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Earlier this week, the always-interesting kottke.org pointed to a couple of pieces on 99-cent fine dining. First, from the March 21st episode of National Public Radio’s Day to Day, comes a story about cooking gourmet with 99¢ food.
These days, the idea of making a three-course meal for a family of four for less than $20 can seem impossible. Unless, that is, you shop at the 99¢ Only Stores. There are more than 200 of them throughout the West — not to mention other bargain variations like the Dollar Store — true to their name, everything costs exactly 99 cents.
Christiane Jory thoroughly embraces this fact in her book, The 99¢ Only Stores Cookbook. The idea may sound silly, but the book is filled with recipes for gourmet items like gruyere beignets, salmon souffle and Pinot Noir poached pear tarts. Many of the recipes have been adapted from culinary classics like the Joy of Cooking and the Moosewood Cookbook.
Don’t miss “The 99-Cent Evangelist” in the sidebar, a debate over frugality: Can produce bought in a discount store really be worthwhile? On a related note, the March 26th issue of The New York Times featured an article from Henry Alford about how to survive in New York on 99 cents:
When I heard that the food you can buy at 99-cent stores is more diverse than you might imagine, I decided to conduct an experiment. I’d make dinner every night for a week using mostly ingredients bought at these stores and then, on the eighth night — once I’d gotten my game down — I’d prepare a meal for friends made only from ingredients bought at 99-cent stores.
Both stories note that cooking with food from the 99-cent store requires creativity — you can never be sure what will be available. And, of course, the selection isn’t as wide as at a traditional grocery store.
Alford’s climactic dinner for friends is impressive, but less so due to the insane lengths he goes to in order to locate ingredients. “Over the course of three days, I visited 21 more 99-cent stores in Manhattan, including 12 in Harlem and Washington Heights, 4 in Chinatown and 1 in Spanish Harlem.” Right. That’s not exactly practical for somebody considering this is a lifestyle choice and not just a lark. For that much trouble and travel, you might as well shop at a regular grocery store, where there are plenty of frugal options.
Do any of you buy your groceries at the dollar store? Can you really make healthy, tasty meals from the food you find there? Or are stories like these mere novelties?
(You may also be interested in another New York Times story about a sort of 99¢ Iron Chef.)
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March 30th, 2008 at 9:36 am
The one near my house has mostly processed box food and cans of chili, soup, etc, but no cans of veggies or refritos or things like that. I could probably make a meal out of what I can find there, but it wouldn’t be all that healthy and I wouldn’t want to do it very often. Well, I could totally do pasta and sauce there for the rest of my life, probably. Or chips and salsa.
March 30th, 2008 at 9:54 am
As an Italian, pasta with a little olive oil and a few capers, goes a long way. You can always put anise seeds in your sauce (canned costs less) to give the illusion of sausage. If you’re Asian, or simply love that type of food (and I do) you can skip the 99 cent store and go to the local Asian market to pick up a 25 lb bag of rice. You’d be amazed how far that goes and how little rice costs. It’s your base for many dishes and fried rice in the morning is a worldwide staple. Also, buying beans in dried form is less expensive, and a great source of protein and fiber.
March 30th, 2008 at 10:44 am
I’m not a big fan of canned and boxed foods generally, so I can’t speak to the 99¢ thing. But I can second the recommendation for pasta as a cheap and healthy way to eat. $5 gets me enough pasta, broccoli, and garlic (assuming you always have olive oil on hand, which we do) to have my favorite lunch 5 days of the week. Some of the best meals I’ve had have been based on these general rules, all of which are right up frugal alley.
March 30th, 2008 at 10:55 am
One of the things I’ve found is that our local dollar store is *not* always the cheapest for everything. Which makes sense, really. So there’s some stuff there that at our local grocery would only be $.79 or $.89–and that could make a difference over a long period of time. I’m not above shopping there but you have to be careful. I remember last winter noticing that they had boxes of cocoa mix for a dollar, which was the same price that the grocery had them for when they were on sale. But the dollar store’s boxes had two fewer packets of cocoa. It made more sense to wait for the sale.
