WALMART STEAK REVIEWED...

You don't know how big a leap this was. Bringing in anything else but Publix meat into our home. I've seen the television commercials where "they" surprise restaurant guests and reveal the steak they were eating was really from WalMart. I've blogged and clearly stated that I will not purchase WalMart meat because I did not like the black packaging and felt it was (by appearance) not fresh. For 25+ years, I almost exclusively shopped at Publix.

But then Publix starting dropping the ball as far as customer service. Products that I regularly bought were consistently out of stock, a store manager that looked the other way and avoided customers and general lack of attentiveness that made myself and others feel uncomfortable. My wife and I are big London Broil fans and it seemed as though Publix was putting out for sale just not the same quality cuts as we were used to. As alternatives such as Albertson's and Winn-Dixie were closing, WalMart supercenters were rapidly expanding. As I write this piece, two new supercenters are slated to open within the next 60 days.

Relectant at first to buy groceries there, it was the freshness and availability of skim milk that finally prompted me to green light WalMart. I don't necessarily mind spending a bit more for groceries if the availability, service and customer responsiveness to problems and questions is present. As Publix was failing WalMart was winning me over. And, my grocery bill was shrinking. While Publix stopped regularly carrying "my" Lipton ice tea, WalMart offered (Arizona) a cheaper better choice.

I still went to Publix for meat, deli sandwiches and my prescriptions. But the other day I was in WalMart and an associate was wheeling out a cart of "fresh" meat in white packaging. I decided this was the time to buy meat there and save my self a trip to Publix. I purchased a T-Bone steak. $8.98 per pound - two pieces at 1.60 lbs - total $14.37. I figured what the heck and after all it comes with a 100% money back guarantee.

I do all the cooking in our home, but I chose not to tell my wife where I got the steak until we both tasted it. Along with the steak and few other groceries I purchased a small gas grill for about $25. The only thing I added to the steak was a very very small dab of lightly salted fresh butter and a light sprinkle to both sides of McCormick (Grill Mates) Montreal Steak seasoning. I served fresh sweet corn on the cob on the side.

The steak was incredible. The steak was delightful. The steak came off the bone with just a fork. It brought back memories for the both us of marvelous steaks we've had in the past. The steak that we were served on the (cruise ship) Carnival Dream in their speciality dining room was amazing, but this WalMart T-Bone slighted edge ahead of it. When I told my wife where it was from, she just stared at me in amazement.

Trust me on this one, if the steak from WalMart was anything less than perfect, I would tell you. I have criticized both WalMart and Publix in the past. The articles are available on this blog. But this "experience" was everything the WalMart commercial claims. Kudos to them. My only recommendation to WalMart would be to brighten up the meat area and completely eliminate the back styrofoam packaging for white.

** this was the US19 Old Coachman WalMart Supercenter in Clearwater FL. The Publix is located in Largo FL at East Bay Drive in the TriCity Plaza.

WalMart Neighborhood Market - Review

I have been highly critical - rightly so - of Publix grocery stores and I'm constantly searching for better alternative businesses to shop. I have moved most of my supermarket shopping to WalMart supercenters, which in my area, there are many and many more soon to come. However, there are also WalMart "neighborhood markets" which "supplement the vastly larger supercenters. I went into one today for the first time. It is located right off US19 in Pinellas Park, FL.

First off, I would tell whomever runs this division of Wal-Mart - and this applies to the grocery section of the supercenters - to change everything that is black to white. That's the ceiling, which makes the interior look dark, dismal and somewhat creepy and most definitely the meat packages. For me and others I've talked to, there is something negatively psychological about black meat packages. That is the #1 reason I do not buy WalMart meat. At this WalMart neighborhood market there would be no exception.

The one item that I still buy at Publix is their meat. The quality is excellent and all the packages - meat, chicken and fish are white. The coolers are white. It is bright, airy and everything looks fresh - which it is. This is not the case with either Wal-Mart or the neighborhood market I was in. I do not want to sound dramatic, but some of the meat at WalMart market was disgusting. Discolored and (way to) bloody were the two black packages I saw and decided not to get any closer for health reasons. If I could have called a health inspector to come down and see what I saw, I would have.

On the other side of the store, in between where the shampoo is located, there were a cart of returned chicken "defrosting" in the aisles. The boxes were discolored because of the defrosted product inside. At this point, I almost walked out. I needed milk and a few other items that were far off from the meat area - I could not find packaged frankfurters - located them then checked out. I was curious if this "neighborhood" store is a separate division from WalMart, but the cashier said they were one in the same. She was very pleasant and like many other WalMart employees did her job well.

The prices here were somewhat lower than Publix or other places I've been. The shelves were well stocked, everything else appeared fresh and checking the dates on some items, nothing was past it's sell date. The brand of dog food I purchase was higher prices than other stores and they did not have the canned version. If you are a regular shopper here, finding certain products, like the hot dogs, is probably easy, but I gave up confused in the overly large (and dark) frozen food section.

The meat thing is the closer for me. Unless that changes, actually completely revamped, I seriously doubt I would return to this store. I would also not buy meat, chicken or pork at the larger WalMart supercenter. I typically go to Publix - and will continue to do so - for a large london broil (11.99) which I BBQ and chopped meat (about $13) once a week along with different varities of fish. I am not a fan of chicken. Quite frankly, I don't even know where fresh fish is sold at WalMart and it is not on my list of things to find out. I have purchased frozen fish there under the Sam's label and it was good.

So, in terms of recommending a place for meat, Publix gets five stars - WalMart doesn't even get one. They just have to clean up their "meat" act - that includes drastically improving the freshness and appearance of the products they sell. Again, I dispise black packaging. That's fine for just about anything other than meat, sausage, chicken, etc. And, the more labels WalMart sticks on the packaging - the more I have to read or think about the purchase - the less I like it. Keep it simple. Sure I care about the price, but the freshness, its appearance, the sell by dates and the overall quality of the "presentation" of the product is what makes me want to put the item in my shopping cart.

I certainly hope someone at WalMart listens.