Costco-A-Go-Go

[ronnie_suburban]

Anyone know if it's possible to get a trial membership to any of these places?

Pretty sure it is, but I'm not 100% on that.

=R=

[Marlene]

Anyone know if it's possible to get a trial membership to any of these places? I guess I could take my mom's Costco card for a spin, but the thought of being trapped in Costco with my mom is too awful to contemplate.

We wouldn't eat their meats (I'm weird about meat, ok...), but things like TP (do they carry major brands of TP? I remember Sam's only carrying Red Army Surplus, but that was years and years ago), paper towels, and gargantuan jugs of Advil would be good to buy in bulk.

Not food related, but I want to check out their power tools/hand tools, too.

I just don't want to pay to see if I like the joint, right?

Take your mother's Costco card without your mother . The Costco here in Oakville has splendid meat, and I'm damn picky about my cuts of meat.

[mnebergall]

Anyone know if it's possible to get a trial membership to any of these places? I guess I could take my mom's Costco card for a spin, but the thought of being trapped in Costco with my mom is too awful to contemplate.

We wouldn't eat their meats (I'm weird about meat, ok...), but things like TP (do they carry major brands of TP? I remember Sam's only carrying Red Army Surplus, but that was years and years ago), paper towels, and gargantuan jugs of Advil would be good to buy in bulk.

Not food related, but I want to check out their power tools/hand tools, too.

I just don't want to pay to see if I like the joint, right?

Take your mother's Costco card without your mother . The Costco here in Oakville has splendid meat, and I'm damn picky about my cuts of meat.

I think Costco's meat is as fresh, if not fresher, than many local grocery stores. They have fairly high turnover and their beef is USDA Choice. I see stuff at the local Giant that is at or near expiration. Also, if you ask, they will specially cut a piece for you.

[ronnie_suburban]

I think Costco's meat is as fresh, if not fresher, than many local grocery stores.  They have fairly high turnover and their beef is USDA Choice.  I see stuff at the local Giant that is at or near expiration.  Also, if you ask, they will specially cut a piece for you.

Because they are logistically-adept, Costco's fresh items tend to be...well, very fresh

=R=

[JennotJenn]

Take your mother's Costco card without your mother . The Costco here in Oakville has splendid meat, and I'm damn picky about my cuts of meat.

It's more of an organic question when it comes to meat, eggs and dairy (kosher is ok, too). I was a veg for several years, and still get squiggly about meat sometimes. I guess I need the mental sugar-coat...

Fish, though, I'm generally cool with, as long as I know point of origin. And freshness doesn't seem like a problem at Costco. Maybe if I do the cook-in, I'll do fish.

I'm going to call them up and see if they offer a free membership trial. And if not, my parents are visiting in a couple of weeks, so I'll hijack mom's card. Back in the old days at Sam's, you had a picture ID and they checked it at the door and you were allowed one guest---that's why I assumed I would have to go w/her.

[mnebergall]

I'm going to call them up and see if they offer a free membership trial. And if not, my parents are visiting in a couple of weeks, so I'll hijack mom's card. Back in the old days at Sam's, you had a picture ID and they checked it at the door and you were allowed one guest---that's why I assumed I would have to go w/her.

I don't think they have trial memberships, and I think the membership cards have pictures on them. Also, I think you have to have a card in order to pay by check. If you gain entry using your mother's card, bring cash.

[sabg]

quite a few of the clubs will let you in for the "day" to check it out...i think they id....can i still join in?

[mnebergall]

quite a few of the clubs will let you in for the "day" to check it out...i think they id....can i still join in?

They may let you in to "check it out" but I think you will have to join before they will let you buy anything.

[ronnie_suburban]

quite a few of the clubs will let you in for the "day" to check it out...i think they id....can i still join in?

They may let you in to "check it out" but I think you will have to join before they will let you buy anything.

Now that you mention it, that sounds familiar to me.

Also, bringing cash is a good idea if you're going to attempt to use your mom's card. I don't think they always check the pictures on the back of the cards but they may.

=R=

[edsel]

We should have a refresher on what the exercise is here. 

The objective here is to cook a meal using ingredients from costco or other club, and hopefully recipes from eGRA.

The rules are faily simple:

All "clubs" are eligible. 

We agree on a date, we shop, we cook, we report back

All recipes should either come from eGRA or be put into eGRA.  You can do it in real groups or at home with your family.

One of the most interesting aspects will be to see the differences around the world in ingredients etc.

point of order

How many ingredients can we use use from non-Costco (or other big-box) sources before we get disqualified? If we have to use Costco ingredients exclusively this could be a real challenge.

Last night I smoked some spare ribs (purchased from Costco) in my Smokey Mountain smoker ( purchased from Costco), rubbed with Spanish smoked paprika and sichuan peppercorns. Now, I'm pretty sure that Costco doesn't sell sichuan pepper, and if they carry paprika it's probably sold in twenty-pound cans. Back me up, Ronnie, I think that the Spice House stuff is likely to be superior.

