bean wrote:Would Instacart work for you? I've used them twice. I can get delivery from Jewel, Mariano's, Whole Foods, Costco & others. It depends on your neighborhood. So far it's helped me out a lot when the weather is bad and/or I'm desperate. Please let me know if this works for you...

Thanks for the thought, bean. It turns out Instacart hasn't penetrated the SW suburbs yet. I looked into it at the time, and when I entered the zip, they showed me a list of areas they serve, and they're all Chicago and northern suburbs.

The good news is that Peapod has so far proved very satisfactory, as long as I don't require delivery in Palos Park any sooner than 24 hours from time of order. The Jewel delivery was a lifesaver because they came through for us in getting an emergency delivery to my wife's aunt when we didn't have 24 hours to spare. So they will get all our in-person Palos patronage in perpetuity.

I've been awfully impressed with the Mighty Vine tomatoes I've had at Monteverde and then purchased at Local Foods. Well imagine my surprise when I found them at the Jewel at Foster and Pulaski this past Sunday. You'll have to check your local Jewel to see if they're all selling them.

BR wrote:I've been awfully impressed with the Mighty Vine tomatoes I've had at Monteverde and then purchased at Local Foods. Well imagine my surprise when I found them at the Jewel at Foster and Pulaski this past Sunday. You'll have to check your local Jewel to see if they're all selling them.

They've been at Whole Foods (Ashland, Broadway and Kingsbury) since last fall I think.

They've been at most Jewels including the one at Ashland and Wellington for the last six months. I love these tomatoes, they're not height of season August ones, but they're damn good for store bought.

Is anyone familiar with the "Kumato" brown tomatoes? We like them very much.

Riddlemay...living in a 14th floor South Loop Condo, Peapod has been a lifesaver to us, especially in the Winter. VIP customers for over 15 years, but we've seen a steady decline in quality of produce, condition of goods shipped, frequent shorted items, deliveries 3 hours past the time window...you name it. How can you be out of an everyday item for three weeks? We just tried the (Pete's) Instagram today for the first time, and they did well.

BR wrote:I've been awfully impressed with the Mighty Vine tomatoes I've had at Monteverde and then purchased at Local Foods. Well imagine my surprise when I found them at the Jewel at Foster and Pulaski this past Sunday. You'll have to check your local Jewel to see if they're all selling them.

A note of caution. At the Jewel in Munster,In they've had tomatoes displayed atop a stack of Mighty Vine crates that weren't Mighty Vines,so check carefully before purchasing.

Artie wrote:A note of caution. At the Jewel in Munster,In they've had tomatoes displayed atop a stack of Mighty Vine crates that weren't Mighty Vines,so check carefully before purchasing.

How Jewel-like. I'm not surprised.

I had an experience with impressive customer service recently at the Jewel on Milwaukee Avenue in Libertyville. I needed (? wanted) mussels for a Thai green curry mussel thing and Mariano's didn't have any. Running short on time, I called Jewel before heading over there. The lady at the fish counter said they had some, not a lot.

When I got there a few minutes later, she was pulling mussels on ice out of a styrofoam container and checking each one. She set a dozen or so aside in the course of checking them and putting together close to two pounds for me. I took them straight home and put them on ice in the fridge. Later, when I cleaned them and steamed them open, I found they were plump and tasty and not a single one was bad -- precisely because that lady took the trouble to check every one rather than just scoop out two pounds for me. I'm going to stop back over at the store with a thank you note for her and a copy for the store manager.

Katie wrote:Later, when I cleaned them and steamed them open, I found they were plump and tasty and not a single one was bad

Perhaps you were lucky?
My last experience getting mussels at Jewel (Evanston, Howard St) was precisely the opposite.
I wanted to examine the bag of mussels before purchasing, but the woman behind the counter immediately took the bag away, put it on a foam tray, and wrapped it in plastic.
When we got home and opened the package, I understood why she did that. Upon opening the plastic wrap, the stench of decaying seafood was strong. Out of 118 mussels in the bag, 92 were obviously dead. The tag (which I wasn’t allowed to see in store) indicated the mussels were already three weeks old at the time of sale. Had I known that, or had I been able to smell them in store, I wouldn’t have purchased them.
I wrote Jewel to tell them of my displeasure ... that was a number of months ago, and I still haven't received a response.

