5 ms·

A sandwich, bag of crisps and a drink for £5 is an actual deal. Sandwich alone in U.S. would be $10 and the “$15 Meal Deal” just doesn’t have the same ring to i

by nixgeek 3mo ago

A sandwich, bag of crisps and a drink for £5 is an actual deal. Sandwich alone in U.S. would be $10 and the “$15 Meal Deal” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

sam345 3mo ago
Incorrect. Maybe you familiar with the high cost of living areas. There are similar $5 deals in the United States. The US is a big place and has many, many businesses offering very similar deals.
- nrki 3mo ago
  Thing is, the meal deals are _everywhere_ in the UK. There is no "high cost of living" priced Tesco. Or Sainsbury's. Or 5 other supermarkets.
  - ralferoo 3mo ago
    Meal deal prices are higher in certain places, like motorway service stations. If there's a captive market, they'll sneak the price up just like every other company. If there's competition they'll use lower pricing.
ffsm8 3mo ago
Mmh, you can get 3 el cheapo sandwiches for 1.99€, a 100g bag of chips for 0.99€ and a liter of water for 0.90€ or flavoured /coke for 1.99€ in Germany Considering a £ is more then a €, supposedly at last - it doesn't sound like a good deal to me
- mikestorrent 3mo ago
  I don't think I could find a sandwich anywhere around here in Canada save maybe one of those awful gas station ones for under $6
  - Symbiote 3mo ago
    The ones being discussed in the UK are in the triangular box like that, but there's so much competition between the shops that they're ok. It's also a dense enough country that they will be at most a day or two old.
- Symbiote 3mo ago
  Can you give an example, as I'm not sure it's a fair comparison? https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/products/262308005 https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/products/262308005
  - ffsm8 3mo ago
    honestly, they depend on the store you chose to go to. they always taste the same. and the last time i ate one of the sandwidches in the UK they tasted the same there too - but it's been a pretty long time, admittedly (like 20 years or so) eg https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/ja-bacon-ei-sandwich-160g/7878218 https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/ja-bacon-ei-sandwich-160g/7878218 cheap sandwidches (2€) https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/lay-s-chips-red-paprika-150g/8940323 https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/lay-s-chips-red-paprika-150g/8940... chips 150g (99c) https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/coca-cola-1-5l/6730574 https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/coca-cola-1-5l/6730574 cola, 1.25l (1.19€) personally i'd skip the sandwiches in all cases - the wraps, baguettes or ready to eat salads are way better and cost the same. and i'd skip the chips too. i mean thats just pure calories. rather eat a great salad for 3€ instead of the el cheapo sandwidches and chips :)
    - Symbiote 3mo ago
      Then I misunderstood, I thought you meant you could buy 3 sandwiches for €1.99, 67¢ each. Tesco also have four choices for £1.50 each (€1.73), several 100-200g bags of crisps/tortilla chips for less than £1, and 2 litres of cola for 49p. This would be cheaper than the "Meal Deal". https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/fresh-food/chilled-soup-sandwiches-and-salad-pots/sandwiches-wraps-and-sushi/all?sortBy=price-ascending&count=24 https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/fresh-food/chilled-s... https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/treats-and-snacks/crisps-snacks-nuts-and-popcorn/sharing-crisps-and-snacks?sortBy=price-ascending&count=24 https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/treats-and-snacks/cr... https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/drinks/fizzy-and-soft-drinks/cola?sortBy=price-ascending&count=24 https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/drinks/fizzy-and-sof...
