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Grocery Shopping During The CoronaVirus Pandemic In Metro Phoenix AZ – Week 5

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The Pandemic is only increasing and grocery shopping is becoming more deadly. Among the more crowded places that people need to shop from are the grocery stores. It is necessary to avoid as many people as possible. We need to keep a distance of at least 6 feet between people. We need to shield our eyes, nose and mouth. Our hands need to be sanitized after touching anything. It’s also important not to touch our faces. As crowded as the supermarkets are here it is difficult to maintain a six foot distance at all times. Especially now when everyone is out of work and are on the hunt for paper products. I’ve decide to do my first grocery pick up to avoid people.

My first choice was Sprouts Grocery. I’m embarrassed to admit this but…I had trouble logging in. I got a message that my password didn’t match my email and didn’t see an option for a new password or an option of how to change password. I got very frustrated and tried Safeway.

At Safeway I didn’t have any trouble logging in. I didn’t find everything I wanted but found enough. Then when I was about to finalize things I got the message that my order wouldn’t; be ready for SIX DAYS. So I left Safeway.com and went to Walmart.Com

I was able to log in.

I ordered a bunch of produce and some other food. They didn’t have everything I wanted but I got most things I wanted.

One thing I wanted was yeast so I can bake some bread. I typed in yeast and seriously got feminine products. Then I brought the baking category up and all 17 pages were free of yeast but I found cake batter extract.

I have no FORKING idea of why anyone would buy cake batter extract. If you make a cake doesn’t it taste like cake? Why would anyone need cake batter extract?

Then I tried to get paper towels.

The only paper towels I could buy were some sort of Scott Professional Towels for glass so I bought one.

I’m real paranoid about toilet paper now. I got a bunch of rolls by accident before the pandemic (luckily I was forgetful and forgot I had bought a pack and bought another big pack) but I am frightened that I will never be able to buy toilet paper again. I got plenty for now but I know it won’t last forever. So I tried to buy a pack of toilet paper.

WTFORK!

I typed in toilet paper in the search and this is what I got.

Walmart search recommended Reynold’s Cookie Baking Sheets that are pre-cut.

That’s FORKED UP!

So I paid and I get to pick up my groceries with no added charge for pick up in two days. I forgot a few things that I wanted and even for me it was very easy to add them on.

Since I’m getting paranoid about toilet paper I called up Smart and Final (the store were I normally buy most of my paper products). The manager told me that if I want to buy paper towels and toilet paper from them that I have tp come on their delivery days and wait in line before they open at 6am. He said every delivery day they have a line of people out there that buy out all the paper products within an hour.

YIKES this sucks!

So my pick up order from Walmart is ready.

YIKES! I didn’t know I have to communicate with Walmart with some app I didn’t install.

My tech…(my husband)…worked that out for me.

Oh they made 7 substitutions.

4 things were out of stock.

Then I let them know that I am on my way.

We pull into a pick up spot.

I call the number and it’s the wrong and the message says to call another number. I panic because I can’t remember what number they said to call. My husband jumps in and calls the number and uses two phones and calls the number on message. We get an old Walmart message that the store is closing early on December something. Then he gets the menu of departments and picks #3 for pick up. The phone rings and rings and nobody answers. He calls again and speaks to the operator. The operator says it’s not her fault that nobody answers the phone. We are one of ten cars that are waiting for pick up. My husband get out and talks to someone. We get our groceries before everyone else who is waiting…(yeah one for us!)

We see people leaving Walmart with toilet paper but for some reason I couldn’t order toilet paper for pick up. My husband bravely goes in and gets a pack of toilet paper. (just so I feel better)

This was crazy.

A few days latter I ordered some stuff from Costco. The delivery is free if you buy a certain amount of groceries. I don’t know if the service that I received was typical but I ordered (toilet paper was out of stock) and paid. I had an option to pick different time frames of delivery for TODAY! The delivery person asks if I want to add on toilet paper to my order!!!!!!! So I said YES and in 25 minutes my order was delivered to me!!!!!! and I got paper towels too!

