does it make sense to have something like the tjs thread? we recently joined and so far like it.
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pastei de nata - yay! surprisingly good, better than the TJs version, a little too much crust, but the custard is good.
croissants - nay, people rave about these, don’t understand it
costco pesto - meh, not going to make me forget about homemade but make for an easy meal
fresh fish - yay, completely shocked, we’ve been buying their fresh ahi tuna and it’s excellent.
Prime Strip/ribeyes - yay, love the quality and the price, especially for NYC, is excellent.
Prime Brisket - yay, bought one of these for around $4/lb for the holidays, our guests raved about it
rugelach - nay, maybe they are using lard instead of butter…
amarena cherries - yay, great price for huge jar
bulgogi dumplings - meh, salty but pretty good, serving with soy makes them too salty
rotisserie chicken - meh, I’ve been spoiled by places like flor de mayo, I get it’s fast and a loss leader but I’d prefer to roast my own or head out to one of the chino-latino joints.
Kirkland Evoo - yay, tried it for first time last night, good flavor but need to taste it against some other stuff we have.
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Yes, thank you!
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We’ve been members forever… here is what comes to mind.
Always / YAY:
Rotisserie chicken
Blueberries. Most fruit, actually. I recent got an 8-pack of persimmons and they were all delicious.
Peppers and tomatoes.
Butter lettuce in a 3-pack.
La Victoria brand marinara sauce
Gluten-free oats (One Degree)
Noosa yogurts
Kirkland butter
Fancy cheeses… we’ve never had a bad one. I had a “flight” (sampler) of Spanish cheese that were all delicious.
Everything we’ve tried from Del Real Foods - refrigerated carnitas, birria, and pupusas.
Meat! Their prices on pretty much all beef and pork are much better than what I regularly see at Wegmans for family packs.
MEH:
I don’t like their boneless skinless chicken breasts. Either it’s the Perdue 2-packs (not convenient for our family of 3) or they’re the freakishly huge ones that weigh 1lb each.
NAY:
Vacuum-packed chilled breast meat from their rotisserie chickens (presumably the leftover ones) because they add something to preserve it that makes it slimy.
We used to like their smoked pulled pork but the last batch (this week) was really gristly. If DH hadn’t thrown out the leftovers I would have returned the package.
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Workhorse, totally fine.
I don’t think it works out a whole lot cheaper than TJs, though, so I stick with that for my smaller consumption (can vary my purchases that way).
The avocado oil is good quality and better priced than most other alternatives (but again I usually go with TJs grapeseed for high heat stuff, bec smaller packaging and better priced than TJs avocado oil).
YEA for me – tastes right, lasts forever in the freezer, great price.
More YEAs:
– Frozen wild salmon (individually vacuum-sealed, which is a big plus)
– Smoked salmon (wild and regular both, the scandinavian variety pack is good too if you like that kind of thing)
– Lamb tbone / chops (great price & quality both)
– Organic tomato paste & crushed tomatoes
MEH:
– Organic chicken packs (not much better priced than elsewhere, flavor is a bit blah, though better than the non-organic)
Never tried the famous rotisserie chicken (bec… sourcing… but maybe out of curiosity sometime).
Agree on the steak – my friends who eat 10x more steak than me have sworn by them for years. They also have wagyu (online, along with a bunch of other specialty items – have to portion it up yourself).
(Of late, I’m finding some of their NYC pricing on seafood and meat especially not that much better than closer options with smaller packaging, so I’m being more careful checking that I’m not buying a giganto pack of something for no reason. But: Instacart, so convenience factors in too.)
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Inventory from region to region varies even more than TJ’s does. Additionally, Costco is international. I try to remember to identify store location when commenting on the TJ’s thread.
YEA:
- Kirkland Signature nut bars.
- The seasonal store-baked pumpkin pie is 12" diameter, delicious, and cheaper than you’d pay for ingredients. It’s rightfully one of their best sellers.
- Store made chicken pot pie, oven ready. Made with leftover rotisserie chix, as are the big tub of chicken soup and the chicken salad.
My Nashua NH store is, sadly, not among them but I understand that SOME Costcos sell rotisserie chicken carcasses after removing the cooked breasts for the aforementioned pie, soup, and salad. You get the skin, dark meat, and bones. You know what to do!
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Inventory from region to region varies
And even between neighboring stores! We live more or less equidistant between two Costco locations in the Boston suburbs. One is down the street from my office and so where I go if I just need a few things; the other has a gas station and is where we’ll go for a full shop on the weekend. They don’t carry the same things.
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Not food, of course, but Costco gas is consistently the best deal around here (OC, CA). Usually 40-50¢ a gallon cheaper than any branded station and usually lower than the off-brands. I’ve heard of problems with using the gas at off-brand places but never at Costco. Their locations vary in price as they’re free to be competitive with any other gas in their neighborhoods. Here in CA it’s well worth the cost of membership all by itself.
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your post reminded me that frenched rack of lamb is a yay for us! also, they have acme whitefish salad, which is great, but it;s a big container and we can’t get through it.
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Costco’s tough, because the selections are limited amd often are d/c’d. What I think they do well are:
The croissants (it’s not Paris, OK?)
The Shabushabu
The premium vanilla ice cream
The Kirkland whole bean espresso
The roast chicken drumsticks (for stock)
The choice steaks are borderline prime
The Greenie dog chews are cheap
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i am an insufferable croissant snob! I do like tjs frozen in a pinch.
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I’ll have to try TJ’s, but the idea of mass produced, frozen patisserie makes my skin crawl. Does that make me a croissant snob, too?
Costco’s never have any crunch-flake, but a little oven time makes them passable, at least for $5.99/doz.
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give it a try and let us know what you think, they have to be proofed overnight.
If you’re in a state that allows alcohol sales in the building, they have really good prices on name-brand spirits (recommended over the Kirkland brand). The stores by me here in the Bay Area also sell some very expensive cognac and such.
Also not food items, but if there are medicines and vitamins that you take regularly, it’s worth getting the Costco-sized container as the per-pill price is much lower than anything you’d pay at drugstores or the supermarket. I get my allergy meds and Lactaid/generic lactase from Costco.
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the costco in st augustine has a well-priced wine department.
Yeah. These and TJs butter croissants are the “other” type — giant, soft items. Not what I’m looking for, but lots of my friends love them. I guess it depends on what you envisioned.
I don’t like the stone fire naan either, because it’s not naan, more of a baking soda type flatbread. I’d rather eat the kontos pocketless pita.
A really good friend of mine bought fresh cod at Costco Foster City, CA … found worms in it, threw it out. I told him he should have frozen the package and then taken it back for a refund … they should know when they have sold something inferior.
As folks responded when you posted about this before, it wasn’t that the fish was inferior, rather that fish having worms isn’t that unusual
I agree their croissants are lousy. I wonder if because they are fresh baked the quality varies by region? Here in suburban NYC (CT) both their croissants and Danish pastry are mediocre.
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I occasionally get their croissants to make almond croissants, which require slightly stale croissants to start with - work well for that!
I use Joanne Chang’s method from “Pastry Love”, and there are others on line.
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