This past Christmas when we had the family over for a holiday dinner, I decided to try & make some scalloped potatoes. I found a ton of recopies online, and took what I liked from some & what I liked from others and put them all together… leaving out the stuff I didn’t like. They turned out really well, to the compliments of everyone. The only problem is that I didn’t write down what I did… so I had no idea when I went to make them again for an Easter dinner yesterday. Last time, like everyone in the kitchen, I kept adding stuff until the sauce looked & tasted just right.
Friday night, I pulled out the same printed recipes from last time…. made sure we had most of the stuff here & popped what I needed on to the grocery list. This time I wrote down what went into it, but I may have the portions off… Where I have “cup” or “Tablespoon”, I may have just dumped some stuff in by eye.
People have asked how I made them, so I’ll try writing it out coherently here. I’ll add that my wife, Bethany, washed & cut the potatoes while I made the sauce… which was invaluable… because the sauce needed to be watched, and cut potatoes that sit for any period of time get all brown. I guess I could have cut them & put them in some cold water to halt the browning if I absolutely had to… but we get along well in the kitchen, and it’s nice to cook together sometimes. (I offered for her to do the sauce & to put me on potato duty, but she declined in case the cause didn’t turn out well, the blame could go solely on me.)
Eric’s Decadent Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes:
Ingredients:
5 lb. bag of russet potatoes
2 cups shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese (I buy the stuff in bags, this is 1 small bag.)
2 cups shredded Colby & Monterey Jack Cheese (The store brand was 2 bags for $5 I think.)
1 pint (2 cups / 16 fl. oz.) heavy cream
1½ cups buttermilk
1 stick (8 Tbsp.) butter
½ cup Parmesan cheese
4 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. corn starch
Salt/Pepper/Season All to taste
1 tsp minced garlic (I used the stuff minced & put in olive oil, in little jars)
2 Tbsp. sour cream
2 Tbsp. Miracle Whip or mayonnaise… (or 1 Tbsp. Each!)
1 sm. bag bacon bits
bread crumbs (or crackers)
Stuff:
potato scrubber
cutting board
knife
9″ x 13″ glass baking dish
sauce pan
spoon and/or wisk
large bowl (if you’re gonna soak the potatoes)
measuring cup & spoons
aluminum foil
hot pads
oven
stove top
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Wash & slice the potatoes, store in cold water if you have to so they don’t brown… or have someone do that while you…
Grease a 9 x 13 glass baking dish with the stick of butter. Melt the rest of the butter on medium heat in a saucepan.
Add the flour & corn starch to the butter to make a roux.
Turn it down to low heat, & slowly stir in the cream, buttermilk, sour cream, & mayo/Miracle Whip. Stir like a madman.
Add the bacon bits, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and salt/pepper/spices to taste. Don’t forget to stir.
Add about half of each kind of shredded cheese to the mix, keep stirring like a madman.
Pull the sauce from the heat, keep stirring… add a little to the bottom of the baking dish.
Later potatoes, sauce, & remaining shredded cheese… saving a nice amount of shredded cheese for the top.
Cover with foil, bake at 350° for an hour.
Pull it out, uncover, top with bread crumbs or crumbled up crackers, add some additional seasoning if so inclined, and pop it back in for another 15 minutes.
Well, there you have it. Pretty simple, and nothing makes me happier than cheese & potatoes. I noticed a lot of scalloped potato recipes don’t have cheese, but really… where’s the fun in that? Some also used a cream of chicken or cream of potato soup… makes it too much like White Trash ‘Taters for me. You may want to skip the breading, use chips or those crispy canned fried onions. Everyone has their own thing that they dig. Yukon Gold potatoes would make this really nice, probably wouldn’t need to cook as long…red potatoes might make it bitey… A mix may be nice. As far as the spices, I used coarse ground black pepper, I think some dry mustard, paprika, and some McKormick Season All.
The other night, the wife & I were on a grocery gathering trip to the new Giant Eagle Market District in Robinson, which has an awesomely clean & new interior, helpful friendly employees, and really nice prices. (I got a Giant Eagle brand ham for just 99¢/lb.!) That’s the inside of the store.
On the outside of the store… the crosswalks are clearly marked (although wholly ignored by the Yinzers), there are nice sidewalks in between rows of the parked cars so you don’t have to walk down the driving lane (but people do anyway), and there are many many places to return your shopping carts. This is the one that prompted me to write. I took the following photo with my cell phone…
ABANDON THY BUGGIES, ALL YE WHO EXIT!
