Many of you are probably Costco Warehouse members already, or even better yet, Executive Members! Some of you might be on the fence about joining Costco, although, that just sounds crazy to me… Why wouldn’t you want to be a Costco Member??? Anyways, I digress, besides the wonderful deals on quality, bulk items, a well laid-out and lit warehouse, and employees that are well-paid and ready to serve, there is the Costco Food Court. The coup d’etat coup de grâce of Costco Warehouse is the Food Court, and I want to share with you the Top 3 Reasons to Eat at the Costco Food Court.
(Click through for the list.)
Obviously, the reasons are in no particular order… except I always save the best for last!
REASON 1: Shopping Can Really Wear You Out!
There are so many great deals on so many great items at Costco, and they constantly have new things and new deals to look at and samples to try! That really wears me out sometimes, and all I need or want at the end of a Costco Warehouse run is to sit down and relax for a few minutes with a delicious treat that isn’t breaking the bank. Seriously, what other food court or food joint gives you such great food and doesn’t charge more than $5 for almost every item?? Not many, and the ones that do are probably places you should stray away from in the quality food department… Jack-in-the-Box Tacos anyone? The first four ingredients are: beef, water, TVP (textured vegetable protein, ie., fake meat), and defatted soy grits. I don’t know about you, I like grits, but I don’t know what the heck “defatted soy grits” is and I don’t want to find out…
REASON 2: Time Is Money and Money Is Time
Face it, we rarely have time to do all the things we want with the few hours we have during the day, and any chance we get to use that time efficiently is a “W” in the Win Column. So why would you not take advantage of having an affordable, quality food option that is readily available after your shopping trip? I don’t know, beats me, you’re probably already taking advantage of it anyways, so you can just ignore this! Kudos to those of you who know a good thing when you see it! Pizza, Chicken Bake, HOT DOGS, yogurt desserts, salads, they have it all! Well, all the choices you’d ever want to have, right?? Plus, a little soft drink to top off the tank and get you going for your next stop! Count me in!
REASON 3: The Costco Hotdog
Honestly, did you think I would list anything else? Or were you just waiting for this one!? I know I wait for a Costco Hot Dog every time! Besides all the other great options (heck, even the Caesar Salad is great!) at great prices, the Costco Hotdog reigns supreme. For only a buck fifty (in the States of course) you get your choice of a Polish dog or an all-beef frankfurter and a proportional hotdog bun (with sesame seeds for crying out loud!) and you just can’t shake a stick at that. Plus your choice of all the condiments! Relish, fresh onions, deli mustard, regular mustard, and ketchup! My wife thinks I’m crazy when I go for the ketchup, sometimes it’s nice to get nostalgic about what I topped my dogs with when I was younger.
Let me know what YOUR reasons for eating at the Costco Food Court in the comments below!
And if you have reasons for NOT eating at the Costco Food Court, let me know about those in the comments too! 🙂
I’ve never been a Costco member, as I don’t have the room in my fridge or place for what I’d bring home. However, I’ve always had friends who have had a membership!
And so! Tonight I’ve asked a friend to take me to the Costco Food Court to satisfy my craving for the taste of a Costco Hot Dog. Damn I can’t wait for tonight. It’s the simple things in life.
Oh, sorry about getting distracted by the taste of the Costco Dog . . Reason #4 People watching! as families roll by with full carts and big smiles.
my friend, my wife just came from costco and brought me guess what? a hotdog…
this f*&$%^ unhealthy thing can be easily placed in the top of the wonders of the world… and as I just came from a business trip to Peru, I added a little of aji sauce…
my goodness, my nutricionist will forgive me to eating one of those, say, once (ok, twicw) a month… it isn’t a big sin, just a small one…
my mouth is still watering after eating it…
oh please, hurry, next month!!!!!!!!!!!
These are undoubtedly the best hot dogs on the planet. I wouldn’t buy them just because of the price. If anything, I’m wary of cheap food, especially hot dogs. But I know that CostCo does this as a tradition more than to make money.
I’d like to offer a couple of tips:
#1) They don’t advertise the fact that they have saurkraut available, but if you ask, they stock it little tubs in the steamer. I ask for 3 per dog, and it’s never a problem. The problem with saurkraut is that it will make the bun a soggy mess, so you’ve got to drain it first. Squeeze the sides of the tub to remove as much juice as possible.
#2) The dogs themselves will also make the bun soggy as they pull them dripping wet from the hot water and drop them onto the bun. I ask them to wrap the bun and dog separately, then at my table, roll the dog up in a paper towel to dry it off before assembly. Makes a big difference.
#3) Before you leave home, chop up a dill pickle and tomato (halves of grape tomatoes work great for this) and put them into a ziplock bag. Then toss them on your dog, along with some CostCo-provided onions and mustard, and you’ve got a Chicago dog, along with the envious looks of other dog fans seated nearby. I’ve had people come up and tell me what a great idea this is. Mmmmmm, yum.
Now if only I could come up with an acceptable solution to the 600 calories . . . . split one with a friend is the best I’ve hit on to date (I’m not going to go the bulimic route!!). Or at $1.75, I could just eat half and put the remainder in the round file. That would require a lot of discipline though. Most likely, I’d keep re-defining the “half-way” point until it got to the point I’d say, “Ah, heck with it and pop the last bite in my mouth!” Oh, I know! I’ll get it with a Diet Coke and they will cancel each other out, right?
Do I need to be a Costco member to eat at the Costco Food Court?
Richard, yes. They check for a membership card at the front door and sometimes they check it at the food court.
Tell them at the door that you are going to member services. If they ask why, it’s to sign up. They aren’t going to follow you. I’ve NEVER been asked for my card at the food court. Some does even have their food court located outside.
That’s a great tip! I’ve only been asked for my membership card at the food court once or twice, so this should work about all the time. Thanks for commenting 🙂
A membership card is not required at the pharmacy, or food court, or for getting an Eye exam. Also for anyone only casually interested in Costco, have a friend buy you a Costco cash card, you can use it to go in and buy anything you want to/ have the money on the card for.
The local high school kids over run the Costco food court at their lunch time. My favorite item is the Gelato machine they put in a couple of years ago 3 huge scoops in a waffle cone $1.50!!! The pistachio flavor was amazing! I liked the mixed berry too. Now they changed to a fake tasting strawberry, rich chocolate, and vanilla with chocolate shavings. love the caesar salad.