Croutons

I wish I had a picture of what I'm about to describe, but I don't.  And a quick perusal of the web revealed nothing that captured the moment.  During lunch today, there was a bet at the table I was sitting at, "A container (think larger size take home container) full of croutons, passed off as a salad, on a per-ounce cost basis, will still ring in at less than $4."  The issue was around what was the best deal on a cost basis at the salad bar.  And there was some discussion about whether croutons might actually come in below the price of a box purchased at the store.

The result was $3.96.  Mike, during the height of lunch hour (noon), stealthily scooped out a whole container, sometimes taking no more than two at a time, and paid cash.  I opined that a similar container full of sunflower seeds would probably run $1000.  I hope there's not a crouton shortage later this week.  Mike wasn't willing to waste them.  He was calmly eating them as a snack food right up until he looked slightly ill.