What is wrong with you, people? Is it that hard to walk the cart back up the the front of the store, or to the nearest cart return? Is this driven by arrogance or laziness? Are you too good to take the cart back up? Too important? Your time to valuable? Are you too lazy?
I get that the Market District employees should also be trolling the lot looking for these things to clean up… but if the Yinzers had any common decency, this wouldn’t happen in the first place. Shame on you, this is how the pace will start its eventual slide donwhill until it’s just another crappy grocery store with employees who don’t care and customers that look like they rolled in some dirt before getting up & going inside. Take some pride in your city and the businesses in it, you dumb Yinzers.
I got 3 of these bad boys, entitling me to a whole 35¢ off of one Totino’s product. One dollar and five cents off of three Totino’s products? I’m sure I get more than that when I use my Giant Eagle Advantage Card & get them on a regular sale. Maybe Giant Eagle will double these since they’re less than a dollar… So I’ll be getting $2.10 worth of free pizza rolls. I wonder what the regular price is?
Right now, Giant Eagle has Totino’s Pizza Rolls on sale… 3 boxes for $8. They say they’re normally 3 for $10. So… About 40 rolls in the 19.8 oz. bag, 35¢ would get me 4 pizza rolls? And, I’d only be able to use one coupon with this special, as the Giant Eagle website states that you must buy 3 bags in order to get the $2 off, and the back of the coupon states that no other coupon is to be used with this coupon. Does the sale act as a coupon? If not, I could still only use the one coupon at a time… so out of 120 pizza rolls, a whopping 4 would be free?
Perhaps this was a karmic slap in the face? Maybe a well-deserved one. You’d think they would simply either not offer any coupons at all… or offer some coupons that are actually worth something… like a BOGO or at least a dollar off. Perhaps they’re just cheap, or this is all they’re authorized to give out? It cost them 38¢ to mail me the damn coupons! That would have been 4 or 5 more free pizza rolls had they emailed me some coupons. Maybe they know I’m goofing on them.
The letter accompanying the coupons is quite amusing…
When I see someone write “the internet”, I always think of the guy to the right. I have no idea why. I just do. It sounds archaic written down like that. THE INTERNET! HA! HA!
Not sure where to go from here. Do I write back, and ask for more research funding? Do I ask to talk to someone else who may be able to offer more money? Do I write to completely unrelated organizations and as for research grants? Has anyone reading this ever applied for a grant? Should I include a research proposal? Maybe I should just write back, super-excited about the $1.05, saying what a generous gift it is. Maybe I should ask to speak directly to General Mills or Totino himself? Heh. I feel confident in turning this up a notch.
Also… research will definitely go forward. I will need some time to assemble my team (although, I think I already know who’s in), procure the test product, and schedule a date for the study.
I consider this yet another horrible waste of our tax money.
This quote says it all; “…bar owners say hard-to-spell beer names and typographical errors show how archaic Pennsylvania’s Prohibition-era liquor laws really are…”
I’m sure you remember my last post about Turner’s with the pretty picture. I decided to ask Giant Eagle why all of their stores don’t carry Turner’s products…
From: Eric Carroll [mailto:me@my.email.address] Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 1:46 PM Subject: Turner’s Dairy | Charie’s Old Fashioned Buttermilk
Hello Friends at the Big Bird,
I’m writing to you today to request that all of your Giant Eagle and Market District Stores carry products from Turner Dairy Farms, Inc. I know that some locations do already carry Turner’s products, because I’ve written to them trying to track down some of Charlie’s Old Fashioned Buttermilk… and they clued me in to the Giant Eagle in Brentwood. I know that the Giant Eagle in Murrysville also carries Turner’s Iced Tea.
I’d love it if the Cochran Road, Bridgeville, and Parkway Center locations had Turner’s buttermilk, chip dip, and tea varieties readily available. I’d add them to my order virtually every time we shop there… much like I do now with the tea when I find myself in Rite Aid on Banksville Road.
I also find it hard to believe that with the myriad of products and name brands available at the new Market District in Robinson… Turner’s is nowhere to be found! Have you tried the chip dip? It’s incredible. It puts the Kraft and B L brands to shame.
