... has skyrocketed recently. I can't find a story of note to explain why (i.e., weather, shipping issues, etc.)

Frozen TJ's broccoli it is, for now!

Um...whut?

Real men eat spinach

go to an asian grocer and youll be surprised at savings

just two examples of bigger ones >
http://www.hmart.com/company_new/shop_main.asp
http://www.lotteplaza.com/branch/bra...&Category=&id=

also, sometimes the costco type places

When the price at Berkeley Bowl and Monterey Market is really high, something is up. (I rarely step foot in a traditional supermarket.)

those kinds of stores CAN (not always) have "luxury" prices for wealthy consumers and others who are sensitive to things other than prices or in other words dont care about paying more for something and are not looking at price/value

so i would still suggest asian, and if you dont like larger companies like two asian ones i mentioned, im sure there are tons in korea/japan/china "-towns" (possibly south asian / middle eastern as well, but im not as familiar)

my comment was from experience of seeing sometimes incredibly low prices at hmart vs all major grocers in my area

any time ive looked at organic/independent/farmers/etc, its been expensive/luxury, but i havent been in a ton / not very well versed in that kind of thing

when i use "luxury" i mean something along the lines of "first world problems"

What do you mean by broccoli - the long stemmed green kind or thick stemmed bushy (calabrese) broccoli?

I paid �1.12 for a large crown yesterday but as I don't know what I paid last week or the week before I don't know if the price has increased recently.

You clearly aren't familiar with the stores I've mentioned. And I'm quite familiar with Asian and Latino markets - there's a huge 99 Ranch close to home, and an array of smaller "ethnic" markets.

When the stores I've mentioned have such a sudden spike in the price of a particular common item, something has happened in the supply/availability chain (which may just be a local issue). For all I know, it will be over tomorrow. I just wondered if there was any 'broccoli news' causing this issue. I'm not going to run around and burn a lot of gas trying to find cheaper broccoli. I'll go without (typically when there are supply/availability issues, the quality is lower), or go frozen, in the very short term.

so the prices of stores you mention are comparable to asian/latino?

how are latino grocers? obviously theyll be better in CA, but ive seen some in DC metro i havent been in yet.

If broccoli was free, I would consider it to still not be worth buying, compared to every other food choice that is at my disposal and which taste better. It's one of the few things I completely agreed with George H.W. Bush about.

But what does this have to do with the price of fish?

It also depends where you are. Calabrese has been constant over the last few years, but purple sprouting shot up three-fold last year at about this time, but has reverted to much more reasonable levels this year. Love the latter, don't really like the former.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHOgkgnZAdc

I like broccoli with fish....especially with a piece of poached Atlantic salmon.

Any price hike has probably to do with the weather not being to their liking.