Gourmet Grocery Online has the Recession Meal Deal for $99.99 (down from $139.99) w/ free shipping. Contains 4 (7 oz.) Flat Iron Steaks, 4 (5 oz.) Broccoli & Cauliflower Roasted Garlic Oil, 4 (3 oz.) Oven Roasted Chicken Breasts, 2 (5 oz.) Broccoli & Cauliflower Roasted Garlic Oil, 2 (12 oz.) Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, 8 (3 oz.) Italian Sausage, Penne Pasta with Marinara & Parmesan Cheese. The recession is forcing even brands that style themselves as luxury are forced to cut prices and position themselves as “value,” even if it only means slightly less of a rip.
Recession Meal Deal [Gourmet Grocery Online] (Thanks to smcclure!)
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How is that a good deal?
or you could get a box of food from angel food ministries for 1/4 of the price and make just as good of a meal (and have enough left for 5 more meals)
@forrester:
er make that a 1/3 of the price
@forrester: Angel Food Ministries is aid for the poor and hungry…I would maybe feel a little bad about picking up a box of food from there when I can still go to a grocery store and shop deals.
@pecan 3.14159265: Wrong. Angel Food Ministries is more of a co-op buying program. AFM negotiates long term price deals and locks them in using the number of “clients” as a bargaining tool. This allows them to sell their boxes of food at a reduced price. You still have to pay for the food.
That’s different than getting free food from the local food pantry where you really would be stealing food if you were still able to purchase it yourself.
@winshape: Also, AFM donates $1 from each box to the sponsor church’s benevolence fund to help the poor and hungry.
So, by buying a box, you get cheaper food, expand the AFM client base to help them get cheaper rates, AND are making a donation to help the poor and hungry. It’s a WIN-WIN-WIN.
If you also volunteered to help stuff the boxes…then your cup of WIN overfloweth.
@winshape: Holy crap, that is COOL.
It’s too bad there’s no sites in norcal. Plenty down South, though, apparently.
Hey, if it sells, God bless. Hope someone is making money in this economy selling something besides ‘troubled assets.’ For my part, I’d rather buy a week’s worth of food for my family for that much. Granted, it probably wouldn’t be as fancy or tasty.
Does this stuff actually taste good though?
I’m a fan of Omaha Steaks when it comes to certain things like hot dogs. One pack of Hebrew National can run anywhere from $5 to $6, and that’s for the larger ones. Omaha Steaks can match the price, and their stuff is often on sale and you can get coupon codes.
This “deal” is higher than putting together the same items at a supermarket with some sale prices, or possibly without sale prices. I don’t get it.
And then, in a flash, Consumerist’s credibility, which had previously been based on unbiased reporting and its consumer-centric viewpoint, was gone forever.
@Carso: I’m thinking that the tone of this entire story is snarky and sarcastic – not to be taken as an endorsement of this “deal”.
@changed my name: Hrm, a re-read with that perspective does allow it to be interpreted that way…but if it is snarky sarcasm, it’s the most cleverly disguised sarcasm I’ve ever seen. Someone call Voltaire!
@Carso: I dunno – I guess if you compare the price of all this food to dining out, it’s not a bad deal. I think it’s more entertaining to think everything is sarcastic, though.
@Carso: Yup. Reads like a commercial. Not sarcastic. Not humorous. As for Consumerist always including “small humorous stories like this,” that was when they were Gawker. Now that Consumer Reports is running things, what might once be funny now looks more like pandering.
@Carso:
I saw it as a commercial as well.
Careful, you might get disemvoweled.
Another odious new practice.
Well, it does say Gourmet, doesn’t it? That means that the quality is exceptional. Like gourmet cat food.
@Monica Teasdale: The way this recession is going, pretty soon we are all going to be eating gourmet cat food. Well, those of us who can afford it, anyway!
