Bad food? It pays to complain

Costco Wholesale has one of the best return policies around.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss complaints about spoiled store-bought food, and three new menu items at a Korean tofu restaurant.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Earthbound Farm's Organic Spring Mix is one of the most delicious ready-to-use salads you can find, but occasionally, some of the delicate leaves rot before the expiration date.

When I've sent e-mails to the company, the response has always been quick and I've also received coupons or a Costco Wholesale gift card for more than the cost of the spring mix. 

Of course, Costco's return policy is one of the best around and you don't even need a receipt.

 

Refunds

On Saturday, I received three full refunds: 

$13.99 for unopened cans of Kirkland Signature Solid Albacore Tuna, $4.29 for Galil-brand Roasted Chestnuts and $9.99 for two jars of Kirkland Signature Natural Peanut Butter.

Solid albacore tuna has much more mercury than the light tuna I asked my wife to buy. The organic chestnuts turned slimy and moldy in the refrigerator, and I dumped them in the garbage. My wife and son didn't like the peanut butter, because the oil separates out of it.

I e-mailed Cargill Meat Solutions about oxtails I purchased at Costco, complaining there was so much fat and bone, a package of more than 4 pounds barely served three people.

The meat processor said it would send me a full refund of $18.68.

I also e-mailed Trident Seafoods of Seattle, Wash., about finding mold in a can of Bear & Wolf-brand wild Alaskan pink salmon. I will be getting a coupon good for one of Trident's frozen seafood items at Costco. 

Vouchers

I have had mixed success with complaints to Groupon and Travelzoo, online publishers of restaurant and other deals.

When we used an $18 Groupon to buy a $36 meal at Gammeeok, a Korean restaurant in Palisades Park, we were charged $3.74 extra for two small bowls of rice, a staple that is usually served free with every Korean meal.

Groupon responded to my e-mail by giving me a full $18 credit toward the purchase of my next voucher.

Travelzoo

Our $65 voucher from Travelzoo was supposed to buy a three-course dinner for two valued at up to $130 at Maritime Parc in Jersey City, plus wine, coffee or tea.

But when we were seated in the expensive seafood restaurant, we were given a menu without prices that listed many extra-cost supplements, and poured glasses of wine that were only a third full. Each glass was supposedly valued at up to $12

My wife urged me not to take it out on the waitress by leaving a smaller tip than the recommended 20% or $26 on the full cost of $130.

Travelzoo responded to my e-mail by telling me to take the matter up with the restaurant, which issued the voucher, and offering me a $10 credit toward the purchase of another voucher.

I'm not sure I want to buy another Travelzoo voucher, especially one that seems to exaggerate the value of the deal.

I bought a $159 Travelzoo voucher for a room and another "$130 dinner" for two at the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, then asked for a refund when the hotel said I would have to pay $5 for parking.

In addition, the menu for the dinner at one of the Borgata's restaurants was valued at less than $35 per person, and no alcohol was included.

Expanded menu

A popular Korean tofu house in Palisades Park has expanded its menu to include a few other classic dishes.

The place-mat menu at So Gong Dong has added stone-bowl bibimbap, but serves the rice-based dish in three varieties (usually topped by a fried or raw egg): beef, vegetable or squid.

Two other new menu items are pan-friend pork slices in a spicy sauce or jaeyook bokeum, and squid barbecue with spicy sauce.

All are $12.99 each, including tax.

We had a great soft-tofu dinner there on Saturday night. My son explained he likes So Gong Dong, because when he asks for the spiciest tofu, he gets it. 

A complete meal of soft-tofu stew, rice and side dishes is $9.99, including tax.

So Gong Dong, 118 Broad Ave., Second Floor, Palisades Park; 201-313-5550. Open seven days. Valet parking available.

Why I love spending money at Costco

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The interior of a Costco in South San Francisco, Calif.

Editor's note: How many food retailers publish their markup or try to sell for as little as they can? That's part of the philosophy behind Costco Wholesale. Today, I also discuss a sour note during an otherwise great Korean dinner at Gammeeok in Palisades Park.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I am spending more and more of my food dollars at Costco Wholesale, lured by high quality and low prices -- plus cash rebates that more than cover the annual membership fee.