WOW! COSTCO WAS FORKING AWSOME!

Everything is subject to change. I sure hope it does change for the better.

The Forking Truth

Take Out During The CoronaVirus Pandemic in Metro Phoenix AZ – Phila-Deli, Desert Island Eatery, Mochilero Kitchen, Fabio On Fire, Popo’s Fiesta Del Sol

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We are trying to support as many local restaurants as we can during the pandemic.

Our first stop this week was a sandwich shop in north Glendale called Phila-Deli.

Today I got a very generously sized small (not small at all) chicken steak wrap.

Got lettuce, tomatoes, onions and hot pickled peppers. It’s tasty.

My husband enjoyed a full size cheese steak.

He got it with peppers, onions and hot peppers.

Next stop was Desert Island Eatery for DELICIOUS Caribbean Food.

I ordered and paid on the phone. They practice safe distancing and have a table set up in front of the restaurant for your order.

I got a combo plate of jerk and curry chicken with rice, peas and cabbage. My husband got a tri-plate of the same as mine plus bbq chicken. We tried a vegan macaroni and cheese and a chicken and a beef hand pie. All was Incredibly FORKING Delicious. The chicken is so flavorful and just falls off the bone. Portions are extra large so this is 2 meals or more. We had some help with all this delicious food.

Who opens up a brand new restaurant during a pandemic?

Mochilero Kitchen just opened a few days ago in Peoria in the area that is considered the upper west side so we wanted to try it.

They are practicing social distancing and have 6 feet marked with tape by the entrance.

We tried chips and salsa, a papa bravo taco, a chicken pibil bowl and a short rib bowl.

Everything was very fresh. The proteins were cooked nice. Some of what we tried was very delicate with flavors. My favorite was the papa bravo taco. It had the most flavors and was slightly spicy. This new restaurant sure have TONS of potential with lots of delicious sounding things to offer when they turn into a dine in restaurant. Their esquires with chiltepin sound great! So does their Chula Swordfish with ancho butter with Brussels sprouts. I can’t wait to try their shishitos with corn smut and esplette pepper when they fully open.

We also did take out from Fabio On Fire in Peoria. This place has the local distancing down better than anyone. You order and pay on line and they communicate with you by text. You order goes on a sanitized table outside.

We got tasty vegetarian butternut squash raviolis, gnocchi in bolognese sauce some fresh baked bread and the FORKING BEST STRAWBERRY Gelato in the whole wide world!

Last Take Out this week was from Popo’s Fiesta Del Sol in Glendale.

I got my usual chicken fajita salad and my husband got the carnitas.

Today they forgot the peppers and onions for my salad but they gave us chips and salsa (last time they forgot the chips and salsa) But the salad is tasty. My husband enjoys the carnitas.

We also took out four margaritas. They are very strong….so strong that they can do push ups.

As usual we had help with the food.

Our take out this week during the pandemic was from…..

Phila-Deli

Desert Island Eatery

Mochilero Kitchen

Fabio On Fire

Popo’s Fiesta Del Sol

Everything is subject to change and we hope it does for the better.

The Forking Truth

Grocery Shopping During The CoronaVirus Pandemic in Metro Phoenix AZ – Week 4

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The numbers of the infected and dead are rapidly rising and going out to grocery shop does seem more deadly. Today 4/9/2020 there are just over 3,000 people in Arizona reported with coronavirus. It’s much worst in New Jersey where there are more than 47,000 reported cases and far worst in New York where I didn’t even look. They say on the news to wear a mask or scarf when you are out so I did. I also heard to shield your eyes and to make sure that you distance yourself at least six feet from other people. It’s also important to wash your hands whenever you touch anything outside of your house and never to touch your face. I felt reasonably safe last week shopping at Costco so I went back this week hoping to load up on some stuff. Just like last week you now stand in line before they let you in and only let in so many people at a time.