@SalParadise: You wouldn’t *want* to eat gourmet cat food (Fancy Feast or all these new “natural” selections from the big name brands). Its full of chemicals and crap. You’d be better off spending the extra $0.30 – $0.40 per can and buying organic or holistic cat food. Its actually human grade, which means, yes, you can eat it. And so far from smelling it when I’m feeding my cat – it smells GOOD!
Its just crazy if you actually read the ingredients in cat / dog food. No wonder they were poisoned!
Seems rather expensive.
Let’s break this down further.
You get 28 oz of steak, 30 oz of broccoli and cauliflower roasted garlic oil, 12 oz of chicken breast, 24 oz of mashed potatoes, and 24 oz of italian sausage + pasta.
The only item that has any real value is the steak, all the rest is very cheap stuff at any market. What exactly is the value?
@philmin:
free shipping of course
@philmin: Exactly. This doesn’t look like much of a “deal” at all…it’s all cheap food.
Flatiron steaks aren’t even a particularly expensive cut of steak. This looks like a total ripoff to me.
@johnva: @philmin: Same thoughts here. Cheap food that isn’t even prepared in an interesting way. For me, gourmet = something I don’t have the skills or equipment to prepare on my own. When I splurge to go out and eat (or get some take-out) it’s to try something I otherwise would have no way of eating.
The preparation they do here adds no value to the meal beyond what you would get at the prepared foods section of most supermarkets. (Though I’ve never seen prepared steak at a supermarket… but I don’t eat beef, so I may have missed it). I’d pay $99 for a meal, but it had better be extremely impressive.
What exactly is “broccoli and cauliflower roasted garlic oil”?
@changed my name: Yes, what is it? I don’t feel like looking. . . anyone?
Now I’m craving steak!
Also, with all this news of the recession, I just learned that I’m getting a 1.5% raise! Down from the 3.5% I got last year, but it’s a RAISE!
I love my job.
@nakedscience: Yaaay a raise! I want a raise. Oh wait, I’m making practically pennies. I guess I could get 10 cents and it could be a 300% raise. Sigh.
Here’s hope I get a real job soon.
@nakedscience: Yes I also now am craving a nice steak, I wont order this “special” though, as $99 does seem a little overpriced.
I think ill just stick to going to Stop And Shop for my “gourmet” steaks.
The portions are small!
@pecan 3.14159265: I love Omaha Steaks. You can get an absurd amount of food for $50 with a coupon. We filled our freezer by each buying one of the package deals and it’s great. The portions are small, but that’s actually probably better for my health. I think we got something like 2 filet mignons, 2 steaks of another cut, 4 stuffed baked potatoes, 10 hot dogs, 4 chicken breasts, 8 burgers, and some other item that I can’t remember. And now I want burgers again…
@h3llc4t: I think I might have burgers tonight. We’ve been doing hot dogs and soup lately, which seems weird, but it’s a great way of balancing something healthy (home made chicken and corn chowder) and something extremely unhealthy (mmmmmm hot dog).
I’m not a fan of their burgers because I can buy much cheaper by monitoring the meat at the store, but their steaks are pretty good if you cook them properly, and their hot dogs are probably the most cost-efficient things you can get because they can generally match what grocery stores charge.
Or you could buy about 95 boxes of generic mac ‘n cheese and make three months worth of dinner.
News flash: Food can be purchased for different prices!
This just in: Pre-prepared food costs more than stuff you make yourself!
snark/off
Frankly, I do find this an interesting post.
The point to me is that it’s not just WalMart and Taco-Bell trying to market to a depressed economy. Luxury retailers are also cutting prices to attract business.
@SkokieGuy: Trader Joe’s mac & cheese is only 99¢. It is better than the generic sort you find in the supermarket.
@SkokieGuy: Actually, I went on a date with my husband last night to Coldstone and I noticed that they now have “daily specials”. A different little free, 2-for-1 or some other offer every weekday. Considering how expensive they are, I was surprised to find them so busy.
