I recently performed and unintended experiment in frugality. I ended up having to cook Vietnamese Pho 3 times in one week. Its a long story, but I was bragging about my Pho and 4 or 5 co-workers wanted to taste it and we all couldn't be in the same place on the same night, so I just cooked it 3 times at 3 different houses (I was working at our home office out of my home state for a few weeks).
The first night (cooking for 3 people), I stopped at Whole Foods and picked up what I needed (broth, spices/herbs, noodles, meat, veggies etc). The bill was $88 -- mostly the meat and way overpriced spices like $7 Cloves and $6.50 Star Anise.
The second night (cooking for 3 again), I was closer to a regular grocery store and bought the spices from the international aisles not the regular spice aisles. The bill was $46 and change. Almost half the price.
The third night I cooked for a group of 12. This time I was close to a Vietnamese grocer. All together and for 3x the quantity of most of the items the bill was $31. And I was able to buy 12 really good quality Pho bowls for $5.99 each which are now displayed in a high glass cabinet in the house.
Its an obvious no-brainer that WF, regular grocer, and small international grocer would see drastic price differences, but it was the quality that caught my attention.
The quality of WF to the regular grocer was almost identical. No real difference in taste and consistency.
The quality of the Pho made from the Vietnamese grocers was superior to both. Cheaper, better tasting, and a better final product that was more authentic.
September 29, 2017 at 02:54PM