      - ffsm8 3mo ago
        Aldi-Nord often has packages with 3 in them for 2€, I was just unable to find them through the website, but I frequently see them as I often buy the 3€ salad right next to them - but they're not separately packaged if that was the misunderstanding
wil421 3mo ago
If you want a shitty sandwich you can find it for $5 in the US no problem. Plus some variation of the sausage roll that will clean you out just as well.
- mattoxic 3mo ago
  And by "clean you out" you mean financially or both?
  - mikestorrent 3mo ago
    Oh, you'll be able to afford it... but you may end up having to spend some time instead
lbreakjai 3mo ago
Gosh, it used to be £3 not that long ago. About £5 for a wrap at Prêt if I couldn't be bothered to go fight with the tourists to cross the road down Kingsway.
- cryo32 3mo ago
  It's £3.85. Not that much more.
  - dspillett 3mo ago
    £5.50+ is for the better “main” options, some of which used to be in the base deal, in most places that do a meal deal.
8ytecoder 3mo ago
Costco sells really good hotdogs with a large coke for $1.50.
- swarnie 3mo ago
  Mechanically reclaimed meat and a half gallon of high fructose corn water isn't much of a comparison.
  - cucumber3732842 3mo ago
    [dead]
  - 8ytecoder 3mo ago
    I honestly can’t understand why not wasting meat is such a bad thing?
    - swarnie 3mo ago
      Sure from an efficiency point of view its fantastic, personally i like some texture from my meal deal.
- sandworm101 3mo ago
  [dead]
gib444 3mo ago
Meal deal = main + snack/side + drink The "main" has expanded to Huel, salads, wraps, sushi, even hot food The "snack" can be more than crisps: small bags of fresh chicken, 2 boiled eggs, small sushi pack, gyozas etc The "drink" includes quality smoothies, acceptable vending machine coffee etc Meal deal value maximizing is the whole game lol. There are also lots of healthier options if you choose carefully In certain Sainsbury's you can get hot food as the main such as a small green curry or chicken goujons, and wedges or hash browns as the side But the price creeps up £0.50 practically yearly. I think it's £5.50 already in Sainsbury's It's better to view it as a cheaper alternative to eating at a restaurant rather than somehow saving money compared to bringing in leftovers. People who think £5.50 a day for lunch is saving money versus cooking themselves are delusional
- jpfromlondon 3mo ago
  £3.85 in my nearest central-London Tesco, it even includes some premium energy drinks like Tenzing that alone would get close to the cost of the deal.
  - gib444 3mo ago
    Ah thanks I haven't been paying close enough attention. That's good
pjc50 3mo ago
There's a lot to complain about in the UK, but food price/quality is actually pretty good. Not the absolute best, but far from the worst and certainly not Scandinavian prices.
cucumber3732842 3mo ago
$6.5 is about what you'd spend to get a bag of chips, hot or cold sandwich and drink from any Walmart that's been renovated recently enough to have a "Grab and go" or whatever they're calling it.
vel0city 3mo ago
A sandwich, a bag of crisps, and a drink at the grocer near me is $8. I don't exactly live in a super low cost of living area, nor is it one of the most expensive in the US.

