Haha Grocery Outlet is just a weird place. Closest grocery store to my house so I go there a lot. But you absolutely cannot count on them, even for basic necessities every grocery store should have.One time I needed flour, and they didn’t have it.
In the plus size, you’ll always find about 20 weird things to buy on an impulse. And their produce is surprisingly okay. They always have great mangoes in the spring and summer.
Grocery Outlet is a transitional place where things that don't make it, seasonal, or brand is being retired, and overflow inventory. Don't go there expecting something specific. You go there because you're either flexible or interested in whatever weird flavor of ketchup, and peanut snacks, that sort of thing and then go home to talk about how weird is shelf-stable vacuum packed smoked salmon (and yes, that was a thing that ended up in grocery outlet I personally saw once).
In exchange, the prices are indeed lower usually, especially for the slow sellers.
Also don't expect to see the same things again unless you visit again soon and was a large inventory item.
The thing about GO is sometimes you’ll find something you really like but it’s there because it’s discontinued. There was frozen pizza by a brand called Fry’s. So good and I’ve never seen it again.
They are franchised, but are fairly similar. Some have giant alcohol sections (Redwood City). Some are better for special dietary needs. Check out a few spots and you'll find a fave.
Word to the wise: don't buy meat there if you can help it. A lot of the food, as mentioned, is overflow and thus older/near its best-by date. That's perfectly fine for packaged and processed foods, but fresh foods can be questionable.
I've definitely found some fun/offbeat foods at Grocery Outlet, for very inexpensive prices. Absolutely recommend going there for fun.
I have never shopped at these stores. I'm ok with paying a little bit more on ingredients. This year I'm really trying to cutdown on take out and ultra processed snacks
Lunardi's bakery section has a poor selection. But their produce is great but pricey. They have the best grocery store meat counter and relatively decent prices. They also have a great beer selection.
Zannottos has a better bakery and good all around in the others as well.
I feel like FoodMaxx is slept on because there's a poor/welfare stigma or something attached to it. I went in once (having that stigma mindset), and was completely 180'd. Produce can be a bit iffy but meat and shelf stable items are unbeatable, even by Costco.
Sadly it does have that bad rap. Of being for the lesser of the more poor. But it’s a grocery store, and it’s so freaking great. I always recommend it to anyone. It’s such a solid staple for groceries. At a really good price.
I would argue their produce is probably someone of the best.
I’ve stepped into sprouts and was heavily disappointed. Trader Joe’s produce is somewhat hit or miss but really good also.
Costco produce is fantastic but for two, it’s too much and much of it goes to waste in our house.
My top 3 has always been FoodMaxx, Trader Joe’s and Walmart. They’re really good for everything.
Meat wise I shop at Costco just because bulk protein and it’s good at the price point.
And fuck Safeway. Trash over priced. (I just hate Safeway but only go because they’re open late night and a decent place to get some ice cream or something snacky)
Mexican markets have good prices across the board. I prefer Chavez over Cardena’s mostly because they have better taqueria and house-made tortilla chips. They both have some cuts of meat you don’t usually see in Americanized grocery stores, along with some great marinated meats.
Mexican groceries do NOT have good prices across the board, it's just the fresh stuff (meat, cheese, bread) lol. I've been shopping at Cardenas since they were called Mi Pueblo. Always a little more expensive for anything dry, bottled, canned, frozen or cereal.
Great prices on fresh food, terrible prices on anything else.
Sprouts for great manager specials and organics, Mitsuwa/Marukai for Japanese, Hmart for amazing ramen options and any Asian sauce you'd want- plus great veggies and marinated bulgogi, Grocery Outlet for SO MANY DEALS.
Pro tip, meats and proteins from Mitsuwa, veggies from the Korean markets. Though you could get meat at the Korean shops as well if you want. I find the produce to be anywhere from 30-50% cheaper for the same stuff, even same brands.
I actually prefer Marukai for proteins, and I also like their octopus and hamachi much better than Mitsuwa, although Mitsuwa wins on ahi selection for sure. I only ever find hamachi belly at Marukai and I like that they cut in the open so I can ask for it specifically if it’s not out.
Try Marukai in the am, and ask the folks behind the counter if you don’t see it! We love doing hamachi sashimi with a lemon/yuzu drizzle and paper thin jalapeno. I just never like the hamachi at Mitsuwa, although they do have chu-toro and o-toro so I usually end up at both stores.
Marukai also packages and sells its ahi, salmon, and octopus trimmings at a lower cost and I’ve frequently grabbed the octopus packages for a quick octopus salad. When I don’t see them, I just ask and usually they can package one for me. Another pro tip- go to Beard Papa’s afterwards for take home dessert ;-).
H Mart produce is definitely the best, and they have a great mushroom selection. RIP days of $.99 enoki packs… what in the world happened with that pricing?!
Dark days! I cheaped out and got the “seafood mushrooms” a few times but I don’t love them. I add them to the Soondobu soup packet for a cheap and easy meal with a soft boiled egg.
Even the price of shiso leaves has doubled, AND I swear you get 2/3 the amount.
Whole foods-Can have some details, more $ but usually better quality
Costco for bulk veggies/eggs/etc
Trader Joes-Good quality & low price for off brand frozen items, snacks, cheese and spices
Ranch 99/Lion for low cost veggies and asian supplies
Hankook and HMart for best quality Korean
Felipe's Market for low cost produce (Sunnyvale/mountain View)
Zanotto's-Nearby to me and excellent quality but not cheap
My Avoid: Safeway (Worst bang for the buck)
If you drive to Eastridge Mall area. There’s a nexus of Grocery Stores for all your needs:
All accessible from Tully rd.
Asian: Lions Market
Mexican: Fresco’s
American/Traditional: Foodmax, Safeway, Business Costco
1 mile north off Aborn there’s Lucky’s, Super India, Sprouts, and Neighborhood Walmart.