You’ll find in the attached photo all of the Turner’s bounty that my wife & I picked up this weekend while just passing by the Brentwood Giant Eagle. I can assure you, these products would be on every grocery order if available at the Giant Eagle locations where we typically do most of our shopping. Not only these products, but the raspberry & lime tea… and just about everything that Turner’s offers! (Sorry, I don’t do diet drinks.)
Thank you for taking the time to read my email, and I hope that you give Turner’s products serious consideration for inclusion in your fine establishments.
Sincerely,
-Eric
me@my.email.address
And, they responded…
From: “Frey, Brian” Brian.Frey@gianteagle.com To: “me@my.email.address” me@my.email.address Sent: Tue, February 2, 2010 10:39:21 AM Subject: RE: Turner’s Dairy | Charie’s Old Fashioned Buttermilk
Eric,
Thank you for taking the time to write to us regarding Turner Dairy Farms and some of the items that you obviously like as detailed below.
I can understand your frustration related to these items that you feel passionately about not being readily available and convenient to purchase. However, I must honestly inform you that we don’t have any upcoming plans to carry additional Turner Dairy Farms items at any of our corporately owned Giant Eagle and Market District locations.
We get contacted by customers on a daily/weekly basis requesting us to carry a variety of items from local dairies, and we just cannot support all of these local dairy item requests in our limited dairy cooler space in our stores. To manage the limited space we have in stores, we try to partner with dairies and vendors that can provide us item programs that accommodate the needs of the majority of our customers. If we were to carry a representative sample of all the local dairy items that we get contacted about, we would have to eliminate a large portion of our current item mix that a significantly larger customer base demands us to carry and also asks us daily/weekly to expand upon but we cannot as a result of the same limited space challenge.
Sorry I could not give you better news here. There are a lot of items that I am personally fond of that I have decided to not carry as well due to our limited space and need to satisfy the largest amount of our customers. In the meantime, some of our independently owned and operated stores such as Brentwood are allowed to carry the Turners Dairy Farms items as you note below. We allow those owners to have some flexibility in their item mix, and some stores have elected to carry Turners items based on customer demand or geographic proximity to the dairy.
Sincerely,
Brian Frey
Category Buyer
Giant Eagle, Inc.
101 Kappa Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15238
412.963.2592
Fax: 412.968.1706
E-mail: brian.frey@gianteagle.com
D’oh! Well, it doesn’t hurt to try, does it? Apparently Giant Eagle has no intentions of widely carrying Turner’s products, but at least they’re honest about it. It’s just annoying that I can’t do all of my grocery shopping in one store (or even at one chain), especially with the vicious circle of fuelperks and foodperks and whatever other kind of perks they come up with next.
Interestingly enough, I just sent an email to all those with whom I’ve shared communication with in the past at Giant Eagle, but the “To” address was cut out of the original inline reply… so I have no idea which one actually got through.
I’m assuming they’d have to have an onslaught of messages in order to even consider carrying the Turner’s products. If you’re so inclined, you can…
Turner’s is awesome… whether you’re talking about the Iced Tea, the Tea-Bird, the Buttermilk, all the other products, or the customer service. I just thought I’d share while again trying out the post-via-email feature on WordPress. Apologies, you’ll have to read from the bottom up for it to make sense…
From: Nicholas Yon <Nicholas@TurnerDairy.net>
To: Eric Carroll <me@my.email.address>
Sent: Mon, February 1, 2010 11:38:57 AM
Subject: RE: Charlie’s Old Fashioned Buttermilk?
Eric-
Thank you for the email and picture! Looks like a nice variety of products. I am glad to know that your trip to Brentwood GE was a success this past weekend and I hope that it continues to provide you with a viable option for procuring our higher standard products (and especially our Charlie’s Buttermilk). If you enjoy baking, try the Charlie’s Buttermilk in everything from waffles to mashed potatoes to biscuits. Thank you also for passing along your comments to Giant Eagle corporate.
We truly value your dedicated support of our products. Have a great week!
From: Eric Carroll [mailto:me@my.email.address]
Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 10:39 AM
To: Nicholas Yon
Subject: Re: Charlie’s Old Fashioned Buttermilk?
Hello Nicholas,
I just wanted to thank you for telling me about the Giant Eagle in Brentwood . We stopped a few weeks ago when in the area to no avail… the milk shelves were quite bare… must have been re-stocking time. This past Saturday evening though, we hit the mother-load. I grabbed two little jugs of Charlie’s Old Fashioned Buttermilk and (as you can see in the attached photo) a bunch of other Turner’s products!
