A rainy day at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, where home cooks find many high-quality ingredients at prices that usually beat the competition.
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By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR
You won't appreciate Costco Wholesale if you spend most of your food dollars on takeout and restaurant meals.
Some of the prepared food at Costco isn't very good, but the warehouse store is filled to the rafters with wild-caught fish, organic poultry, exotic spices and other ingredients at great prices.
Costco is a playground for home cooks, especially those who want to serve more organic and non-GMO foods to their families, including fig bars, spring mix, quinoa and versatile diced tomatoes.
For years, Costco has had the lowest price anywhere for 3 pounds of bananas, only $1.39, but last week, my wife found organically grown bananas next to the conventional ones for only $1.99.
On my home kitchen scale, the bag weighed 3.3 pounds.
Costco's union workers
You can't beat a food store that takes a fixed profit on every item it sells and employs a unionized work force.
Costco could never be confused with greedy Walmart, which peddles low-quality food and fattens its bottom line on the backs of its workers, many of whom earn so little they have to apply for food stamps.
Is the annual Costco membership fee of $55 or $110 a deal breaker?
No.
With a no-fee Costco American Express True Earnings credit card, you earn cash rebates on purchases at Costco and other stores, restaurant meals and gasoline that more than cover the membership fee.
The wine section at the Costco Wholesale in Wayne. You can also find Kirkland Signature's delicious California Cabernet Sauvignon in a 1.5-liter bottle for only $7.99.
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Egg whites, reduced-fat Swiss cheese and smoked wild salmon -- all from Costco -- were poached in bottled pasta sauce and served over mashed sweet potatoes for breakfast.
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These aged, sharp cheddar slices were $6.99 when introduced at the Hackensack warehouse store in March. On Monday, they were $7.99, still a good buy for 2 pounds of cheese.
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The Ruta Maya Organic Coffee helps me brew two or three strong, smooth cups in the morning.
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Since when do you use a Turkish grind in a Bialetti? You're supposed to use an espresso grind. Besides, you should be boycotting anything Turkish since Turkey is aiding and abetting Isis.
ReplyDeleteI don't use the Bialetti to make coffee; it's for display. I use a cheap Mr. Coffee 4-cup, and the Turkish grind exposes more coffee to the hot water. It can be used in any coffee maker.
DeletePerhaps if Costco didn't have unionized employees, the service would be better. You are always complaining about the service there.
ReplyDeleteNot always. I complain when they run out of stuff and move items around.
DeleteAnd when they can't answer your questions. And when they flip their name tags so you can't complain about them. Seriously, you should read your blog.
ReplyDeleteI've been shopping there more than 15 years, so in that context my complaints are relatively few and far between.
DeleteI am glad Costco has unionized employees. I boycott Walmart because of the way it mistreats workers, especially women.
ReplyDelete