Chicago area grocery store shoppers may soon encounter a red, furry cyclops in the produce section or near the bakery: Jewel-Osco's first mascot.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html

Dave148 wrote:

Chicago area grocery store shoppers may soon encounter a red, furry cyclops in the produce section or near the bakery: Jewel-Osco's first mascot.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ ... story.html

Prefect! That should negate any potential loss of business form the impending Amazon/Whole Foods merger.

Hi- starting Wednesday, Jewel is going to have their O Organics ground beef on sale for $3.99 a pound. In the big book of savings that is usually in the front of the store, there is a coupon for $2.50 off O Organics ground beef. You must buy $5 worth to use the coupon though. If you buy two pounds of ground beef, and use the coupon, you can get 2 pounds of organic ground beef for $5.48, which is a really good deal.

There are also coupons for other O Organics products such as cheese and chicken, and coupons for Lucerne products, including $1 off a dozen eggs, and a coupon for Lucerne milk. To complicate things though, I was in Jewel last night, and Jewel has brought back Jewel milk for $2.49, although they still had Lucerne milk for $2.69. All of their Lucerne milk was short dated. Apparently they are bringing back other Jewel products such as bread, buns and eggs, and they have Jewel eggs on sale for $1 starting Wednesday, but the $1 coupon is only good on Lucerne eggs, which I am not really sure they are going to be carrying any more. Perhaps some Jewel stores will let you use the Lucerne coupon on the Jewel eggs? Somebody did not think this out very well. BTW- Starting Wednesday Jewel milk is also going to be on sale for $1.99, and you can get Lucerne milk for free if you purchase two packages of Jimmy Dean sausage. Hope this helps, Nancy

Hi- Over on mashupmom, somebody posted that in order to use the $2.50 coupon for the O Organics grass fed ground beef, you do not have to purchase $5 worth of ground beef. You only have to purchase $5 worth of groceries, and so you can get a pound of organic grass fed ground beef for $1.49. BTW- Fresh Thyme also has grass fed ground beef on sale for $3.99 a pound starting tomorrow. It is not organic though. Hope this helps, Nancy

Hi- Just reminding people that the O Organics grass fed ground beef is still on sale through Tuesday for $3.99 a pound, and there is a coupon for $2.50 off a package, which brings it to $1.49 a pound. The coupon is located in the big book of savings, which is usually located at the front of the store next to the sale ads. There are also other $2.50 coupons for O Organics chicken and beef, as well as coupons for Open Nature and Lucerne products. They have Lucerne cottage cheese on sale for $2, and there is a $1 off coupon for it in the big book of savings. The ground beef coupon says limit one coupon per transaction and one coupon per customer. All of the Jewel stores are supposedly waiving that requirement, and letting people purchase multiple packages. Some Jewel stores even have a coupon taped to the packages. The store I go to on Chicago Avenue did not do this the last time I was there on Wednesday, and so most people I suspect did not know that this was such a good deal, and they had plenty left to buy. A few of the stores have temporarily run out though. Somebody at mashupmom said she hit two different Jewel stores, Palos Heights and Hickory Hills, and bought a total of 25 packages of ground beef. They also have patties on sale for $4.29, and so $1.79 with the coupon. There are also reports of some Jewel stores marking down some short dated O Organics whole chickens to $.99 a pound, and so with the $2.50 coupon for that it is a good deal.

Has anybody tried the O Organics ground beef? Is it good? Thanks, Nancy

Hi- I was just on the Jewel Facebook page, and they are doing a farm to table dinner at their 370 N. Des Plaines location in Chicago on 9/21 starting at 6:00pm. The tickets are only $20. It includes wine. Apparently Washburne is involved with this. Here is the link to sign up.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/farm-to-ta ... 7548327057

Apparently concerning the Lucerne milk, they had a lot of complaints that the milk was going bad before it's expiration date, and that is why they brought back the Jewel milk. Hope this helps, Nancy

NFriday wrote:Has anybody tried the O Organics ground beef? Is it good? Thanks, Nancy

We bought the 4 patties in a pound pack, and grilled the burgers last night. Good beefy flavor. Probably better than the Costco ground beef, but it could have been the home-grown tomatoes that made me think that.

