This is the full Consumer Reports list as of 2015. I
1 Wegmans
2 Publix
I recall them in Florida as being pretty decent, but not available to me
now.
I wasn't impressed either way by Publix stores
but haven't been in one in a long time. They
seemed ok but ehh. Market Basket has cleaned up
its act remarkably in the last few years, speaking
of locals.
6 Costco
Interesting that this is ranked higher than BJs or Sams. We go to both
BJs and Costco, but more often to BJs. Mostly because we are used to
BJs and know where to find things. The two are similar with much
overlap but some differences.
It's been a while since I've set foot in a Sam's
(probably with Swisher, but there aren't any left
in Anchorage). I was in a BJ's a couple days ago
and found it almost indistinguishable from Costco,
except that the meat department was not as good.
8 Sprouts Farmers Market
Just got a Sprouts up on Rt 40, but have not been there.
14 Aldi
We have been to one in Columbia, interesting but not on our main list of places to go.
Sacerdote took me to one: it's way too
limited in scope to rate highly. We also
found mislabeled merchandise there.
15 Whole Foods Market
Not our type of market.
Mine either.
17 Harris-Teeter
Columbia store has high quality and high prices.
In the south, it was a run-of-the-mill chain
but decided to expand northward and upscale
itself. The one I'm most familiar with, in
Arlington, is as you say.
42 BJ's Wholesale Club
See above.
45 Target/SuperTarget
We sometimes shop at Target, but don't go there on purpose for
groceries. Ditto for Walmart.
I saw one in California that had a grocery
department, and it was a sorry thing; the
rest of the merchandise, the stuff you'd go
there for, seemed okay.
52 Food Lion
53 Weis
The only Food Lion in Columbia area got rebranded into a Weis about a
year or so ago. No real difference. We go there occasionally since
they are on the way home from Costco.
Annie would go to a Weis for certain specialty
items. It was fun but on the dirty side.
56 Giant (DC, DE, MD, VA)
Next to Wegmans, the better store in Columbia for us.
Giant seems to fall down hard on price, but the
one in Friendship Heights that is closest to me
by public trans is deficient on meat and fish
quality and selection as well.
58 Safeway
The Safeway closest to us had become pretty run down and so we go
there only when we want a few things.
There was a time when this chain was trying to
reinvent itself, but the effort seems to have
failed. Albertson's and Von's, part of the same
company, and which have not tried to follow the
trends, have a better reputation.
61 Acme
Not in this area anymore.
66 A&P
Not in this area for years now.
Both of these are irrelevancies from the past.
Acme is an off-brand of Albertson's now, and
A&P may be defunct altogether.
67 Walmart Supercenter
See Target above.
Nasty meats. The ads claim that you get
steakhouse-quality food there: about as true
as the Folger's ads.
Title: MARINATED SHRIMP SCALLOP & CAPER SALAD W/ SHERRY VINAIGRE
Yield: 4 Servings
1/3 c Drained capers
Bon Appetit/August/94 Scanned & edited by Di Pahl & <gg>
A lot of capers, adding about 500 mg of sodium
to each serving.
Spanish Bar Cake
categories: A&P, spice cake, dessert, tastealike
yield: 1
h - dry ingredients
2 c all purpose flour
3/4 c granulated sugar
3/4 c light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 1/2 ts baking soda
2 Tb cocoa
2 ts cinnamon
1 ts salt
1 ts nutmeg
1 ts allspice
1/2 ts ground cloves
h - wet ingredients
1/2 c oil
2 c unsweetened applesauce
2 eggs (room temp)
1 1/2 c raisins
h - For the Buttercream Frosting
1 stick butter, room temperature
5 c confectioners sugar
2 ts vanilla
1/4 c milk
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9 x 13" baking
pan with baking spray.
Whisk dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Stir
in oil, applesauce and eggs, mix well. Add raisins
(plumped in hot water for 15 min and drained), stir
just until combined. Bake 30 to 35 min or until a
toothpick inserted in the center tests clean. Cool
completely before spreading with buttercream frosting.
For the buttercream frosting.
Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the
confectioner sugar 1 c at a time. Add in the
vanilla and milk. M's note: use more butter.
Note: If you would like to make the cake like the
original Spanish Bar Cake, cut the cake length ways
into two halves. Spread the frosting between the
layers and on top. Use a fork to make the lines
on the top.
Lisa Ghenne at thecuttingedgeofordinary.blogspot.com
adapted from a recipe at Baking Blond
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
* Origin: Fido Since 1991 | QWK by Web | BBS.DOCSPLACE.ORG (1:123/140)