PrintWhat little food "luxuries" do you allow yourself?
I go to a local coffee shop every day for my daily 12 oz. cup of bold black coffee. Yes, I could be saving a ton of money over time, but this is one little food (beverage in my case) luxury that I treat myself to everyday! What are your food "luxuries"? Maybe it's...the best cut of steak, a piece of good dark chocolate or a hunk of expensive cheese.
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30 Comments:
We routinely buy good cheese. And whenever we're on the West coast we buy cases of wine from our favorite small independent makers. The former goes fast... and the latter lasts. We're just finishing off a lovely 2002 Pinot now.
Ann Fisher at 7:39AM on 01/29/08
I try to buy most of my food from a gourmet grocery store that I really love. And I always buy good cheese and good coffee. No Maxwell House for me!
StudentStomach at 7:58AM on 01/29/08
We rarely eat beef (maybe once or twice a month), but when we do I buy prime dry-aged beef from the butcher. It's a few dollars more per pound, but definitely worth it.
Dominic
the zen kitchen
dvchurch at 8:01AM on 01/29/08
Salt - I don't really believe that sea salt is better for you, but it certainly tastes better to me.
Olive Oil - I prefer a rich and olive-y tasting "salad grade" Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Beer - so many popular beers seem to have no taste whatsoever, a good beer has all the rich flavors and complexities that a good wine will.
stonechiper at 8:09AM on 01/29/08
I try to be as frugal as possible, but there is some produce I will always pay higher to get organic (the ones highest in pesticides, i.e. apples, carrots, strawberries, etc.). Also the occasional good quality chocolate, good coffee to brew at home, organic dairy products, organic & omega-3 eggs. Hmm, now that I think about it, I probably splurge more on food than I do any other area of life!
mrsbao at 8:46AM on 01/29/08
I buy milk from a local creamery. It's delicious and comes in these neat glass deposit bottles.
Also, I buy organic bananas. I started this one day when I was at the food co-op and needed some and organic was all they had. For some reason, they seem to last for a reeeeally long time without getting brown and mushy. Is this my imagination? Anyway, I buy them all the time now.
Kerosena at 9:26AM on 01/29/08
Real Irish Cheddar Cheese. I live in the middle of cheese country, and we have so many wonderful cheeses, including aged cheddar. But there's something about Irish Cheddar, that just a nibble will satisfy any craving, and make me close my eyes and feel like I'm somewhere peaceful and serene.
ErikaWaz at 9:37AM on 01/29/08
I grew up in Hawaii and many of the sweets and snacks I love are not available to me on the mainland, at least not without hassle in acquisition. So I order the stuff. In fact, I got a really big delivery yesterday filled with all manner of ume and li hing treats, and Japanese candy, And those awesome pickled plums (kari kari ume). And the best part of all? Most of foods seem to be a taste that one must acquire in childhood (salty, sweet, sour and licorishy all at the same time), because pretty much no one I know likes this stuff unless they grew up eating it. So at work – no one asks to share. Awesome.
chisai at 9:41AM on 01/29/08
Liberte yogurt. It's more expensive but it makes other yogurts taste like plastic in comparison. Also, good chocolate and organic apples.
etcetera24 at 10:19AM on 01/29/08
Vosges Barcelona Candy Bar and Vosges Mo's Bacon Bar. The practical side of me cannot understand paying anything over a dollar for a candy bar. Also, good cheese, olive oil and bread.
evilchefmom at 10:25AM on 01/29/08
Starbucks
reynold975 at 10:50AM on 01/29/08
Zabar's coffee! I live in Baltimore and I know it sounds extravagant but I order my java from Zabar's. Coffee is the one and only thing I refuse to save money on by buying crap in the can. Regular old CAFFEINATED coffee. None of those ridiculous flavors for me. Oh yeah..with half-and-half!!
RichardCrystal at 11:14AM on 01/29/08
Well, sadly enough, unlike StudentStomach, I actually really like Maxwell House coffee...but then, I love the stuff that you get from the VI and perkins, too, so what does that say about my coffee tastes?