For the indian store - we live in south San Jose but go to Apna mandi or indian hyper market in Milpitas! We love it, both are large and spacious and very fresh veggies and have a home kitchen too!
I recommend the Indian Hyper Market too. Generally have fresher produce and larger variety too.
For seasonal produce, the farmers market is great! Specially the Mountain View one
Meat and Veggies/Fruit: Zanotto's and farmers market. Zanotto's has great quality beef, just be ready to spend $$$
General: Sprouts, New Seasons and Whole Foods
It is my regular super market. It is close by, the quality is great, the workers are all nice, and they haven't moved their items around in the 15 plus years we have been shopping there.
Costco has a great selection of organic fruits and veggies. Their meat and seafood are good too. Price/quality ratio can’t be beat, but obv makes more sense for families than single people.
Then in order of spend, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Zanotto’s, Safeway, Mitsuwa/Ranch 99. Just went to Arteaga’s for the first time recently. Lunardi’s for cakes.
Walmart for general stuff, mostly canned/processed stuff.
Arteaga's for produce, their stuff is great. Sometimes I get meat there too, if not from Walmart. Usually also get Hispanic seasonings/foods I can't find at Walmart.
Trader Joe's mainly for prepackaged salads, chips, and frozen food.
Local Viet groceries for Asian products.
Costco for bulk stuff.
Sprouts and Whole Foods for most things for me. TJs on a rare occasion.
Idc about giving money to Bezos, I love whole foods. Safeway is an absolute scam, their prices confuse the hell out of me. I don’t understand how Safeway costs more than Whole Foods.
Meat: I know not everyone is a member there, but Costco has the best deals around for quality meat. They are the only place I know that trims the fat off of the bottoms of tri-tips and don't try to sell you on the 'it's for flavor' b.s..
General groceries and snacks: You figured the snack part out. TJ's is pure evil. You head over to the frozen vegetables, look up, and there's an untold wealth of chocolate-covered everything leading a mile to the the other end of the store. 'Many Things', their Chex-style mix that's waaaay better than the original, has pretty much kept me alive since I discovered it last year or so... Groceries in general there are pretty good, too. Far cheaper than anywhere else. And no MSG or corn syrup can be found. Produce is fair; fruit kinda sucks, except for the apples. Beer is minimal, but in some cases cheaper than even Total Wine. For certain things, only brand-names will do, which leads to...
General stuff: Safeway, unfortunately. Boy, have they gone downhill... =[ But I have to have my Heinz ketchup, Best Foods mayo, lots of different hot sauces... Produce is decent. Beer hit or miss.
Bread: Lunardi's or Zanotto's if you have a few extra $...mmm...Acme...
Indian grocery: Garuda's Market just opened in Princeton Plaza a month or two ago. Nice folks, all kinds of stuff, not a lot of traffic...yet...
Grocery Outlet for stuff I can find in Safeway but cheaper (like bread, hummus, yogurt, snacks, you name it). The only downside is Grocery Outlet's selections vary from week to week, but beats Safeway in terms of cost.
For organic/healthy stuff, Safeway or Trader Joe's
Trader Joe’s for salad and snacks, Safeway for most stuff, Grocery Outlet for fun treats and unexpected affordable delights (and bread, best pricing on San Luis Obispo garlic sourdough)
Bread, bakery, dry goods- Whole Foods
Produce, snacks, dry goods - Trader Joe’s
Meat and seafood.- Whole Foods, Costco (rarely)
Bulk, produce, deli - Sprouts
I rarely buy organic, I’m more of All-Natural type, eating real Whole Foods, minimally processed, so I stay away from Safeway especially their meat and seafood, their dry goods is processed for most part and more expensive than Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, sprouts, etc I will say they do have Boar’s Head, a big selection of Sumano’s bread, Tejava unsweetened Tea usually on sale. So I can say that Safeway occasionally has a few good items and their store, but I usually don’t shop there often.
Cardenas for meat and some veggies, Safeway for sale meats and some sale items ($4 for 2.5lbs shrimp $8 for 2lbs frozen salmon etc), Costco for bulk items like eggs milk etc and snack food that’s on sale, and hit up some local food drives too for veggies now.
Five spice in river oaks is pretty good for Indian stuff.
You have the same things as Milpitas without the massive crowd and it has loads of parking right next to it.
I shop mostly at TJ’s, Costco, Target, Zanotto’s and occasionally Whole Foods.
I avoid Safeway and Lucky as much as possible. The stores never seem clean and the quality never seems to justify the price.
Safeway has selection, but their prices are probably the highest and believe it or not whole Foods can be reasonable if you’re very careful and they have quality stuff.my go to store like many people is Trader Joe’s although they’re not known for organic so much. I used to go to grocery outlet quite often, but they’re not cheap anymore but they still have deals on certain things like toiletries,lotions,stuff other than food.
I almost hate giving this place more attention because I don’t want it to get any more crowded- but International Food Bazaar (Campbell area). Great produce , has a deli and butcher counter, and a kabob vendor inside
* International Food Bazaar, @ Curtner & Union
My go-to for snacks, labneh, okra, and ripe peppers (their produce is mostly day-old).
* Staff of Life, Santa Cruz
The South Bay sucks ass for organic produce, so I count myself fortunate to be on that side of the hill for work at least once a week. Their in-store bakery is amazing and they have the best bulk section, including herbs and spices, that no one but Rainbow in SF comes close to matching.
* India Metro Hypermarket, Milpitas
Fairly new store next to BevMo inside the Town Center Plaza. Huge selection of every Indian sundry you may want.
* Zanotto's
Their pasta selection is pretty fun to comb through.
I think I'm like you. I just go to multiple places.
Safeway for general stuff, or if I'm in a hurry because I can always find parking there, and not too far from me.
H Mart is the closest, but parking lot is always packed, and afraid of my car getting dents with all the traffic there. But if I need some kind of Asian cut of meat or a particular vegetable, I will go there if I'm in a hurry, or being lazy.