by nixgeek 3mo ago

A sandwich, bag of crisps and a drink for £5 is an actual deal. Sandwich alone in U.S. would be $10 and the “$15 Meal Deal” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

sam345 3mo ago

Incorrect. Maybe you familiar with the high cost of living areas. There are similar $5 deals in the United States. The US is a big place and has many, many businesses offering very similar deals.

nrki 3mo ago
Thing is, the meal deals are _everywhere_ in the UK. There is no "high cost of living" priced Tesco. Or Sainsbury's. Or 5 other supermarkets.
- ralferoo 3mo ago
  Meal deal prices are higher in certain places, like motorway service stations. If there's a captive market, they'll sneak the price up just like every other company. If there's competition they'll use lower pricing.

ffsm8 3mo ago

Mmh, you can get 3 el cheapo sandwiches for 1.99€, a 100g bag of chips for 0.99€ and a liter of water for 0.90€ or flavoured /coke for 1.99€ in Germany Considering a £ is more then a €, supposedly at last - it doesn't sound like a good deal to me

mikestorrent 3mo ago
I don't think I could find a sandwich anywhere around here in Canada save maybe one of those awful gas station ones for under $6
- Symbiote 3mo ago
  The ones being discussed in the UK are in the triangular box like that, but there's so much competition between the shops that they're ok. It's also a dense enough country that they will be at most a day or two old.
Symbiote 3mo ago
Can you give an example, as I'm not sure it's a fair comparison? https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/products/262308005 https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/products/262308005
- ffsm8 3mo ago
  honestly, they depend on the store you chose to go to. they always taste the same. and the last time i ate one of the sandwidches in the UK they tasted the same there too - but it's been a pretty long time, admittedly (like 20 years or so) eg https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/ja-bacon-ei-sandwich-160g/7878218 https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/ja-bacon-ei-sandwich-160g/7878218 cheap sandwidches (2€) https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/lay-s-chips-red-paprika-150g/8940323 https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/lay-s-chips-red-paprika-150g/8940... chips 150g (99c) https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/coca-cola-1-5l/6730574 https://www.rewe.de/shop/p/coca-cola-1-5l/6730574 cola, 1.25l (1.19€) personally i'd skip the sandwiches in all cases - the wraps, baguettes or ready to eat salads are way better and cost the same. and i'd skip the chips too. i mean thats just pure calories. rather eat a great salad for 3€ instead of the el cheapo sandwidches and chips :)
  - Symbiote 3mo ago
    Then I misunderstood, I thought you meant you could buy 3 sandwiches for €1.99, 67¢ each. Tesco also have four choices for £1.50 each (€1.73), several 100-200g bags of crisps/tortilla chips for less than £1, and 2 litres of cola for 49p. This would be cheaper than the "Meal Deal". https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/fresh-food/chilled-soup-sandwiches-and-salad-pots/sandwiches-wraps-and-sushi/all?sortBy=price-ascending&count=24 https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/fresh-food/chilled-s... https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/treats-and-snacks/crisps-snacks-nuts-and-popcorn/sharing-crisps-and-snacks?sortBy=price-ascending&count=24 https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/treats-and-snacks/cr... https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/drinks/fizzy-and-soft-drinks/cola?sortBy=price-ascending&count=24 https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/browse/drinks/fizzy-and-sof...
    - ffsm8 3mo ago
      Aldi-Nord often has packages with 3 in them for 2€, I was just unable to find them through the website, but I frequently see them as I often buy the 3€ salad right next to them - but they're not separately packaged if that was the misunderstanding

wil421 3mo ago

If you want a shitty sandwich you can find it for $5 in the US no problem. Plus some variation of the sausage roll that will clean you out just as well.

mattoxic 3mo ago
And by "clean you out" you mean financially or both?
- mikestorrent 3mo ago
  Oh, you'll be able to afford it... but you may end up having to spend some time instead

lbreakjai 3mo ago

Gosh, it used to be £3 not that long ago. About £5 for a wrap at Prêt if I couldn't be bothered to go fight with the tourists to cross the road down Kingsway.

cryo32 3mo ago
It's £3.85. Not that much more.
- dspillett 3mo ago
  £5.50+ is for the better “main” options, some of which used to be in the base deal, in most places that do a meal deal.

8ytecoder 3mo ago

Costco sells really good hotdogs with a large coke for $1.50.

swarnie 3mo ago
Mechanically reclaimed meat and a half gallon of high fructose corn water isn't much of a comparison.
- cucumber3732842 3mo ago
  [dead]
- 8ytecoder 3mo ago
  I honestly can’t understand why not wasting meat is such a bad thing?
  - swarnie 3mo ago
    Sure from an efficiency point of view its fantastic, personally i like some texture from my meal deal.
sandworm101 3mo ago
[dead]

gib444 3mo ago

Meal deal = main + snack/side + drink The "main" has expanded to Huel, salads, wraps, sushi, even hot food The "snack" can be more than crisps: small bags of fresh chicken, 2 boiled eggs, small sushi pack, gyozas etc The "drink" includes quality smoothies, acceptable vending machine coffee etc Meal deal value maximizing is the whole game lol. There are also lots of healthier options if you choose carefully In certain Sainsbury's you can get hot food as the main such as a small green curry or chicken goujons, and wedges or hash browns as the side But the price creeps up £0.50 practically yearly. I think it's £5.50 already in Sainsbury's It's better to view it as a cheaper alternative to eating at a restaurant rather than somehow saving money compared to bringing in leftovers. People who think £5.50 a day for lunch is saving money versus cooking themselves are delusional

jpfromlondon 3mo ago
£3.85 in my nearest central-London Tesco, it even includes some premium energy drinks like Tenzing that alone would get close to the cost of the deal.
- gib444 3mo ago
  Ah thanks I haven't been paying close enough attention. That's good

pjc50 3mo ago

There's a lot to complain about in the UK, but food price/quality is actually pretty good. Not the absolute best, but far from the worst and certainly not Scandinavian prices.

cucumber3732842 3mo ago

$6.5 is about what you'd spend to get a bag of chips, hot or cold sandwich and drink from any Walmart that's been renovated recently enough to have a "Grab and go" or whatever they're calling it.

vel0city 3mo ago

A sandwich, a bag of crisps, and a drink at the grocer near me is $8. I don't exactly live in a super low cost of living area, nor is it one of the most expensive in the US.