The Buttermilk is awesome… it’s just like the stuff we used to pick up when I was really little at an old local dairy farm that is long since gone (Sinan’s in Murrysville/Export PA).
I intend to pass the photo along to several local Giant Eagles to urge them to also carry your products. They’re obviously great sellers, and all the stuff in the photo could regularly be their sale if they’d only have the stuff in stock!
Have a good week!
-Eric
.seitilibasid gninrael fo nuf ekam ot ynnuf ton yllaer s’tI
From: Nicholas Yon <Nicholas@TurnerDairy.net>
To: Eric Carroll <me@my.email.address>
Sent: Mon, December 28, 2009 10:27:44 AM
Subject: RE: Charlie’s Old Fashioned Buttermilk?
Eric-
Thank you for the email, kind words, and years of dedication. The Turner family, our employees, and our local family dairy farms truly appreciate your patronage of our products all these years. Plus iced tea stickers on a guitar case is “uber-cool.”
Listed below is the closest location to you that currently carries our Charlie’s Old Fashioned Buttermilk with real butter flakes. This is an independent Giant Eagle location, thus they are able to offer Turner’s higher standard dairy products.
I’ve also attached a “product request” form that can be filled out and turned into the store manager or sent to any local Giant Eagle or Kuhn’s. I would also encourage you to email the company directly via their website.
We currently produce three varieties of buttermilk:
– Charlie’s Old Fashioned Buttermilk – a whole buttermilk with real butter flakes
– Light Buttermilk – a 1% light buttermilk
– Baking Buttermilk – light buttermilk formulated for baking
Thank you again for the email and question. Have a great New Year!
Giant Eagle (they carry the plastic quart size)
Brentwood Towne Center
600 Towne Square Way
Pittsburgh, PA 15227
Nicholas Yon
Marketing Director
Turner Dairy Farms, Inc.
From Local Farms to Local Families!
From: Eric Carroll [mailto:me@my.email.address]
Sent: Monday, December 28, 2009 1:03 AM
To: customer service
Subject: Charlie’s Old Fashioned Buttermilk?
Hello Friends,
I’m a huge fan of Turner’s iced tea… I even wrote a letter years ago that warranted a free T-shirt and a few little jug labels. I grew up in Murrysville PA not far form a little mom n’ pop store called Thomas’ that sold your milks, teas, and other products & got me hoooked. I still have the Tea labels on my guitar case, and my wife cringes when I wear my bright orange and slightly tattered Tea-shirt.
Now I live in Pittsburgh, and I go out of my way to get Turner’s, as they don’t sell it at the Giant Eagle where we do our grocery shopping, or at the Kuhn’s that’s right by our house. We have to go to Rite Aid to get the tea, and we usually pick up Turner’s dip & some chips while we’re there.
I know of a small number of other places around that carry the tea… I think the BP station, and a beer distributor here are loyal Turner’s sellers… but I hear you have a new product that I’d love to get my hands on… Buttermilk with the flecks? I can’t find this type of buttermilk anywhere… I’ve been looking for it for … well, it has to be over a year now. I heard a dairy up north makes it… but I haven’t been able to find any in local stores.
My mom told me that she had discovered it at Wal-Mart in Delmont, and belives that the aforementioned Thomas’ sells it… but I rarely find myself out that way these days… especially not to do any grocery shopping.
Are you able to tell me which (if any) stores in my area have been carrying this new flecked buttermilk? I’m currently in Dormont… zip code 15216.
Also wondering… do you have any sort of form letter that I could send to Giant Eagle and/or Kuhn’s to request that they carry your tea in addition to or instead of some of the other local flavorless tea brands?
Thank you for your time, can’t wait to hear from you!
Thirsty!
-Eric
P.S. – What’s the difference between the baking buttermilk & the other varieties?
I’ve written before(although indirectly) about the foul assemblage of half-rotting food that is Kuhn’s Market on Banksville Road. You may recall my description of Kunh’s as relayed to Giant Eagle while requesting that they carry some La Choy Teriyaki Sauce. If not, here it is again..
I actually make special trips to the Shop ‘N Save by WAL★MART in Heidelberg or I actually set foot in Kunh’s Market on Banksville Road to get the La Choy Teriyaki Sauce. Have you BEEN to the Kunh’s on Banksville Road? I’ve gotten moldy peppers from that place, as well as ‘turned’ sour cream, …and melted ice cream. I don’t want to go in there. But, I do. Why? To get the La Choy Teriyaki sauce, my friends. It’s THAT GOOD.
