Foodie deals at Winners/Homesense

[maplesugar]

FYI I was at the Beacon Hill Winners/Homesense today and spotted a few good deals: Larousse Gastronomique(the encycolopedia!) for $69.99 (goes for as much as $110 though if you have a rewards card chapters.indigo.ca has it for $68.97 apparently) Nick Malgieri's A Baker's Tour for a stunning $8.99 (usually averages $40) and packs of 4 Reidel glasses for I think $30? Struck me as a decent deal... although I can't remember what grade of Reidel they were (sorry). There's bound to be more that I missed since the visit was pre-naptime and the kids weren't at their finest.

Anyone else out there find any good deals lately?

[sweeterpea]

Was at the Beacon Hill location this evening -- Saw two blue LC pots, was hoping for bigger ones, but they're the 5.5 ones. A steal of a deal was Neilson-Massey Madagascar Vanilla at $14.00 a bottle, generally it's twice that. Also noticed several Godiva gift baskets and Dufflet candy items, didn't look at the price, but they're probably good deals as well.

[maplesugar]

One suggestion when buying perishable items from winners - check dates (if they're available) or if there's a cello window then have a peek and make sure that chocolate that seems like such a steal doesn't have that telltale chalky appearance.

[sweeterpea]

Good to know but I've never had a problem with purchased food items.

[maplesugar]

Oh, the vast majority of what I've purchased - the Neilsen Massey Vanilla in the pantry, the godiva chociste pearls... were all fine...there were however one or two occasions when I picked something up and thought 'what a deal' only to put it down because the chocolate had lost its sheen.

[maplesugar]

Spotted some Denby and Noritake dishes and serving pieces, some of the Le Creuset seconds others have mentioned, and quite a few Bialetti mukkas at the Red Deer Winners/Homesense in Southwood Crossing :)

[anonymoose]

Just wanted to let you all know that I was at both a Winners and a Homesense in the North end on the weekend and both stores had stacks of Le Creuset seconds - 5.5 qt round French/Dutch ovens in red, blue and orange, selling for $169.99. There was a LC pan and a couple of 5.5 qts from Wolfgang Puck and Mario Batali as well.

[eatrustic]

Lots of Shun knives at both the Edmonton and Vancouver stores in the last couple of weeks. They have the Classic line as well as some of the Ken Onion and Alton's Angle.

[raidar]

Shun's..really. That's a find I wouldn't have ever imagined. Any E-town store in particular?

[eatrustic]

They were at the Sherwood Park HomeSense but I bet they're just about everywhere in some form or other (until word gets around).

[babettesfeast]

my best buys so far have been royal doulton cookware - stockpot ($29), steamer ($12) and pasta insert ($12); schulte ufer cookware - 3 liter pot ($29) and 2 liter pot ($16); Gehring knives (forgot how much as this was awhile back but the quality of the knives are impressive) and 2 large white tagines ($9 each -serving not cooking grade); a seasonal favourite are Gran Valor chocolates

[cleopatra999]

the le crueset is seconds so be sure you check for major imperfections and choose the best ones. I had to try 3 different lids b4 I found one that was snug. I still opted for the $59 Mario Batali dutch oven instead (from Homesense). If it doesn't last, I won't second guess the LC.

[pengcast]

I have a whole drawer of good quality knives that I have bought at Winners - even two different sizes of metzalunas. (I found the smaller one too small for my hands). I don't think I paid more than $15-20 even for the longest knife. I also have bought several mid-range knives with plastic handles that I throw in the dishwasher (which I never do with my good knives).

I think I have at least 3 cuisinart pots that came with the see-through lids. They were on a discount rack for $15/pot. So I bought on each size even though I didn't really need them. They are actually very good quality with nice thick bottoms. Not crazy about the lids, as the screws keep coming loose.

But my biggest weakness is their linens. I must have at least 20 table cloths - one for Easter, one for St. Patricks, 2 or 3 for Thanksgiving, even one for Canada Day. I even have one for birthdays that has sequential numbes running around the border - and as the numbers get larger they fade away. So at 99 it is hardly visible.

[sig]

In Ontario I just picked up a set of 3 non stick Aubecq cookware from France. The pans were heavy and looked like good quality, they were 19.99, 24.99, and 29.99 so all three totaling 75, wondering if they are good or not,

[sarah galvin]

I got La Tourangelle Roasted Walnut Oil $9.99, The Golfer's Choice handcooked Virginia peanuts (40 oz!) $12.99. Both are delicious. Some cute little blue melamine nesting prep bowls. I go to M.M. Homesense

[mcmuffin]

Got my aluminum coffee makers there for cheap.

[Bobatt]

I saw some Bodum Kona pour-through coffee pots and Bialetti Mokapots at the Northland Village (Calgary) Winners pretty recently. I was considering the Bodum, as it was $25 and normally lists online for $40ish, and came with a gold filter.