Now, an article in in the January 2012 edition of Costco Connection -- called a lifestyle magazine for members -- explains the history and philosophy behind the warehouse store.

The writers say Costco's well-known strategies are "keeping markup to no more than 14 percent over cost (15 percent for Kirkland Signature products); providing a money-back guarantee on products and membership fees; focusing on a narrow selection of products in a wide range of categories; proceeding with steady, but cautious growth; and never selling seconds or other inferior good."

Costco also pays "above-average salaries," and offers health insurance to most employees. 

The history of Costco Wholesale is traced to a new retail concept established by Fed-Mart in 1954 in San Diego, then to the Price Club, which opened its first store in 1976 in San Diego. Costco, which opened its first store in Seattle in 1983, merged with Price Club in 1993.

Today, Costco sells the highest quality food outside of Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe's, and its prices are often unbeatable.

We paid for rice

Rice is an integral part of every Korean meal, but when we used a Groupon at Gammeeok in Palisades Park on New Year's Eve, we were charged $3.74 for two small bowls of the starchy staple.

The Groupon was for pork-filled dumplings, a seafood pancake and beef barbecue -- two appetizers and an entree that normally cost $37.85. The Groupon was $18.

But if you ordered that same meal at any other Korean restaurant, you'd get free rice. I suppose the discount coupon we used at Gammeeok made a difference.

My wife and son shared those dishes, and they especially liked the hot, thick, crisp pancake with tender bits of squid and other seafood.

I ordered a stone-bowl bibimbap, and asked the kitchen to hold the ground beef and cook the raw egg that are usually placed over steamed rice and shredded vegetables ($13.95). 

You also get a mildly spicy red paste called gochujang that you add before mixing everything up and eating it with a spoon. It's my favorite Korean comfort food.

Free side dishes

Of course, we got four free side dishes: napa cabbage leaves, hot green peppers, shredded radish kimchi in vinegar and Gammeeok's wonderfully spicy cabbage and cubed radish kimchi, which are sweeter than most.

We had three small plates of cabbage and radish kimchi, and ordered a large container of the cabbage kimchi to go ($6.95). I brought a bottle of French sparkling wine to toast the new year during our meal.

Our meal for three cost $46.41, including the $18 I paid for the Groupon, a $9 tip and tax. 

UPDATE: This restaurant is no longer in business, and the original New Jersey branch in Fort Lee was closed by a fire.

Related articles

• Costco's accent is becoming more pronounced (doyoureallyknowwhatyoureeating.blogspot.com)
• Kimchi is the star of a Korean meal for 10 (doyoureallyknowwhatyoureeating.blogspot.com)

Free-range, grass-fed steaks go on sale

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Boneless beef rib-eye steaks and boneless shell steaks from Australia are on sale today through Aug. 20 at ShopRite supermarkets north of Trenton.


This beef is sold under the Nature's Reserve label. It is free range and grass fed. The price is $3.99 a pound with a store card.


Grass-fed beef is not as fatty as beef raised conventionally, usually on grain. It also cooks faster and tastes best when cooked rare to medium rare.


Third Gammeeok


A new branch of Gammeeok, a Korean restaurant known for its unusual kimchi service, has opened on the second floor of a building at 110 Broad Ave. in Palisades Park (201-945-6300).


The first Gammeeok in North Jersey opened at 485 Main St. in Fort Lee (201-242-1333). The original is in Manhattan. The name is pronounced GAM-yo.


At the stylish Fort Lee restaurant, kimchi is brought to the table in what looks like a vase, and the long pieces of cabbage coated with red pepper are cut and served to customers.


The new Gammeeok offers an $11.95 lunch special of soup, fish, rice and side dishes, which I saw displayed on a table near the entrance. The space is smaller than in Fort Lee, but beautifully renovated with heavy beams of wood.


A popular dish in Fort Lee is bibimbap -- a combination of rice, vegetables and ground beef topped with a raw egg, all served in a hot stone bowl.


You add hot sauce to this comfort food and mix up the ingredients with a spoon before eating it. You can ask the restaurant to hold the beef and cook the egg.