I was at the Jewel on Chicago Avenue tonight, and I got my free hummus. All they had of the O Organics ground beef were the patties. I am sure a couple of coupon queens cleaned them out of the other packages. I even cut out one of the $2.50 coupons, and left it on top of one of the packages of patties, and 15 minutes later it was still there, and they had not sold any more patties. Apparently in some stores they were taping the coupon onto the package of ground beef. They did have Lucerne large eggs on sale for $1.29, and so with the $1 off coupon it was $.29 a dozen. The cashier told me that she thought that eventually they were going to be getting rid of the Lucerne milk and eggs, and only carry Jewel brand. Apparently people were complaining that the Lucerne milk was going bad before the expiration date on the bottle. Hope this helps, Nancy

I stopped in a the Jewel on Chicago Ave. right after i made my final trip to the farmer's market. They had a lot more of the O Organics ground beef this time. They also had a sign up saying you could get it for $1.49 if you used the coupon, but it did not tell you where you could get the coupon. They probably only had about 20 of the books with the coupon in it left. Hopefully the cashiers had a coupon that they could scan. They are doing this at some Jewels, but this Jewel is not know for its customer service. I was tempted to buy a package of it to see how it was, but I don't eat a lot of red meat, and I got another 20 huge red peppers for $5 today from Nichol's, and I would rather make room in my freezer for red peppers than ground beef. I don't have a large freezer.

I noticed today that the price on the Saturday salad bar has gone up to $3.49 a pound, which is still a good deal. I got lettuce at the farmer's market though today. Jewel has their Open Nature chicken sausage on clearance for $2.49. Hope this helps, Nancy

That's odd about the coupons. The Mount Prospect Jewel has been taping them to each package.

When I was in this same Jewel on Sunday, all they had were the patties, and they were not even telling people about the coupon, and so of course people were not buying ground beef. Apparently a directive came down from corporate to all the stores to allow people to purchase as many packages as they want. Some of the stores are taping the coupon to the package, and some just have you go to the register, where they have a coupon they will scan. I also heard that one Jewel is not advertising the sale, and yes you can get unlimited packages, but you have to get the coupon from somebody in the meat department.

JoelF wrote:

NFriday wrote:Has anybody tried the O Organics ground beef? Is it good? Thanks, Nancy

We bought the 4 patties in a pound pack, and grilled the burgers last night. Good beefy flavor. Probably better than the Costco ground beef, but it could have been the home-grown tomatoes that made me think that.

Per the friendly butcher at the Highland Park Jewel, the O Organics brand is a one-off type of promotion. Once they're gone, they're gone. Stores will not be re-stocking the brand.

Is that for all O Organics or just the ground beef that they won't be carrying it? A cashier at Jewel told me that she thought they were going to discontinue the Lucerne milk, and somebody on mashupmom that does a Jewel Facebook page, said that corporate told her that they were going to carry both Lucerne and Jewel milk. Apparently they got a lot of complaints about the Lucerne milk going bad before the expiration date.

I question if the O Organics ground beef is truly 100% organic and strictly grass fed. I think 90% of the ground beef was picked up by coupon queens who bought 30 packages of it. I was in the Green Bay Wilmette store yesterday, and I saw two women looking at the fairly large display. When I walked past the display ten minutes later, they were still there. I assume they were checking all the expiration dates, and they had a bunch in their carts.

The good thing is if they are getting rid of all the O Organics items, then they will have lots of it on clearance. There is a coupon on mymixx for $1 off any O Organics salad blend, and it is on sale B1G2F currently. This means you can get three packages for $2. Thanks, Nancy

NFriday wrote:Is that for all O Organics or just the ground beef that they won't be carrying it?

We were only talking about the beef and chicken.

JoelF wrote:That's odd about the coupons. The Mount Prospect Jewel has been taping them to each package.

This was my experience last week also. I still have 6 packs of beef left. It is not as inexpensive as thighs or legs/# as Aldi's or Costco but it seems to be enjoyed with great relish as a change from chicken in my household.

NFriday wrote:Is that for all O Organics or just the ground beef that they won't be carrying it?

