Fancy department store chain Neiman Marcus (aka Needless Markup) is in the business of selling everyday food items at exorbitant prices. Included in that model, apparently, are collard greens, a hearty staple of meat-and-threes everywhere. Collards are typically thought of as a value vegetable, but at Neiman Marcus, they’ll run you $66 plus $15.50 for shipping.
What makes $81 collard greens so special? According to the store’s website, these are ready to heat in the microwave and seasoned with "just the right amount of spices and bacon." An order includes four 12-ounce trays meant to serve eight to 10 people, working out to $1.69 per ounce, which is... a lot.
Neiman Marcus doesn't mention what particular spices go into the greens, but it's a good bet they're similar to what's found in a 27-ounce can of "Margaret Holmes Seasoned Southern Style Heat N Serve Collard Greens," available at Walmart for a single buck. As for the bacon, a 16-ounce package of Oscar Meyer is listed on Walmart’s website for $4.98.
Passing on the Neiman Marcus ready-to-heat selection, a savvy shopper can get 54 ounces of pre-cooked collards and a pound of bacon — plenty for to mix in as seasoning — for about $7. That translates to $0.13 per ounce of greens (or $0.10 if you want to factor in that entire package of bacon). That’s a much better deal. To be fair, Neiman Marcus's greens are likely superior in taste if the company is starting with fresh produce, but is it worth that steep price?
Anyone who does their grocery shopping at Neiman Marcus already knows they're paying a premium for $65 broccoli-cheese casserole, $85 cornbread dressing, $72 enchiladas, and so on. Of course, you could simply buy some fresh collards from the market and cook them yourself. Not everything has to be microwaveable, you know. Either way, don’t buy your food at Neiman Marcus.
• [H/T: WHIO]
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