The Musical Fruit?

June 19, 2013 7:29 AM

What's the cheapest way to buy lots of dried beans and rice?

I'm planning on cooking beans and rice for box lunch for the foreseeable future. I'm wondering what is the most cost effective way of buying lots of black beans. Possible Options: Mexican Grocery Store, Amazon.com, Restaurant Supply. Thoughts?

posted by leotrotsky to Shopping (13 answers total)

Best answer: You want a large Asian or Indian grocery, if there's one nearby (Assi Plaza and H-Mart are two of the chains near me). They routinely have sales on huuuuuuge bags of rice and beans.
posted by julthumbscrew at 7:31 AM on June 19, 2013 [6 favorites]

Yes, a local Hispanic / East Asian / South Asian / Caribbean grocery will have the largest selection, the largest packages, the best prices, and (almost certainly) the freshest stock, because it sells so quickly.
posted by maudlin at 7:37 AM on June 19, 2013

I find that Super H-Mart isn't always the best price unless they're running a sale--though some of their sales are awesome. Also, their rice selection runs the gamut from cheap to premium, so make sure to compare apples to apples if you're shopping around. If you're near a Costco (and have a membership/know a member), they often have competitive prices on rice.

Where are you? We can probably recommend a specific store. For instance, in Chicago, Jong Boo is frequently cheaper than Super H-Mart.
posted by pullayup at 7:45 AM on June 19, 2013

Response by poster: I'd be impressed. I'm in Indianapolis.
posted by leotrotsky at 7:55 AM on June 19, 2013

I just found this store on Yelp. I have no idea what kind of drive this would be for you.
posted by maudlin at 7:58 AM on June 19, 2013

Best answer: If you can get access to your local Restaurant Depot, that's one possible option. I've also found McFarling Foods as a bulk distributor near you, with 25-pound bags of black beans at an unknown price.
posted by knile at 8:01 AM on June 19, 2013

Best answer: Oh, wait -- crap. They might be out of business, as the web site linked in the review doesn't seem to exist. Here's another list: you'll have to phone and check. Saraga seems to have recent reviews on Yelp. And here's their site!
posted by maudlin at 8:01 AM on June 19, 2013

Best answer: Saraga Mart at 38th & Lafayette Square has pretty good prices and a great selection on rice and occasional great deals on beans (they get a whole 4x4 pallet box of lose beans, typically pinto, black or soy and sell for about $1/pound) There is a smaller Indian grocery up Lafayette that might be worth checking. If you want organic then Nate can order them for you in 10 or 20 pound bags at Pogue's Run Grocer but they also stock them in the bulk section. They might be able to get non-organic as well. The Good Earth in Broad Ripple could also order for you.

I'm not sure if Restaurant Supply on Keystone and 20th? (by the juvy jail) requires that you have a business license but they have huge bags of beans and rice for cheap.

In my experience shopping around buying online is a non-starter since shipping just kills the price.
posted by ChrisHartley at 8:04 AM on June 19, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Restaurant supply by a mile. Prices at my local Cash and Carry are half of what they are at Costco.
posted by KathrynT at 8:06 AM on June 19, 2013

Best answer: It looks like Restaurant Depot (linked by knile and incorrectly referred to as Restaurant Supply in my previous comment) does require a business license to shop there. My mother in law shops there, if you would like to have a mini-metafilter meetup and go bean shopping some time let me know, it is just a few miles from my house and I'd love to have a good 50 pound supply of beans.
posted by ChrisHartley at 8:09 AM on June 19, 2013

Is Compare Foods a thing up there? I'd start there were I asking this question in North Carolina.
posted by oceanjesse at 8:50 AM on June 19, 2013

Best answer: The absolute cheapest way I've found so far is to buy it at a Mormon cannery. The church makes the food available to anyone at cost or below cost because they don't want people to starve to death. (Please don't derail this thread into a discussion of Mormonism-- they will sell the food to anyone, and it is cheap.) There is definitely one near you in Indianna, but I will give a general link for anyone else who wants to find their own local locations. You can start to find your own cannery here. And for the curious, here are the prices for the US and Canada. They are so cheap I have found it worthwhile to drive an hour just to buy the foods. They definitely have rice and beans, and often many other types of foods depending on location. You can also use their facilities to can the food, or seal it in mylar bags, or you can buy in several different prepared sizes. It is a great resource.
posted by seasparrow at 9:25 AM on June 19, 2013 [4 favorites]

The absolute cheapest way I've found so far is to buy it at a Mormon cannery

I worked with the LDS folks for years and I never knew this. This is WILD and fabulous. Thanks for posting!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:25 PM on June 19, 2013 [1 favorite]