Have you ever woken up the next morning and thought, “oh my God, what did I do?” And then there’s written proof. Apologies everyone, that rant doesn’t represent the spirit of this board and was out of line. The bottle of Asbury Park Bourbon has a huge dent in it, and my head hurts. Have a nice day.
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The drinks were flowing here last night, too. It’s cabin fever! But we have waffles now.
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Don’t beat yourself up. You have some valid points.
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Waffles are IMPORTANT! (So’s bourbon, but that’s another story…)
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ShopRite (Aberdeen), Sunday 9AM: Still no napkins, but lots of paper towels (and some facial tissues). Masks, hand sanitizer, etc. for sale from bins in the entrance area. Vegetarian ramen (finally!). No Diet Barq’s root beer 
. White vinegar, but not in gallon jugs. Things are gradually getting back to normal. I got eight ears of corn @0.19 each (we each eat two when we want a small dinner), and a watermelon ($3.88); plenty of both. Seafood looks well-stocked.
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Not quite a supermarket, but…
https://twitter.com/njbottleking/status/1261849528984010754?s=21
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VERY glad to hear this!
They have the best prices around, but when they switched to curbside/delivery only, I went elsewhere. I found their online ordering very flawed as they did not have everything available that they have in-store. It was extremely limited and mostly wine. That, and I like to walk around and browse and maybe pick up something unexpected. Maybe they changed it after I last checked, but it was abysmal.
So, for the last month and a half, I have been going to Wine Academy in Hazlet (not too far away from me, but in the opposite direction of where I am usually headed and their prices are average) and Vingo in Atlantic Highlands, since I work literally a minute away and could stop in on my lunch break (gee does that sound wrong). Their prices can be steep (price to pay for convenience) but I have discovered a wonderful selection and some items I’ve never seen carried before.
Not to sound like an alcoholic, but Bottle King literally lost [insert ungodly amount of $$$ here] from me since the pandemic started. I understand why they did it, of course, but seeing as most other liquor stores did not go that route, maybe they made a mistake. Wine Academy had a great model: you cannot enter without a spritz of hand sanitizer which they had at a guarded front door (and masks, limited entry, etc, etc).
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Interesting…they are the only liquor store I know of who closed on site shopping. That’s out of my local shopping area, but every liquor store I have been to offered curb side or delivery but also had their stores open to foot traffic. I spread my pandemic funds around to several liquor stores during the lock down.
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I thought the same thing…why did they close? I don’t have a BK within close range, but used to work 2 miles from one and it was my go-to; great selection and great prices.
Has anyone been to Trader Joe’s in Shrewsbury recently? I need a TJ run. Curious how it’s been.
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Haven’t been in a cpl weeks b/c I’ve been lucky getting online spots elsewhere- but TJ’s def has it’s game down. Best time is usually an hour before close - lines much less, only issue is stock at that point.
According to the wife and daughter TJ’s was strictly enforcing social distancing, limiting the number of people allowed in the store etc. resulting in ridiculous lines wrapping around the building. This thwarted their desire to even attempt getting inside, this is however strictly on the weekends. They haven’t tried during the week so it might be better during week days.
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weekday an hour before close or less- that’s money time…esp if weather is nice.
I don’t mind trade off for waiting due to how thorough their process is, much less stressful inside compared to Shoprite. Foodtown is a good comprise btw- much less crowded than Shoprite.
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Was there last Thursday. The line was past Bubbakoo’s but with six feet separation, lasted only 15-20 minutes. They are very strict. However many people leave is as many as can enter. They bring you a cart or basket before you enter. If there is crowding in a certain area of the store, they ask nicely if you can, for example, “Start shopping from the back”, etc. Arrows on the floor.
Pleasant experience, actually.
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I went last Friday–first time since before the world shut down. It was FABULOUS, save for the one woman who repeatedly went down aisles the wrong way (there are HUGE arrows on the floor) and the woman at the register two over from mine (empty one in between) who had her mask under her chin and was talking on her phone as she bagged her groceries. As I said to the cashier, I’m sure it was a VERY important call. 
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lol, some people- my new fav in this world is the person who just dead stops in middle of aisle to chill out and just browse while the one way aisle is now completely blocked and queuing up. I get people like to browse or just figure out stuff as they go but I mean given the current reality blocking traffic for no good reason is not cool.
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You have hit on one of my biggest pet peeves. Encountered that in TJ’s as well, but I feel like it’s unavoidable. FOLLOWING ARROWS shouldn’t be. 
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What are you all buying at TJs? They have some products I like but I can do without them. Especially when there is a long line.
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There’s no specific place to put this, but since we just talked about liquor [stores], I want to say that tonight I had the @NotJrvedivici special: a Stoli martini, straight up chilled Stoli, no vermouth. Just olives and a tiny bit of brine. All I can say is WOW. Man, is that strong. Made me gasp for air. It was so bad, I had a second just to be sure! 
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Have a 3rd for me my man! Next time you suffer through one I promise I’ll pay for it! (they get better the more you have)
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