I question if the O Organics ground beef is truly 100% organic and strictly grass fed. I think 90% of the ground beef was picked up by coupon queens who bought 30 packages of it.

Do you mean you want to continue buying it for $1.50/Lb and start investigation of its quality at the same time? Flying to Australia to check on those cows?

We often buy frozen Aussie ground lamb in 2.5 Lbs packages from restaurant supply and this latest Jewel O beef tastes almost the same. Jewel does strange thing and after selling it for $1.50 the will be pricing it at $8.50 and no one is going to buy it, Then they will drop prices right before expiration and will be left holding the bag as always.
Fresh Farms exists because Jewel management never pulls the head out of you know what.

Hi- Actually I did not buy any. I was tempted to buy one package just to try it out on Saturday, but I normally don't eat a lot of red meat, and I don't have a large freezer. I've gotten huge red peppers a few times at the Evanston farmer's market for 20/$5 from Nichols. I've been eating a lot of red peppers the last few weeks, and I am freezing a lot of them. I would rather make room in my freezer for red peppers than ground beef. I also make several batches of pesto in the fall, and freeze it in ice cube trays, and I need room for that. I also have some frozen strawberries and bags of veggies I got really cheap a few months ago at Jewel. BTW- I was in Jewel last night, and I only bought a gallon of milk, but I noticed that they did not have any more O Organics ground beef, and so maybe they are getting rid of it. They did have the grass fed beef that was not organic for $7.99 a pound. There is a $2.50 coupon for that too that is getting ready to expire. They have new big book of savings out now, and they only have one coupon in them this time for salad dressing.

Cornicopia Institute is going to research organic meat, to see if it is really organic. They are asking people to let them know what brands of organic meats they see in the grocery stores. They have already done research on organic eggs and organic milk. The great majority of the store brands of organic milk only get a rating of one cow out of five. The only store brand that they like that you can get around here is WF. Horizon they only give a rating of one cow too, as well as Earthland's Best eggs. Hope this helps, Nancy

Nancy, I don't know much about organic researches. I recall you posted you have a garden by Twiggs. Is it organic? I bought a vacant building on Simpson next to gardens and I am somehow sure my purchase was 100% organic.

Hi- Actually my garden is a block away on McCormick across from the Ecology center. Yes, my garden is organic. They encourage people not to use pesticides, and I believe weed killer such as roundup is supposed to be a no no. I don't know how you can guarantee that Twiggs is 100% organic though. It definitely is not certified. You are putting in a restaurant in that building? I am not sure how much street traffic you would get going down that street. Definitely McCormick gets a ton of traffic, but nobody going down McCormick would be able to see your place. There is an apartment building owned by Over the Rainbow a half a block away from your building, but all of those people are on fixed income. They do have evening concerts at Twigg's,, but they only take place twice a year. There is also an indoor farmer's market that takes place for five months at the ecology center on Saturdays too. Hope this helps, Nancy

NFriday wrote:Hi- Actually my garden is a block away on McCormick across from the Ecology center. Yes, my garden is organic. They encourage people not to use pesticides, and I believe weed killer such as roundup is supposed to be a no no. I don't know how you can guarantee that Twiggs is 100% organic though. It definitely is not certified. You are putting in a restaurant in that building? I am not sure how much street traffic you would get going down that street. Definitely McCormick gets a ton of traffic, but nobody going down McCormick would be able to see your place. There is an apartment building owned by Over the Rainbow a half a block away from your building, but all of those people are on fixed income. They do have evening concerts at Twigg's,, but they only take place twice a year. There is also an indoor farmer's market that takes place for five months at the ecology center on Saturdays too. Hope this helps, Nancy

When your garden is in Twiggs Park, the worst way to describe it is to say :"Actually my garden is a block away on McCormick across from the Ecology center." Feeling uncomfortable with neighborhood?
LOL, no big deal, I deal with fake Evanston aristocrats every day. Uh oh, I am across from Ecology.

I wasn't trying to put down Twiggs Garden. I was just pointing out the fact that I have a garden at McCormick Garden. One of the gardeners at Twigg's also fixes the wheelbarrows at McCormick, and I just talked to him last week. He is a really nice guy. There are four different community garden sites in Evanston.