I spring for sushi to get me through my night classes for grad school. Something about the calmness that I get from slowly eating it, while trying to digest the lecture is remarkably soothing. But, basically I love sushi, so although I do not believe that it haas to cost more for good sushi (often I find that the moderate, but not cheap sushi, is the best), there is just something about it.
Also, good baking chocolate for when I really want to bake something nice.
I also have a chocolate shop (there are three in total - all family-owned and operated) in the town that i grew up in, and I have, like Chisai, had their chocolates posted to me while I was living overseas. You just can't beat them. In fact, there are a number of us from that area that work at my office, or go to class with me, and we always try to remember the others when we get a shipment or head up there for some. Everyone from that area knows about it, and does whatever it takes to get some! :)
Traveller at 11:18AM on 01/29/08
Must have good vanilla or any other kind of extract.
I compromise A LOT since we are really trying hard to pinch pennies. I enjoy the premium coffees/shops and fancypants chocolates (Godiva, mmm), but they aren't available here, so even though I would be tempted to go overboard there, it's a non-issue for me. And my store carries only a couple kinds of olive oil and they all taste about the same. So, again while I might be tempted, the temptaion does not exist in my neck of the woods.
coffeefrappe at 12:14PM on 01/29/08
Definitely real vanilla.
Blueberries. No matter the cost, they're worth it in taste and health benefits.
I also love fresh buffalo mozzarella. Got to have it!
Editmom at 12:28PM on 01/29/08
I splurge on alot of dairy products....Brown Cow yogurt, good cheese, the freshest butter I can find, 1/2 & 1/2 for my coffee instead of milk....but I also will splurge on good chocolate, and condiments....I love finding interesting sauces to try. I'll pretty much splurge on any food product , I'm worth it! lol
One of my recent "splurges" wasn't really a splurge financially...at least not in the long run. My husband & I recently purchased a 1/4 cow from a local farmer....it's the first time I've done it...and I'll definitely be doing it again! It was a large cash outlay - $375.00 - but at 148 lbs of beef it worked out to be $2.54/lb....not too shabby, considering the take included several delmonico & porterhouse steaks!
mepolo at 12:54PM on 01/29/08
Absolutely agree on the vanilla -- imitation extract (any kind, not just vanilla) tastes like cough syrup to me.
I also use good chocolate for baking -- but it doesn't have to be super-expensive. The Ghirardelli chocolate bars you get in the supermarket are really good.
Others: Gorilla coffee (delicious and rich, all fair trade and organic, roasted in my home state of Brooklyn), organic dairy products, grass-fed beef (though we don't eat much meat).
CookiePie at 1:23PM on 01/29/08
Eating out is our number one splurge. We do it it at least once a week.
Regularly...
- Stremick's Heritage Foods milk
- Imported cheeses of all kinds (I'd really hate to give this up)
- We pretty much bring home $12-$20 wine, but a couple or three times a month, we'll spend 3-4x that on something special, usually French
- Fresh wild-caught salmon in season
Only about once a month, but...
- Houston's cheeseburgers (we eat there about 3 times a month, but not usually for burgers; spending $16 for something as basic and humble as a cheeseburger will always strike me as indulgent)
- Fresh Chilean sea bass or ahi
Less often, but several times a year...
- Prime dry-aged steaks cooked at home on the grill
- Valrhona dark chocolate (I'm not a chocoholic, so one bar lasts at least a couple weeks)
LoCo at 1:42PM on 01/29/08
On Saturday or Sunday morning, I stop at the one French bakery in town and buy a Chocolate Croissant. Sometimes I will buy a baguette (I am not a big bread eater these days) and eat it with some marinated goat cheese or like last week I had it with some delicious smoked fish spread that I bought at the farmer's market. Other weaknesses or treats are cultured butter, cheese, dark chocolate, and as often as I can I love blackberries for my cereal in the morning. Good coffee is a must too along with organic milk. Of course these days I try to eat less, so I would rather eat a little of higher quality food than a lot of something that is poor. Also, I justify the cost because I save money by not cooking convenience food.
