Costco

[Toliver]

I couldn't find a discussion about the Costco food courts so I thought I would start one.

The Costco "food court" is the counter where you can buy their hot dogs & soda, pizza by the slice, BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, etc. Sometimes the food court is inside the Costco (like here in Bakersfield, CA) and sometimes it's outside (like with the Santee, CA, Costco).

 

Here's an article on a new Costco food court item that is being tested and is quickly becoming popular:

"People are driving far and wide to try the new Costco food court cheeseburger"

Quote

Foodbeast broke the story about Costco’s new 1/3 pound burger, which costs $4.99 and adds up to 1,140 calories.
The cheeseburger features coarsely ground beef, cheddar cheese, and smoked Thousand Island dressing, served on a challah bun.

The smoked Thousand Island Dressing intrigues me. It makes me wonder which ingredient in the dressing carries the smoke, or if they just add liquid smoke to it.

Has anyone is the testing areas tried this new cheeseburger? 

 

I'm a huge fan of their BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich (big enough for two people to share).

My mom always stops by for their hot dog with sauerkraut (when she remembers to take the sauerkraut! She keeps forgetting it when she places it on the counter while she pours her soda to go. "Next time, put it in your cart, Ma, so you won't forget it!).  

 

Any other Costco food court favorites out there?

 

[Beebs]

Poutine!

 

Not the best poutine out there, of course, and a bit on the overly salty side - but still, hooray for cheap Costco poutine!

 

(Most people here are probably familiar with poutine, but if one has never had it - it's a Quebecois-Canadian dish of french fries topped with brown gravy and cheese curds.)

[Porthos]

Where I need an infusion of protein I go for the chicken bake.

[Lisa Shock]

I like the berry smoothie, it's reasonably priced and not too big. Summers are really hot here and this is a convenient way to not get too overheated and dehydrated. (plus, it probably has vitamins and fiber)

[Porthos]

No sure which forum this should go in.

 

Costco has decided to break my snack-heart. Today I went to the food court to get my favorite snack, a Polish dog and a drink, and Costco has taken it off of the menu.   The worker said they still had hot dogs. Um, no thanks. Sadness has crept into my life.

Edited November 30, 2017 by Smithy
Adjusted title (log)

[Smithy]

There's a huge difference between a Polish dog and the standard hot dog.  We aren't Costco members, but you have my sympathies!

[MSRadell]

It must be a regional thing because they still have them around here.

[Toliver]

On 12/2/2017 at 2:20 PM, MSRadell said:

It must be a regional thing because they still have them around here.

Yes, this. 

I remember the too-short time when Costco used large plastic bags for your groceries when you checked out. I loved the bags They were far better than the bags you would get from the "regular" grocery stores. They had the bags in my mom's Costco where she lived. Yet they never appeared at my local Costco. Eventually they were discontinued at my mom's Costco.

It turns out Costco has regional managers who determine what is sold/used at area Costcos. That's why there are differences in Costcos, from gas prices to the Polish dogs being served (or not being served). 

Personally, I would complain loud, and often, for them to bring the Polish dogs back. You can't be the only one who misses them.

The annoying squeaky wheel gets the grease. 

 

edited to clarify.

Edited December 4, 2017 by Toliver (log)

[Shel_B]

Once every few weeks or so, I visit Costco, and my treat is often a Polish dog.  The last time I visited, the Polish dog was still on the menu.  My sympathies, Porthos.

[Porthos]

@Shel_BIt does appear to be regional.  I stopped at the Gilroy, CA Costco on my way to Pacifica and saw the Polish dog on the menu as I passed by.

[GlorifiedRice]

How are they different?

[Shel_B]

1 hour ago, GlorifiedRice said:

How are they different?

 

Polish dogs are spicier ...

[Porthos]

3 hours ago, GlorifiedRice said:

How are they different?

And to me they have a coarser texture closer to a sausage than a hot dog.

[GlorifiedRice]

@Porthos @Shel_B Are they like an Oscar Mayer "Smokies"?

[Shel_B]

On 12/19/2017 at 8:44 PM, Porthos said:

And to me they have a coarser texture closer to a sausage than a hot dog.

 

Come to think of it, yes, the texture is a bit coarser than the Costco dogs.

 

On 12/20/2017 at 4:22 AM, GlorifiedRice said:

@Porthos @Shel_B Are they like an Oscar Mayer "Smokies"?