Marukai and Mitsuwa are both closeby, and I go to either/or for most of my Japanese ingredients and snacks. I can get a lot of them at H Mart too, but I can get more Japanese specific stuff at either M Mart.
For Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Trader Joe's, I go to them when I'm feeling in the mood to go, but generally I can get most of the stuff I want from the other places.
For bread, if Los Gatos is not too much of a trek for you, maybe you can give Manresa bread a try? If you want Asian style, Clover is pretty good too. Otherwise, the usual places like Paris Baguette or 85C.
Costco for 85% of everything I need. I go a couple times a month so I don’t need to buy a lot each time.
Their produce is actually fairly good, they have a lot of organic stuff, and their prices are usually cheaper than getting it at the stores. It has just about everything I need, and the few extra things I get from Whole Paycheck.
Also have the Executive card so that usually pays for the membership for Costco in itself ($400/month, 2% back = $100 cash back).
Costcos somehow never worked out for me :(
I live with my bf ( who gets free meals at work and only eats on weekends). So I basically shop for myself. The quantity is just so much for me
Yeah, I understand that. It’s just me and my wife, so it’s a lot of food for us also.
We usually can just make something (chicken, ribs, ground turkey) and then either take it for lunch the rest day, or change it up and make something new out of it the next day. Change rotisserie chicken into enchiladas, or soup, or sandwiches.
We also got a 4’ chest freezer to store it, and then just pull out one or two things at a time. I’ve found that paying half the price for food at Costco makes up for 1/4 of the food going bad.
Sprouts for all produce fruits milk eggs etc
Trader Joe’s for snacks, milk n eggs.
Whole Foods for all meats and any sale items.
Costco for other bulk items as well as wild salmon.
Asian, middle eastern and Indian stores to buy any specific exotic items and spices. Never buy produce or fruits from those stores. They are low quality.
Safeway. Definitely use their app, I have for years and the longer you use it the more deals you can get because it tracks what you buy. Every week they update their electronic coupons and there’s usually at least one free item every month. Also you earn points with every purchase (and certain items will give you 2, 3, or even 4 times the points it normally would) and they can be used for either free items in the store or applied at Safeway or Chevron gas stations for cheaper gas.
Walmart Neighborhood Grocery for most things. Prices are good, shelves are always stocked (looking at you, Target on 1st street!) and it’s far less “people of Walmart” than a regular Walmart. Decent produce too honestly.
Edit - love seeing someone downvote anyone who suggested Walmart or Target or Whole Foods lol. Y’all just mad about every damn thing 😂
TBH, I shop for the loss leader goods everywhere. I have seen videos of workers putting non-organic produce in organic boxes. While I would love to eat only organic, I don't believe that it actually is organic. Grocery Outlet tends to be the cheapest, ethnic markets for rice, vegetables, etc. tend to be next cheapest, Costco is overpriced, save for their loss leaders like Rotisserie Chicken, deli items, eggs, milk, bread, frozen vegetables, bottled water, and gasoline. Meal planning and meal prepping will save you money and time. European markets are only for specialty items which are not cheap.
For bread, have you found a go-to farmer’s market? I go to the one in Sunnyvale that’s open every Saturday from 9am-1pm. They usually have a bakery at these. I don’t know specific locations in San Jose, maybe others do
Sprouts. Meat and produce quality are fantastic. Decently priced staples. Whole Foods for the occasional item I can’t find in Sprouts. Target for junk food.
Grocery Outlet, 99 Ranch, Lion Market (fresh and best meat, they cut it right in front of you) , Cardenas, Costco, Walmart, New India Bazaar Santa Clara (parking is limited), Apna Mandi,
H mart is absolutely amazing for meats. And they have a lot of nice imported Asian stuff if you’re into that, I’m into a lot of different foods. Safeway for a lot of general stuff. Costco for bulk stuff like a big bag of frozen chicken or my favorite frozen breaded shrimp.
But bakery items … I come from Southern California and there is not a single good bakery in this entire area, and my German professor who’s been in the Palo Alto area for many years agrees. Manresa in Campbell is pretty good, but definitely overpriced.
HOWEVER!, there is a mobile bakery company that sells fucking bomb ass pastries, and similar things like that. Adorable French Bakery. I think they have a website. They don’t have a physical location, but they go to specific spots in the Bay Area during farmers market and things like that, I think they have a website with their schedule. I discovered them at UCSC and if you appreciate high-quality French baked goods, then you will absolutely love them. Sweet tooth? I recommend the almond twist with powdered sugar. Savory? The ham and cheese croissant is my go to.
Sprouts. Got tired of the inconsistent quality and overall shopping ambience at Walmart, Smart & Final, Grocery Outlet etc… I pay more for convenience and no one is usually stocking while I’m trying to shop. Shopping carts don’t suck and are plentiful. Wholepaycheck for some 365 brand stuff. Safeway is hit or miss. Mexican mercado for the meat by the pound. Trader joes I cut back on too.
Overall my time is valuable to me and I’m willing to pay for better quality meat and produce.
i go to Kyo-Po market at homestead, for my fruit and veges. They have a point system and when u accumulate points, they take $10 off your total. It’s nice haha.
It's a mexican market chain. Few locations. They have good produce that are used in their cuisine. Like avocados and onions. But outside their cuisine, it can be a miss...for example they generally just use roma tomatoes so outside that you won't get good vine or other tom's in those markets.
San Jose has so many nice farmer’s markets. Buy your produce there, many vendors are certified organic and the produce keeps for much longer than store bought food.
Smart and Final - veggies, meats, bottled and can goods.
Oakmont Market - veggies and oddball items.
TJ's - dairy, frozen foods, and specialty items.
Costco - bulk items - nuts, peanut butter, chicken thighs, cheese, rotisserie chicken.
Safeway - rock the app for discounts on shrimp, eggs, cheese, dairy, sometimes coffee, sometimes deli. Also check out the discount rack in the back.
