As a small celebration tonight, dinner was grilled T-bone steak and some side dishes. Every time I have cooked T-bone steak, which is a very recent development, I have pondered the good deal I found on this meat. The steak was on sale for $3.99 a pound; I paid $24 for a multi pack of steaks and was able to make 4 meals out of the pack for two adults and a toddler. This came out to roughly $6 a meal for the meat alone. Frugal? For special occasions, I think so. In a normal grocery, you would pay a lot more for less quality meat.
By now, you are probably asking yourself where this magical meat store is located and I am prepared to give up my secrets. It's in Edinburg. Edinburg, Ohio. A couple of exits east on 76 from Kent, you will find the Edinburg Corner Store. They do not have a website, I have never seen any advertising for them, and to be honest, the store itself, inside and out, isn't that impressive of a sight. However, their prices make them worth a trip. They feature an in house butcher shop and a large deli along with a small grocery store. The aisles are close together, the organization can be confusing and their prices on some items are not that spectacular...but the butcher and deli make it worth the trip.
The variety in the meat department seems to vary by time of day and chance--from the point of view as a customer. The butchers are usually in sight, or within calling distance and are absolutely amicable. If you want something that you can't find, just ask them. A special cut? Ask away. As far as I can tell, the beef and pork are cut in house, the chicken, hams, and sausages are brand names. The ground beef is typically less than $2 a lb and the same price whether you buy a single pound or ten. They have had a lot of chicken specials lately, whole wings for $.99 a pound, legs for $.89 a pound, boneless, skinless, breasts for less than $1.50 a pound. I always take the meat home and repackage it into smaller quantities to suit my family and freeze it. I have yet to have a complaint about the meat, other than the fact that there are days when they are completely sold out of most cuts but early evening.
The deli is fantastic. All orders are cut to the specifications of the customer and the deli is popular, it is best to stop at the deli and place your order before exploring the rest of the store. They carry a lot of the same brands of lunch meat that you will find at Giant Eagle or other groceries stores but there prices are markedly less. As with the butcher meat prices and availabilities, the deli is the same. Some of their items, like the Cajun Roast Beef, seem to sell out so fast that if you happen to be there on a day when they have it in, you get a glow about you as if you won a prize. It's that good. There always seems to be a ham deal that is $3.99 or less per pound and if you are a fan of bologna, my family swears by the Emerdale bologna which is regularly $1.89 per pound. They have an amazing variety of cheeses, all of which are as reasonably priced as their lunch meat. My recent favorite is their Brick cheese, it has kind of a swiss tang to it but it somewhat buttery as well. The store gets quite busy on the weekends and evening hours, but deli orders can be called in ahead of time if you are in a hurry.
Other areas of the store worth a glance are the produce department, which features good deals on in season produce, and at times, amazing deals on potatoes and onions. Between the produce and the potato and onions, is the PIE section. Repeat after me, Friday is pie day. Every Friday they get a large variety of Amish made pies shipped in. They are very reasonably priced, cheaper than you would find in a regular grocery, and the variety can not be beat. There are also various cakes and rolls available, the pumpkin roll is always worth a try. I don't peruse the frozen section a lot, but my mother has a few favorites within, that section is always worth a look. Down the various aisles they feature items that are hard to find or not as mainstream such as packets of country gravy and pearl barley. The entire left wall of the store, as you come in, in almost entirely devoted to beverages, in the mix, however, they have Amish roll butter, some in store packaged deli items such as potato salad, and smoked meat sticks.
Although it is a tad out of the way for the average Kent resident, the Edinburg Corner Store is worth a trip once in a while simply to stock up on meat, lunch meat, and the other special items they carry. The savings seem to outweigh the extra effort and gas spent to travel to the store. Maybe we won't be having T-Bone steaks on a regular basis around here, but the continued existence of places like the Corner Store ensure that we won't break the bank for small celebrations.
Oh, this was in no way, a paid advertisement, given what little I can find of the establishment on the internet, I am not even sure the owners are aware of the existence of the internet. Don't let that stop you from the deals, though!
