Just this afternoon I found myself with a hankering for some potato chips. It's not very often that I eat these things on account of how their grease tends to have a highly negative impact on my digestive tract. Every now and then though I just can't help myself and I succumb to the desire.

I stopped by a local convenience store to find my bag of chips and after a few minutes of perusing their selection I settled on the Ridges chips made by Wise. I think it might have been the words "Big Munch" next to the 99 cent price tag that pulled me in. I used to always buy the Cape Cod chips but I thought I might give Wise a shot at some of my hard earned cash.

The bag was clearly larger than any other bag in its price grouping and according to the weight data it contained 2.375 oz / 67g of chips. With that said I had also forgotten that Wise chips tend to be on the heavy side when you compare them to other chips. This is due in part to them not slicing their chips as finely as some other brands are prone to do.

After returning to my office space I proceeded to pop open the back and eat. That is when I came to a rather rude discovery.

Even tough the bag was large, and the weight clearly marked, I was more than a little bit surprised to see how much of the bag was filled with air. Looking into the bag it seemed like a very long way before those chips appeared. In fact, as you can see from the pictures, the chips took up about 1/3 of the available space inside the bag!

There is a lesson to be learned here and it does not only apply to chips. Whenever you go shopping it is always important to look not only at the price but also at the unit price when compared to similar items. Quality is also a very important factor but when all other things are equal I always try to use unit price as a basis for making my purchasing decision.

A few days ago I took my daughter with me to the grocery store to pick up a few items. One of her staple foods is Mac-n-Cheese. Unfortunately for us she has a preference for the SpongeBob licensed Mac-n-Cheese, which costs a little more than the basic elbow shaped product.

We do give her a weekly allowance of $5 that she is able to spend as she sees fit and she is pretty good with her own money. Seeing an opportunity for some learning I made a point of showing her the prices and unit prices of everything we purchased. She quickly caught on and when we arrived at the Mac-n-Cheese aisle she put the plain elbow variety in the cart and saved us about 25 cents per box.

When we got to the paper towel aisle things became a little bit more complicated. This happened because we had the option of buying them as single roles (most expensive), two-packs or 24-packs. As I am sure you can imagine the 24-pack was the best deal but I then had to explain to her that even though the pricing was the best it was not the best deal for us because we lack adequate storage space to keep the extra rolls. In the end we paid a little more and got the two pack.

Hi Folks,

Are you looking for great Italian food, New York style pizza, or the best sandwich in CT...for free? Okay, it's not free, but you can win a gift certificate...keep reading.

Mona Lisa...This small, but inviting establishment, gives the diner a truly great experience, no matter what you order. The atmosphere is cozy, warm, and friendly. Erin, one of the waitstaff, will take care of you like no other; she makes you feel as if you are the only person in the restaurant, paying attention to your every need. This is rare in this day and age, when most restaurants try to push the diner out the door as soon as their meal has been consumed.

I have been visiting Chef Abbas at Mona Lisa for about three years and this writer can say, that without a doubt, he is one of the best Italian chefs in Connecticut. Using only the freshest ingredients, he takes special care as he prepares each delectable dish, paying attention to nuance, presentation, and flavor. He boldly creates dishes that you simply cannot find anywhere else, while also creating standard Italian entrees.

Listed here are some of my favorite entrees:

Greek Salad- Everything you’d expect in a great greek salad, but with a bolder than average taste.

Classic Mediterranean Shrimp- Lightly sauteed shrimp in a luscious lemon/butter sauce, tossed over pasta.

Pasta Alfredo- You would swear that Chef Abbas WAS Alfredo. It should be called “Pasta Abbas”. It’s outrageous!

The Mona Lisa Grinder- This is, without a doubt, the BEST sandwich in CT. Words cannot describe it’s flavor, texture, and finish. It’s hard to believe that this is a grinder.

Calzones- You HAVE to try the “meat lovers with mushroom” variety. It’s both completely satisfying and filling.

Pizza- All of them are great, but the ‘Mona Lisa’ and ‘pesto’ are to die for. Also, ask for “sausage & mushroom”; their sausage is amazing...never dry or overly greasy and chunky.

CONTEST TIME:

Would you like to win a $25 gift certificate to Mona Lisa Ristorante? Simply goto ROCKWARS and email me, stating your name, email address, and mailing address in the email. The winner will be notified by email. You will not be added to a listserv. Employees of Mona Lisa are not eligible for this contest. This contest is available only through ROCKWARS.

For more information on Mona Lisa, please visit www.monalisaristorante.net.

Cheers,

The Force Drainer - Paul Starybrat

Amazon .com Grocery is a lot like shopping at a large warehouse like Costco, except with no crowds, a more diverse selection of products, and no driving. Almost all products are free shipping with an order over $25.00 and you can subscribe for extra savings and automatic delivery.

