Giant Eagle is a supermarket chain that, to me, seems to be popular with the Pittsburgh shoppers who are more concerned with convenience than quality. Every time I decide to give them another chance, they burn me. This time they got me on a loaf of bread. Intended for my stuffing, it ended up as bird food. Though the birds deserve better.
Is it just me? No. In this survey by Consumer Reports 68 supermarkets were rated based on criteria such as quality of meats and produce, price, courtesy and cleanliness. Giant Eagle ended up at #54 of 68. Of the stores available to Pittsburgh shoppers Trader Joe's was #3. Other top finishers were Costco (#6), Fresh Market (#9), Aldi (#14) and Whole Foods (#15).
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| When I saw "Authentic Italian Bread" I imagined a loaf being pounded out on a bakers table with "authentic" ingredients flying everywhere. But this is Giant Eagle. What was I thinking? |
When I took the bread out of the bag, it had a very "unauthentic" feel. The loaf was anything but crusty. When I broke an end off of the loaf it had a "foam-like" appearance. Then I looked at the ingredients. Just a loaf of crap. Not in my cooking.
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| Check out that laundry list of authentic ingredients. "Artificial Flavor" - it must be authentic artificial flavor. |
Great story! Happy Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteInterested to know what happened with loaf of crap that did not go in your cooking. Was there an alternative usage for it?
ReplyDeleteAlso keep in mind "Giant Eagle" brand is average brand, if you would have gotten "Market District" brand it would have possibly been closer to whole foods. Also the ones from Bakery department are better than the ones from a 3rd party supplier like the GE Bread Aisle Bread, I used to buy the bread there I can let you know who makes it.
A vendor stopped by yesterday to get some files and mentioned her sons middle school science fair project. They tested how quickly bread would mold depending first on "quality" or amount of preservatives and second room temp versus fridge and third with or without being wet or wet with sugar. Might be an interesting way to test your bread a week before thanksgiving time. Maybe ask for one slice of day old to test and see if you get a free sample.
Always enjoy your posts! Thank you!
The bread went to the birds. The reason that I am complaining about their mediocre product is that they labeled it "Authentic." I was in a hurry and that tricked me into buying it. These games that GE plays only causes me to shop there less and less - although it's almost impossible to shop there less than I do now.
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ReplyDeletetell total wine