March 30th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Unfortunately, the only dollar stores in my area have a very limited supply of food… mostly cereals, some condiments, and aisles of nothing but candy
In any case, I’ve found you can get pretty inexpensive meals made if you just bargain shop for the ingredients… plus, if you watch your portion sizes (switch to smaller dinner plates, it’ll make a WORLD of difference), you don’t eat as much food, which means your groceries will stretch a lot farther 
And your waistline will thank you!
->Sybbis; Good job noticing the difference in cocoa packets. One trick I’ve picked up is to look at the “price per oz/piece/whatever” which is usually even posted in fine print under or next to the total cost. Frequently, the item you THINK should be a better price actually isn’t. For instance, I’ve become addicted to microwave Kettle Korn… last time I was at the store, I noticed they had the large 8 pack boxes (I usually can only find 3 pack boxes). I was pretty excited, until I did the math and realized that the 8 pack worked out to ~$1.85/pack, whereas the 3 pack was only $1.60/pack. Small difference, but yeah, in the long run that .15/pack does add up.
March 30th, 2008 at 11:15 am
Fair to say I’ve never seen any of the NY Times article ingredients in our local dollar stores, but I haven’t investigated too closely either.
BxCapricorn, I’m married to a (South) Asian guy and talking to our local Bangladeshi store owners, they have seen HUGE increases in the cost of rice recently. It’s still a deal, but the inflation is definitely being passed on to the shoppers.
Another thing that generally costs 99 cents at South Asian groceries are packets of pre-mixed spices - for biryanis, curries, kebabs, etc. We stock up on a whole bunch of them for 99c each and always have them handy in the pantry for days when we want to get through the last chicken, veggies, rice, or bread in the house.
March 30th, 2008 at 11:31 am
The 99 cent stores in my area are wonderful. Lots of fresh produce, eggs, yogurt, bread. The only thing is you can’t count on certain items being there. I stop at the 99 cent store first and then if I’m missing a few things go to the regular grocery store. Everything I buy at the 99 cent store is 50% off or more than the regular supermarket, it’s incredible.
March 30th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
No, I don’t shop for food at the dollar store available to me. What they carry is largely processed, canned food full of HFCS and I don’t eat processed foods. I won’t even buy regular ketchup anymore.
I won’t buy the rice and pasta there because I eat only brown rice and whole grain pasta.
March 30th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
I’ve gotten in the habit of buying some items at Wal-Mart. You get big bags of chicken breast for less than the price of one pound at the grocery store. And their deli meat and cheese, while not gourmet, is pretty good and dirt cheap. Plus most of the canned goods are great.
So I take a trip there once a month to get chicken, beef, and deli meat, and all I have to buy at the local store is produce, bread, and dairy. My grocery bills are MUCH lower and I make fewer trips now.
March 30th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Yeah, I can’t imagine shopping at a dollar store for food. Nearly every item there can be found cheaper at Trader Joe’s or Safeway, on sale or not. Unless the dollar stores where the writers live are wildly different from the ones I’ve seen, I think this is a terrible idea.
(Grocery Outlet, on the other hand, is awesome. And the Japanese dollar store chain Daiso sometimes has Japanese food items cheaper than at the Japanese or Chinese grocery store around here.)
March 30th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
I used to live down the street from the 99 cent store in Venice and I was surprised to see how many name brand things they had from the regular stores, for much cheaper, and none of it was “expired.” Heck they even had Coke Zero for a dollar a 4 pack for a while.
At one point a number of organic stores in SoCal went out of business, and suddenly there was tons of organic beans and the like for super cheap.
True there’s some stuff like “Eazee Cheez” (sic) that looks rather awful, but for other items it’s pretty much the same old stuff. It really depends on what their buyers are able to pull in for cheap
March 30th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
In the same type of vein, I remember someone who actually cooked a meal with only food from a convenience store.
I’m trying to dig it up for you all. It was a well written article with pictures and all.
I’ll let you know when I find it.
March 30th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
if you are in the UK and near a lidles the fruit and veg is fantastic value. If you are a cook from scratch person you can really cut food bills but again they don’t always have the same ingredients in all the time.