 

Never had a Smokie ... think along the line of Kielbasa

[Thanks for the Crepes]

I was so disappointed the first time I ever bought and tasted OM cocktail "Smokies". I thought they were something special because they were significantly more expensive than regular hot dogs and was all fired up about serving them at a party where I was splurging. It turned out that they are nothing more than teeny hot dogs, which I don't care for. My guests enjoyed them, though, and that's good, but I won't buy those again. It was a real letdown for me, but at least I don't have to lust after them anymore.

 

Polska Kielbasa is a sausage I do like pretty well, and that is good on a nice roll. Sorry for the folks that lost that option at Costco. I've read that their hot dogs are crazy cheap, like a loss leader, and perhaps the better quality sausage just didn't fit the budget. But yeah, in my book, kielbasa is a world above a regular hot dog. I really like a hot Italian sausage on a crusty roll with sauteed onions and peppers too. Do they have that at Costcos, or maybe it's too much trouble and expense?

[donk79]

18 minutes ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

I was so disappointed the first time I ever bought and tasted OM cocktail "Smokies". I thought they were something special because they were significantly more expensive than regular hot dogs and was all fired up about serving them at a party where I was splurging. It turned out that they are nothing more than teeny hot dogs, which I don't care for. My guests enjoyed them, though, and that's good, but I won't buy those again. It was a real letdown for me, but at least I don't have to lust after them anymore.

 

Polska Kielbasa is a sausage I do like pretty well, and that is good on a nice roll. Sorry for the folks that lost that option at Costco. I've read that their hot dogs are crazy cheap, like a loss leader, and perhaps the better quality sausage just didn't fit the budget. But yeah, in my book, kielbasa is a world above a regular hot dog. I really like a hot Italian sausage on a crusty roll with sauteed onions and peppers too. Do they have that at Costcos, or maybe it's too much trouble and expense?

The Costcos I have been to in the past couple of years, in Virginia and Maryland, do have exactly that.  They do not, and have never had (to my knowledge) any sort of polish sausage or kielbasa.

 

[Porthos]

1 hour ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:

.. their hot dogs are crazy cheap, like a loss leader, and perhaps the better quality sausage just didn't fit the budget.

 

I've thought about that also. It's like their shift in this region from Coke products to Pepsi products so that they could hold the line on the cost of soda at the food court. We are die-hard Diet Coke drinkers and were not happy with that change.

[GlorifiedRice]

11 hours ago, Shel_B said:

 

Come to think of it, yes, the texture is a bit coarser than the Costco dogs.

 

 

Never had a Smokie ... think along the line of Kielbasa

 

Then its a Smokie... so good! If you see Oscar Mayer Smokies at the store buy em

[Milt]

The Polish Sausage is still available here in metro Atlanta.  It costs considerably more than the foot long hot dog and soft drink.  I tasted my wife's Polish sausage recently and agree that it is good.  The grilled onions and peppers also add to the flavor - but the cost is nearly double the hot dog and no drink.  The sausage is fatter, but shorter - likely similar amounts of meat.

[Shel_B]

On 12/21/2017 at 9:51 PM, Porthos said:

 

I've thought about that also. It's like their shift in this region from Coke products to Pepsi products so that they could hold the line on the cost of soda at the food court. We are die-hard Diet Coke drinkers and were not happy with that change.

 

Interesting ... been going to Costco for five or six years, never saw anything but Pepsi.

[Porthos]

@Shel_B  Your neck of the woods has been a "Pepsi stronghold" for a long time. In southern California the scales still tip towards Coke products. Easiest way to see that is at fast food places and smaller restaurants. Coke products are found in a majority of them; that influences where we stop to spend our bucks.

 

I noticed when checking something last week that my DW and I have been member since 1994, back when around here they were Price Club.

Edited December 26, 2017 by Porthos (log)

[royal123]

On 12/20/2017 at 7:36 AM, Shel_B said:

 

Polish dogs are spicier ...

Yeah that's so yumm!
My sympathies for you Porthos!

[Lisa Shock]

I haven't eaten one, but the Phoenix/Scottsdale Polish dogs look almost exactly like the regular hotdog. There are no grilled onions or peppers at all, but the PD is still on the menu. And, it's been Pepsi as far as I can recall, since 1995 or so.

[ElsieD]

Yesterday I picked up a new-to-me product called Korean Hot And Sour Soup made by Happy Planet.  As is typical for Costco, they come two containers to a carton, 832 ml each.   This stuff is seriously good and has some heat.  Better yet, the ingredient list has nothing on it that needs a chemists's translation.  I had some yesterday for lunch and had some more today, but today I added a square of cooked ramen noodles.  What a great little lunch!  Highly recommended.