This week Costco ran out of sanitizing wipes for you to use while shopping but they did disinfect your cart for you before they gave it to you.

This week they did have a selection of raw chicken at a very good price….(only 99cents a pound for chicken thighs) However they were still were out of most paper products like toilet paper (so lucky I don’t need for a while!!!!) and paper towels. I happen to be out of paper towels so I purchased a giant box of tri folded paper towels. You know the kind that you might find in rest room dispensers. They aren’t so great but they are better than no paper towels.

A few days latter my husband stopped into Fry’s Super Market. He said it looked mostly stocked except for the paper products.

I wanted to shop at more stores for more things I need but am slightly frightened to come in contact with someone with the virus. They said on the news as long as you are at a safe distance and don’t touch your face and wash up correctly that you should be fine. They also said on the news that you won’t catch coronavirus from food that you eat. They said on channel 3 news on April 3rd that even if a person has coronavirus and makes your food that you won’t catch the virus that way. …(***that is great news but I can’t say for sure that it is factual) They said on the news that you catch the virus from someone breathing, taking, coughing or sneezing….???????

I’m expecting to be doing some sort of grocery pick up or delivery next week.

Everything is subject to change and we hope it does for the better.

That was grocery shopping during the coronavirus pandemic in Metro Phoenix – Week Four

The Forking Truth

Bomba an Italian Calabrian Hot Chili Pepper Condiment – Forking Thoughts on Tasting – Colluccio , Italian Harvest & Trader Joes

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Bomba is an Italian Calabrian Hot Chili Condiment. It’s a bomb of flavor and heat that adds dimension, flavor and heat to food. A little goes a long way. You might want to use it on bread, pasta, sandwiches, sauces, soups, pizza, eggs, fish or vegetable salads. Sometimes I add some bomba to tomato sauce and to meatballs. There are many different brands of bomba. Most grocery stores don’t carry bomba so usually I buy it on the internet. I haven’t tried them all yet but here are three that I’ve tried.

Each one is a product of Italy. Each one has a different texture and a different taste but they all have heat.

The peppers have a little funk from Trader Joe’s. I thought I tasted garlic but there is no garlic in the Trader Joe’s…..I guess I was craving garlic with this one.

Italian Harvest is almost just hot oil with crushed chili in it. This one has a nice clean bright almost fresh tasting hot chili taste.

I do note that I usually buy Coluccio Brand and it differs each and every time I buy it…Sometimes it’s extra hot and sometimes it is almost mild.

Today the Coluccio brand taste like it’s made with very good olive oil. It’s chunky with lots of olive tasting vegetables and some spices. It seems mild and tasty at first and then it builds in heat that lingers.

I like all the Bomba here. Each one had something different to it.

I tried Trader Joe’s

Italian Harvest

Coluccio

It’s better to have any jar of Bomba than to not have a jar of Bomba.

The Forking Truth

Take Out During The CoronaVirus Pandemic in Metro Phoenix AZ – Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery, Skewers Mediterranean Grill, Alzohour Market, Doda’s Pizza, Cafe Chenar

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We are trying to support as many local restaurants as we can during the pandemic. I don’t know if the news is factual? They said that you won’t catch coronavirus from food. They said even if someone with coronavirus makes your food you won’t catch it that way. The virus passes from someone breathing, talking, coughing or sneezing 6 feet or less from you. During the pandemic you should shield your eyes, nose and mouth. You need to wash your hands every time you touch anything outside of your house. As far as we know Take Out Food should be safe.

First stop this week was our Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery. This restaurant is located in North Phoenix and serves all your Vietnamese favorites except for pho.

Today I had the noodle salad with grilled chicken and a tasty vegetarian egg roll.

My husband had the grilled pork rice plate.

The food is always fresh and tasty. Portions are always LARGE and prices are always LOW!