March 30th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I aim for $1 per meal per person. I buy a lot of things for less than 99 cents - boxes of mac & cheese at 4/$1, bags of pasta shells at 5/$1, cans of tuna at 2/$1, canned tomato sauce at 4/$1, loads of cabbages, onions, apples, bananas…
Speaking of which, I’ve never heard of a 99 cent store having fresh produce. Must be a regional thing.
March 30th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
I’ve stopped buying “cheap” food. I now only buy organic foods grown and processed in Canada & the US. Much of the stuff at dollar stores is from countries with questionable pesticide and food handling policies. And a lot of it is full of crap or even expired!
March 30th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
I have shopped for food at 99 cent or $1 stores, but depending on the store, it’s not always more frugal. If it’s 2 for a $1, then it would be.
Some dollar stores like Dollar Tree carry a lot of foods, but at a flat $1 per item, regardless of the item, it is not always a better deal than you can find at a grocery store or Walmart where you can buy the same canned or packaged foods for under a dollar.
I have also shopped at some dollar stores in the past that imported snacks from foreign countries that were hard to find at regular grocery stores. So if the store has foreign foods and snacks for $1, then you’re probably getting a good price.
So it depends on what you are buying and the area you’re shopping in. If you’re buying regular types of food that are also readily available elsewhere, you might want to do a little price comparison first.
March 30th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
It’s really hit or miss. The Dollar Tree in San Diego, CA has a limited supply of food and it’s stuff I’m hardly ever likely to use, so I never buy from there. I will buy some dry staples and snacks from Big Lots. The 99Cents store in Camarillo, CA, though, carries produce, and will have some spices and other dry foods that I will use, so if I’m there, I walk through the foods section.
For the most part, if you combine sales and coupons, the big chain grocery stores are better deals. And are almost always better quality.
March 30th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
I think, no matter where you shop, there are bargains to be had, and clever ways to do things. I use a bulk butcher, the farmers market, and the closest grocery store. But here are a couple of blogs who do it way better than me (and they’re american, so probably more relevant).
Frugal Cuisine
This food is awesome. I made his blue cheese pasta recipe last week:
frugalcuisine.blogspot.com
$40 a week
OK, she hasn’t posted for a while, but her menus and menu plans are awesome. There’s every gourmet treat you can imagine (and heaps of organics) all for the princely sum of $40 a week:
http://www.candyrecapper.com/blog
March 30th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
i don;t pay hardly anything for food. i go around all the stores and resturants and ask for their throw aways at closing time. they all know me by now and i know which places to go on any day of the week. there is nothing wrong with the food. by law they must throw away at end of day. such a wasteful society, you americans.
March 30th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
The question shouldn’t be, “how cheap can I eat?”. In college I lived on Ramen noodles and hotdogs. Needless to say that is no way to live unless you are in poverty, which I was.
Tell me how to eat healthy fresh produce for less. That would be much more interesting. It seems that eating healthy in America is the most expensive way to eat. You’d think since healthy foods are less processed and use fewer resources they’d be cheaper. It’s sad that an organic red bell pepper is more expensive than a big mac.
March 30th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
You can drown in tips of how to eat cheaply and healthily, but these tips are IMHO the most effective:
1. Focus on eating dried legumes, SEASONAL produce and tubers. Get whole grains too if they are affordable.
2. Make your food yourself as much as possible.
3. Be aware of the things you buy at all of the places you can shop.
Eating healthy can be cheap with these tips, perhaps as cheap as a ramen & hotdog diet if you factor in medical bills over time as well as lost productivity from a lack of energy.
March 30th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
I buy a couple of items at the local Dollar Tree — they have a few different kinds of pickled peppers at a pretty good price. I’ve seen Muir Organic diced tomatoes there 2/$1 every so often, and stocked up when I did. One of the local Dollar Tree’s has a frozen food section, but I remember it being mostly full of junk food.
I also shop at Big Lots when I’m in that area, as they have good deals on cereal, day old bread, and a few gourmet items.
Sav-A-Lot is a local discount grocery where I do a large proportion of my shopping, particularly for staples.
