We priced an average Thanksgiving dinner at 3 Austin grocery stores. Here's what we found.
Growing up in a grocery store, one of my happiest chores was to "spot check" prices at competing Houston supermarkets.
If, in 1973, for instance, Westbury Square Weingarten's, a larger and fancier competitor, priced a 1 pound carton of margarine at 29 cents, or 5 pound bag of cane sugar at 99 cents — those are real 1973 prices — you better believe that Barnes Westbury Minimax, our modest family store, would do the same.
It follows that, earlier this month, when an American-Statesman editor cast about for a reporter to price food for a bare-bones Thanksgiving dinner to feed a family of four, I volunteered.
This work could have been completed online, since supermarkets these days tend to offer various digital delivery services. What's the fun in that?
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On Nov. 7 and Nov. 8, I headed out to three large South Austin purveyors of groceries — H-E-B, Fiesta Mart and Walmart. In our household, we usually spread the love around several supermarkets, in addition to these, Central Market, Trader Joe's, Wheatsville Co-op and others.
Note: In advance, this newspaper's Austin360 team chose the ingredients, including those for the unavoidable green-bean casserole, made with cream of mushroom soup sprinkled with crispy French fried onions.
In general, we'd all prefer fresh products, but some of those items would be harder to compare fairly among the stores, and to explain here without full recipes.
During my visits, none of the selected stores offered a large, unified display for the holidays. Fresh cranberries and boxes of stuffing mix were impossible to find in early November.
Afterward, I judged the prices to be pretty competitive. Not 1973 prices, but where do you find those?
Sticking with H-E-B house brands
Mid-afternoon on Nov. 7, the H-E-B at East Slaughter Lane and Interstate 35 was busy, but not overwhelming. Hunting for supplies was complicated by the fact that the staff was moving products from one aisle to another. One small display offered a few holiday cooking items, but it took considerable searching to wind up my list. No dinner rolls in the bakery that day, but I found some in frozen foods.
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I picked a Riverside whole young turkey because the other selections seemed oversized for a family of four. While I never tracked down stuffing mix in the store, I did find boxes of Stove Top easily at H-E-B online. H-E-B's pies are more expensive than Walmart's, but they look fat and scrumptious.
10-pound Riverside frozen turkey — $1.98 a pound x 10 = $19.80
1 box Stove Top stuffing mix — $2.06
4 pounds sweet potatoes — $1.08 a pound x 4 = $4.32
10-count Sister Schubert's frozen dinner yeast rolls — $4.16
1 pound H-E-B butter — $4.78
2 14 oz. cans Ocean Spray whole-berry cranberries — $1.98 x 2 = $3.96
2 14.5 oz. cans of H-E-B green beans — 88 cents x 2 = $1.76
2 10.5 oz cans of H-E-B cream of mushroom soup — 98 cents x 2 = 1.96
1 6 oz. package of H-E-B French fried onions — $2.98
1 Bakery pumpkin pie — $12.98
1 Bakery pecan pie — $15.98
1 8 oz. Hill Country whipped topping — $1.98
Total: $76.72
In a good way, Fiesta Mart is all about the groceries
In our household, we tend to visit the Fiesta at East Stassney Lane and Interstate 35 for its excellent and affordable meat and seafood offerings, as well as certain ingredients, such as dried peppers in bulk, that we can't find elsewhere.
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Although this supermarket is much larger than the Houston store of my youth, it feels like part of the family, in part because it specializes in groceries, not everything under the sun. Pecan and pumpkin pies could not be found in the store's panadería, but I fully committed to a pie-sized disc of flan and a luscious glazed strawberry cream cake. In place of canned French fried onions, I substituted Fiesta chicharonnes for crumbling.
10-pound Jennie O frozen turkey — $1.57 a pound x 10 = $15.70
1 15 oz. Famous Dave's corn bread mix for stuffing — $2.94
4 pounds sweet potatoes — 79 cents a pound. x 4 = $3.16
12-count Bakery dinner rolls — $2.19
1 pound Land o' Lakes butter — $6.57
2 14 oz. cans Ocean Spray whole-berry cranberries — $2.29 x 2 = $4.58
2 14.5 oz. cans of Del Monte green beans — $1.49 x 2 = $2.98
2 10.5 oz cans of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup — $1.99 x 2 = $3.98
1 bag of Fiesta chicharonnes for casserole — $1.59
1 Bakery pie-shaped flan — $14.99
1 Bakery glazed strawberry cream cake — $6.99
1 8 oz. Cool Whip — $2.28
Total: $68.95
Streamlining can be a good thing at Walmart
Say what you will about the streamlined and sterile presentation at this discount store, the arrangement of food products is rational and easily navigated. Not much chance of impulse purchases, but I was here for basics, not embellishments.
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Bonus: An elderly friend whom I visit weekly swears by Walmart's delivery service, which is a precious gift for folks like him in today's world. As with the other supermarkets, the store at East Ben White Boulevard and Interstate 35 did not appear to have put its stuffing mixes or fresh cranberries out for the holidays. Its bakery pies come in several sizes; I chose what seemed the largest pecan and pumpkin selections.
10-pound Shady Brook Farms frozen turkey — $1.98 a pound x 10 = $19.80
1 box Stove Top stuffing mix — $1.98
4 pounds sweet potatoes — 72 cents a pound. x 4 = $2.88
12-count bakery yeasty enriched dinner rolls — $3.98
1 pound Great Value butter — $3.98
2 14 oz. cans Ocean Spray whole-berry cranberries — $1.98 x 2 = $3.96
2 14.5 oz. cans of Del Monte green beans — $1.48 x 2 = $2.96
2 10.5 oz cans of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup — $1 x 2 = $2
1 6 oz. package of Great Value French fried onions — $2.94
1 Bakery pumpkin pie — $7.28
1 Bakery pecan pie — $7.28
1 9 oz. Tru Whip whipped topping — $2.48
Total: $61.52
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: What's the average cost of Thanksgiving in Austin? What we found out.