We always enjoy Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery.

A few days latter we packed up the dogs and did pick up from Skewers Mediterranean Grill.

We tried a very delicious eggplant salad and their creamy hummus.

For my main I had the chicken kabob salad bowl again.

My husband tried the chicken shawarma salad bowl.

Everything was fresh and tasty. Portions on take out were much larger than dine in.

Next stop was Alzohour Market in Glendale for Moroccan/Middle Eastern Cuisine.

I’ve tried much of the menu but never had the chicken kabob until today.

WOW! It’s delicious and very moist!

My husband got the lamb couscous.

I think the couscous dishes are one of her masterpiece dishes. There’s a lot going on here.

Both entrees came with side salads that had this insanely delicious lemony dressing.

Portions were extra large but we had some help with that.

Next we packed up the dogs and did take out from Doda’s Pizza in Glendale.

They do what I call east coast flavored neighborhood pizza…..not artisan….not Neapolitan but superior to chain take out pizza. They make a flavorful dough, a good tasting rich sauce and better cheese than from other similar restaurants in the area.

We took out two slices of their regular cheese pizza.

We also tried a Margherita.

Last stop this week was take out from Cafe Chenar in North Phoenix for Bukharian Cuisine.

You might be wondering WTFork is Bukharian Cuisine? It’s a kosher offshoot of Pan Asian with influences from Russian, Muslim, Uzbek and Korean. We had tasty chicken and beef lulyas (ground seasoned meat cooked on a skewer), chuchuara (stuffed pasta), achichuk (salad) and a salmon skewer. Everything was delicious and there was precautionary distancing there and a bottle of hand sanitizer.

“Don’t worry we are in this thing together”

We were able to support 5 local small businesses this week.

Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery

Skewers Mediterranean Grill

Alzohour Market

Doda’s Pizza

Cafe Chenar

Everything is subject to change and we hope it does for the better.

The Forking Truth

Grocery Shopping during the CoronaVirus Pandemic in Metro Phoenix AZ – Week Three – Still no paper products but I’ve found eggs

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This week we’ve been to Fry’s. Safeway, Walmart Grocery and Bashas supermarkets. Fry’s was reasonably well stocked except for paper products. Walmart Grocery was also reasonably stocked and out of paper products but I was lucky to find eggs this week. They were almost out of eggs but had around 6 flats in the refrigerator and I was lucky to get one with a limit on one. Last week Walmart Grocery was the only supermarket near me that had fresh raw chicken. Safeway was the least stocked of all the supermarkets with very little produce and no paper products. They didn’t have their usual brands of chicken and offered frozen raw whole chickens of a brand I never heard of. I bought one and it made Walmart Chicken seem like the best chicken in the whole wide world. This Sun something brand of Safeway Chicken had an abnormally large breast and tiny legs that were like white meat wings. It was one of the worst chickens I’ve ever tried with a weird texture and not the best taste. I don’t normally shop at Bashas because there isn’t one near me. I stopped into a Bashas because I was in the area of one and needed fresh herbs I couldn’t find near me this week. They had the herbs but this was the only supermarket that didn’t offer hand sanitizer and also didn’t offer sanitizing wipes. They still used the moving belt by the cashier without sanitizing it. I felt unsafe shopping there during this pandemic.

I don’t know if my experience is typical from other similar super markets.

That was Week 3 of Grocery Shopping during the CoronaVirus Pandemic in Metro Phoenix AZ.

Everything is subject to change and I hope it does for the better.

The Forking Truth

Take Out During The CoronaVirus Pandemic in Metro Phoenix AZ – Taco Fusion , Pita Kitchen , Confluence, Sala Thai & Popo’s Fiesta Del Sol

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We are supporting local restaurants as much as we can during the pandemic.