One eGullet recipe I can think of could easily be made with all-Costco ingredients: Gigantic bag o' onions? check. Nice fresh butter (imported from France, no less)? check. Good quality port wine? I think we can do the official recipeGullet Onion Confit, or the quick version thereof. I'll confess to having better luck with Schneich's instant gratification version of onion confit. Admittedly, my crock-pot sux.

Oh, and we could try doing a baked brie. Has anyone noticed that the baby brie at Costco is made in PA, but the package is imported from France?

[Marlene]

The main ingredients you use should come from Costco, but we do recognize that some things will just not be available. Your vegetables and meats for example could easily come from Costco, whereas the spices may not.

[Singapore]

Does any cuisine qualify?

[ronnie_suburban]

Now, I'm pretty sure that Costco doesn't sell sichuan pepper, and if they carry paprika it's probably sold in twenty-pound cans.  Back me up, Ronnie, I think that the Spice House stuff is likely to be superior.

Yeah, unless quantity to price ratio is your primary concern, Spice House, Penzey's, etc. are likely to be superior, for spices. Also, since we're setting a $50 spending threshold (pretty sure this is accurate), buying one canister of spice at a club will probably consume at least 10% of your budget.

I don't think freshness/turnover is the issue at the clubs, just overall starting quality of the brands they carry. My experience with those brands hasn't been great but others may have had different experiences. Either way, I'm pretty sure that 1 quart packages (of spices) are the smallest available at the clubs. That'll leave most people with an indefinite surplus...

=R=

[Marlene]

Does any cuisine qualify?

Absolutely!

[mnebergall]

Does any cuisine qualify?

Absolutely!

It must qualify as cuisine in order to qualify.

[DaDavid]

Being in the home state of Wal-Mart, Costco has not yet come to these parts. Would Sam's Club suffice? I've read longingly of Costco's great wine buys but Sam's here only carries Arkansas grown wines. Yech! On the positive side, they have great New Zealand rack of lamb at half the price of the boutique groceries and last year had wild salmon for ridiculously low prices. No word whether that will repeat this year.

[Marlene]

All Clubs are eligible, including Sams

[Carlovski]

I keep thinking of that simpsons episode where they go to a costco like place

Marge - That's a good price for 10 pounds of nutmeg...

[TGTyson]

The objective here is to cook a meal using ingredients from costco or other club, and hopefully recipes from eGRA.

The rules are faily simple:

All "clubs" are eligible. 

We agree on a date, we shop, we cook, we report back

All recipes should either come from eGRA or be put into eGRA.  You can do it in real groups or at home with your family.

One of the most interesting aspects will be to see the differences around the world in ingredients etc.

One question - are we going to record and compare prices? I think it would be very interesting to see if some of the locations of a club adjust prices up or down from a single "norm"

- Tom Tyson

[Jason Perlow]

Costco has those yummy Aidell's sausages in stock. I highly recommend the chicken with apple sausage. Great grilled with some sauerkraut and mustard on a dog bun. They have a few other kinds that I really want to try.

http://www.aidells.com/sausages/descriptions/

BTW, they recently had Boylan's cane sugar sodas by the case for $13, which was not a bad deal.

[Haggis man]

Count me in! I am a newbee but shop in the sterling, fairfax costco all the time. Quick question if we use a portion of something, can we count that portion we use rather than the whole thing? For example a full tenderloin (which are great at costco) runs 70 dollars. Generally I use half and freeze the other half for steaks or another night. Can I count $ 35 in the spirit of things? Also anyone in the DC area that wants to come with me, I would be happy to host a outing!

[Marlene]

Count me in! I am a newbee but shop in the sterling, fairfax costco all the time. Quick question if we use a portion of something, can we count that portion we use rather than the whole thing? For example a full tenderloin (which are great at costco) runs 70 dollars. Generally I use half and freeze the other half for steaks or another night. Can I count $ 35 in the spirit of things? Also anyone in the DC area that wants to come with me, I would be happy to host a outing!

Sure you can.

[phaelon56]

Can't speak to what Costco does as I'm not near one but both BJ's and Sam's offer free one day trial memberships. You may have to pay a 10% or 15% surcharge on your purchase as a guest member but you'll stil be saving money (and supporting a grand experiment) if you shop wisely.

[jayt90]

[One question - are we going to record and compare prices? I think it would be very interesting to see if some of the locations of a club adjust prices up or down from a single "norm"

- Tom Tyson

Costco is price sensitive to a degree. They compare prices weekly in all departments, and try to beat any competitor. But the basic pricing startegy is cost plus 10-15%, plus membership fee yearly. It pays to watch for price markdowns on end of line items that can't be sent back to the manufacturer.

At the moment my local warehouse (Ajax, ON) is selling 7 ounce packages of Porcini (aka cepes) dried and sliced for $6. They introduced them at $15.

These fungi have a slight barnyard smell, very intriguing!

[Rachel Perlow]

So has this "event" already happened? Is there a date set? How about an upcoming weekend as a time frame?