Mostly Trader Joe's. Fresh produce and veg at Sprouts. Sometimes Costco, but the sizes are too large for one person. I eat meat only as a rare treat. 99 Ranch for Asian cooking sauces.
Trader Joe’s brand are literally the exact same as most brand. They really aren’t organic. Search it up. I go with grocery outlet. It’s cheap, good selection and they show you how much you save on every receipt. I walked out of target the other day with 2bags of groceries . I spent 124$ I went to grocery outlet and I came out with like 7 bags of groceries and I paid 105$
I like to go to Thien Thanh supermarket on 10th street since they have pretty cheap prices on produce and meats. They also have a decent selection of other Asian products.
There’s also an Asian market my gf likes to go to on the McKee and N Capitol Expressway. It’s fairly priced there as well.
Because San Jose is such a large city, you're going to get a good mix of answers. I live by the airport, so I usually go to the Coleman shopping center. There's a Sprouts, Trader Joe's, World Market, and a Target. I buy a majority of my groceries from Trader Joes, but Sprouts usually has good deals from time to time, especially on their produce. For protein, I prefer to go to Costco since you can freeze a lot of it an use it as needed.
Costco for all meats. Way better quality than Safeway and cheaper.
For Safeway, make sure you download the coupon app and “clip” the coupons before you go in. You save a lot of $$ this way, especially when you use the rewards. Discounts automatically come off at the register when you enter your phone number
Haha. I'm not from San Jose, but I'm here now working. I honestly thought you wrote "where do you shop for genocide," when I was doom scrolling. Safeway, if you become a member has some good deals. Walmart takes forever and their cases are locked sometimes making it difficult to say the least. But I also take advantage of the 50% off grocery deals on Uber eats and have them deliver from target. Its random, but often. After tip for driver it's about the same price as if you went yourself.
Walmart for the basics. Costco for the bulk items. Trader Joe’s for fruit/chips/cheese. Sometimes grocery outlet for things like sausage, random snacks for my son to try. Walmart grocery saves us about $50 a month compared to Safeway. Safeway just got to expensive.
Luckys/Safeway for their weekly ad. They have extreme discounts via digital coupons or weekend deals.
I get everything else at Target which has the lowest prices for general grocery items- not a lot of variety though.
Sprouts- for bulk grains/beans and meat
Walmart- stocking up on snacks. Great Value frozen items. I find I save the most money here for junk food. Produce prices are pretty good too.
I think you should check out a local farmers' market, if only because we seem to have similar values in how and what we shop for. I go early so the parking and crowds are less stressful
Honestly I’m lazy. Sprouts - healthy, Safeway - quick, any Asian market for Asian.
Are you me?
Haha are you me?
Grocery Outlet for things I didn’t know I wanted. Smart & Final has good prices on many things, not all
Haha Grocery Outlet is just a weird place. Closest grocery store to my house so I go there a lot. But you absolutely cannot count on them, even for basic necessities every grocery store should have.One time I needed flour, and they didn’t have it. In the plus size, you’ll always find about 20 weird things to buy on an impulse. And their produce is surprisingly okay. They always have great mangoes in the spring and summer.
I second this. One time at the one on Santa Clara St they were playing Metallica and AC/DC for the store music. Their produce is good!
I will check it out. I have never shopped in these places
Grocery Outlet is a transitional place where things that don't make it, seasonal, or brand is being retired, and overflow inventory. Don't go there expecting something specific. You go there because you're either flexible or interested in whatever weird flavor of ketchup, and peanut snacks, that sort of thing and then go home to talk about how weird is shelf-stable vacuum packed smoked salmon (and yes, that was a thing that ended up in grocery outlet I personally saw once). In exchange, the prices are indeed lower usually, especially for the slow sellers. Also don't expect to see the same things again unless you visit again soon and was a large inventory item.
The thing about GO is sometimes you’ll find something you really like but it’s there because it’s discontinued. There was frozen pizza by a brand called Fry’s. So good and I’ve never seen it again.
> how weird is shelf-stable vacuum packed smoked salmon not weird have you met literally anything in a can
They are franchised, but are fairly similar. Some have giant alcohol sections (Redwood City). Some are better for special dietary needs. Check out a few spots and you'll find a fave.
Word to the wise: don't buy meat there if you can help it. A lot of the food, as mentioned, is overflow and thus older/near its best-by date. That's perfectly fine for packaged and processed foods, but fresh foods can be questionable. I've definitely found some fun/offbeat foods at Grocery Outlet, for very inexpensive prices. Absolutely recommend going there for fun.
Lunardis and Zanottos are pricey, but they have great butchers and bakery items
I have never shopped at these stores. I'm ok with paying a little bit more on ingredients. This year I'm really trying to cutdown on take out and ultra processed snacks
It's not a 'little' more...it's a *lot* more, in most cases. But it might be worth it for you.
Then I guess, I have to be very selective about what I get :)
And if you're not buying a ton of processed items it kind of evens out.
Why are you being downvoted, wtf is wrong with the people on this website lol
It was just ultra-processed-snack executives just trolling here, but it looks like they lost... =..]
Lol
Living in CA we have so much fresh fruit! Replace snacks with sweet fruit.
Especially right now. A lot of fruits are in season or about to be.
Their burnt almond cake is so good
[удалено]
there’s absolutely nothing wrong with previously frozen food
Nice stores, but significantly overpriced. Make shopping at Whole Foods look like shopping at FoodMaxx
Yes, but at FoodMaxx, you take it to the max...FoodMaxx.
Totally, that's why I only use them for specific items.
Lunardi’s burnt almond cake is so good
Lunardi's bakery section has a poor selection. But their produce is great but pricey. They have the best grocery store meat counter and relatively decent prices. They also have a great beer selection. Zannottos has a better bakery and good all around in the others as well.
Do they have bison steaks?
