Thanks for the note about Epic lard. I’m constantly watching for their duck fat.
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Recently at Oakland Grocery Outlet -
Zippo's Pick of the Week
$3.99/7 oz. tub - Greek Artisan Feta in Brine, Real Greek Sheep’s Milk Feta Protected Designation of Origin, slight citrusy flavor with hints of woodsy maple. Made with 100% pasteurized fresh sheep milk. Nicest feta I’ve had.
from Amazon:
Made as the Greek artisans intended using 100% sheep’s milk sourced strictly from shepherds in the regions of Thessaly & Macedonia and employing traditional techniques that date back thousands of years. A short period of barrel aging imparts a unique tangy, citrusy flavor and a creamy texture that are unparalleled by fetas made elsewhere.
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Watermelon not bad. Sweetness was there although clearly not height of season. Only a bit of mealy portions and those had enough crispness and sugar to still be quite tasty. Perfect size, about a child-size basketball – not so much watermelon that my fridge was overflowing.
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Where are you?
Oops, sorry, should’ve mentioned: SF Bay Area, California. My local GO is the San Rafael store, which this watermelon is from. FWIW saw similar sized melons at TJ’s for 5.99 yesterday (I find TJ’s produce is fairly competitively priced), so the 3.99 seems like a reasonable deal.
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I like these crackers. They’re a bit sweet from all the fruit but really nice with cheese.
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The Richmond store has had Its Its lately, mint and vanilla only.
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Thanks for the report, here’s a quick one from my local San Rafael store:
The Haloumi made it to my store! Haven’t tried it yet but bought a handful. Texture-wise feels kind of like the “cheaper” grilling cheese ($1.99) that isn’t quite as good as other Haloumi’s I’ve bought (more melt, less crisp). So, we’ll see how it goes. I also don’t seem to remember other Haloumi’s having herbs/spices added as these seem to.
I bought the cheese next to it too, the sticker got me. Haven’t tried it yet. The cheese is priced per pound and I think the chunk I bought was around $5 (fairly pricey for GO cheese!).
Almost bought this sourdough kit but held off given I have plenty of other baking projects to do. Folks might find it interesting. I have made my own sourdough starter before and I recall it being kind of a pain, so having a yeast kickstart (presumedly this would also result in starter) was tempting.
I should also note there’s a decent assortment of baking supplies at the San Raf store right now. Brown sugar, flour, etc.
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Soom tahini. 4.99 at the Santa Cruz GO.
I was surprised to find this on the blowout rack. I’ve never seen it at this store. Hopefully it makes it to some other stores as well. I think I first read about it in Food & Wine (or perhaps bon appetit) several years ago. It’s produced by a small business in Philadelphia run by three sisters. I usually have to drive out of town to get it as it’s not stocked by my local markets. It’s the best commercial tahini I’ve found.
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Recently at Oakland Grocery Outlet -
Zippo's Pick of the Week
$5.99/8.8 oz. - Annabella Whole Milk Water Buffalo Mozzarella Low Moisture Cheese. Firmer, denser, and chewier than other mozzarellas that I’ve tried with hints of pecan and bamboo on the palate. A product of Colombia which is distributed by Annabella Creamery of Boulder CO.
According to Annabella which sources all of its dairy from family farms in Colombia,
Water Buffalo milk is the most nutritious milk available for human consumption. It is 100% A2/A2 milk, which means that is less allergenic than A1 milk, it has double the Protein, double the Calcium, 40% more nutrients and it has half the Cholesterol than cow’s milk.
At the farms, our free range Water Buffalos practice rotational grazing in order to ensure the lightest footprint on the environment and to minimize erosion of our beautiful lands.
