Grocery Prices-Are they really that much higher??

[waterguy]

Buy one case of water and a couple of gallon jugs then refill the jugs at STJ ice I think it was .50 a gallon to refill

[lark22]

Waterguy's tip is great (about the gallons & refills)...at Starfish, they keep the cheaper water gallons/cases back behind the checkout counters, just by the exit (you just tell the cashier how many you want, and pick them up as you're leaving).

[mahojim]

BeachKitten-
Sign me up for some of 'dem flapjacks!!!
Smiles-
MJ

[BeachKitten]

RickG! That's the receipt I was talking about in my earlier post. Not too scary at all.

Lark22, the tip on the water purchase is great for us, we will defintely use that idea.

This weekend, I will seriously mess around with the idea of rum pancakes, it does sound good - right? I'm thinking with some bananas, pecans, and a few raisins just for the heck of it.

It may take me a few times to get it right, if it works I'll post the recipe. Oh, what fun I'll have if it doesn't work, I'll just drink the rest of the rum and start again...

To all of you, thanks a bunch for your advice.

BK

[Greenskeeper]

Thanks for the information Rick.

I see your receipt is from Starfish- any reason you or others might prefer that market? The villa owner mentioned Starfish to me but other's have talked about the other 2 mentioned in the article.

[RickG]

We hit Starfish that trip because we had a big group and could get everything in one stop. I actually prefer Pine Peace with Dolphin Market as my second choice. Per the Virgin Islands Daily News article, Dolphin Market had the best prices.

Cheers, RickG

[Lulu76]

I go to Starfish out of convenience, and I'm pretty sure that they know people do that. If I'm looking for something a little out of the ordinary, I know with their selection, they are more likely to have it. I don't want to run from store to store on vacation, so Starfish is easier.

However, on our last trip, we found ourselves stopping at Pine Peace a lot more often. They have great prices, and I even found a few things there that I couldn't get at Starfish.

I find that paying $14.99 for one pound of cheese at Starfish gourmet (and $6 for the crackers to go with it), is offset by the fact that I am paying $5 for a bottle of rum that is $15 at home.

I buy more rum than groceries, anyhow. And you can find deals at any of the markets if you just look around. Starfish often has cheeses with that day's sell-by date marked down to $3/pound (from $15), and if you are planning to eat it by the pool with some wine that night, it's just fine to get it.

This next trip, we're staying at Samuel Cottages, and I'm told it's right by Dolphin Market, so I suspect that we'll go there more often. With the construction last trip, it was out of the way to go there.

[LysaC]

my mil bought a $14 watermelon a coupla years ago.

i thought her head was going to explode when she realized it .

[Greenskeeper]

[quote="Lulu76" I don't want to run from store to store on vacation, so Starfish is easier.


I find that paying $14.99 for one pound of cheese at Starfish gourmet (and $6 for the crackers to go with it), is offset by the fact that I am paying $5 for a bottle of rum that is $15 at home.

[/quote]

That's my thought process for vacation too. Starfish is near our villa so Starfish it will be for our stock the villa shop.

I thought about shipping some cereal snack type items and toiletries until my DH said "You pay for shipping, pay for it being stored and you still have to do some shopping when you get there anyway- what are you really saving- how many boxes of cereal and crackers will be eat in a week anyway?"


Smart man.

[Lulu76]

We sent stuff down this past trip for two reasons:
1. One of the girls going with us had dietary issues and required some very specific types of food for dishes I was preparing (like sugar-free cake mix and pancake syrup)
2. I had found that some items were not as good when I bought them there because of the climate.

Cost-wise, we probably broke even once we shipped everything. And honestly, the box was a little worse for wear when it arrived on St. John.

So, as much as it pains me to pay $3 for a $1 box of pasta, I probably won't send a box down again.

Besides, isn't part of vacation stimulating the local economy?

[Teresa_Rae]

my mil bought a $14 watermelon a coupla years ago.

i thought her head was going to explode when she realized it .

In 2003 we saw a watermelon for $18, and that was on STT so it probably would have been $22-ish on STJ

The worst for me is spending $8 or $9 on a gallon of milk when I’m used to paying less than $2.50.

[Gromit]

I think I was the one who suggested originally that folks regularly try to post their grocery receipts and post gas prices to help folks out and in order to keep some perspective on this issue.

Like everyone said a lot depends on where you hail from and white kinds of foods that you like to eat.

Certain things like powdered gatorade, smoothie mixes, equal, cold brew iced tea bags, zip lock and garbage bags I thend to bring along. Basically anything that's dry and doesn't weigh much but that's likely to be unusual enough to warrant a high price tag.

In addition to Pine Peace and Dolphin I found that Lilly's in Coral Bay (if you're staying on that side)actually had some pretty decent prices on both standard and gourmet items. I was pleasantly surprised.

Our VIVA villa also povdided a Dolphin Market bag and said that anything we could get into it would be 10% off (I think that was the discount).

For me, it costs what it costs and if I want it I want it. But I do try to look at what's available and what the prices are and try to be flexible on the food choices. It definitely helps not to go in with a preconceived notion of what you "have to have."

I have a general idea, but I go with the flow.

If there's something you have to have and are worried about the price, bring it with you.

I would suggest that it would be good to revive the grocery and gas postings for folks again!

Everytime you get back post the prices of a few key items as well as what you paid for gas and where would benefit all!

[BeachKitten]

Gromit:

Again, really good advice. I'm definitely not going to stress over any of this.

We're really not picky so I know we will make this work well for us. We will be satisfied just because of where we are, and count our blessings for this great opportunity.

But you know one thing that hasn't been mentioned is meat and fish.

Any info in this area?

[RickG]

In November I bought sirloin steaks for $6.99 a pound for USDA Choice from Starfish. We had brought our own steaks frozen, but the ones from Starfish were better. $6.99 is actually pretty good prices for VA for USDA Choice from a supermarket. My local butcher is more like $12 per pound for Organic USDA Choice, custom cut.

We get fish from the local fisherman at Natures Nook or across from Crabby's - Mahi Mahi/Dolphinfish, Tuna and Wahoo - fast movers with little ciguatera risk. It's around $5 per pound as unscaled and unboned steaks.

Cheers, RickG

[Greenskeeper]

That's a great price for USDA Choice steaks anywhere.

Tell me about ciguetera and which fish to avoid. I "googled" it but the details are sketchy online. We're big fish eaters. Thanks