Saturday, June 11, 2016

Silver Spring Dollar Tree Store Review

Last Sunday, a friend at the Extended Stay where I live asked me to get him some hand sanitizer. Dollar Tree Stores are one of the best places I know to get cheap hand sanitizer lotion. They sell it in 8 ounce bottles or slightly smaller bottles if you want it with aloe vera or they have multi-pack 2 ounce bottles. Per the Dollar Tree name, they all cost $1. I've bought a number of bottles of the stuff myself there and, it's worked fine. I promised to get my friend some while my friend Kathryn and I did some shopping.

After we'd finished our shopping at the Kings Contrivance Harris Teeter supermarket, I remembered my promise and called up the various nearby Dollar Tree stores on my Garmin Global Positioning System (GPS). The closest Dollar Tree store was the one in Columbia, but as my readers know, I'm very unimpressed with that store. It doesn't have refrigerated or freezer sections and, it's very small which means it has a limited selection of merchandise. While it might've had hand sanitizer, I wanted to try some place else. I saw on the list of stores there was one in Silver Spring, Maryland that I'd never been to. I asked Kathryn if she'd mind checking that one out. She said she didn't so off we went. The store isn't far from Maryland Route 29 and, it's address is 13837 Outlet Drive (phone number 301-847-7865). It's located in the corner of what I'd call your standard strip mall. The only problem I had with its location is it is in the corner and, you have look for it to find it. Interestingly, there's a Family Dollar store within 40 feet or less of it. Kathryn and I thought initially the Dollar Tree might've been bought out by Family Dollar and so, we checked that store out first. We were UNIMPRESSED by Family Dollar and, we're delighted when a shopper there told there was a Dollar Tree store further down.

The Silver Spring, Maryland Dollar Tree store is large which means it has a lot of merchandise - give them 1 point for that. They score points for also having refrigerated and frozen sections. Lastly, they have decent parking. Kathryn and I found ourselves very pleased with this store vice some others I've been to.

Overall, I was really pleased with this store and would happily shop here again except for the fact that it's a bit far from where I live. However, for those who live in Silver Spring or close by, this is a Dollar Tree store worth checking out. I'd happily give this store 2 thumbs up! It's an excellent store with some very good Dollar Tree bargains (they had some cans of soup where I thought were particularly good price wise though I haven't tried them yet). Happy Shopping all!

Monday, June 06, 2016

Birra Moretti Beer Review

While shopping for foreign (anything made out of United States of America (USA)) beers, I came upon some Birra Moretti beer. The beer is a lager with 4.6% alcohol and is brewed by Heineken Italia in Comun Nuovo, Italy. Total Wine & More in Laurel, Maryland sells a 6 pack of 11.2 fluid ounce bottles for $7.99.

One thing I liked about this lager is that it's a genuine Italian beer i.e. it's brewed IN Italy. I've seen a number of foreign beers that are actually brewed in the USA. To me, they're not legitimately foreign though they may have a different taste to what we're used to in the USA. This lager tasted like a standard lager. It wasn't harsh tasting like some German beers can be though it wasn't super smooth like some Hawaiian ale I've tried. Basically, it's a decent lager at a reasonable price for a genuinely foreign beer.

Tip: Total Wine & More has a frequent shopper club called Total Discovery where they'll send you coupons for their stores that'll save you money on beer or other spirits. In this case, thanks to the coupon, I saved a $1 off this 6 pack. If you drink a fair amount of beer or other spirits, it could be worth it to you to look into it.

Overall, I thought this was a nice beer. I very much liked that it's genuinely Italian. I do question the claim on the bottle about Italian passion for brewing. I think Italy is known more for its wine then its beer. Still, it was fun to try this brew. Happy responsible drinking all!