$1.50 for 3 big scoops of Gelato!!! (Costco Seattle)

There are many Costco's out there, but this Costco is probably one of my favourite ones to go to. Besides being on the site of the first ever Costco (apparently, the first Costco was torn down, but the original site was across the parking lot from here), they have Italian Gelato for $1.50 for 3 big scoops!

   Not only is $1.50 a ridiculous deal for the Gelato (you are probably thinking... $1.50... the quality must be pretty bad). There are about 3 choices for you to choose from. So when it comes to choices, you don't get that many. The three choices that was available when I came today was: Chocolate Chip Cookie, Pistachios and Chocolate.    I decided to get a mix of the three different scoops, so a scoop of each. I first started with the Pistachios, and I must say the taste of pistachios was there, but it wasn't very strong. The texture was pretty smooth, with a bit of a taste on the sugary side.
  The next flavour I had was the Chocolate Chip Cookie flavour. This one was full of flavour and is probably my favourite one too. The chocolate in the ice cream was in chunks and you actually have to chew the chocolate.
   The final flavour was the chocolate ice cream. This chocolate ice cream was smoother than many of the ice cream I had. It wasn't as sweet as the other two flavours from before, but the chocolate taste was very thick. Because the two other flavours were abit sweeter than this one, the chocolate taste didn't come out as much.
    Some advice: make sure you finish it as soon as soon as possible and not eat it while you are inside a hot car... (I learned my lesson the hard way). Things can get sticky really fast and because the portions of the ice cream is so big... when it melts, it melts like a waterfall. That said, I really like the ice cream and I would definitely come back again. 

Free Ice Cream with Purchase and Really Cute Supermarket!!! (City Market Burleson)/(Texas Trip Part 6)

This has got to be one of the most welcoming supermarkets I've ever been to. Unlike many supermarkets nowadays (such as huge multinational companies that owns chains of supermarkets with no attention to detail what-so-ever), this supermarket is locally owned. From the outside, it has a vintage feel to it, with it's slightly vintage exteriors and fainted colours.
   We were on our way to our competition when we decided to pickup some food for lunch. From our hotel to Venue 510 (where our competition was held) this supermarket was on the way. One of the biggest differences that I noticed was the pricing between the goods here and the prices of things back in Vancouver. For example, avocados are only 50 cents each, while in Vancouver, things are $1. Apples are only 33 cents and cheese, like for a bag of Kraft Shredded cheese, it is only $2.99 which is like half the price of what it is in Vancouver.
    That said, many things are around the same price such as bread (where they are roughly $1) per loaf, for a package of bottled water (24 bottles), they are both roughly $3. So not everything is cheaper here, but many things are.
   What is really special about this supermarket is that it has a really nice small town feeling to it. The cashiers are all so friendly. Not to mention, for just making a purchase you get free ice cream. When we were there, everyone made a purchase all together. We asked the cashier if we can all get ice cream, and she was so happy to say yes. The ice cream itself was very creamy and had a nice milky taste to it. Also,




    In addition, what was really cool was that for the conveyor belt that normal supermarkets have that is linear, City Market had a circular conveyor belt. Actually, it wasn't a belt, but more like a wooden disk. It's really cool because I never seen this before.
  I guess this is what the difference between independently owned supermarkets and the huge multinational chains is. The huge multinational supermarket chains don't really have attention to detail and once you've been to one, you've been to them all. Also, at these multinational chains, you get employees who are like zombies who does not want to be there (mind you, there are great employees there too). At this supermarket, you get a really warm feeling.

Really cute convenience store ( D J's Corner Food Store (Burleson, Texas))/ (Texas Trip Part 4)

Because our competition was being held at Venue 510, it was very close to DJ's food store. It was about 3 in the afternoon and I was starving. My friends had subway while I wanted to save the calories. I decided to take a quick walk in the near by areas to look for things to eat.
 I stumbled upon this gas station. What really caught my attention was the sound of bubbling water outside. When I walked closer, I noticed they have goldfish and minnows inside the wooden bins at the entrance. I am not really sure why they would sell this, but my instinct tells me that these fishes are being sold as feeder fishes for other animals. It seems impractical to sell this pets. I also noticed that these goldfish were being fed cheerios. (Hmm, maybe I should start feeding my goldfishes with cheerios too, that could increase the survival rate potentially).
 After glaring at the goldfishes for a few moments, I decided to enter the store. Because I was looking for lunch, I started by looking for a sandwich section. However, I wasn't able to find a section for that. I did find a few sections like a bread section and also a crackers/candy section. They also had a big section for liquor at the back too. In addition, they also had warm food like burritos in the warmer.
  I decided to grab some crackers (they were only 59 cents each), some mini muffins and a bottle of sweet tea. My rationale was that if there wasn't a meal like food (such as sandwiches), the next in line when it comes to health/ nutrition was things like trail mix, pastries and crackers (well in my books anyway).
   The sweet tea was pretty good, but at the same time, it was very sweet. Not to mention, the cashiers were really nice too.




Overall, this is one of the cutest corner stores I've been to. 

Safeway (Broadway station)

I was on my way to school this morning when I had the urge to go the the bathroom. I was searching around frantically for a free washroom when I realized there wasn't one. I mean there is McDonalds, Blenz or A and W I could go to, but I felt bad using their restrooms without buying anything.
 I suddenly looked across the street and I saw Safeway and I remembered that there's a washroom there. I headed there and the first thing I smelled when I entered Safeway was the smell of butter and pastry. Personally, the smell of butter and pastry is really attractive (sexy almost but in a non-erotic sense), the smell always makes me feel like eating. I have to hand it to Safeway because out of all of the Supermarkets around, I like their bakery counter the best. Not only are the quality of food good, but the value is even more impressive.
After going to the washroom, I dashed straight towards the bakery section to see what was out. Everything was fully stocked and I can tell they just came out of the oven. Looking around, I wanted to find something whole grain, low in fat but slightly richer in carbohydrates, that I can eat after my workout in the afternoon (Currently training for the Vancouver Marathon).
 The first thing I saw was their pizza bun. This bun is one of my favourite because the cheese on it just melts in your mouth. Not only that, the price is only 90 cents for one, or 75 cents for 4. The downside is that the flour used is enriched wheat flour (which is not as good as whole wheat). So I decided to not get this today. Trust me, I stared at the freshly baked, almost crunchy looking cheese bread for a good few minutes before my health conscious side told me to go for something else.
Immediately after, I did a quick glimpse of the cookies and all of them were stacked neatly on top of each other. Man did they ever smell good! I can almost taste the butter by looking at them. These little buggers taste good, but the downside is that the calorie count of each of them is relatively high compared to their size. After looking at them for a while, I went to the buns section.
These buns are only 25 cents each or 2 dollars for 8! The price is really good, 8 buns can easily fill up a person and I'd say 2 dollars for a meal is great value. That said, I wasn't looking for a meal, but a snack, so I ended up getting 2. The buns in my opinion is much better in nutrition because they appear to be whole wheat, non-greasy. They make a good choice of carbohydrates.
When I finished with the buns, I passed by the donut section. I won't mention too much about them... The layer of chocolate on top... Mmmmm...
I headed straight to the self checkout, passing by the Safeway Starbucks on the way. This Starbucks is abit different than the conventional Starbucks where you have coffee tables you can sit at. It was just one of those buy and go kind of places.
At the self checkout, there was barely anyone in line, so in total, I spent about 50 cents and no more than 10 minutes in the store. But I was pretty satisfied with my purchase and I will definately come back again.