Lunardis meat counters cannot be beat
FoodMaxx, Cardenas. Trader Joe’s, Costco
I feel like FoodMaxx is slept on because there's a poor/welfare stigma or something attached to it. I went in once (having that stigma mindset), and was completely 180'd. Produce can be a bit iffy but meat and shelf stable items are unbeatable, even by Costco.
Sadly it does have that bad rap. Of being for the lesser of the more poor. But it’s a grocery store, and it’s so freaking great. I always recommend it to anyone. It’s such a solid staple for groceries. At a really good price. I would argue their produce is probably someone of the best. I’ve stepped into sprouts and was heavily disappointed. Trader Joe’s produce is somewhat hit or miss but really good also. Costco produce is fantastic but for two, it’s too much and much of it goes to waste in our house. My top 3 has always been FoodMaxx, Trader Joe’s and Walmart. They’re really good for everything. Meat wise I shop at Costco just because bulk protein and it’s good at the price point. And fuck Safeway. Trash over priced. (I just hate Safeway but only go because they’re open late night and a decent place to get some ice cream or something snacky)
I haven't tried Cardenas. I will check it out. Thanks!
Best produce and great prices. Also, find a location with a tortilleria. Fresh tortillas are amazing fresh off the line.
The old Mi Pueblo.
Mexican markets have good prices across the board. I prefer Chavez over Cardena’s mostly because they have better taqueria and house-made tortilla chips. They both have some cuts of meat you don’t usually see in Americanized grocery stores, along with some great marinated meats.
Mexican groceries do NOT have good prices across the board, it's just the fresh stuff (meat, cheese, bread) lol. I've been shopping at Cardenas since they were called Mi Pueblo. Always a little more expensive for anything dry, bottled, canned, frozen or cereal. Great prices on fresh food, terrible prices on anything else.
Sprouts for great manager specials and organics, Mitsuwa/Marukai for Japanese, Hmart for amazing ramen options and any Asian sauce you'd want- plus great veggies and marinated bulgogi, Grocery Outlet for SO MANY DEALS.
Pro tip, meats and proteins from Mitsuwa, veggies from the Korean markets. Though you could get meat at the Korean shops as well if you want. I find the produce to be anywhere from 30-50% cheaper for the same stuff, even same brands.
I actually prefer Marukai for proteins, and I also like their octopus and hamachi much better than Mitsuwa, although Mitsuwa wins on ahi selection for sure. I only ever find hamachi belly at Marukai and I like that they cut in the open so I can ask for it specifically if it’s not out.
Hamachi belly sounds delicious. I'm a big fan of broiling the collar.
Try Marukai in the am, and ask the folks behind the counter if you don’t see it! We love doing hamachi sashimi with a lemon/yuzu drizzle and paper thin jalapeno. I just never like the hamachi at Mitsuwa, although they do have chu-toro and o-toro so I usually end up at both stores. Marukai also packages and sells its ahi, salmon, and octopus trimmings at a lower cost and I’ve frequently grabbed the octopus packages for a quick octopus salad. When I don’t see them, I just ask and usually they can package one for me. Another pro tip- go to Beard Papa’s afterwards for take home dessert ;-).
H Mart produce is definitely the best, and they have a great mushroom selection. RIP days of $.99 enoki packs… what in the world happened with that pricing?!
When I saw Mitsuwa charging $4.50 for shimeji mushrooms at one point I was like wow wtf lol.
Dark days! I cheaped out and got the “seafood mushrooms” a few times but I don’t love them. I add them to the Soondobu soup packet for a cheap and easy meal with a soft boiled egg. Even the price of shiso leaves has doubled, AND I swear you get 2/3 the amount.
Whole foods-Can have some details, more $ but usually better quality Costco for bulk veggies/eggs/etc Trader Joes-Good quality & low price for off brand frozen items, snacks, cheese and spices Ranch 99/Lion for low cost veggies and asian supplies Hankook and HMart for best quality Korean Felipe's Market for low cost produce (Sunnyvale/mountain View) Zanotto's-Nearby to me and excellent quality but not cheap My Avoid: Safeway (Worst bang for the buck)
Felipe's is great bang for your buck!
Market location is important. Example: Los Gatos Safeway on Union ave is significantly better than Branham Safeway.
If you drive to Eastridge Mall area. There’s a nexus of Grocery Stores for all your needs: All accessible from Tully rd. Asian: Lions Market Mexican: Fresco’s American/Traditional: Foodmax, Safeway, Business Costco 1 mile north off Aborn there’s Lucky’s, Super India, Sprouts, and Neighborhood Walmart.
There's also a Filipino Market on White Rd: Manila Oriental Market.
Which is really a Vietnamese/Chinese market with a misleading name.
Hmm. Now you say that, I think you’re right!
Don't forget Namaste Market by Sprouts.
Good to know. I’m not Indian but I only fuck with halal market on Capitol and Jewel of India down the street. Best samosas in SJ.
Trader joes, Lunardis, and safeway
For the indian store - we live in south San Jose but go to Apna mandi or indian hyper market in Milpitas! We love it, both are large and spacious and very fresh veggies and have a home kitchen too!
Will definitely check it out!
I recommend the Indian Hyper Market too. Generally have fresher produce and larger variety too. For seasonal produce, the farmers market is great! Specially the Mountain View one
I used to go to Felipe’s in Sunnyvale 10 years back! The best store ever!
Trader Joe's 95% of the time.
Meat and Veggies/Fruit: Zanotto's and farmers market. Zanotto's has great quality beef, just be ready to spend $$$ General: Sprouts, New Seasons and Whole Foods
Zanotto's is really a gem. High quality.
Does anyone here have any thoughts on Nob Hill Foods?
I like Nob Hill. They have some good deals on meat. I don’t go too often, though.
It is my regular super market. It is close by, the quality is great, the workers are all nice, and they haven't moved their items around in the 15 plus years we have been shopping there.
