Thursday, July 3, 2008

Korte's: Pork Chops & Potato Chips, not Prosciuto and Pomegranates


Until recently, I hadn't spent much time in Korte's Supermarket. I walk everywhere, it's further than Kowalski's and has less selection. There, I said it. Korte's has less selection. In fact, it has less selection than any of the other stores I used for assembling the Harrington Houshold Index. Kowalski's took out a lot of their grocery space when they redesigned. But Korte's doesn't have a lot space and they don't use what they have as well as Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or many other smaller markets. It did have the lowest prices. For my small sample they even beat Rainbow Foods. The prices keep me coming back.

What is Korte's good at? Good prices on standard American-style groceries. I had indexed $19.34 = 100 and Korte's pulled off an 87 ($16.95)!

What is Korte's not so good at? Inspiration. If you're at Korte's and asking yourself "What's for dinner?" you'll probably wind up going home with a frozen pizza or ground beef. For me, ingredients inspire. Bring the grocery list.

What to get at Korte's? The butcher's case isn't huge, but well-stocked and a good value. There's also a range of frozen meats, not just the Jimmy Dean sausage you find everywhere.

How do I get there? Korte's Super Market is at 1326 Randolph Avenue in St. Paul near the intersection of Hamline and Randolph.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I agree with your Korte's assessment. However, on the strong plus side is they have almost everything my family of four needs (WHO REALLY NEEDS A 100 ft LONG AISLE OF SUGARED CEREAL SELECTIONS?) on a weekly basis, including a decent assortment of organics. AND I can do so for less than $100/week. They BAG YOUR GROCERIES and deliver them to your vehicle (without adding it in the price ala Kowalski's). They give lots of local kids their first crack at a job and workplace comradeship. it's a big time saver to shop at a smaller store.