@samurailynn: The Coldstone at my local mall is ALWAYS busy, usually populated by teens. I find their prices too much and their servings too big, and they won’t let me get the kid’s size.
@ pecan 3.14159265 Good luck on the job hunt!! I’m sure something will turn up.
sara lee outlets = profit
seriously slightly dented boxes equal a substantial discount.
@logicalnoise: I miss Sara Lee’s cakes. They were moist and had a ridiculous amount of icing on them. Good times.
@Rectilinear Propagation: And with the sheet cakes, you could just pick the frosting for the whole cake up at once and make that its own serving. Until the rest of the family caught you. Mmm.
This is not a deal in any way but in name. Plus I dbout it’s safe to buy a frozen product that ships via fedex ground.
@Corporate_guy: I’m pretty sure it ships in the same boxes you’d get if you ordered a fresh lobster via catalog.
Business Idea: A box of “recession bills,” $1 bills for lighting your cigars with instead of $50s. Now even Wall Street CEO’s can get in on the “recession” fad!
Corporate_guy, it’s safe. Why wouldn’t it be safe? They tend to use dry ice, or refrigerated trucks.
@pecan pi (golly, I’d like for replies to work again)
I don’t *think* I have qualms about buying from Angel Food — haven’t tried to, because it’s too much food and I don’t have a deepfreeze. They allow you to buy food *alongside* the poor; there’s no shortage, so it’s not as if you are consuming resources that would _otherwise_ go to the poor.
That said, they’re being investigated by the FBI for as-yet unstated reasons, so this discussion may become academic real soon.
[www.chron.com]
@kexline: There were rumors awhile back that Angel Food Ministries was being used to generate work for the founder’s trucking business or something along those lines, and that they were being run in a way that was rife with conflicts of interest. I don’t know how true that is, but that’s what I had heard.
@kexline: To me, the article pointed out bank CEOs are not the only people who get paid outrageous amounts sometimes. Many heads of nonprofit organizations get paid a lot, but they are essentially running a business, even if it is a nonprofit. They have to balance budgets and checkbooks and work on fundraising. I know plenty of people in nonprofits and their bosses make a great deal of money – but that’s only in cases where the nonprofits are massive. I know heads of nonprofits making barely more than the average middle management guy in the for-profit sector.
@Carso:
it’s very good sarcasm.
carso, might want to have that sarcasm-o-meter tuned up…
@changed my name: this is EXACTLY what I was wondering! maybe they left out a “with”? or maybe you actually get 5 ounces of garlic-flavored oil … as your beverage, perhaps?
Around $7.40 per pound. That’s close to what our local Chinese buffet charges for carryout.
It’s not sarcasm.
@undefined: I don’t see sarcasm either. The last line verifies that it’s still kind of a rip but the previous 6.75 lines read as an endorsement.
Feeding roughly 7 or 8 for $99 probably isn’t bad though as long as the food doesn’t taste like microwaved junk.
@carso: (reply still not working)
Get over it. Consumerist has always included small humorous stories like this.
The REAL recession meal is store brand Hamburger Helper and “Manager’s Special” expiring-today hamburger meat.
@ philmin
1:20 PM
Let’s break this down further.
You get 28 oz of steak, 30 oz of broccoli and cauliflower roasted garlic oil, 12 oz of chicken breast, 24 oz of mashed potatoes, and 24 oz of italian sausage + pasta.
The only item that has any real value is the steak, all the rest is very cheap stuff at any market. What exactly is the value?
free shipping?
Thisd post makes me love having a Grocery Outlet nearby even more.
Four 7oz steaks with veggies. Four 3oz chicken breasts with veggies. Eight so-so Italian plates. I’m figuring, conservatively
- about $30 for the steaks
- $10 for the chicken
- I don’t care for italian sausage, so I’ll just say another $20 to not have to eat it
- $20 for veggies and pasta
$80 for the food, making it a $20 convenience charge on top. Yeah, I’d say that’s about worth it.