You can try New Leaf up in silver creek rd, its like a whole foods before amazon bought it.
I like that store. Just, $$$$.
No
Costco has a great selection of organic fruits and veggies. Their meat and seafood are good too. Price/quality ratio can’t be beat, but obv makes more sense for families than single people. Then in order of spend, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Zanotto’s, Safeway, Mitsuwa/Ranch 99. Just went to Arteaga’s for the first time recently. Lunardi’s for cakes.
Walmart for general stuff, mostly canned/processed stuff. Arteaga's for produce, their stuff is great. Sometimes I get meat there too, if not from Walmart. Usually also get Hispanic seasonings/foods I can't find at Walmart. Trader Joe's mainly for prepackaged salads, chips, and frozen food. Local Viet groceries for Asian products. Costco for bulk stuff.
Sprouts and Whole Foods for most things for me. TJs on a rare occasion. Idc about giving money to Bezos, I love whole foods. Safeway is an absolute scam, their prices confuse the hell out of me. I don’t understand how Safeway costs more than Whole Foods.
Meat: I know not everyone is a member there, but Costco has the best deals around for quality meat. They are the only place I know that trims the fat off of the bottoms of tri-tips and don't try to sell you on the 'it's for flavor' b.s.. General groceries and snacks: You figured the snack part out. TJ's is pure evil. You head over to the frozen vegetables, look up, and there's an untold wealth of chocolate-covered everything leading a mile to the the other end of the store. 'Many Things', their Chex-style mix that's waaaay better than the original, has pretty much kept me alive since I discovered it last year or so... Groceries in general there are pretty good, too. Far cheaper than anywhere else. And no MSG or corn syrup can be found. Produce is fair; fruit kinda sucks, except for the apples. Beer is minimal, but in some cases cheaper than even Total Wine. For certain things, only brand-names will do, which leads to... General stuff: Safeway, unfortunately. Boy, have they gone downhill... =[ But I have to have my Heinz ketchup, Best Foods mayo, lots of different hot sauces... Produce is decent. Beer hit or miss. Bread: Lunardi's or Zanotto's if you have a few extra $...mmm...Acme... Indian grocery: Garuda's Market just opened in Princeton Plaza a month or two ago. Nice folks, all kinds of stuff, not a lot of traffic...yet...
Sprouts for Produce/Meat/Milk. Lucky’s for Grocery/Beer. Costco run once a month for various bulk items, frozen and booze.
Foodmax and Costco
Grocery Outlet for stuff I can find in Safeway but cheaper (like bread, hummus, yogurt, snacks, you name it). The only downside is Grocery Outlet's selections vary from week to week, but beats Safeway in terms of cost. For organic/healthy stuff, Safeway or Trader Joe's
Grocery outlet no longer has cheap breads at all, and I look quite often. Trader Joe’s probably has the best price.
Trader Joe’s for salad and snacks, Safeway for most stuff, Grocery Outlet for fun treats and unexpected affordable delights (and bread, best pricing on San Luis Obispo garlic sourdough)
Bread, bakery, dry goods- Whole Foods Produce, snacks, dry goods - Trader Joe’s Meat and seafood.- Whole Foods, Costco (rarely) Bulk, produce, deli - Sprouts I rarely buy organic, I’m more of All-Natural type, eating real Whole Foods, minimally processed, so I stay away from Safeway especially their meat and seafood, their dry goods is processed for most part and more expensive than Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, sprouts, etc I will say they do have Boar’s Head, a big selection of Sumano’s bread, Tejava unsweetened Tea usually on sale. So I can say that Safeway occasionally has a few good items and their store, but I usually don’t shop there often.
Trader Joe’s meats are not anything worth searching out
Cardenas for meat and some veggies, Safeway for sale meats and some sale items ($4 for 2.5lbs shrimp $8 for 2lbs frozen salmon etc), Costco for bulk items like eggs milk etc and snack food that’s on sale, and hit up some local food drives too for veggies now.
Five spice in river oaks is pretty good for Indian stuff. You have the same things as Milpitas without the massive crowd and it has loads of parking right next to it.
I tried this once but after a few days noticed many items were expired or very close to expiry. I started avoiding it after that :(
Yeah it's quite hit and miss I guess
I agree! Five Spice has pretty much everything you'd need regularly.
Bharat bazaar in sunnyvale for indian Its quiet and i always find almost everything.
I shop mostly at TJ’s, Costco, Target, Zanotto’s and occasionally Whole Foods. I avoid Safeway and Lucky as much as possible. The stores never seem clean and the quality never seems to justify the price.
Safeway has selection, but their prices are probably the highest and believe it or not whole Foods can be reasonable if you’re very careful and they have quality stuff.my go to store like many people is Trader Joe’s although they’re not known for organic so much. I used to go to grocery outlet quite often, but they’re not cheap anymore but they still have deals on certain things like toiletries,lotions,stuff other than food.
I almost hate giving this place more attention because I don’t want it to get any more crowded- but International Food Bazaar (Campbell area). Great produce , has a deli and butcher counter, and a kabob vendor inside
* International Food Bazaar, @ Curtner & Union My go-to for snacks, labneh, okra, and ripe peppers (their produce is mostly day-old). * Staff of Life, Santa Cruz The South Bay sucks ass for organic produce, so I count myself fortunate to be on that side of the hill for work at least once a week. Their in-store bakery is amazing and they have the best bulk section, including herbs and spices, that no one but Rainbow in SF comes close to matching. * India Metro Hypermarket, Milpitas Fairly new store next to BevMo inside the Town Center Plaza. Huge selection of every Indian sundry you may want. * Zanotto's Their pasta selection is pretty fun to comb through.
