Gas

You’ll be tacking on another 19 cents per gallon soon if Governor Deval Patrick has his way. But that’s okay because that tax will preclude the need to raise tolls on roads you don’t use. Wait, what? The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority just approved a set of toll hikes before the vote on the gas tax increase. Is this part of the stimulus package?

Prices for regular unleaded gas as of Feb. 25:

Edgartown

Airport Mobil2.699

Depot Corner2.599

Edgartown Mobil2.659

Oak Bluffs

deBettencourt’s2.629

Jim’s2.699

Vineyard Haven

Citgo2.659

Tisbury Shell2.659

West Tisbury

Up-Island Automotive2.539

10 per cent discount on Sundays

Menemsha

Menemsha Texaco2.399

Massachusetts state average

(source: AAA)1.885

Grocery Basket

We put all our eggs in one basket this week. No, wait; we put only eggs in our basket this week.

Are eggs the new coffee? Buying them is getting as complicated as deciding what to put in your latté. It used to be that all you had to think about was color and size; white versus brown, and medium, large, or extra large. Now it’s a lifestyle decision — theirs, not yours. Are they Vineyarders? Or at least New Englanders? Are they cage-free? Do they live an organic life? Are they loaded with Omega-3? No ordinary life for chickens anymore, it seems.

Island eggs are not just at summer farm stands — they’re turning up all over town — but there’s an amazing array from off-Island too.

On Feb. 25 we shopped for eggs:

Cronig’s : (On-Island) Morning Glory Farm, Christiantown Farm organic. (Off-Island) Farmer Brown’s, Born Free cage free, Egg-Land’s Best cage free, Egg-Land’s Best organic, Grandpa’s, Horizon organic.

Up-Island Cronig’s had all of these except Farmer Brown’s but also had: (On-Island) Flat Point Farm, Nip ’n Tuck Farm. (Off-Island) New England Egg Farms.

Stop & Shop : (Off-Island) Stop & Shop, Nature’s Promise, Egg-Land’s Best, Land O’Lakes, Pete & Gerry’s cage free organic.

Reliable : (On-Island) Morning Glory Farm. (Off-Island), Shur Fine, Quality Egg, Nellie’s cage free, Grandpa’s.

Tisbury Farm Market : (On-Island) Duck Pond Farm, Smith’s Farm.

SBS : (On-Island) Oscar’s Eggs from the Thompson Family Farm.

Vineyard Cash and Carry : (Off-Island) Wholesome Farms (sold only in flats of 2.5 dozen).

The cost per egg grows with size and lifestyle. The least expensive was a Shur Fine medium at Reliable for 18 cents, and the most expensive was Egg-Land’s Best organic at Cronig’s for 55 cents. Most Island eggs were 33 to 40 cents, with organic eggs about 10 cents more. Off-Island eggs ran from 19 to 24 cents. At 20 cents per egg, a large family could use up that flat from Cash and Carry in no time.

So even though the national average is 15 cents per egg, they’re a cheap protein punch even at Vineyard prices.