Random Bay Area Notes

[athelind]

Note the First: Last week, all the weather sites were reporting that we'd get a single day of rain on Friday.

The rain started Thursday night. Since then, every weather site has been insisting that the rain will clear up "tomorrow". That one day of rain has almost turned into a week now.

It's not serious rain, or even significant rain -- just intermittent spitting and sprinkling, with only occasional, passing moments where it's worth your while to turn on the windshield wipers.

Its stubborn persistence is amusing, though.

---

Note the Second: Safeway has surprisingly good store brands.

Their pasta sauces are excellent (especially their Arrabiata sauce). Their frozen entrees are decent.

Their sodas, however, are good enough to warrant a journal entry. Almost any supermarket will slap their store label on adequate orange or black cherry soda. Safeway's "fruit" sodas are really quite good. Their Root Beer and Cream Soda (both sold as "Parker's") are excellent, the equal of most anything in a can.

They even manage a good store-brand cola.

I've never found a drinkable bargain-brand cola before. Cola is the hardest flavor to master -- hell, Coca-Cola hasn't managed to get it right since the mid-'80s -- but even my beloved quelonzia, a cola connoisseur, is replacing her RC addiction with Safeway's "Go2" Cherry Cola.

Of course, this discovery occurred as I was phasing sodas out of my diet again. One can a day isn't a lot, but it's more than I usually drink.

As with anything flavor-oriented, Your Mileage May Vary.

---

Comments

[terminotaur.livejournal.com]

I will second the comments about some of the sodas. Also in agreement on the sauces.

That said though, there's a grocery store chain brand here (apparently in select pockets in the US too) called "President's Choice". They've had a more varied selection of sodas than any other here (lychee and diet lychee are VERY good, lots of fruit/citus varieties and even a ginger beer type thing... I guess SOME like that last one, not my thing though). I believe at one time they actually had market share advantage over the name brands. Also some of the meals they've created have kicked much posterior. I still remember when they were making a sort of southwest-ish lasagna with a mildly spicy sauce and black olives.. I was addicted to that one)

Point is, I'd have the Safeway-brand stuff a bit more if the competition in store brands wasn't so good here. :)

[athelind.livejournal.com]

Albertson's, I believe, carried President's Choice around here -- until the Illuminati Card Game Grocery Store Mystery Shuffle transformed all the Albertson's stores into Lucky's stores.

They did have some VERY good stuff, indeed. I don't recall ever trying the sodas, though.

Oddly, I think I've seen some of the more distinctive President's Choices items (like those wonderful maple creme cookies) in Safeway, with the Safeway Select label on them. Like I said -- Illuminati Card Game Grocery Store Mystery Shuffle.

[cpxbrex.livejournal.com]

I've wanted to slow cook this piece of meat I have in the fridge since Sunday and the drizzle has been persistent enough that I don't think I could manage the temperature on my damn grill, hehe. Which is the sole frustration for me. I've got four pounds of ribeye that's, like, "Cook me!" And I'm, like, "Sorry, beloved beef, I cannot!"

[araquan.livejournal.com]

"Sorry, beloved beef, I cannot!"

This is now a strong contender for Quote Of The Day.

[athelind.livejournal.com]

Lessons Roommates Learn:

Do not get between 'rex and his beef.

[tombfyre.livejournal.com]

Yep, Safeway does have some pretty fine in-store brands. Makes me happy I have one literally across the street from my house. :3