Most fresh vegetables that I eat come from the weekly farmer’s market, or local produce stands. I can find a better variety and better quality there for less than they cost in the chain grocery stores.
March 30th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
I’ve never seen a dollar store in these parts that sold fresh anything. Must be a regional difference.
Since I try to avoid processed foods, I don’t buy in dollar stores because they don’t carry real food. However, there’s a downscale chain called Food City, which mostly caters to Mexicans. And that place DOES have bargains on produce and other goods. The selection is limited, but when other stores sell lemons for 50 cents apiece, this place has them ten for a dollar, and Key limes twenty for a dollar.
I buy meat at Costco, which carries far better quality beef, lamb, chicken, and fish than the local Safeways, Albertsons, etc. for about the same price; then I buy produce at Food City for a fraction of the price that I would get it elsewhere. The only problem is, it has to be used quickly, because it’s often already ripe. Which is the way I like my produce anyway.
March 30th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
As I read this post, I was munching from a can of peanuts I bought at the Dollar Tree. I have to say as a college student that I shop at the Dollar Tree frequently (probably more than I should) because it’s one of the few stores within my budget.
I would say that the Dollar Tree and other deep discount stores are better for personal and cleaning products (items like shampoo, body wash, sponges, etc) than food.
But if you’re careful and have an idea of what items cost in local grocery stores, you can stretch the pennies. For example, I got a 4-pack of popcorn for $1, versus a 6-pack of popcorn for over $3 at my local grocery store. Also, I picked up two boxes of baking soda for $1.
March 30th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
I go to the discount grocery chain first for almost everything including produce. Dried beans are bought fifty weight at the hispanic grocery store and 25 weight of rice at the asian grocery. A local butcher is cheaper for meat, it’s better quality too.
For the four kids and me including lunches I spend $100.00 a week. My husband an OTR truck driver cooks his own meals in his truck in a crock pot. He spends between $30-$35 dollars a week. He also eats a balanced diet.
This is $36.00 more than I spent last year per week. I am always on the look out for ways to cut the grocery bill. With prices going up like they are, I don’t thik I’ll get much releif when my son goes to colege in the fall.
March 30th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
No way would I eat anything from a 99¢ store. I assume everything there to have been made in China and to be contaminated with lead, mercury and god knows what else.
March 30th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
I shop regularly for produce at the 99 cent only store. It really depends on your locale. There’s one right on my way to work that has a great selection. I’ve been to other stores that don’t carry as much as mine. The produce section is consistent, although the type of produce can be limited. I usu. get bell peppers (they have 3 red bell peppers for $1), bagged organic lettuce hearts, cauliflower, potatoes, tomatoes, squash (These are pretty consistent produces). I’ve also bought from time to time mushrooms, blackberry and blueberries, celery, cucumber, broccoli, etc.
They also carry fruits, I’ve bought oranges, apples, pears, kiwi, plums, etc. Their fruits tends to be on the small side, and sometimes you get cheaper prices on sale at the grocery store. But with the price of gas nowadays, I’m ok with paying 50c more for one of my produce rather than making another trip just to get a single loss leader somewhere else. If the fruit is smaller, I’ll just make up for it by eating two instead of one. It still comes out cheaper even if I eat it two at a time. Where else could you get 6 kiwis for $1? Not the farmer’s market, TJ’s or the regular supermarket (not where I live anyway).
So it’ll comes down to your locale. I’ve certainly been to the Dollar Tree before and they don’t carry any fresh produce. Just don’t automatically rule the 99cent store out, you might have one nearby that allows you to eat a healthy varied diet without breaking the bank.
March 30th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
I am glad I live in a place that doesn’t Zone-out shopping options for frugal/poor people. I just go to Walmart or any of the 4 supermarkets within a mile of my house. No need to go to 20 different stores. Though I sometimes go to 2-3 different stores to take advantage of sales and card pricing ( since they are all very close there is no extra gas expense and not much time lost).
I admit, I am not too interested in getting too creative with food. this is probably the one area I consider it more important to buy quality ( and I believe people spend money on things they value, like health). However, shopping the supermarkets saves $$$ as it is.
