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Costco-A-Go-Go


Aurora

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I'd love to join to, but since Costco Japan has many different products than what would be in an American Costco should we stick to th things that anyone would be able to buy?

Ditto for Costco in London...

And we can get wine AND cigarettes here...

www.nutropical.com

~Borojo~

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Oh yeah.  We ended up getting one of those "executive cards"  since we always spend way more than we intend to.  This is perfect timing.  I was justing thinking I needed to make a run to Costco soon.  I'm with you on developing this thing.  Just let me know what you need :smile:

Maybe a limit on number of courses?  We want to try to keep it reasonably "even" for everyone!

I almost caved in on the executive membersship last Saturday. I held on and resisted, but they are chipping away at me.

Great! We will partner. Let's see how this develops before we get too strategic. We can take it from there. This is the start of Day 2. Some people aren't even up yet. It could drop like a lead balloon. :sad:

I'm thinking good thoughts. Happy thoughts, pleasant thoughts, fun thoughs...

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I'd love to join to, but since Costco Japan has many different products than what would be in an American Costco should we stick to th things that anyone would be able to buy?

Ditto for Costco in London...

And we can get wine AND cigarettes here...

Part of the charm will be to see the regional, continental differences here I think. And we can get cigarettes too, although I can't imagine what I could use them for in a dinner :biggrin:

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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I'd love to join to, but since Costco Japan has many different products than what would be in an American Costco should we stick to th things that anyone would be able to buy?

Ditto for Costco in London...

And we can get wine AND cigarettes here...

Part of the charm will be to see the regional, continental differences here I think. And we can get cigarettes too, although I can't imagine what I could use them for in a dinner :biggrin:

Didn't you eye the Smoker's corner at the Pig Pickin'? They will be used.

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Hell, while I was there, I was part of the smoker's corner :biggrin: Come to think of it, NY has come up with a couple of tobacco based recipes to help smokers with the ban :biggrin:

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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Maybe there could be egullet group shops for those without a membership.

If we do a dollar amount, it should be per person, since not all of us are cooking for a family :smile:

True Heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic.

It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost,

but the urge to serve others at whatever cost. -Arthur Ashe

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And I thought Egulleters were all wise, organic, buying locally and thinking globally kind of people. It's sad.

If you propose a CHIC farmers market challenge, they will come. Nichols even had some greens when I was there a couple of weeks ago. We got some outstanding cheeses and a huge amount of meat from the Heartland Beef folks.

On topic, Costco rules! Just reading about it makes me want to go home and mix martinis from my two 5-gallon drums of gin.

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The Heartland could easily see one for Minneapolis, Chicago, Grand Rapids, etc.
I seem to remember that a Costco is in the works for the Grand Rapids area, but it hasn't materialized yet. :sad: There are several in the Detroit/Windsor area, but that's 2 hrs. away, and of course I'm not a member. I do have a business membership at Sam's Club. Could that substitute, or would that be cheating?

"There is no sincerer love than the love of food."  -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Act 1

 

"Imagine all the food you have eaten in your life and consider that you are simply some of that food, rearranged."  -Max Tegmark, physicist

 

Gene Weingarten, writing in the Washington Post about online news stories and the accompanying readers' comments: "I basically like 'comments,' though they can seem a little jarring: spit-flecked rants that are appended to a product that at least tries for a measure of objectivity and dignity. It's as though when you order a sirloin steak, it comes with a side of maggots."

 

"...in the mid-’90s when the internet was coming...there was a tendency to assume that when all the world’s knowledge comes online, everyone will flock to it. It turns out that if you give everyone access to the Library of Congress, what they do is watch videos on TikTok."  -Neil Stephenson, author, in The Atlantic

 

"In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual." -Galileo Galilei, physicist and astronomer

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Sounds like a fun idea -- and I haven't been to Costco for awhile -- count me in on the virtual dinner! :smile:

Barbara Laidlaw aka "Jake"

Good friends help you move, real friends help you move bodies.

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Instead of limiting the festival to Costco, I suggest that the other warehouse stores such as Sam's or BJ's be included as well. There is no need for people to have to go out and acquire another club membership in order to participate. The exercise here should be to see what people can make for dinner by shopping at the local "club."

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Maybe there could be egullet group shops for those without a membership.

If we do a dollar amount, it should be per person, since not all of us are cooking for a family :smile:

The groups will be able to break into smaller units and pair up with members for the shopping portion.

As of yet, a dollar amount has not been set. I was thinking that everyone could use there own best judgment in that area, but adding a spending limit may add to the "challenge" aspect.

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Instead of limiting the festival to Costco, I suggest that the other warehouse stores such as Sam's or BJ's be included as well.  There is no need for people to have to go out and acquire another club membership in order to participate.  The exercise here should be to see what people can make for dinner by shopping at the local "club."

Alex and Mneberall, thank you. You raise a good point.

I re-read the Hesser article today. She went to Costco, but the article did mention other "clubs." There's no need to limit participation just because some folks don't have Costco. The point is not to drive their membership for them. If you have membership at another club, please do not feel excluded. Pull out your Sam's card, your BJ's card, your whatever card, and get in the mix. In this way, it will also be a club comparison. This will also allow us to see how the various clubs differ in terms of variety, quality, and price.

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By the way - I had no idea Costco was in Japan. What kinds of things do they sell there? Robyn

Probably about half of the store is the same products you can get in an American Costco, but I wouyld estiamte cloer to 75% of the food products are "Japanese".

