too expensive compared to metro. no frills has some decent deals once in awhile but their locations are terrible. NEVER ever buy any meat from wal-mart.

[vickyvictoria]

Longo's
Fortino's
Loblaws
Costco

[jandumm]

Mostly RCSS - I like the variety of foods and the meat counter. I also like the large Pharmacy and Clothing section.

I'll go to No Frills occasionally but they have very little variety, and almost everytime I go, they're sold out of the one thing I need most.

[J8]

^^
Have you seen some of their checkout line-ups? INSANE on the weekends for the RCSS by my area. At our house, its basically a split between Highland Farms and No Frills. HF has a great meat dept. so that's a bonus.

[Jucius Maximus]

^^
Have you seen some of their checkout line-ups? INSANE on the weekends for the RCSS by my area. At our house, its basically a split between Highland Farms and No Frills. HF has a great meat dept. so that's a bonus.

I shop for groceries during the week... it saves me major time due to lineups avoided.

[scv]

This is in Vancouver..

1)Variety of Iranian Grocery stores near my house in North Vancouver. The prices and selection are good, but they mostly only have vegetables. Persia Foods on 15th and Lonsdale is the one I go to most.

2)Safeway - For whatever I can't find at 1) + I've been using their pharmacy for awhile.

3)Donald's Market - Very good selection and prices. Can find a lot of things like various Italian products, Breads and Boylan's sodas for very cheap. The only problem is going across the bridge to get there, but it's the best shop on the list IMO.

4)RCSS/Save on Foods - Good selection and prices, but it takes much longer to shop here than the other stores, so I usually avoid both unless I need something that I can't find elsewhere.

Kin's Farm market is good as well, but I can get the same quality and prices at the Iranian stores, so I don't go much.

[Matryx]

Seems like no one here shops at A & P. I remember them being pretty expensive so thats maybe why? I'm not sure but I remember Dominions and A & P being the same company. Does that mean Metro owns A & P now too?

[mwong168]

I get most of my fruits and produce at the No Frills at Centrepoint mall at Yonge/Steeles. They have great selection there all the time which is more than I can say for the RCSS at Brimley and Progress when I went a few weeks ago. I use to buy all my groceries from Food Ba$ics but now I get the best from both. A long time ago I use to buy from Metro aka Dominion all the time because it was close and hours were convenient. The only reason why I avoided places like NF and FB before was because I thought they didn't accept credit cards. I hate paying for anything with cash or debit so I never bothered but when I found out they take it I switched and saved a lot.

[shannn]

I really like going to Metro or T&T because they are open til late

I miss how they both used to be 24/7 (the ones in my area)...sucks, but ah well

[checm8]

Superstore
Coop
Shoppers Drug mart
Walmart

[shipill]

Metro
Costco

[grappos13]

Hasty Market

[dasaylay]

Loblaws - pretty much across the street, for most purchases we come here because it's convenient, but pricey compared to others.

Food Basics - lots of good deals to be had sometimes

No Frills - same as above

T&T - random Asian groceries

H&H Supermarket - yeah there's a new owner, and it's not exactly the cleanest place, but I haven't died yet...

Yuan Ming - The third of the trio of Asian grocers in like 2 square km.

P.A.T. Oriental Market - Korean groceries and some prepared food. Their beef is unbelievable though...insane amounts of marbling compared to what they sell at other places

Costco - mostly for bottled water/toilet paper/bbq with friends. Bulk.

Metro - rarely, since it's sort of out of the way for my place in Mississauga. When I'm in Kingston, I frequent the ripoff A&P since it's walking distance for Queen's students.

[wszeto28]

depends on what i'm buying...

fresh produce (veggies/fruits) i would pick a chinese store like T&T or Oriental since they're pretty good prices and relatively fresh..

milk, butter, eggs, bread... the non-produce stuff, i find that the walmart supercentre is really cheap. i buy yoghurt every week and i find that the same *exact* brand is $1 cheaper at walmart than no frills.

[Evil Baby]

Zerrhs - extra points on the PC MC and no hassles like the other stores in the are.

