Life in the Lower Mainland (BC, Canada)

Have you had a hamburger where they used a "brioche" bun? It was really tender and pillowy, and unlike firmer buns it didn't squeeze the burger out of the bun when you bit into it? If you like that kind of bun, you can fake it with plain bagels from the supermarket and one easy trick involving a skillet. I have had the best results from No Name Brand plain bagels from the Real Canadian Superstore but you can try it with any supermarket bagel to soften them up. Even if you aren't going for a brioche effect, it's a nice way to soften up old bagels without outright toasting them. When you put a bagel in the toaster, it toasts both sides and can come out like crispy, dry, toast. That's not what we're after of course, but you may also have noticed that the inside becomes softer, at least while it's warm. Same with slices of bread, except normally it's less noticeable because the slices are so thin. So what we're going to do is just toast one side o...

For budget eats, I have found that the baked-in-store bagels from Superstore are the biggest compared to other supermarkets. The prepackaged 6-packs are basically always $3.50 IF you buy TWO at a time. The other types of bagels at Superstore -- also priced the same -- seem a bit smaller or less dense. So if you are squeezing the maximum bang for your buck in terms of a quick, filling, meal I recommend the Always Everything Bagels. Superstore versus Walmart This works out to 60 cents per bagel, and you can certainly get even cheaper bagels at Walmart, coming in at 50 cents per bagel. However, I found Superstore bagels to be fresher and look bigger -- and the biggest-of-the-big seem to be their "Always Everything" bagels topped with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and roasted onion. That said, we actually weighed a 6-pack of bagels from SuperStore versus a 4-pack of bagels from Walmart and the average weight per "Always Everything" bagel was basically the same. It's no...

Whatever I might think of Superstore 's lineups and sullen cashiers, never will I laugh at them again. They have dirt-cheap deals like under $4 frozen pizza. Lately, they've got 6-for-$3.50 or even 6-for-$3 baked-in-store bagels! When you compare a small burger from McDonalds's not so far away from them in Metropolis being $8-$10, it's an awesome deal for overpriced Vancouver/Lower Mainland and anyone with a meagre paycheque. TIP: If you can't find the type you are looking for (or want them more fresh than what's sitting on the shelves), try going to the bakery counter and asking for bagels. Those are fresher and typically not squashed or squeezed by lame shoppers (not you, of course, right?).