Not only do Costco stores in different regions carry different specialty items, even those in the same metro area have different specialties. Because of strange Colorado liquor laws, only one Costco carries liquor. The one I go to most is in an area where there are a lot of Asian restaurants and residents, so it has more things for those customers. I don’t remember a Seafood Fest, but we have specialty vendors hawking Boulder Sausage, salsas, cheeses, potstickers, buffalo burgers The Costco in another area not too far away has a much bigger fruit and veggie area. In California most of stores had a window for the food court so you didn’t even have to go inside.
The potstickers filled with Korean bbq meat are delicious. Great price on almond flour. Being a huge Costco fan, I picked up a cute pair of pajamas depicting various scenes at Costco. Even has one of the giant teddy bear!
I don’t use much bacon at once and like to freeze it so that I can separate a single piece or two leaving the rest frozen. We only eat about 2 packages of bacon a year, mostly as an addition to other dishes. When you only need a piece or two, it stinks to end up throwing away the rest of the package or freezing them only to find them a solid block. Even half a package frozen as a block would be too much.
If you want to freeze bacon so you can separate a single piece, just freeze it with wax paper in between each piece. Takes about 10 minutes per package to do. Just pull off a 2’ - 3’ piece of wax (or parchment) paper, place one piece of bacon on one end, fold the paper over that piece and put the next piece on top. Repeat until all the bacon is stacked with wax paper between each sheet. Put in a gallon sized ziploc bag. Whenever you want a single piece of bacon for flavor, you can chip/separate it without having to thaw the entire pack. For us, a package will last around six months with no degredation in flavor or texture.
I can’t believe I forgot another one of my favorite Costco products: Kirkland Bacon Crumbles! 100% real bacon, naturally smoked. I use them by the spoonful in various dishes. They are really good, and last a long, long time.
Just a comment about the bacon–I bake entire side of the double package on a rack, let cool, put into a ziplock and freeze. Take the pieces you need still frozen and put between paper towels. My microwave takes 50 seconds for 3 pieces. Crispy! I love this method. Costco’s bacon is very good.
Cutting my bacon packs in half is also a calorie saving trick. I’ve done it for so long now, I think I’m having 2 slices of bacon when it’s actually just one slice,but cut in half! I buy the thick Kirkland package.
We’re down to 3 people here so I don’t shop at Costco as often as I used to. A few years ago, I bought a Food Saver from Costco for $75.00. IIRC. I buy chicken and fish in bulk and use the Food Saver to divide them into smaller air sealed portions that I freeze. I also use the Food Saver to freeze smaller portions of food I cook like lasagna, etc. Aside from chicken and salmon, I buy toilet paper - great price, vitamin D and H’s vitamins.
I’m a Costco fan (my wife says evangelist). Over the years, Costco’s share of our spending has gone way up. Whole Foods has dropped nearly to zero. Our food comes from Costco and the local farms (our exurban town has 13, I think). Amazon has also gone way up as a share of spending.
From Costco, things we get:
Food:
Fish (wild tuna, wild haddock or cod, wild Copper River salmon or Coho salmon when they have it)
Organic chicken
Organic turkey
Rotisserie chicken when we don’t feel like cooking
Steak occasionally
Chicken sausages and grass fed hot dogs
Califlower pizza
Frozen chopped up squash
Berries (blueberry both organic and regular, blackberries, raspberries)
Honeycrisp apples when local farms are not producing
Lemons and limes and especially Meyer lemons when I see them
Persimmons and pomegranates
Brussel sprouts and asparagus when local farms are not producing
Organic quinoa
Organic tortilla chips
Hummous
Salsa (organic I think)
Small tomatoes (various colors)
Small peppers (various colors)
Mesclun mix when farms run out
Onions
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Avocado oil for cooking
Figs from Costco online
Business shirts
Sweatshirts
Underpants and vneck tshirts
Crewneck tshirts
Towels
Stuff to equip kids’ college rooms and subsequent apartments
Shoes (Cole Haan for me; Skechers for son)
Sneakers
Outdoor hat for my wife
Mikasa wine glasses and water glasses
iphones
I tried to buy Apple Airpods today but they were out
Two TVs (Samsung and Vizio) and an LG TV I bought as a gift for a friend who has cancer
Paper towel
Toilet paper (from Costco online)
Tissues
Also, beer, Anejo tequila, bourbon and some very good buys on wines and especially on high-end wines.
Probably lots of other random stuff (Paleo pancake mix, Spyder fleece, etc.)
When our kids were home, the son used to have his friends over in HS so we would buy hamburgers, ravioli and other foods they could make easily. Our house was the most popular house because there was always food. Alas, the kids are gone and there are only two of us. However, we entertain quite a bit.
I thought of this thread as I was in Costco about 5:00 today. I got to the front of the store and there was NO LINE at the register I went to. That hasn’t happened often. Since it was not busy, I asked the cashier if she knew where stroop wafels might be, if they had them. Someone went to get them for me. (I wanted multiple packages, but I didn’t want to wait or hold up the line while they went to get more).
Coincidentally, the guy who came up behind me had about 10 packages of the things. I’d never Even heard of them until a couple of weeks ago.
I bought the cherry salad because someone here recommended it. I hope I like it.
I help my elderly neighbors harvest their fruit trees so I start collecting the Costco produce flats (the strawberry flats) for them to keep their fruit organized, single layered in a flat, stackable and lightweight enough for them to handle.
Their fruit can ripen gently since they aren’t crushed or bruised in their single layer flats.
Our Costco tried self checkout… it just did not work as efficiently as cashiers due to the sheer volume and variety of stuff everyone buys. When booze was added, all hell broke loose at the self checkouts.