Last time I went to No Frills my car got hit twice by a shopping cart and 2 different people tried to butt in-front of me in line. Neither seemed to care when I confronted them and were rather upset when I walked in-front of them. Also the isles are way too narrow and the people show far too slow.

Foodland - has the oldest people in the planet shopping there. If you can get in the parking lot without getting killed, good luck trying to navigate a shopping cart.

Those are the nearest grocery stores to my house

[kimbot]

No Frills and Price Chopper. Both within 5 mins of my house and cheap! Just have to go early to make sure I get what I need :/

[nalababe]

Depends:

Staples: Sobeys
Meats: Sobey's or Metro...Cumbrae or Whitehouse for a treat
Fish: Metro, Sobeys...or St. Lawrence
Vegetables: If not Sobey's then RCSS or T&T depends...
Breads: Cobbs or Ace (from whatever store)
Cheese: Alex's
Spices: Gerrard Street shops

Now, I do go to stores usually three times a week and tailor my meals to what is on special at that time.

Rarely eat "processed" meals..

[gordholio]

I shop at a couple of grocery stores like the Superstore, Food Basics and Giant Tiger.
Food Basics used to have really good prices, but not so much now.

[KevC]

European Meat Market @ Kensington.
Metro @ Spadina/College cos it's close and open 24/7...

[gordholio]

Depends:

Staples: Sobeys
Meats: Sobey's or Metro...Cumbrae or Whitehouse for a treat
Fish: Metro, Sobeys...or St. Lawrence
Vegetables: If not Sobey's then RCSS or T&T depends...
Breads: Cobbs or Ace (from whatever store)
Cheese: Alex's
Spices: Gerrard Street shops

Now, I do go to stores usually three times a week and tailor my meals to what is on special at that time.

Rarely eat "processed" meals..

Grocery shopping 3 times a week? Boy, I sure couldn't handle that.

[alroubaiai]

Usually RCSS because it's down the street from me but sometimes try to find some good deals at No Frills

[nalababe]

Grocery shopping 3 times a week? Boy, I sure couldn't handle that.

actually go more than that as a rule...we end up with very little waste (much is fresh)...it takes less than 15 minutes in the store each time...so in a week I spend very little time actually in the store...

[slowtyper]

actually go more than that as a rule...we end up with very little waste (much is fresh)...it takes less than 15 minutes in the store each time...so in a week I spend very little time actually in the store...

How much time do you spend in the car going to all those different shops? I can't even imagine getting in and out of a grocery store in 15 minutes!

[shannn]

How much time do you spend in the car going to all those different shops? I can't even imagine getting in and out of a grocery store in 15 minutes!

If you go on a weekday afternoon it is pretty empty
Going on a weekday evening (after 7:30) and you'll be pretty much in the store by yourself most of hte time.

I find that a lot in grocery stores in the burbs, but it depends on the location. Downtown locations usually are more crowded

[4flava]

Depends:

Staples: Sobeys
Meats: Sobey's or Metro...Cumbrae or Whitehouse for a treat
Fish: Metro, Sobeys...or St. Lawrence
Vegetables: If not Sobey's then RCSS or T&T depends...
Breads: Cobbs or Ace (from whatever store)
Cheese: Alex's
Spices: Gerrard Street shops

Now, I do go to stores usually three times a week and tailor my meals to what is on special at that time.

Rarely eat "processed" meals..


You don't have kids huh? :cheesygri

[windforcexx28]

No Frills

[SassiSrb]

#1 choice is Highland Farms
for meat Costco hands down and if Im in a rush or need something quick then Metro or Loblaws :)

[voraciousbookworm]

Usually it's Fortinos because it's right by my house... I love Fortinos because the store is always clean and there's always a wonderful smell every time I walk in. However, the prices can be pretty steep.
Food Basics is where I'd go if I was looking for a good deal.

And I absolutely love T and T, but it's nowhere near where I live so we only go there when we're around the area.

Yuan Ming is pretty good, too, although T and T has a better ambience. Its prices are also lower than T and T's, which can be pretty pricey.