scrubbedexpat091

I have never seen that specific brand College Inn anywhere I shop in Canada, but there are similiar brands, usually near the spice aisle. Club house has a couple stew and crock pot options and usually available in most Canadian stores at least here in BC.

shelley748

LOL me too!!

shelley748

Thanks!!

Siouxie

I popped into Fortino's on Tuesday - my 'once every 3 years' trip there.. and discovered joy of joys - they had chocolate hobnobs! They also had Chivers marmalades (including ginger), Chocolate digestive biscuits (plain and milk) and a miriad of other Brit specialties.

BristolUK

Last week I noticed in Superstore that Prez Choice had digestives - plain and chocolate.
Do you mean new to Fortino's (I always think Fortnum and Mason when I read that name)? I thought we'd already discussed chocolate Hobnobs being in Walmart. I have a preference for them without chocolate but they only have the chocolate ones here.

Siouxie

Walmart weren't stocking chocolate hobnobs for ages - I tried to buy for a couple of years, they were only available (in my area) for online shopping, never in the store but having checked they are now available in one local store and online again (albeit at HUGE cost - no way I'm paying $14.50 a pack ) Fortino's had McVitae chocolate digestives, rather than their generic brand, which was good to see. I haven't seen chocolate hobnobs in there before. Plain ones are available at the usual place https://www.amazon.ca/McVities-Original-Hobnobs-10-5-Pack/dp/B009CS3LNE

BristolUK

Hell's bells.
I bought a load of Colman's sauce mixes off Amazon for much cheaper than some of the Brit on-line places.

Only Club orange biscuits though.
Why not any of these


which are very reminiscent of the old Tiffin bars.

caretaker

I haven't been in No Frills for a few days, and the flyer is giving me ideas. There could be tacos happening in the not too distant future, also some nice salad options. A problem with getting a bag of 6 avocados is using them all without waste or before I get sick of them (same thing with a bag of tortillas), but I think I'll be alright.
https://www.nofrills.ca/print-flyer?...03C3,%20Canada

BristolUK

It's Superbowl weekend so that means you can put your feet up with some ready made food and not bother to watch but just enjoy the food.

Superstore does nice oblong pizzas (12" x16") - made up, not frozen - which are very good value @ $10 normally (I often get one for $5) but are only $8.
Also 20 wings for $10, which are useful for dividing up with a salad or a few chips.
For $20 there's 36 wings and enough wedges for 2 or 3. Have the wedges and a couple of wings for lunch and then you have a load of wings left for whatever you want.

Various other platters available but not great value.

No doubt other stores do something similar. Sobeys doesn't try hard enough though.

crofty82

The Hamilton apartment we have just rented for our first month in the country is close to a Fortinos. This pleased the wife immensely as it is owned by Loblaws and she is somewhat of a groceries snob.

Also handy as it’s walking distance and we will be without car for a short while.

SambaDeAmigo

Just sharing my latest discovery. Rich tea and digestives biscuits imported from the UK (Royalty brand) found at Freshco in Ontario for $2 a pack. The digestives are also sold at T&T but slightly pricier unless it's on sale


.

Siouxie

She'll soon learn not to be a groceries snob - Loblaws/Fortinos / Metro etc., are far more expensive.. and don't forget that Freshco and Food Basics are owned by the same groups as Loblaws etc., so the food is generally the same but much cheaper! Both Freshco and Food Basics have opened big new stores on Hamilton Mountain in the last year or so. Walmart Superstore (Upper James at Fennell) is reasonable for food as well. I would personally avoid No Frills on Upper James, it's not a nice store at all. There's also a massive store in Jackson Square that I've heard is quite good, plus of course Longo's, who also deliver (as do Metro now).

As for transport - the bus service in Hamilton is excellent - you can get a 'transit ticket' if you need to change onto anothe route... or you can get a Presto Card if you want to explore further afield. There's 2 cab companies, which are reasonable for short distances (and Uber).

If you need info on Hamilton do shout - (in a separate thread) - there's a few of us here

BristolUK

When I was living in Montreal, compared to Walmart and Super-C, Loblaws was upmarket. It's Atlantic Superstore here but Sobeys seems upmarket instead.

scrubbedexpat091

Actual Loblaws branded stores are upmarket here in BC but there are not many with this banner, only a couple in the Vancouver area, mostly in higher income/nicer areas.

I would consider the stores here top being upmarket and bottom being discount type chain

Whole Foods
Urban Fare*
Choices*
Safeway
Nester's*
Save On*
Great Canadian Super Store & Wal-Mart
Buy Low* & No Frills

I know I am missing local independents and smaller some smaller chains, this is a general gist of things.

*all the ones with the star are owned by the same parent company, so while it looks like there is great competition there really isn't due to so many brands being owned by the same parent company, same with Loblaws, No Frills, Superstore all being owned by the same parent.

Choices is like a less upscale Whole Foods, organic and still very expensive.

crofty82

Very helpful, thanks Siouxie.