Nice, welcome to the cult.
Good time to drop a collection of photos I’ve been taking (most at San Raf GO):
Didn’t try this but looked interesting. Nice price: $1.99
I was kind of excited about these meat-free sausage rolls, but they’re not that good – much too bready. Rather novel tho and the price was good.
We have a set of waxed wraps like these (from TJs, maybe?) and I really like them for wrapping cheese. Not sure if this is a good price.
Pretty decent price on stasher bags.
This is hands down the best veggie meat I’ve had lately (the original flavor). Price is a touch more than I’d like to pay ($4.99 – would love to see it at the $3 mark and then I’d buy out the stock), but so good.
The pipcorn stuff is pretty decent, esp. at $1.99
I think I posted these Talia Neapolitan pizzas before. At $3.99 this is a no-brainer buy (note: no cheese on this variation, but you can add it yourself).
These “fresh” (refrigerated) olives aren’t bad for the price.
…
I like to stop at Grocery Outlets I haven’t been to before, and the conversation about “good” and “bad” GOs (where “bad” ones have fewer high-end products/finds) made me think about how I’d categorize the various GOs I’d been too. Curious to hear from others, esp. those in the Bay Area. Here’s a handful of rankings.
San Rafael
“Atmosphere”: B. It’s a newer store. Aisles are pretty wide, carts are still in pretty decent shape. Lately price tags haven’t been regularly placed and there are more frequent stocking gaps (empty sections) than I’ve noticed in the past.
Frozen section: B. good. Frequent selection of veggie meats, good ice cream mix.
Dairy/Milk: C. Seems like the standard offerings in my area.
Pricing: D. OK, higher/highest prices on the same items than GOs I’ve been to in outlying areas (where presumedly the rent is cheaper. One example: Jennifer’s breadsticks: $1.99 in Sac, $3.99 or 2.99 here. $2.49 at other GOs). Rarely see prices get dropped on products, they just sit forever.
Cheese: C. Fair. Small-ish section of “nice” cheeses, but usually gets the good stuff. Regular deals on more common cheeses.
Produce: C. Workable. Often buy strawberries and melons here.
Wine/Beer: D. One of the worst selections w.r.t. better wines that I’ve seen. Usually doesn’t stock the wines I’ve bought at other GOs. “Standard” beer selection (nothing special outside the common brands).
NOSH: C. Used to be better but right now they have a TON of beet powders and stuff. A lot of things don’t seem to be moving well.
Candy/Chocolate Bars: C. Winners come through every once in awhile but not consistent.
Baking: B. I regularly find good baking essentials here (chocolate chips, flour, sugar etc).
“Mexican/Asian”: C. The standard stuff.
Checkout: D. Regular long lines. A little understaffed w.r.t cashiers.
Obviously all of these things vary on a regular basis depending on stock, but generally if other GOs were closer to me I’d probably pick them ahead of this one for the types of things I like to buy at grocery outlet. That said, this is a really nice store to browse at and that counts for a lot.
Novato: this is the next most convenient store to me.
“Atmosphere”: C-. It’s been around awhile and there is a dearth of carts, many are rusted/beat up. Aisles are pretty tight, I feel like they recently re-laid it out and that improved it a lot but still not as nice as other GOs.
Frozen section: C. Seems pretty standard, I can’t remember any high notes here.
Dairy/Milk: C. Standard, maybe smaller than other GOs.
Pricing: C. Pricing seems to be slightly better here than San Rafael.
Cheese: C. Fair. They have a “cheese island” where they separate out the fancier cheeses, but stock-wise it seems similar to other Gos.
Produce: C. Mostly standard.
Wine/Beer: A. Often have the wines I’m looking for. Pretty large selection. Include manager callouts of vivino ratings and the like. Stock small brewer six packs that often can’t be found at other GOs.
NOSH: C. Haven’t found anything special here.
Candy/Chocolate Bars: B. Slightly above other GOs I’ve been at. There’s a TON of Tony’s Chocoloney there for $99 right now (weird flavors tho).
Baking: I can’t actually recall what their baking section is like.
“Mexican/Asian”: C. The standard stuff.
Checkout: C. I think generally I’ve had decent experiences getting out quickly here.