I know I’ve told countless others. I know my mother-in-law looks at me in disbelief because apparently the Kuhn’s on McKnight Road is just awesome.
See? You can read the full story on KDKA’s website. Yes, I get that the point of the article is the union trying to organize there… but they wouldn’t be trying to organize if conditions were good. If I had to guess, I’d say that store owners keep the coolers and freezers on lower settings to save a buck or two… but at what cost? I really haven’t ever heard anyone say anything nice about the place. We’ll buy canned or boxed stuff there occasionally in a pinch, but we’re always looking closely at the expiration dates. As far as the meat & produce & even the dairy products… I’ll go out of my way to another store, or just go without.
Edited – Discussion was happening in other forums, decided to re-post some of that here…
Eric Carroll
Nice: http://bit.ly/9MqDcy I KNEW they weren’t keeping stuff cold enough at Kuhn’s. That place is filthy too. January 28 at 7:20pm via Selective Tweets
Dave Warren
I almost never buy anything remotely perishable there. January 28 at 7:40pm ·
Nunzio Martin
Dude that place smells I never go there January 28 at 8:00pm ·
Dave Warren
I will go out of my way to find a Giant Eagle just to avoid Kuhn’s. January 28 at 8:06pm ·
Andrew Welsh
walmart* is cheaper January 28 at 8:20pm ·
Dave Warren
Wal*Mart is cheaper, when they have the items that I require. They usually do not. January 28 at 8:22pm ·
Andrew Welsh
dave i have to correct you, it is no longer “wal*mart” it is now “walmart*” the corporate logo moved the star to the end.
yeah luckily for me walmart* carries all that i need, and is always cheaper. but that’s just me.
Kuhns is great for running to the store quick since it’s 3 minutes from my house. January 29 at 1:11pm ·
Eric Carroll
Didn’t it used to be a ★?
Wonder how much time and money they wasted coming to that decision? Sun at 12:40pm ·
Eric Carroll Kuhn’s Market on Banksville Rd. Favorited on http://www.youtube.com
I keep telling people that this place is filthy. No one believed me. Ha ha. I know they don’t keep the coolers cold enough… ever. I have brought home melted ice cream. From KDKA, full news story & video here: http://kdka.com/local/Banksv… January 29 at 12:20am via YouTube ·
T.J. Freeman
BWahahahaha fuckin bird! …. alright well if thats a violation then you need to close the foodcourt starbucks and everything else dealing with open food in robinson mall cos i’ve seen many o bird flyin around that bitch. All that aside … that Kuhn’s is about the only place around there to get food unless you wanna travel to bridgeville or parkway center or south hills…. fuck the union … if yer worried about it then just dont buy produce or deli foods there. January 29 at 12:28am ·
Cody Starr
man i don’t care how dirty kuhn’s is ……i would eat those deli pizzas they make with dust bunnies for toppings….they are the bomb January 29 at 5:01am ·
Jeffrey Guerriero
eric, my aunts family owns those stores, I used to shop there when we lived in Dormont. January 29 at 12:51pm ·
Bethany Pastorius Carroll
Kuhns on Mcknight Road is wonderful however this one on Dormont is a shithole. We will only buy canned goods or boxed stuff and that’s only if its an emergency. We have bought sour cream- molded. A green pepper- mold in the inside. Ice cream- melted by the time we got home. We will go completely out of our way than go there. Disgusting place. Sun at 12:17am ·
Eric Carroll
Yeah, they put the “ew” in Kuhn’s down here on Banksville. http://wp.me/pwqzc-5b – There are two Giant Eagles very close by too… one in Parkway Center and one on Cochran Road. Sun at 12:37pm ·
Eric Carroll
I’ve had a lot of people weigh-in on Kuhn’s on various forums. I urge you all to reiterate or expand here: http://bit.ly/cb9WJX Thanks! Yesterday at 3:56pm via Selective Tweets ·
Andrew Welsh
i still fail to see the big deal, the health department said these “aren’t earth shattering and were corrected quickly” Yesterday at 6:42pm ·
Michael Perdue
I’ve always remembered Ferris’ in M-ville to be particularly bad. Yesterday at 7:15pm ·
Eric Carroll
Andy… The big deal is that I was right about them not keeping stuff at the right temperature. I like to be right. Ha ha ha.