My first order consisted of a twelve pack of Annie’s Organic Macaroni & Cheese (my daughter’s main diet staple) and a three pack of Equal Exchange Fair Trade organic coffee (3 twelve oz. bags). The mac & cheese cost about $1.88 per box (usually over $2.00 at the supermarket), and the coffee came out to about $6.60 for a ground 12oz bag. The savings were good but not huge, but I got free shipping and no going to the store (awesome!). The not going to the store part is great if you shop with children in tow.

They offer many departments including natural & organic (my personal fave), gluten free, gourmet, personal care, household items, even pet care items.

The food items are all non-perishable, no produce, meats or dairy. They carry milks of all types in aseptic packages.

You could spend hours browsing the assortment of products they carry. I was also able to add in a book that my daughter wanted, all in the same order. Super Saver shipping took about a week by USPS.

I found the shopping experience to be a positive one for a few reasons, choice, savings most of the time (have your calculator handy), and convenience. The savings in gas alone if you live in a rural area is worth it. The free shipping was great too! I will definitely order again.

When I get paid I like to take a few dollars out of the ATM and pick up a coffee on the way into work. I don't care for Starbucks coffee at all so I usually go to one of the many Dunkin Donuts in the area and get a medium regular coffee and an egg and cheese breakfast sandwich. I can't get the bacon or sausage on my sandwich because of my meat allergies.

At any rate, the sandwich (on a croissant) runs me about $1.99 and the coffee comes to $1.55. With tax I pay a little under $4 but never ask for the change. I just give them the four dollars and if they hand me change I just drop it in the jar.

Today I went to hand the woman at the register my usual four dollars and I noticed the total was over four! I was not expecting a price change but they raised the price of the coffee by 30 cents. I found myself paying $1.85 for the coffee plus $1.99 for the croissant sandwich. The total was just under $4.25 so I gave her the cash and a quarter and dropped my change (a few pennies) in the tip jar. Needless to say I will not be going there again. The deli behind my office has a similar sized coffee for $1.25 and an egg and cheese sandwich for $2.50 and that includes tax.

This sudden price change really annoyed me because I take great pains to budget my money and that extra quarter screwed me up. You might wonder how a quarter can screw me up but it is real simple: quarters add up. Four quarters make a dollar and so on. That extra quarter will cost me $1.25 per week or $5 a month. It may not sound like much but that morning coffee and sandwich are wants not needs, I can easily eat at home and not eat out.

I end up saving money but the economy suffers in the long run because I am spending less money. Thanks Dunkin Donuts, for a 30 cent price jump I am now responsible for wrecking the economy...

Image used under Creative Commons License from Flickr user misocrazy

On Thursday, August 9th 2007, the 501st Legion CT Garrison will be making an appearance at Dairy Queen of East Hartford. Come join the fun! 

Beat the heat! Eat ice cream! Hang out with members of the Galactic Empire and take pictures with them! What more could you ask for? 

Best of all, half of the money generated from the day’s sales from the “Blizzard” frozen treat will be given to the Children’s Miracle Network. Everyone wins! 

DATE: 8/9/07 

TIME: 2pm-8pm 

LOCATION: Dairy Queen

441 Main St
East Hartford, CT 06118 

CLICK HERE FOR DIRECTIONS 

Cheers,
The Force Drainer
Paul Starybrat

Twinkies were developed as an inexpensive treat during the Depression. Jimmy Dewar, manager of the Schiller Park, IL bakery, noticed the pans for Hostess' Little Shortbread Fingers were only used during summer months. Dewar decided to make use of the pans throughout the year by filling them with golden sponge cake and banana filling. Today's vanilla filling was the result of a banana shortage during World War II. En route to show off his new idea in St. Louis, Dewar saw a billboard for "Twinkle Toe Shoes" - and the name Twinkies was born.

source - Hostess FAQ

When the world's banana trade ground to a halt during World War II Hostess substituted a vanilla creme filling that was not dissimilar to cake frosting. Ever since the 1940's Twinkies have been using the vanilla creme for the insides of the Twinkie.

After doing multiple "limited time only" offers in the past, Hostess has decided to bring back the banana creme filled Twinkie. After eating one I have to say that I like them!

What made them decide to offer them as a staple product? When King Kong came out (Jackson version) they released Banana creme filled Twinkies for four weeks as a promotional deal with the movie. In that time span Twinkie sales jumped 20%! After that the company was persuaded to offer them as a staple product.

These things are very tasty! I can't eat a lot of sweet snacks without getting a headache and these left me hungry for more.

I asked my wife to buy some and she said, "no Twinkies in our house for you!" I wonder what other chores my Mother-in-law needs me to do? She still has a nearly full box of them... Yum... Twinkies!