Image via WikipediaThe many empty parking spaces close to the entrance welcomed me. I was the second customer at the photo counter. Aisles were empty. I didn't have to wait on a line to order an 18-inch pizza for dinner or pick up a berry smoothie for my wife.
Yes. This was Costco in Hackensack this morning, about 30 minutes after its 10 a.m. opening. A store that is often so crowded you think it is giving stuff away was civilized for a change. Even the sun was shining.
Encountering a woman in one of the aisles, I asked her, "Have you every seen Costco so empty?" She replied, "No. But it's wonderful." And both of us laughed heartily.
What was I doing in Costco the morning after a major snowstorm?
Well, my wife and I got out early to clear the driveway, sidewalk and walk, and I needed a few things, including an 18-inch vegetable pizza from Costco ($9.95). It's big enough for lunch and dinner. The berry smoothie is $1.45, plus tax.
And I wanted more Kirkland-brand organic chicken stock to make the recipe for tortellini soup on the back of each carton ($10.99 for six quarts).
I also wanted to develop photographs in my digital camera, including several I took this morning of the winter-wonderland scenes around my home. They were ready in 15 minutes, compared to the usual one-hour wait.
Besides the chicken stock, I found Lucini-brand marinara sauce with roasted garlic ($4.97 for three, 13.5-ounce pouches); Cabot sliced cheddar cheese ($6.99 for two pounds); fresh strawberries, ($5.99 for two pounds); and Vlasic Farms sour pickle spears made with sea salt ($3.35 for a 62-ounce jar).
I love the fact that you "needed" one of those giant pizzas! My husband went to Costco today too and said the same thing - deserted!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Holly. I've been cutting down on bread and pizza to lose weight, and it's working.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've had pizza since my last night in Italy in September. Every time I go to Costco, I have to walk out past the food counter and those giant pizzas are always calling me.
Tonight, I made that tortellini soup, had a bowl of that, plus a slice of Costco pizza, a big salad and wine.
You know chicken stock is made out of meat, right? Since you don't eat meat, how do you rationalize that?
ReplyDeleteI came late to giving up meat -- less than a year ago -- and it's been difficult. If I didn't eat seafood, I'm not sure what I would do.
ReplyDeleteYes. I know chicken stock is made from meat and the broth in Korean soft-tofu stew is made from beef or beef bones, but I overlook that if it helps me avoid the actual poultry, beef and so forth.
When I was eating meat, I was shopping at three or four stores to find poultry and beef without antibiotics, preservative-free hot dogs and cold cuts, and so forth. So, at least I no longer have to do that.
Since when does chicken stock have meat? I thought it only had chicken.
ReplyDeleteI assumed the writer meant chicken, and used the same term in my response.
ReplyDeleteStill, it's technically correct. Chicken is called white meat and dark meat, isn't it?
Perhaps, but tofu is called tofu and it doesn't have any toes in it. I hope.
ReplyDelete