We did take out from a newly opened casual Taco Fusion. I’ve been there a couple weeks ago and was blown away with how great the food was….(particularly the mild habanero chicken taco with pineapple salsa…)…. I also was so happy that it wasn’t too far from where I lived so I thought it was extra important to stop here and give them some business. When we made our take out order we were told that they were offering 4 of their 8 salsas today and didn’t have pineapple salsa today.

All the tacos and quesadilla was delicious. The tortillas are hand made. The flour tortilla is thinner and bigger with less flavor than the hand made corn tortilla. The asada is more flavorful and more tender than from another popular taco place in the area. The fish taco is different and is topped with sweet carrots. They are all very good tacos but I still like the mild habanero chicken taco best. It’s full of really good flavors. It’s the one taco that is even better than a chicken taco from Mexico. (I’ve actually tasted many tacos on the streets of Mexico a few times) The sauces are good..we got one I’ve never tried before anywhere. It’s a dark ultra spicy sauce that is borderline too hot for me but if I only use a drop or two is wildly delicious. Very GOOD Tacos from Taco Fusion in Glendale.

Our next take out was from Pita Kitchen in Glendale. This is small Greek Casual Mediterranean restaurant.

We packed up our dogs and did a pick up.

I got my usual chicken kabob salad. I have to say that this chicken is abundant, moist, developed with flavors, delicious with a really tasty char on it. I really think their chicken kabob is the best in town.

My husband got the gyro Greek salad with added pickles.

We also got delicious fresh pita bread that they make there.

Our friends also helped us enjoy the food on our patio.

We did get take out from the AMAZING Confluence Restaurant in Carefree.

We picked up a fresh baked fontina roll that is to die for.

Tried some delicious vegetable soup that was so light and different. It was made with the fancy cauliflower and lots of parsnips.

For dinner had that incredible FORKING DELICIOUS Fried Chicken with broccolini and buttery cooked potato.

The sweet ending was a dark chocolate brownie for dessert.

We enjoyed delicious Thai Food from Sala Thai in Peoria.

I had the spicy pumpkin basil with chicken and brown rice.

They gave us a CRAZY amount of brown rice. After we took what we wanted there was THREE EXTRA whole cups of rice that I portioned out and froze.

My husband had the spicy egg bomb with chicken and brown rice.

Then we went to Popo’s Fiesta Del Sol in Glendale.

I got my usual chicken fajita salad.

My husband got some sort of Mexican Beef Plate with rice, beans and tortillas.

We got margaritas to go. They were packed nicely and were very strong.

This week we were able to support five restaurants.

Taco Fusion in Glendale

Pita Kitchen in Glendale

Confluence in Carefree

Sala Thai in Peoria

Popo’s Fiesta Del Soll in Glendale

We are doing our best to help support small business restaurants. If you care about a small business you should give your support.

The Forking Truth

The CoronaVirus Apocalypse in Metro Phoenix AZ – Week Two – Annoying but no Famine this week

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Last week was brutal. My local Safeway super market was only filled with 20%-30% groceries. There was very little that could be purchased.

This week I went to Walmart Grocery.

I almost cried when I saw all the produce. It’s so much closer to normal.

They were also out of a lot of things like onions, potatoes, hot dogs, eggs, all paper products. A lot of things were very low or missing but at least they had fresh looking chicken so I was happy.

packaged cheeses

No eggs today.

Since I’m down to my last paper towel I stopped at CVS. They had a few paper towels left with a sign that says limit one. I grabbed a two pack of bounty paper towels. I don’t know if they priced gouged me because with tax the two rolls cost over TEN DOLlARS…dang I normally pay a little over a dollar a roll in a big multi roll pack from Costco….

A few days latter I went back to Walmart Grocery. I also had trouble buying my dog’s Blue Buffalo Food. The Dog Food Stores were out of the big bags and I was almost out but got lucky and found a couple small bags at Walmart. They still lacked paper products but there was maybe a half dozen containers of eggs with a limit of one per customer. I was lucky to get eggs this time. They only had 6 cartons and one was an extra large box of eggs so I snagged it up.