Though, any of us could easily find the meat and produce at half my estimates, and these are very easy meals to prepare. $30 for the steaks is quite high, but lets say you want some quality meat instead (unlike what you’ll be getting with food-by-mail). $10 for less than a pound of chicken? Ha! I have no idea what 1.5 lbs of italian sausage runs, and I don’t want to know. $20 for the rest may be sensible for the average grocery store (substitute the parmesan, though). Buy in bulk, and you could probably make all this and more for around $30 easy.
@chrisjames: Yeah, the real “recession meal deal” is probably to cook things from scratch from staple ingredients.
@chrisjames: Guido runs in the three slot and rarely ever wins.
[en.wikipedia.org]
chrisjames: 1.5 lb of italian sausage at my local store is about $7.
Wow. I once made a huge pot of damn good chili that lasted me a whole 3 days. 1 pound of meat, 2 cans of beans, 1 can of tomatoes, 1 can of corn, 1 bottle of beer, 1 onion, 5 cloves of garlic, salt, pepper. I spent a grand total of less than $10.
Comparison to similar home made meals I make:
4 (7 oz.) Flat Iron Steaks
Substitute 2 1.5-lb Sirloin Steaks, cut in half, dusted with seasoned salt and let sit for 15 minutes before grilling = $11.00
4 (5 oz.) Broccoli & Cauliflower Roasted Garlic Oil
Substitute 1 lb each VIP frozen broccoli and cauliflower, braise with minced garlic ($3 for 1 lb. bottle), olive oil, and seasoned salt for a few minutes = $4.25
Meal cost: $15.25
Throw in fresh mashed potatoes ($3) and a bottle of good clearance cabernet ($3) = $21.25
====
4 (3 oz.) Oven Roasted Chicken Breasts
Substitute 2 frozen chicken split breasts (4 servings, about 6 oz each, oven roasted, $3.50
2 (5 oz.) Broccoli & Cauliflower Roasted Garlic Oil
Substitute 1/2 lb each VIP frozen broccoli and cauliflower, braise with minced garlic ($3 for 1 lb. bottle), olive oil, and seasoned salt for a few minutes = a little over $2
2 (12 oz.) Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes,
Substitute fresh mashed potatoes, $3
Meal cost = $8.50
Add a $3.00 bottle of good clearance Merlot, $11.50
====
8 (3 oz.) Italian Sausage
Substitute 4 links locally made sausage (Polish, Italian, or Hot), grilled, $4.25
Penne Pasta with Marinara & Parmesan Cheese
Substitute 1 bag TinkYada Rice Penne ($3), 1 bottle Bertolli 5-Cheese Pasta Sauce ($2), and fresh deli parmesan ($2) = $7
Throw some ‘shrooms in the pasta sauce: $2
Meal cost = $11.25 + $3.00 clearance wine and mushrooms = $16.25
===
Total cost without extras: $15.25+8.50+11.25 = $35.
With extras: $21.25+11.50+16.25 = $49.
I don’t know where y’all shop, but this is nowhere near to a good deal. Each meal takes less than an hour of hands-on time if you know what you’re doing. Unless I was able to use that time to work on a project at a rate of $25 an hour or better, I wouldn’t even break even. Additionally, the home cooked versions will be fresher, the portion sizes larger, and the potential for leftovers for lunch exists.
I would also put a green salad with homemade dressing ($4) and rice and lentils cooked with homemade chicken stock (essentially free) with the chicken, not the broccoli.
Just cook for yourself if you really want to be frugal (and healthy, and support your local economy).
And it has “free shipping” so it has to be good.
wow a collection of shitty food thats too expensive.
I can order a nice entire tri-tip cut from Us foods for $100 that will feed 4 people and be much better than some shitty 7oz portions of junkmeat