Costco salmon slicers go wild, no easy Target deals

Torn pieces of Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye Salmon from Costco Wholesale with two organic eggs, also from Costco.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

You should have heard me cursing out loud the other day when I tried to fry two eggs sunny side up and add a few slices of Kirkland Signature Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye Salmon from Costco Wholesale.

In the years I have been buying this wonderful product, the salmon came sliced beautifully, and I could easily separate the pieces with a fork or my fingers.

Once in a while, the smoked salmon was sliced, but placed wrong side down on the tray inside the sealed pouch.

But this time, the salmon appeared to have been packaged unsliced, and there was a tough, dark-colored section that made it even harder to use only part of the half-pound fillet in my egg dish.

What the smoked salmon looks like when it is sliced properly.

Big price hike

The smoked salmon comes in two, linked half-pound pouches for $18.89, a significant price hike, though still cheaper than 1 pound of any other smoked wild salmon I've seen elsewhere.

In March 2013, the price was $15.59.

On Friday, my wife picked up another package of smoked wild salmon at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

She also bought 10 pounds of Earthbound Farm Organic Carrots for $8.99, four half-gallons of Tropicana Premium Orange Juice for $11.59, three half-gallons of Kirkland Signature Organic 1% Milk for $9.69 and three pounds of bananas for $1.39.

The last of the smoked wild salmon I had to tear to separate in a breakfast omelet today. Below, a new package my wife picked up Friday at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

Hard-to-get Target deal

I returned to Target in Hackensack on Friday to take advantage of promotions on frozen pizzas and Mexican-style green salsa.

Frozen pizzas from Archer Farms, a store brand, were on sale for $4.49 each, and a second pizza was free.

I bought two, Fennel Sausage & Roasted Peppers and Mediterranean Arugula & Tomato, both with "wood-fired crusts."

At the register, the promotion was automatic, but a second promotion, for 16-ounce jars of Archer Farms Roasted Salsa Verde, caused a big problem, because the data in the store's computer and the shelf sign didn't match.

The sign said, Buy three and get one free, but the computer had another promotion, requiring the purchase of tortillas.

I had to find a supervisor, walk to the grocery section in the back of the store and show her the sign before I got the three jars of salsa for the price of two, $6.04.

The salsa is perfect for poaching fish or adding to egg dishes, as well as eating with chips.

I also used my Target credit card for an additional 5% discount on the pizzas and salsa (52 cents), and got 5 cents back for a reusable bag.

On an earlier visit, a half-gallon of Market Pantry Lactose Free Milk rang up for $3.39, but I pointed out the shelf sign said $3.14, and the price was immediately adjusted.

Still, a customer should not have to jump through hoops to get Target promotions.