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A couple updates from my last run (San Rafael GO):
Saw the A2 Water Buffalo Cheese + the Soom Tahini described above (same prices) but didn’t buy any (was real tempted by the tahini given the recommendation but I’ve bought tahini before and never used it. Maybe I should’ve planned to make tahini cookies)
Lots of frozen veggie meats (my wife and I eat vegetarian):
These rebellyous veggie nugs ($2.99) are pretty good (esp. if you have an air fryer).
Picked up a “Very Good Butchers” The Very British Banger plant-based sausage ($3.99/4). Haven’t tried yet but looks pretty good (plant-based sausages have gotten crazy close to real ones. The “Beyond Meat” sausage which often shows up at GO actually has a casing with snap! My wife won’t eat them because they remind her too much of real meat.).
Marinated baked tofu ($1.99). I used to be a big fan of the Wildwood Baked Tofu I think this will be similar.
Cabot Sharp Cheddar sticks, mostly for the kids (I feel a tiny bit better buying over-packaged items that have already wound up at GO – I imagine they’re gonna get trashed anyways at that point).
Buena UVAS canned Rose wine. You might not find this anymore at the San Raf because I cleared the shelf.
I bought a single one previously and tried it the other day. It’s not a great rose (a little on the sweet side), but for $1 it’s very drinkable and I’m a big fan of the can form factor for things like picnics/beaches.
Spotted but not purchased – Kimchi mayo/dressing ($2.99). Seemed interesting, but there are too many sauces like this in my fridge door.
Green Valley Organic Lactose Free Sour Cream ($3-ish?). This is a pretty good sour cream. I see it fairly regularly at GO. Not quite as good as the Nancy’s Organic that shows up from time to time, but a decent choice if the best by date is far enough in the future.
When I got there I realized I had failed to try the Haloumi to see if I should get more. Sadly, they were out anyways. I cooked up the Haloumi when I got home just in case they got more back in stock and it was amazing. Crisped up perfectly, didn’t melt. Should’ve bought more. Next time I spot it I’ll stock up – might check the Novato store to see if they have it.
I also tried the Prairie Breeze cheddar I bought last time. It’s a pretty decent cheddar, suitable for a cheese plate. Kind of soft/sticky vs. a full hard cheese. I’m not a huge cheddar fan so probably wouldn’t buy again but happy enough for the price.
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Today in Burien (south of Seattle)
$1.49
Satisfying crunchy carbs (I ate half the bag on the way home 
)
I skipped the honey mustard they had a few weeks ago but these are good. If they get the spicy buffalo in, I might have a problem.
Also grabbed some Planter’s Chipotle Peanuts that I hadn’t seen before, $1.49/6oz
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Well, look what turned up at the East Hayward GO, for only $3.99/dozen. Based on what I’m seeing on the Happy Egg website, these are now called “Heritage” eggs with a different-colored label, so this must be a “getting rid of the old branding” thing.
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These have been our “go to” eggs for a while now, as they have been regularly available at the Geary, SF, store. Takes a bit to convert from large to medium but the quality difference is apparent, Orange yolks, “eggy” flavor.
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Santa Cruz GO, Squid Fish Sauce $4
First time appearance here. I haven’t tried it.
“Squid brand is well-known in Thailand as a ‘premium’, more expensive and more delicious fish sauce that also has a nice and strong flavor. Some people like a more ‘bold’ fish flavor, the characteristic of Squid. Squid brand has not just a stronger flavor, but also a nicely muted fish smell.”
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I haven’t been keeping a super-careful watch on recent inflation at the grocery store, but $4 for this brand of fish sauce would not have been a good deal a few years ago. It was probably in the $2-3 range at a typical Asian market, and I would be a little surprised if it is $4 these days at the likes of Sunset Super, let alone the GO inflated list price of $6.
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How does it compare to Red Boat 40’?
Agree. But the new reality is trending much higher than we’re accustomed. A quick scan sees it selling anywhere from 4.50 (safeway) to 12 (amazon). It appears the average is indeed around 6. If I didn’t recently stock up on Red Boat I would have picked it up.
