Groceries

Safeway Monopoly cheat sheet 2016

First, we determined that we’re all in this together. It’s all of us against the house, not unlike the roulette table. Your success or failure has no effect on my game.

Second, we wanted to improve aggregate productivity levels in the interest of bettering the local economy.

The result is this alphabetized list of all the “important” or “rare” pieces in the 2016 Safeway Monopoly game. It will save you a lot of time. Enjoy.

A-502C
A-504E
B-505A
B-506B
C-513D
D-515A
D-517C
E-524D
E-525E
F-527B
F-528C
G-531A
H-538D
I-541C
J-544B
K-549C
L-551A
M-556B
N-562D
O-565C
P-568B
Q-573C
R-575A
S-579A
T-585C
U-590D
V-592B
W-597C
X-602D
Y-603A
Z-608B
$-613C
$-618H
?-622D
?-625G

Best sandwich award: Harbor Greens

There’s a new sheriff in town. It’s not a new venue, but its footprint atop the sandwich-scape of Tacoma, quite frankly is new. Based on myriad factors, in a matrix of reasoning, Harbor Greens’ sandwiches are the new gold standard, narrowly beating out MSM and Met Market for the local crown. I will walk you through it.

Little Basil

Best single sandwich in town: Harbor Greens

The Little Basil is, indeed, the best overall sandwich in town. Chicken, pesto, mozzarella and basil, grilled on a panini is so much greater than the sum of its parts. Sure, you’re familiar with all the ingredients but you must experience the final product to truly know it. Paninis are grilled to perfection and the gluten free version is bigger than the standard. MSM’s Mike’s Deluxe and Met Market’s Prime Rib Sandwich tied for 2nd place.

Best overall sandwich lineup in town: Harbor Greens

From grilled to cold, standard bread to gluten-free, veggies to turkey, bacon and roast beef – it’s all top-notch. You bring the whole family and their dietary restrictions and Harbor Greens will have all the right sandwiches for $7 or $8 apiece. Of course, they also have an entire grocery store to back it up, which brings us to..

Best sandwich venue in town: Harbor Greens

You can’t go wrong with a sandwich shop that boasts a strong selection of drinks and side items. Harbor Greens is also a grocery store with a full produce section – additional shopping possibilities are endless.

Most convenient sandwich in town: Harbor Greens

Much like MSM (our silver medalist) Harbor Greens can only be fully appreciated when you call in your order ahead of time. As is the case with all great places, there is a good chance it will be crowded. Unlike all other finalists, Harbor Greens offers ample parking every time I visit. Fortunately it is located at 27th & Bridgeport in U.P. where there is NOT an obnoxious Meridian-esque median to navigate. If you do it right, you’ll be in and out in less than 5 minutes. Of course they also have a nice seating area where you can plop down and enjoy on site if you so desire.

Harbor Greens, 2620 Bridgeport Way W, University Place, WA, (253) 460-2901
Harbor Greens, 5225 Olympic Dr NW, Gig Harbor, WA, (253) 851-7911

Dave’s Meat & Produce

Dave’s Meat & Produce is unique. Small market stores generally have a difficult time providing enough variety to draw a consistent shopper base away from the big grocery stores. In this case, the big competition combo of Safeway and Metropolitan Market lurks just 3 stoplights west in the heart of the Proctor District.

Times are tough. People are watching their pennies. Like many other small businesses in Tacoma, Dave’s Meat & Produce needs our help to stay alive. I noticed that the coffee stand in front of their building went out of business recently. This concerns me. I want to make sure the coffee stand is the only thing on that lot that fails. Dave’s is more than worthy of staying in business here for a long time.

By supporting local growers, and providing top quality produce, meat, seafood and personal service, Dave’s has everything you’ll need to make an entire meal, big or small. You’ll be in and out of this place in minutes – and if you’re really in a hurry, there are several prepared dishes ready for the grill or the oven, facilitating gourmet, homemade meals in minutes. They may not be the cheapest place in town, but you should remember to drop in the next time you want a fun, convenient shopping experience and a healthy meal at home.

Dave’s Meat & Produce
1312 North I Street
Tacoma, WA
(253) 280-9999

Map

Anatomy of a breakfast sandwich

It almost seems too easy.  But we often take things for granted, so I’m gonna roll with it.  Maybe everybody doesn’t know how to make a breakfast sandwich?  If by chance this is you, here ya go:

– Fry thin, ground sausage patty in a pan until crispy.
– Melt cheese on sausage patty for last couple minutes of cooking.
– Lightly toast english muffin.
– Place cooked sausage and toasted, open-faced muffin on a plate in a warm oven.
– Scramble an egg and add to finish off the sandwich

sausage breakfast sandwich Double fiber muffins cheddar cheese sausage patty scrambled egg

Other great substitutions include bacon, ham, sausage links, lettuce, mushrooms, tomatoes, cream cheese, steak, hamburger.. just about anything.  Meat or egg must be in there to officially qualify as breakfast at my house, but to each his own.

Metropolitan Market, put up your dukes

Dear Met Market,

Although unassuming in shape, cost-effective and green, the cucumber should be considered, at best, as one option among many for your recipes. Salads, sandwiches, wraps..heck, even sushi. It can provide the crunch and refreshing blast that, I don’t know..someone must really enjoy – perhaps often.

That being said, I would like to personally tell the guy in charge of the sushi over there at Met Market to stop putting cucumber in all the sushi rolls hand-prepared there each day. Groundbreaking idea: substitute avocado, or just leave it out! If you must keep putting cucumber in there, then don’t be so grumpy when we ask you to make custom rolls.

It looks neat having the production in plain sight, but we might expect something from you on occasion, being that you are so accessible.

Thank you.