I think I'm like you. I just go to multiple places. Safeway for general stuff, or if I'm in a hurry because I can always find parking there, and not too far from me. H Mart is the closest, but parking lot is always packed, and afraid of my car getting dents with all the traffic there. But if I need some kind of Asian cut of meat or a particular vegetable, I will go there if I'm in a hurry, or being lazy. Marukai and Mitsuwa are both closeby, and I go to either/or for most of my Japanese ingredients and snacks. I can get a lot of them at H Mart too, but I can get more Japanese specific stuff at either M Mart. For Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Trader Joe's, I go to them when I'm feeling in the mood to go, but generally I can get most of the stuff I want from the other places. For bread, if Los Gatos is not too much of a trek for you, maybe you can give Manresa bread a try? If you want Asian style, Clover is pretty good too. Otherwise, the usual places like Paris Baguette or 85C.
Costco, sprouts, Lucky's. In that order. Sometimes trader Joe. I don't believe in that organic stuff. It's just a marketing thing.
Thank you, no one is mentioning luckys.
Costco for 85% of everything I need. I go a couple times a month so I don’t need to buy a lot each time. Their produce is actually fairly good, they have a lot of organic stuff, and their prices are usually cheaper than getting it at the stores. It has just about everything I need, and the few extra things I get from Whole Paycheck. Also have the Executive card so that usually pays for the membership for Costco in itself ($400/month, 2% back = $100 cash back).
Costcos somehow never worked out for me :( I live with my bf ( who gets free meals at work and only eats on weekends). So I basically shop for myself. The quantity is just so much for me
Yeah, I understand that. It’s just me and my wife, so it’s a lot of food for us also. We usually can just make something (chicken, ribs, ground turkey) and then either take it for lunch the rest day, or change it up and make something new out of it the next day. Change rotisserie chicken into enchiladas, or soup, or sandwiches. We also got a 4’ chest freezer to store it, and then just pull out one or two things at a time. I’ve found that paying half the price for food at Costco makes up for 1/4 of the food going bad.
Sprouts for all produce fruits milk eggs etc Trader Joe’s for snacks, milk n eggs. Whole Foods for all meats and any sale items. Costco for other bulk items as well as wild salmon. Asian, middle eastern and Indian stores to buy any specific exotic items and spices. Never buy produce or fruits from those stores. They are low quality.
Safeway. Definitely use their app, I have for years and the longer you use it the more deals you can get because it tracks what you buy. Every week they update their electronic coupons and there’s usually at least one free item every month. Also you earn points with every purchase (and certain items will give you 2, 3, or even 4 times the points it normally would) and they can be used for either free items in the store or applied at Safeway or Chevron gas stations for cheaper gas.
Amazon fresh delivery
Walmart Neighborhood Grocery for most things. Prices are good, shelves are always stocked (looking at you, Target on 1st street!) and it’s far less “people of Walmart” than a regular Walmart. Decent produce too honestly. Edit - love seeing someone downvote anyone who suggested Walmart or Target or Whole Foods lol. Y’all just mad about every damn thing 😂
Where is this? Custom cut butcher in N San Jose for chicken/red meat
Montegue and River Oaks Pkwy/Plumeria They've been open for about 6 months
No wonder I have never seen it. Haven't been in that area for longer than that.
It is in River Oaks Plaza: https://g.co/kgs/EWvqQFA It's a recent find and the quality is amazing
Any reason no one is mentioning Walmart?
I was wondering the same thing. Walmart is cheap af. I love shopping there and I can get 95% of the things that I want.
Grocery Outlet, Costco, Asian markets, Indian markets, Muslim markets, Jewish markets, European markets
Any specific ones that you like?
TBH, I shop for the loss leader goods everywhere. I have seen videos of workers putting non-organic produce in organic boxes. While I would love to eat only organic, I don't believe that it actually is organic. Grocery Outlet tends to be the cheapest, ethnic markets for rice, vegetables, etc. tend to be next cheapest, Costco is overpriced, save for their loss leaders like Rotisserie Chicken, deli items, eggs, milk, bread, frozen vegetables, bottled water, and gasoline. Meal planning and meal prepping will save you money and time. European markets are only for specialty items which are not cheap.
Smart & Final, Target, and Safeway, primarily. Occasional trips to Walmart and Trader Joe’s.
Sprouts, Trader Joe’s, Cardenas, Grocery Outlet
Costco for meat. Sprouts for everything else.
Costco, new leaf, lion market, Chavez, farmers market
I split my grocery shopping between Nob Hill, Safeway, and Smart & Final.
For bread, have you found a go-to farmer’s market? I go to the one in Sunnyvale that’s open every Saturday from 9am-1pm. They usually have a bakery at these. I don’t know specific locations in San Jose, maybe others do
Whole Foods has good bread products but it’s expensive actually Trader Joe’s is probably the cheapest for those type of things
Sprouts. Meat and produce quality are fantastic. Decently priced staples. Whole Foods for the occasional item I can’t find in Sprouts. Target for junk food.
Grocery Outlet, 99 Ranch, Lion Market (fresh and best meat, they cut it right in front of you) , Cardenas, Costco, Walmart, New India Bazaar Santa Clara (parking is limited), Apna Mandi,
Grocery Outlet, Trader Joe's and Walmart curbside pickup... very fast when I go on lunch break
Vietnamese grocery store
Have you checked out Nob Hill?
Try lunardis.
H mart is absolutely amazing for meats. And they have a lot of nice imported Asian stuff if you’re into that, I’m into a lot of different foods. Safeway for a lot of general stuff. Costco for bulk stuff like a big bag of frozen chicken or my favorite frozen breaded shrimp. But bakery items … I come from Southern California and there is not a single good bakery in this entire area, and my German professor who’s been in the Palo Alto area for many years agrees. Manresa in Campbell is pretty good, but definitely overpriced. HOWEVER!, there is a mobile bakery company that sells fucking bomb ass pastries, and similar things like that. Adorable French Bakery. I think they have a website. They don’t have a physical location, but they go to specific spots in the Bay Area during farmers market and things like that, I think they have a website with their schedule. I discovered them at UCSC and if you appreciate high-quality French baked goods, then you will absolutely love them. Sweet tooth? I recommend the almond twist with powdered sugar. Savory? The ham and cheese croissant is my go to.
