Nashville Food Blog

Freckled bananas, obvs. The best deal around is the big bags of freckledy bananas at Harris Teeter for $1. It's banana bread season, you know.

And the K&S market has a bargain fruit/vegetable section. It's usually a variety of stuff thrown together, with at least one exhibiting some mold, but you can easily pick out the bad stuff and you've still got a bargain. Very convenient with bell peppers because they can be frozen.

Bargain meat...I shudder at the thought.

For those carnivores who prefer their meat aged, the bargain bin is the only way to go. Sounds odd, I know, but it's true - that bacteria does make it more tender. You just have to know you're either going to use it or freeze it pronto.

As for the K&S bargain veggies, I love the opportunities provided there. you're not an ugly american for your fear, you're just disadvantaged. Basic rule of thumb - they either have what you want or you don't. You don't buy (only) because of the price, you buy because you're going to use it and you wanted it anyway (and it looks ok). Trust me, I've thrown out loads more tomatoes and blueberries and strawberries from the unseen bottoms of more 'american' produce pre-selected packages than I have ever from those at K&S.

And their pre-peeled garlic makes the big containers at Costco look like a big expensive joke.

Haha! I'm so flattered to be compared to my old friend Mary Hance. Don't know how she would feel about it.

My mother's ex used to call it the Bad Meat Bin. My neighborhood Kroger just started allocating one small section of a shelf to their "bad meat." I've never seen anything other than chicken on the bad meat shelf, and yes, I've bought it on occasion.

I've also been known to buy a loaf of bakery bread now and then from the stale bread bin.