$200,000 Bentley Convertible tries to cut me off at Costco gas pumps

CHANGE FOR THE BETTER: Costco Wholesale's Kirkland Signature Egg Whites have returned. You get six 16-ounce cartons, and the price is lower than the four-carton Egg Beaters we've been forced to buy since the Teterboro warehouse opened last October.

Egg Beaters (four 16-ounce cartons for $9.39), left, and Kirkland Signature Egg Whites (six 16-ounce cartons for $8.79).

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

In the year since we bought Michelin Defenders for our 2010 Toyota Prius, Costco Wholesale's tire store moved to a new, bigger warehouse in Teterboro.

Teterboro offers a bonus over the Hackensack warehouse -- a members-only Costco gas station selling regular for under $2 a gallon, plus a cash rebate of up to 4% on credit-card purchases.

On Thursday, I had an appointment for a free rotation and tire balancing, so in the interest of conserving energy, I brought a long food-shopping list and figured I might as well fill the tank of my wife's 50-mpg gas-electric hybrid.

6,000-pound land barge

I entered Costco's parking lot, and started maneuvering so my gas door would be next to the pump, when I saw a couple in a Bentley Convertible on a collision course.

Damn if I was going to yield to a driver who blew more than $200,000 on one of the most environmentally irresponsible cars on the road -- a 600-horsepower, 6,000-pound behemoth that supposedly gets 12 mpg.

The bald driver had the top down in 90-degree weather, but didn't even know enough to wear a hat.

He was headed for a premium-gas pump on the far left and I was driving almost straight ahead, so I just hit the gas pedal and put the nose of the Prius in front of that flashy monstrosity, and got through.

The Bentley owner probably has to fill up his 24-gallon tank three times a week, so I guess I can't blame him for going to Costco.

After I filled up for $1.95.9 a gallon, I parked our Prius next to the tire store, and the car was ready before I finished my food shopping -- a little over an hour later. 

$2 off organic eggs

Two-dozen Kirkland Signature Organic Eggs were $4.99 after a $2 instant coupon.

Fresh Blackberries from Mexico were $4.49 (18 ounces), 3 pounds of Organic Bananas were $1.99, and 5.5 pounds of Premium Honeycrisp Apples were $15.99.

I also bought Organic Kiwi Fruit from Italy (4 pounds for $7.99).

I picked up a couple of pounds of fresh wild flounder fillets ($7.99 a pound), caught and processed in the United States, when I didn't find fresh wild salmon from Alaska.

The first Copper River salmon of the season arrived in Seattle on May 17.

On Friday, my wife saw fresh Copper River Alaskan salmon for $35.99 a pound at Whole Foods Market in Paramus.

Last year, the Hackensack Costco sold the first Copper River sockeye salmon for $14.99 a pound. 

Another change for the better at the Teterboro warehouse is Kirkland Signature Organic Coconut Water. You get the same amount as Vita Coco Coconut Water, which isn't organic, for a lower price, $9.99 v. $13.99, below.

Kirkland Signature Strawberry Spread still is made with fresh fruit, but is no longer organic. A 42-ounce jar is $5.99, a dollar less than the same size organic spread I bought in December 2014 at the Hackensack warehouse.

Kirkland Signature Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese from Italy ($8.79 a pound) costs a little more than Pecorino Romano, but it is aged longer, and has one-third less salt and less total fat. Parmigiano Reggiano is made with part-skimmed cow's milk and the other cheese uses full-fat sheep's milk. I like pieces of the crumbly Parmigiano with fruit, such as the delicious but pricey Honeycrisp Apples you can get at Costco.

My wife asked me to buy Organic Coconut Oil, but when I pointed out 1 tablespoon of the Kirkland Signature brand contains 60% of the daily recommended intake of saturated fat, she returned it the next day to the Hackensack warehouse and got a full refund ($18.99).

Costco Wholesale's new store in Teterboro to open ahead of schedule

At the Costco Wholesale in Hackensack today, this member took advantage of the liberal return policy by seeking a refund for a dozen items, including a large wedge of cheese, a bag of lettuce, a carton of creamer and other food piled on the counter in front of her.

The line for returns formed quickly right after the store opened at 10 a.m.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Costco Wholesale is scheduled to open its bigger store near Teterboro Airport on Oct. 14, an employee said today.

That's about a month earlier than expected.

The new store is 3 miles from the Hackensack warehouse store, which opened on July 21, 1994.

The new store will have a Costco gas station and a liquor department with wines from its private label, Kirkland Signature, neither of which are available in Hackensack.

In recent years, the Hackensack store has become so crowded on weekends many members avoid the place at all costs.

The Hackensack parking lot is regarded as a zoo on almost any day.

Costco owns the 14.8-acre Hackensack site.