March 31st, 2008 at 3:24 am
I saw that 99 cent article, and it bugged me. It focused too much on processed and packaged foods. You know the kind. Those with lists of ingredients a mile long, and containing things that you can’t pronounce. And whenever I see “partially hydrogenated” it immediately goes back on the shelf.
These types of foods are really bad for you in the long term, even if they fill you up in the short term.
Buyer Beware!
March 31st, 2008 at 7:15 am
It bears mentioning that a good diet is a great way to save money over the long haul, as poor eating leads to poor health and higher medical expenses. A friend of mine used to say, either you pay for decent food or you pay for the doctor.
It sounds like a lot of people are willing to opt for healthy choices, even if it costs more.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:17 am
The concept is silly. Instead, watch for bargains at your regular store. For instance, at the regular store, I usually buy produce that’s around $1 per pound — a pound goes a long way, and by watching these sales, you can get fresh food that is in season and good for you. Or if I’m really being cheap, I buy from the “scratch and dent” produce section, where I’ve gotten a whole bag of fresh, organic produce for $1.
March 31st, 2008 at 10:44 am
When I lived in LA we went to the 99cent store for some good, but food was never among them…they are reselling unsold merchandise. Lots of the food is in damaged cans and you can NEVER be sure that the can seal hasn’t been broken.
March 31st, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Ironically the dollar store can be more expensive than your local grocery store. I’ve bought items at the dollar store that were 96, 94 cents, and even less at the regular grocery store. So, from now on, I’m careful. Sometimes everything shouldn’t be a dollar. That’s where they get yah!
March 31st, 2008 at 1:33 pm
FYI white rice is probably one of the most unhealthiest things you can eat. No nutritional value in it, just empty carbs.
You’d get the same nutritional value if you ate styrofoam.
Healthy eating is expensive
Unhealty eating is cheap.
Is your body/health worth it?
You decide…
March 31st, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Cheap food from dubious sources means old, overstock or questionably sourced raw ingredients. What if you’re a distributor and you get a shipment of wheat gluten sourced from China with a dubious pedigree? Too much risk for a name brand or a quality store brand, but you know if you keep shopping, somebody will buy it. Enter the funky brands you see at dollar stores. There’s cheap and there’s frugal. Don’t be cheap when it comes to your health. Organic, non-GMO is best. Stay away from processed foods. Join a CSA.
The old “the cans come from the same factory but they put on different labels” is a myth. They may come from the same factory, but the ingredients can differ substantially.
If you really can’t afford more than the cheapest food, buy store brands on sale, buy unprocessed ingredients and cook them yourself.
April 9th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Just to bring attention to most of those whom commented, the article specifically refers to “99 Cents Only” brand stores, not other branches such as Dollar Tree, etc.
I personally shop there and adore the store. I get produce, from lettuce to carrots; pastas, even sandwich meats, like turkey! Like the article mentions, I can’t expect to find the same types of groceries since it varies, though it’s not an hassle at all, since I don’t mind going to another store.
Since their inventory changes, once in awhile it’s nice to find some organic produce to pints of ice cream!
Though those are definitely rare. Thanks for the article, especially since I’m not sure if many people know about their awesome deals.
April 14th, 2008 at 9:12 am
While I have never shopped for food at the $.99 only stores the one by my home has fresh produce and frozen foods. Quite a selection! I thought that maybe quick trips for small items I may need would be something beneficial rather than running into a huge supermarket an spending hours in line for a couple of things.
April 14th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
I’ve had many a meals come directly from Dollar Tree. You can buy inexpensive food items there as long as you are familiar with regular grocery prices at stores such as wal mart. Dollar Tree often has pasta and pasta sauce, which is a meal itself, sometimes for under two dollars (I believe the pasta is two for a dollar).
If you’re okay with not necessarily eating the most healthy food, but want to save money, dollar stores are ideal for most grocery trip. Says a broke college student :]
May 7th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Ha! The New York Times are one step behind me. I too tried to cook a 3 course dinner party with only ingredients from the 99p store (here in the UK).
And this is my website about trying to survive only buying food and other essentials from the pound shop.
http://passmethemalkplease.wordpress.com/
I wouldn’t recommend it!!