Category Archives: Grocery Outlet

I love sauteed mushrooms, but fresh mushrooms can be pretty expensive when they’re not on sale (and even when they are), which is why I was happy to find an 8oz package of sliced mushrooms at Grocery Outlet for around $1.50. Unfortunately, these Green Giant sliced mushrooms are just not very good. I’ve bought them twice now, a couple of weeks apart, so I know it’s not just one bad batch.
There are three main problems with them: taste, thickness and consistency. Flavorwise, they are just not there. They are not very flavorful, even when sauteed on butter and seasoned with copious amounts of salt and the flavor they do have is slightly off. The mushrooms are pretty big and the slices are quite thick, which makes them take longer to cook but also just overall less appealing. The texture is also a little bit strange, more rubbery than for most mushrooms. We just did not enjoy them – none of us. I think it’s worth the ones at the supermarket are probably worth the extra buck or two.
Now, on other Grocery Outlet news
– GO is now selling 7oz jars of assorted dried herbs and spices for $3, which is an unbelievable price (though who really needs that much spices?). They are packaged by Gel Spice Company. I don’t know much about them other that they had a serious repeat problem with rat infestation in the 70’s and 80’s (I can only hope they’ve cured it by now). The thyme leaves I bought seem fine, but really, I wouldn’t know how to judge dry thyme leaves. I don’t see why they would be worse than the stuff at the supermarket, though. Expire in 2014.
-Got a box of Near East Tabouleh Mix for 34 cents. It expired on 2/10/11 but it’s a dry product so I think it should be fine for a while. I cooked it and didn’t find any problems.

I was looking in Grocery Outlet for something quick and easy for lunch and came across a Butter Chicken frozen entree by Archer Farms, a generic brand sold by Target stores. Now, I didn’t realize that Archer Farms was Target, otherwise I wouldn’t have bought the thingy, given Target’s anti-gay stands. But as a food item devoid of politics this entree made for a good lunch.
The 10-oz entree is probably 2/3rds rice, and the other cubed chicken and sauce – though there is barely enough sauce for the included rice. The rice microwaved quite well, the chicken was tender and not as dry as it could have been, and the sauce was pleasant: slightly spicy, balanced but not very challenging. This is not a restaurant-quality dish, but you could do much worse for $1.30 (the price at GO) and 370 calories. In all, but for the Target association, I’d buy it again.

Just found these at Grocery Outlet in San Leandro. A 3-pack is $3, normally a single pack is that much at the supermarket.
I found the cheese to be quite good. It’s very, very creamy and easy to spread. It has a milder taste than the regular laughing cow cheese, and no hint of French Onion (whatever that is) at all. That’s a plus for me, as I was afraid the cheese would have an off taste because of the flavoring.
In any case, a good bargain and one I’m sure won’t last.

Grocery Outlet has been carrying Edward’s Singles for several weeks now. The cheap desserts consist of a dessert base which you heat up for a minute in the microwave, and a small cup of ice-cream with chocolate syrup/chips that you put on it. The ice cream melts on the hot dessert providing, working both as a cooling force and an antidote for the sweetness of the dessert.
Edwards Singles come with assorted bases. Grocery Outlet carries the molten chocolate lava cake, the chocolate chip cookie and the apple pie varieties. The apple pie is just OK, but the other two are delicious. I would never have expected such simple and cheap desserts to be so good, but they really are as good as something you’d get from a restaurant. The combination of the hot and cold, sweet and light, really works.
But the best part is that they are super cheap. A package of two desserts (and trust me, each portion is more than enough for a person) is only 50-cents now at Grocery Outlet. OK, that’s because they are a month passed their “best by” date – but I’m betting that there is still nothing wrong with them (I certainly haven’t gotten sick from the many I’ve eaten). Of course, the past-expiration-date issue means that they won’t be on the GO shelves for long, and really, I’m not sure how much past their expiration date I’d be willing to eat them, but for the time being the kids and I are enjoying them.
BTW, Grocery Outlet also carries Edwards Singles pie slices @ $1.50 per package. I haven’t given these a try.

Got it today at Grocery Outlet. It’s probably the worst food item I have ever bought. It’s COMPLETELY inedible, you cannot bite through it, you cannot chew it, you cannot digest it. I don’t even want to guess what it’s made from and what stuff it has in it.
Whoever makes it should be ashamed of the product, and Grocery Outlet should be ashamed to sell it.