[maplesugar]

It was the Riedel "Party Tube" (thanks Strider :) I had forgotten what they called them) at the BHill Homesense yesterday. I've been on the lookout for Le Crueset and I too have shied away from the orange flame colour... just can't picture, especially since our appliances are black - although they'd look wonderful at Halloween/Thanksgiving ;)

[sweeterpea]

Believe you me it was a hard decision, wandered around the store with it for a while in my cart. It was too retro for my taste. Holding out for the apple green or a cream one!

[Strider]

I love Homesense... a couple of things i've purchased in the last year or two:

-Riedel "Party Tube" (not stemless) red wine glasses (set of 4): $30 - this one is currently still available at almost every Homesense
-Riedel white wine glasses (set of 4): $24 - Bought this on clearance (normally $30), I think these are still available at Beacon Hill
-Henckels "Pro S" chef knife (10"), Wusthof "Classic" chef knife (10"), Wusthof "Classic" carving knife (8"): each under $30 (clearance)
-Le Crueset Round dutch oven: this was actually a present to me
-Berndes non stick saute pan (10"): don't remember, probably about $20 - these are still available at almost every Homesense

[grayelf]

I just got a gift cert for Homesense for my bday, can't wait to see what treasures I can find. For some reason we have great luck at the Nanaimo store. Last time we picked up a couple of non-stick Aubecq frying pans for something like 20 bucks each. They are beautiful, heavy gauge (almost like cast iron) and hold the heat evenly. And of course, nothing sticks!

[fmed]

I bought a Breville sandwich press at Homesense. My family uses it almost daily.

The quasi-Reidel's are great. Stemless wine glasses fit better in the dishwasher (...yes, yes, I know..."don't wash your wine glasses in the dishwasher")

[grayelf]

Our dishwasher has a little rack that drops down to hold the stems of the wineglasses. Neato. And I say life is too short to handwash stuff that's replaceable. Oh, that sounds really unenviro, but you know what I mean...

[sweeterpea]

A LaCrueset large oval casserole for $150.00 -- however it was the orange flame color, and I guess I'm picky and didn't like the color so I didn't buy it

[anonymoose]

I saw one of those too and I nearly bought it but I want a round one, not an oval one. :(

[miss_bennet]

My mom got a whole set of Le Creuset stuff when she got married. I stole the dutch oven, and when I was at her house last week, I considered taking more. (They're just sitting in her basement.) They're the orange. But the price was better than Winners!

[DeeDub]

Just and FYI... I was at the Market Mall Home Sense yesterday and they had Le Creuset stockpots for $49.99 in both the orange and blue colours.

[anonymoose]

I was in the Edmonton south side Homesense this weekend and they had 5 or 6 of the Le Creuset orange 5.5 qt round dutch ovens, a handful of the orange and blue small stock pots, and a few of the Mario Batali dutch ovens and I think one small pot. Didn't examine the Batali stuff very closely, but the 2 or 3 Le Creuset dutch ovens that I examined didn't have any scratches or chips at all, and other than missing the manufacturer booklet I couldn't tell that they were factory seconds at all.

Costco had a set of Batali cookware before Christmas but I'm not sure if they still have any left....

[cleopatra999]

the ones that I saw in Edmonton, had stickers right on them that said LC Seconds.

[Dan G]

Yeah, I saw those too, some time late Nov/early Dec. Couldn't really see anything wrong with them (except I didn't want orange!). I ended up going to the Bay and getting a few LC pieces (dutch oven, braiser that gets used about 2-3 times a week and a sauce pan) at 35% off, which wasn't much more than the Homesense price anyway. And in blue, which fits my decor much better.

[peter.v]

The Riedels are likely Ouverture series. My folks have picked them up in the past at Winners. They are excellent everyday wine glasses with all the balance of the higher grades (but no lead...).

[maplesugar]

I think you're right, they're probably Ouverture. I'm not enough of a wine buff to know the difference between Reidels but I do like their shape and the fact that they're lead-free...something I can't say for the wedding present we have sitting collecting dust ;)

[Dan G]

I have a couple dozen of those cheap Riedel glasses, that I use when we have company (have pairs of many of the varietal-specific vinums for when it is just my wife and I) . There are two styles - a basic red and a basic white. The red is pretty much the same design as the vinum cabernet sauvignon and the white similar to the sauvignon blanc.

They aren't Ouvertures, which have a 408/## numbering scheme - the Winners ones are 488/0 and /1. They are made by Riedel, sort of. They don't make themselves in Austria, but have them made in a factory in Germany, mostly as intro level restaurant glasses.

Definitely worth buying some of each design.

[maplesugar]

Thanks Dan. I'll have to pay closer attention I didn't realize Riedel outsourced, although their German made glasses are still better than anything in my cupboards...Maybe I should shop for these things when I'm not with the kids, that might help.

I'll have to put Riedel glasses on the top ten list for now...bought a bike trailer at Costco just before my trip to Winners yesterday...I know I know, wine glasses should have been the priority but I needed a way to exercise off all the chocolate, wine etc ;)

[peter.v]

Ah! Good to know Dan, thanks for the explanation on the mysterious Riedels (or, not so mysterious now...).