The new Costco will open in the Teterboro Landing Shopping Center near Route 46.

Does the new Costco Wholesale in Teterboro look like it will be ready for members on Oct. 14?

The canopy over the Costco Wholesale gas station in Teterboro is complete.

Update

At Teterboro Landing, Costco Wholesale's new store and parking lot are surrounded by fences, looking very much like a work in progress.

The exterior of the building isn't complete and doesn't yet have the "Costco Wholesale" name on it.

Although the drive to the shopping center is only 3 miles longer than a trip to the Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, there is a lot more traffic and the main road, Route 46, is being repaired and resurfaced.

This Costco is bigger and brighter -- but I still can't find anything

The new Costco Wholesale in Wayne sells alcohol, including Kirkland Signature wines, unlike the unaffiliated liquor store at the Hackensack warehouse, where I have shopped for years. These boxes hold three 750-milliliter bottles of Dom Perignon Champagne from France and a bonus ice bucket for a bracing $435.99, below.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The new Costco Wholesale in Wayne -- across the road from the old one -- has been open for nearly two months.

But when I shopped there the other day, I found members wandering around just like me, and asking each other for help to find wine, food and other items.

After I finished an errand in Clifton, less than 5 miles away, I used my car's navigation system, which took me past the old store in the Willowbrook Mall.

The new store, in the adjacent Wayne Towne Center mall, was built on the site of a Fortunoff that closed years ago and was demolished.

The exterior color scheme of the new store -- shades of brown and gray -- is a departure from the nearly all-white Costco in Hackensack.

The new Wayne store is supposed to have a gas station, but I didn't see it, just a large parking lot packed with cars and a relatively small entrance.

I imagine the new Wayne Costco is a preview of what loyal Hackensack customers can expect when a bigger Costco opens three miles away in Teterboro --now scheduled for November 2015 -- and the Hackensack warehouse closes.

The Teterboro store will have a gas station, but I haven't seen any word on whether it will carry Kirkland Signature wines.

These farmed Black Tiger Shrimp from Indonesia are eight to the pound, a size I haven't seen in my Hackensack Costco, where I have bought farmed shrimp for years. But now I only buy wild-caught Gulf Shrimp from Mexico or the United States.

Fresh-water lobster tails are previously frozen, as are cooked lobsters, king crab and other shellfish I saw at the Wayne Costco on Monday. I have tried previously frozen Dungeness Crabs from Costco and haven't liked them, but the king crab legs remain juicy after a little steaming.

The only reason for me to shop at the Wayne Costco is the large selection of wine, above and below, including inexpensive bottles of Kirkland Signature California Cabernet ($7.99 for 1.5 liters) and Prosecco from Italy ($6.99).

An unusual 3-liter bottle of Veuve Clicquot Brut, a dry champagne from France known for its yellow label, was $299.99, left.

Treasure hunt

What isn't new at the bigger and brighter Wayne Costco is the "treasure hunt" members must embark on in trying to find items they have purchased before.

It's well-known Costco employees move items around, and place new items on the ends of aisles to attract shoppers' attention.

I had a list with me on Monday, but in searching for what I needed, I came across several items that I bought impulsively:

• Kirkland Signature Coconut Juice in 11.1-ounce containers -- with nothing added -- for $9.89, a few dollars less that the Vita brand next to it on the shelf.

• A 30-ounce tin of Starbucks Hot Cocoa powder ($9.99), which makes 42 cups, if you follow the recommended two heaping tablespoons of powder per cup of milk (that seems excessive).

• Organic Dates from Made in Nature ($8.79), and canned wild Alaskan Pink Salmon (six 6-ounce cans for $12.99).

• Kirkland Signature Prosecco, a sparkling wine from Italy, for $6.99, displayed just inside the entrance, far from the main wine section.

Among items on my list, two 16-ounce jars of Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard were only $5.49 ($6.99 with a $1.50 instant coupon), and a 1-pound package of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix was $4.89.

I also found 1.5-liter bottles of Kirkland Signature's wonderful California Cabernet for the equivalent of only $4 per bottle, but couldn't find the store brand of the French champagne I enjoyed last year.

This Ninja food blender and food processor at the new Wayne Costco is rated at 1.5 horsepower, compared to a 2-horsepower system I saw in a Target ad for the same $149.99. My wife couldn't find this item at the Hackensack Costco.

The food counter and number of tables in the new Wayne Costco are about the same as those in the old Wayne store and in the Hackensack Costco. One difference between Wayne and Hackensack is that the tire counter is inside the main store, but members with returns must enter through the exit, forcing them to swim against the tide of members leaving with their purchases.

Costco Wholesale, 149 Route 23, Wayne; 1-973-339-4006. Liquor department, gas station.