persephone113 at 2:02PM on 01/29/08
coffee beans, but i don't buy super expensive ones. still, we drop about $8-10/week on coffee beans, which seems like a lot (relative to our limited budget).
also, i regularly (about every week) buy nice gulf shrimp. its not terribly expensive here, but its the highest price per pound of animal protein that we get.
and once every couple of months we'll pig out on an antipasto-type dinner: good hams and saucisson, good cheeses, and all the little cornichons and olives, etc. adds up pretty quick. it's the only time my husband will go food shopping.
renzata at 2:59PM on 01/29/08
A splurge on good food is a great thing. This household figures, as long as its all eaten and enjoyed, it's worth the price.
Frequent plurges:
Cage-free, slaughtered-to-order chicken from a chicken farm
Organic exotic mushrooms from the Japanese market near here
Fresh shellfish like blue crabs when they're fat with roe or live shrimp, very gently steamed
Also, very good chocolate for me
fuuchan at 3:22PM on 01/29/08
I am generally a very frugal person but I consistently splurge on :
organic avocadoes (which I eat daily)
only Boar's Head brand cold cuts
decadent bakery brownies
natural peanut butter
fresh fish
KtMc24 at 3:55PM on 01/29/08
I'd rather not eat olives at all than buy cheap ones. Also, olive oil, grapeseed oil, real vanilla, good chocolate, shellfish (shrimp, scallops, mussels). We don't buy all this stuff on a regular basis, but when we do, it has to be really good quality.
Sushi - we have a great (although modest-looking) sushi place in the area, and try to eat there at least once a month.
Beer - there is only one brand that tastes good to me (Grolsch), and it happens to be pricier than all popular ones. I usually take wine over beer anyway, but if I fancy a beer, it has to be the good stuff.
Good cheeses (preferably, with fresh fruit) - since I'm the only one eating cheese in the house, this would be my personal splurge:-)
brooke29 at 4:09PM on 01/29/08
I agree with KtMc24... Only Boar's Head. If it ain't Boar's Head, we don't buy it! I find that there are certain things that I just can't buy generic (my husband disagrees, but also never even reads a label) -- Peanut Butter is another one.
flootsmith at 4:12PM on 01/29/08
After reading all your great comments on those little "extras" that make us appreciate good eats, I realize that I also occasionally buy the best chocolate from a local chocolatier and Fage 2% yogurt is eaten daily:)
What one little food "luxury" have you purchased for a family member or friend & what was their reaction?
JEP at 5:40PM on 01/29/08
McDonald's french fries about once every 6 months
eatmyfood at 9:42PM on 01/29/08
I can't afford most of the organic, cruelty free foods on the market but I do make an exception for eggs. It's usually only about a dollar more.
LizNYC at 1:33PM on 01/30/08
I bought grass fed beef at the Farmer's Market a few weeks ago and although it is pricey I will never go back to eating commercially grown beef. The taste is soooo much better, I'd sooner eat it less often and have the real deal.
LeeBee at 1:58PM on 01/30/08
country hen brand eggs. they're eight bucks a dozen, which is sort of ridiculous, but they're really delicious -- and one of what laurie colwin called life's cheap luxuries.
when i can, though, i try to get eggs at the greenmarket.
cybercita at 2:29PM on 01/30/08
If anyone has ever heard of Smoothie King...
Until my local one closed about a month ago, I would go 2 or 3 times a week and spend $3.81 on a coffee smoothie. If anyone has had a frappucino from Starbuck's, those don't even compare. The Smoothie King coffee smoothies are so thick and creamy and the perfect meal or afternoon treat. I was honestly depressed when the restaurant closed (and talking about it now just makes me want one more!!)
It's saving me money at the very least...
luswim06 at 2:32PM on 01/30/08