Is the Price Right?
• June 17, 2010

After you enjoy some great barbecue food in Georgetown, try doing some grilling of your own. This week for “Is the Price Right?” we visited five area grocery stores – Dean & Deluca, Giant, Safeway, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods – to find the best deals on side dishes to add to your summer barbecue experience.

Baked beans are always a summer favorite and relatively cheap. To get the best price pick up Giant’s name brand baked beans at $0.85 for a 16 oz. can. Safeway also has a cheap product at only $0.09 more expensive with Bush Brother’s Country Style 28 oz. baked beans for $1.79. The most expensive baked beans were Whole Food’s 365 Everyday Value brand at $2.69 for 15 oz.

A summer barbecue would not be complete without corn on the cob. If you’re buying in bulk or for just a few pieces of corn, the best place to shop is Giant with eight pieces for $1.88 and $0.23 each. Corn on the cob prices are similar at the other four locations.

To get in something sweet and healthy, pick up a watermelon. Depending on how big of a watermelon you’re looking for, Whole Foods prices watermelon at $0.99/lb. while Trader Joe’s watermelons are $3.99 each. Dean & Deluca charge $6.00/lb.

What’s a barbecue without potato chips? Try Trader Joe’s multigrain salted 11.5 oz. chips for $1.49, but if you’re craving Lays Original potato chips you can get two 11 oz. bags for $6 or a 16 oz. bag at Safeway for $5.49.

After all these delicious sides, you’ll want something cool to drink. Try Blossom Time lemonade at Safeway where you can get 1 gallon for $2.79. Giant offers the next best price with 1 gallon of Turkey Hill lemonade for $2.79. Dean & Deluca has the most expensive lemonade from Nantucket Nectars with 17.5 oz. for $2.25.

These sides will go great with any type of barbecue you’re interesting in cooking and make for a mouth-watering meal. Check out “Is the Price Right?” in The Downtowner for the cheapest ingredients to make a homemade pizza.

Be sure to read next issue for more delectable and economical treats. For a further examination of pricing, see the chart below.