I also went to Costco. They now make you wait in a line and so many people are allowed in at a time. Many were waring masks. I’m not a fan of Costco raw chicken since they switched to Foster Farms Brand but they were still out of raw chicken and most paper products. I did notice that the empty shelves from last week now are filled with water bottles. They also had eggs this week. Now they block off the aisles and funnel you to one area with six foot spaces to check out. All cart contents stay in the cart and sneeze guards have been installed by the cashiers.

That’s how things were this week.

The CoronaVirus Apocalypse in Metro Phoenix Week Two – Annoying but no Famine this week.

Everything is subject to change and I hope it does for the better.

The Forking Truth

Take Out During The Coronavirus in Metro Phoenix AZ – Fabio On Fire, Banh Mi Bistro & Cucina Tagliani

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We are supporting local restaurants during the coronavirus crisis. We did Fabio On Fire in Peoria and took out two pizzas.

They converted the restaurant to “CURB SIDE ONLY” and ordering and payment is online. They communicate with you by text messaging. Then you order is placed on an outside table. After you pick up your order the table is sanitized.

My husband enjoyed a sacciccia e funghi pizza $14.95. (sausage and mushrooms)

“Good Stuff!”

I enjoyed a bufalina pizza $15.95. (arugula, imported buffalo mozzarella, balsamic and extra virgin olive oil.

Another take out was Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix.

Everyone was doing take out from here because they ran out of rice, noodles and pork.

They are a PHO-FREE Vietnamese Eatery…Most of your usual Vietnamese favorites but no pho.

Eat a banh mi instead!

Today I took out a chicken banh mi ($7.00. I ate half today and will eat the other half tomorrow.

half the sandwich is pictured

I had some help from my furry friends.

My husband had a shaken beef banh mi ($8.00).

This is half

We always enjoy everything from Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery.

We also did take out from Cucina Tagliani in Glendale.

The dinners came with lots of garlic toast.

I had grilled salmon with asparagus and spaghetti squash in a lemon caper sauce ($23.99). My husband had shrimp diabolo ($21.99).

My husband surprised me with an added on mascarpone chocolate cake.

It’s a very big slice and feeds at least four people but it really is delicious!

That was my take out in Metro Phoenix during the coronavirus.

Fabio On Fire

Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery

Cucina Tagliani

It’s important during these times to support your local eateries!

The Forking Truth

CoronaVirus Apocalypse and It seems like Famine in Metro Phoenix AZ – Week One

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I didn’t noticed much of a change shopping for food until this past weekend. I was at Costco a warehouse shopping type of store. I didn’t really need too many things so I didn’t look for too many things either. It seemed like they offered most of the foods they normally offer but they were out of paper products, eggs and bread. It’s possible that they were out of more things but I didn’t notice. To me it didn’t seem like a crisis but it sure did seem annoying.

First time I’ve seen empty shelve at Costco
Lots of empty shelving at Costco

Latter in the week I thought I’d go to Safeway for chicken because Costco sells a brand of chicken that I don’t like. I had no idea that Safeway’s shelves would be like this.

Not much here.

Tomatoes are usually here.

They have a few things. They have Japanese eggplants and it looks like yellow beans and green beans. On the other side is Savoy cabbage.

Here’s most of the rest of the produce.

No potatoes or onions.

The meat counter is out of meat. It’s not like I came in at an off time. I came Tuesday just after lunch.

They are out of all raw chicken and raw turkey today.

They have some meat but it’s vegetarian, some beef and some pork.

Not much here.

Not much here.

Not much here.

Not much here either.

This is a crisis. Nobody can live forever like this.

This is the FORKING CoronaVirus Apocalypses and this is what it’s Forking Like To Buy Food. It seems like Famine in Phoenix Week One. I can only hope that next week is better.

Everything is subject to change and I FORKING HOPE THAT IT DOES!

The Forking Truth