Mike – you’re right… both old Ferris weren’t quite right. 4 hours ago ·
Eric Carroll
“KDKA-TV’s Paul Martino did an independent review of Allegheny County’s inspection of seven Kuhn’s stores last year. There were some violations, including salad stored at unsafe temperatures, contamination from raw meat, and more temperature problems.”
I told you that Kuhn’s was disgusting. « World (and Lunar) Domination
aixelsyd13.wordpress.com
I’ve written before (although indirectly) about the foul assemblage of half-rotting food that is Kuhn’s Market on Banksville Road. You may recall my description of Kunh’s as relayed … Sun at 12:43pm ·
Adam Rahuba
Foodland, Shop & Save, Kroger, IGA, Sparkle, Kuhns are all dirty. Can’t stand em. Sun at 2:12pm ·
AiXeLsyD13
I got a lot of comments on this on facebook… both in my status, and when I “favorited” the YouTube video… None when I posted the link to the blog though. Post Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 10:22 am
Mike_Hype
I have to disagree with you entirely on this one. I love that Kuhn’s and I stop there almost every Sunday night on my way home from hockey to pick up produce alone. Their apples are awesome, their bananas are always the exact amount of ripe to take home and store for the week. I have not yet found a Giant Eagle that even comes close to the quality of produce that I get from Kuhn’s. I was just there last night as a matter of fact. Rotten apples from Kuhn’s: 0, from Giant Eagle: 5. What’s worse than finding a rotten apple? Finding half a rotten apple. Post Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2010 12:44 pm
Dave NT
The Giant Eagle Market District pwns n00bs. Post Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 8:04 am
Mike_Hype
Sitting here eating one of the best apples that I have ever eaten, it happens to be from Kuhn’s. Post Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 12:55 pm
AiXeLsyD13
While finding half a rotten apple is indeed disgusting, I try too look at stuff before I bite into it… although I’m admittedly overly paranoid about food in general.
I’d have to say, I’m fairly confident that if we set up an independent study of the produce at several grocery stores surrounding the Dormont/Banksville area… Giant Eagle would come out on top. Post Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 3:28 pm
AiXeLsyD13
I need to figure out how to get paid for random useless shit. Post Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 3:37 pm
It’s simple, really. It’s a small, simple act that’s a symbolic gesture, and may be complete and total BS in all practicality or reality… but it made me feel comfortable today. I have discussed my shellfish issues before, and have been ridiculed for suggesting that the food service industry take any more action on allergy issues, awareness, and cross-contamination than they already are. I can’t explain why or how, but this one little sign put me at ease. Why? Because it was simply acknowledgment, I guess. Maybe that’s all I want or need. At any rate, kudos to you, Market District Cafe in Robinson! What am I making such a big fuss about? Not much really, just this…
That’s all. No biggie. But, to me, it means so much. I did happen to ask the guy behind the counter about what all was cooked on the grill that I can see, and he was happy to inform me that there is indeed no shellfish that touches said grill surface. It’s not a big deal to you most likely, but it is to me. So I blogged about it.
January 16, 2010 – Really likes it – I really never thought I’d be this excited about a grocery store. The team at Giant Eagle/Market District that put this place together are geniuses. It’s not the first time I’ve been to the store, but today was the first time eating in their cafe. Floor layout plan and traffic flow not withstanding, this is a great place to eat! It’s almost a cross between a food court and hospital cafeteria… with really really good food. You can choose form a bunch of little islands or counters of food… Pizza, Crepes, Rosti, Salad Bars, Hot Bar, Grill/Rotisserie station, and more that I haven’t really looked into yet.
My wife went for a really nice-looking Italian panini with the thickest slice of mozzarella, I’ve ever seen and a nice little side salad with assorted greens, and dropped it off with a Market District brand peach oolong iced tea. She really thought the sandwich was fresh and filling, and is looking forward to trying of the other options. (They had some nice-looking reubens there too!)
I went right to the rotisserie/grill/BBQ area (of course) and my eyes were drawn to the brisket. I got a combo which included the brisket & side… I chose the grilled vegetables… normally for $6, but I got $1 off with my Giant Eagle advantage card. I also snagged a roll (gotta get those carbs!) and a Boylan’s Birch Beer. I chose a St. Louis Style BBQ sauce with the brisket that was a perfect compliment t the juicy beef, and the grilled veggies were perfect. They were just vegetables, the taset wasn’t hidden with a sauce or too many spices. We got an excellent meal IMHO for just over $14.