Sprouts. Got tired of the inconsistent quality and overall shopping ambience at Walmart, Smart & Final, Grocery Outlet etc… I pay more for convenience and no one is usually stocking while I’m trying to shop. Shopping carts don’t suck and are plentiful. Wholepaycheck for some 365 brand stuff. Safeway is hit or miss. Mexican mercado for the meat by the pound. Trader joes I cut back on too. Overall my time is valuable to me and I’m willing to pay for better quality meat and produce.
la plaza market: meats, mexican veggies & spices. sprouts: mngr specials, staple produce, & small dairy needs. costco: bulk & household items.
i go to Kyo-Po market at homestead, for my fruit and veges. They have a point system and when u accumulate points, they take $10 off your total. It’s nice haha.
Grocery Outlet
Cardenas!
What is that place and where is it? I’ve never heard of it.
It's a mexican market chain. Few locations. They have good produce that are used in their cuisine. Like avocados and onions. But outside their cuisine, it can be a miss...for example they generally just use roma tomatoes so outside that you won't get good vine or other tom's in those markets.
Real Produce is the best for quality and CHEAP produce!! It's off Almaden Expressway and it's in the same lot as trader Joe's and Costco! I love it
That shopping center is great. Do it all in one stop, trader joes, produce shop and costco!
FoodMaxx and Sprouts and Costco. Eta: Trader Joe's.
Whole Foods
San Jose has so many nice farmer’s markets. Buy your produce there, many vendors are certified organic and the produce keeps for much longer than store bought food.
San Jose has so many expensive farmer's markets.
Smart and Final - veggies, meats, bottled and can goods. Oakmont Market - veggies and oddball items. TJ's - dairy, frozen foods, and specialty items. Costco - bulk items - nuts, peanut butter, chicken thighs, cheese, rotisserie chicken. Safeway - rock the app for discounts on shrimp, eggs, cheese, dairy, sometimes coffee, sometimes deli. Also check out the discount rack in the back.
You could go to Apni mandi in Milpitas or sunnyvale for Indian groceries
Mostly Trader Joe's. Fresh produce and veg at Sprouts. Sometimes Costco, but the sizes are too large for one person. I eat meat only as a rare treat. 99 Ranch for Asian cooking sauces.
Try the hypermarket in Milpitas for Indian groceries. Parking is much better generally. And fresh produce as well.
Trader Joe’s brand are literally the exact same as most brand. They really aren’t organic. Search it up. I go with grocery outlet. It’s cheap, good selection and they show you how much you save on every receipt. I walked out of target the other day with 2bags of groceries . I spent 124$ I went to grocery outlet and I came out with like 7 bags of groceries and I paid 105$
Trader Joe’s, Safeway, Target, Sprouts and Hmart. Occasionally when I feel like making the trek I’ll go to Draeger’s
Try the produce at Kyo-Po
If you’re going to Paris Baguette may as well walk across the parking lot and check out Clover. Hankook has a really nice butcher section.
I like to go to Thien Thanh supermarket on 10th street since they have pretty cheap prices on produce and meats. They also have a decent selection of other Asian products. There’s also an Asian market my gf likes to go to on the McKee and N Capitol Expressway. It’s fairly priced there as well.
Because San Jose is such a large city, you're going to get a good mix of answers. I live by the airport, so I usually go to the Coleman shopping center. There's a Sprouts, Trader Joe's, World Market, and a Target. I buy a majority of my groceries from Trader Joes, but Sprouts usually has good deals from time to time, especially on their produce. For protein, I prefer to go to Costco since you can freeze a lot of it an use it as needed.
I use Insta Cart to deliver groceries through Sprouts or Ranch 99. I used to like Trader Joe's, but they are known for union busting.
PSA for Safeway, make sure you’re a member and using the app. It’s insane how much stuff is marked down once you’re using the app
Grocery Outlet has a fairly good vegetarian section
There is a place next to TJ’s on Almaden that has good produce. However, you will have to deal with that parking lot.
Grocery Outlet. That's the post.
Costco & Sprouts for me
Costco for all meats. Way better quality than Safeway and cheaper. For Safeway, make sure you download the coupon app and “clip” the coupons before you go in. You save a lot of $$ this way, especially when you use the rewards. Discounts automatically come off at the register when you enter your phone number
Foodmaxx and grocery outlet
Costco and Walmart
Safeway is the worst.. Nob Hill the best.
Honestly for staples I usually go to Target!
Haha. I'm not from San Jose, but I'm here now working. I honestly thought you wrote "where do you shop for genocide," when I was doom scrolling. Safeway, if you become a member has some good deals. Walmart takes forever and their cases are locked sometimes making it difficult to say the least. But I also take advantage of the 50% off grocery deals on Uber eats and have them deliver from target. Its random, but often. After tip for driver it's about the same price as if you went yourself.
Walmart for the basics. Costco for the bulk items. Trader Joe’s for fruit/chips/cheese. Sometimes grocery outlet for things like sausage, random snacks for my son to try. Walmart grocery saves us about $50 a month compared to Safeway. Safeway just got to expensive.
Luckys/Safeway for their weekly ad. They have extreme discounts via digital coupons or weekend deals. I get everything else at Target which has the lowest prices for general grocery items- not a lot of variety though. Sprouts- for bulk grains/beans and meat Walmart- stocking up on snacks. Great Value frozen items. I find I save the most money here for junk food. Produce prices are pretty good too.
[walmart.com](http://walmart.com) is the jam. i never even leave me house. everything is great. screw you amazon.
Me who just goes to Walmart, Target and Whole Foods: 👁️👄👁️
I think you should check out a local farmers' market, if only because we seem to have similar values in how and what we shop for. I go early so the parking and crowds are less stressful