This makes me nostalgic for June Xie's Budget Eats series

Oh, please make this a series! 🙏🏼
Eric is utterly charming.

To those who worry about the budget, remember that the host also has a time budget, so running all over town to find the lowest price was not an option. And to those flipping out about the flowers, In India there is a saying: “If you only have 2 coins, give one to the poor and with the other, but hyacinths to feed your soul. “ I like the values embodied in that thought.

$20 for 4 chicken leg quarters nearly flipped my actual lid.

I'm kind of glad he went to a smaller neighborhood store. If NYT is gonna give me $100, I'm going to give it back to the community!

On a cold, wet Saturday morning in Scotland with time on my hands, I did a direct (as far as possible) comparison to buying these products in Waitrose; considered one of the top end supermarkets in the UK. I erred on the side of caution, selected the most expensive organic choices and also made sure I bought the same weight (or more) of the items.
The price came out to £31.27 (including VAT) or $41.76 (including tax). I am shocked! I understand that this is a small local store and I don’t think we  have many of these type of shops in the UK - you would probably have to go to a green grocer, a butchers and then a cheese shop but it still would not be that price.
One thing I did was price a whole chicken and I selected the most expensive - a Duchy (of Cornwall - Prince of Wales’ land) free range organic chicken and it was £15.53 including tax - $20.74.
I am so glad Aldi and Lidl are making headway in the US, providing better prices for the general US population.
However, what Eric made was amazing and I really enjoyed watching this video!

When Eric stood outside Greene Grape, I gasped, knowing the prices there. He did so well and I would love to see more of this in a series!

your friend made an excellent point, if you have 100  for a dinner party avoid bougie grocery store at all costs, you could have gotten more groceries at a more humble fruit and vegetable place, NY has those in abundance and you will support local Mom and Pop stores

PLEASE keep doing this series. Eric is impossibly charming, accessible, and endearing. And maybe do it in different cities? (Come back to the A!)

Choice in grocery store aside, it's hilarious that he had $10 left and decided to get the scrawniest bouquet of flowers instead of just getting the green beans he originally wanted 😂😂

This is such a heart warming video! In this age of loneliness, I love seeing people just hanging out with friends, and doing a friend dinner with warm and cozy vibes.

At first I found his choices to be a little boring, but the meal he put together seemed very thoughtful and harmonious. Then his friends collaborating on the dessert was a beautiful ending. What a lovely meal, and such a peaceful and creative group of friends- ♥️

He didn't have any starch fillers like pasta, potato or rice.  So that $100US went really quickly. He also used up a lot of his pantry ingredients which actually also adds up: good quality oil used liberally, seasonings, the fruit syrup, and so on.

He did really well to plan out a meal so quickly.  Also,  a lot of recipes that take time would be out of the question.

My last grocery bill as a single person was $320AU for the week.  I only bought cheap staples.

That hundred didn’t go very far at that store. $20 for 4 chicken quarters is ridiculous.

I love the collaboration that happens between the guests and Eric at the end ❤

I would love for someone to price this out exactly at a US Aldi.

I was so invested until the prices at that grocery store. That was a *choice*! As a NYer, I can say that is even expensive by NYC standards. Did we see the $12 strawberries? And just like... Normal strawberries lol. He could've 2x more on that budget! Calling 4 leg quarters for $20 affordable is wild...

This feels like the Covid version of NYT cooking

What a fun, compelling idea. I loved following Eric's thought process and how he made the plan, shopped and cooked. Everything 🙂Well done, Eric.

Erics dinner party was too cute! i loved how he put so much attention into his guest experience in his home.