The thing that impressed me the most was when I was asking the chef/cook behind the counter about what all was cooked on the grill due to my shellfish allergies, he was very patient, kind, and even double-checked with another employee. Then, when I got to the edge of the counter, I spied a sign noting possible cross-contamination listing all the major allergens, and how one should be sure to ask the staff about any cross-contamination. It’s an odd and very small gesture, but it means the world to someone like me who’s generally in a constantly worrisome state when dining out. I applaud their taking note, and to me it says a lot about the company & the people.
Photos of the sign & both our meals have been uploaded to the photo section.
And oh yeah… they have BEER! In a Grocery Store! in PENNSYLVANIA! Genius. I didn’t get any this time, but I saw 6-packs of Straub Special Dark for $6.97 and the wife was eying up the extra large bottles of Raspberry Lambic for only $12.99. We will be back to get some beer!
This is for my wife. Why? Because usually, she hears this rant every time I have to make a trip to the grocery store. Perhaps, in writing it here (and to Giant Eagle), I’ll refrain from telling her my feelings for the 4,397th time.
I’d like to request that you carry the following products…
Beer Chips, Yuengling Barbecue Sauce, & La Choy Teriyaki Sauce.
More specifically, I’d like to see them at the Giant Eagle on Cochran Road in Greentree/Mt. Lebanon/Scott Township or whatever the neighborhood is over there.
I drive right by this location on my way home from work, & do the majority of my shopping there.
I first discovered Beer Chips on an end-cap in the Robinson Giant Eagle, and the only other place I’ve seen them is at the Aldi up there… but that place is never reliable as far as expecting a brand name to be there.
Previously, the Cochran Road location did carry Beer Chips in the chip aisle, but I haven’t seen them for weeks. Will they ever return to your tightly packed shelves?
Cochran Road also carried Yuengling Lager Sauce for a short while, but had more of the “hot wing” sauce than the normal stuff, and they hid it on the bottom shelf inches above the floor. How is anyone supposed to find/try the stuff if you do that? I can tell you, it’s excellent, and shouldn’t be relegated to sitting at shoelace level.
Why is the sauce not available at this location any more? If the answer is “it didn’t sell well”, please see my previous references to placement relative to eye level/awareness.
Lastly… we come to the great mystery which is La Choy Teriyaki sauce. I literally go out of my way to get this stuff. As stated previously, I do most of my shopping at the Giant Eagle on Cochran Road. I also find myself occasionally in the Giant Eagle locations in Parkway Center, Bridgeville, or Robinson… or even out in Murrysville, Monroeville, or Squirrel Hill. Call me crazy, but it seems to me that you have a chain-wide ban of La Choy Teriyaki going on. I can never find it it any of your stores. This puzzles me… because you do indeed carry La Choy products… the Soy Sauce and one other sauce which escapes me now… but I NEVER see the Teriyaki sauce in a Giant Eagle.
You may remember that I have written about this before… but I’ve never received an answer… No “we’ll consider carrying that”, no “we’ll get that in our next order to La Choy”, not even a “we don’t carry it because…”
What’s the deal? I feel that if you taste it side by side with the Kikkoman brand, or the Ken’s Steak House Teriyaki Marinade, you’ll have no choice but to agree that it’s clearly the superior product.
Even if not… you sell both Coke & Pepsi, right? Why exclude the La Choy Teriyaki from your fine selection of groceries?
I actually make special trips to the Shop ‘N Save by WAL★MART in Heidelberg or I actually set foot in Kunh’s Market on Banksville Road to get the La Choy Teriyaki Sauce. Have you BEEN to the Kunh’s on Banksville Road? I’ve gotten moldy peppers from that place, as well as ‘turned’ sour cream, …and melted ice cream. I don’t want to go in there. But, I do. Why? To get the La Choy Teriyaki sauce, my friends. It’s THAT GOOD.
I’d love to be able to do all of my grocery shopping with you, and to rack up fuelperks, foodperks, and whatever other kind of perks you come up with in the future.
I look forward to your thoughts on these matters, have a good weekend!
Inquisitively,
-Eric
Yeah.
If you want to know what I’m talking about, check out…
Yuengling Lager Sauce (by BRYCO FOODS, LLC) Oddly enough, the site seems to be down… wonder if that has anything to do with it’s current unavailability?
World (and Lunar) Domination 