Bags of panko, wheat gluten and seaweeds that are bigger than my 3 year old, lots of sushi and sashimi style fish, Japanese salad dressings, cereals, canned goods, etc.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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:smile:

Heh. I've never seen the inside of a Costco or a Sam's Club; I live by myself and the thought of buying an entire commune-worth of groceries has never looked real appealing. Particularly since I don't have a car to haul away all the boodle, nor a huge amount of closet space in which to store it.

But shopping with and for an entire commune of eGullet buddies, and cooking and drinking the boodle thereafter: that's a whole other thing.

If the date works, I'm in.

:biggrin:

Me, I vote for the joyride every time.

-- 2/19/2004

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I'm definitely in the minority here.

We were members of Sams Club for years, and almost a year ago switched to Costco on advise from friends. We haven't bee happy with it at all.

Yes, their meat and salmon are nice and well priced. And many people love the ice cream and pizza in the "cafe". But the store doesn't offer nearly the variety of everyday stuff we use. You can't buy Grape Nuts there. They only have vanilla ice cream.

And there isn't continuity. One trip we find a lovely mango pineapple salsa we liked to use for parties. The next trip, they weren't carrying it anymore, and the only place I could get it now is at Sams!

So my wife did a month long study -- she priced meats and fish and the staples like cereals -- in our local grocery stores -- both regular and sale prices. She figured out the unit prices, and compared them to the unit prices at Costco. And what she figured out was that sale prices at Jewel and Dominicks were lower than the regular prices at Costco.

I don't think we'll join anything when our membership is up next month.

Aidan

"Ess! Ess! It's a mitzvah!"

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Wonderful responses! We've a few details to work out, but keep posting suggestions etc. Watch this space :smile:

Marlene

Practice. Do it over. Get it right.

Mostly, I want people to be as happy eating my food as I am cooking it.

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This is grand! Just last night on the cauliflower thread, redfox made garbanzos,cauliflower, and red onions that was so beautiful and topped with a totally perfect eG poached egg that SO and I are going to Costco today. It will be my first major outing, and Costco is adult Disneyland for us! Count me in, in, in! Lady Aurora, I'm so glad you found the Stagg Chili and Bear Creek Soup! They are real acceptable for fast food without a window.Darling SO only likes chilidawgs with the Stagg now. And with the best rolls, sweet onion, tillamook cheddar and good kosher hot dog, they are to live for! The veggies and fruits are superb. :wub:

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I'm actually stopping in at Costco today...

...picking up some Lake Michigan "Select" icicles, hand-turned heirloom snow balls, organic firewood and some fleur de route--all locally grown and produced--of course. :wink:

Seriously though, has anyone tried the Earthbound Farms mesclun greens they carry there? I think they're oustanding, especially given the alternatives this time of year. Since they come in a 3 pound package, I think they'd be a great item to incorporate into this challenge. :smile:

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

LTHForum.com -- The definitive Chicago-based culinary chat site

ronnie_suburban 'at' yahoo.com

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I talked to my darling and he is gungho,too. Since we are two (plus two cat children, and one rabbit child) if large quantities are called for, we'll make and donate the extra to the women's and children's shelter that same night. So however you all work it out, we can cope. Oh, Ronnie, I have an abundance of my crop of handturned heirloom snowballs this year, and would be more than happy to share the wealth! :biggrin:

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Wonderful responses!  We've a few details to work out, but keep posting suggestions etc.    Watch this space :smile:

There is a long weekend coming up, a possible opportunity to schedule the virtual "club" dinner. This would give folks plenty of time to do their shopping and stuff like brine their chicken.

PS: I'm still watching that space and nothing is happening :wacko:

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I'm definitely in the minority here.

We were members of Sams Club for years, and almost a year ago switched to Costco on advise from friends. We haven't bee happy with it at all.

Yes, their meat and salmon are nice and well priced. And many people love the ice cream and pizza in the "cafe". But the store doesn't offer nearly the variety of everyday stuff we use. You can't buy Grape Nuts there. They only have vanilla ice cream.

And there isn't continuity. One trip we find a lovely mango pineapple salsa we liked to use for parties. The next trip, they weren't carrying it anymore, and the only place I could get it now is at Sams!

So my wife did a month long study -- she priced meats and fish and the staples like cereals -- in our local grocery stores -- both regular and sale prices. She figured out the unit prices, and compared them to the unit prices at Costco. And what she figured out was that sale prices at Jewel and Dominicks were lower than the regular prices at Costco.

I don't think we'll join anything when our membership is up next month.

I may also be unusual in that I shop at 4 markets on a regular basis - including Costco - because I can't find everything I like to buy at any one of them. As far as Costco is concerned - I save many times my membership fee there in terms of buying just a few items: liquor, wine, cigarettes, pine nuts, non-green peppers, crab meat, andouille sausages and PR cheese (plus I can't get these some of these items anywhere else). I only go there perhaps once every couple of weeks or so - but it's worth it - especially since the store isn't very far away.

I guess this kind of calculus is very individual. You have to decide whether it's worth it for you. By the way - the mango salsa was still in my store next week. I like it too and hope it doesn't disappear. Robyn

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Wonderful responses!  We've a few details to work out, but keep posting suggestions etc.    Watch this space :smile:

There is a long weekend coming up, a possible opportunity to schedule the virtual "club" dinner. This would give folks plenty of time to do their shopping and stuff like brine their chicken.

PS: I'm still watching that space and nothing is happening :wacko:

If you're talking about this weekend (Presidents' Day weekend) - I think you're cutting it too close - especially considering Valentine's Day. Robyn

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