The best tequila selection at a warehouse store is at the Sam's in Cicero. Also lots of Mexican beer and Mexican bellywash juice and soda.

We've discovered the avocados at (Oak Brook) Costco- about the best I've ever had, and I'm speaking as someone who lived in Southern California for four years.

They're LARGE - not the golf-ball sized ones in most grocery stores - and run between $5 and $7 for a bag of five, apparently depending on the market. They are hard as rocks.

You just set them on the counter for three or four days, and peel them off into the fridge as they begin to soften. Then, stuff them with the small cooked shrimp from TJ's and top with Emeril's Remoulade sauce.
You could die for these.

We've only lost one out of probably 30, and that was because we waited too long to eat it. Most, halved, looked like the ones you see on the cooking shows.

I love their avocados, mike!

dukesdad, I noticed they had orange & watermelon Jarritos there today.

I found the Italian beef - it had been moved, but not very far. I just hadn't looked hard enough the last time I was there.

Jimthebeerguy told me that there had been positive reviews over the case of Two Brothers beer, so of course I had to get that, too.

Does anyone upgrade to the "Executive Card"? Some lady tried to bilk me out of $25 today.

Saint Pizza wrote:Does anyone upgrade to the "Executive Card"? Some lady tried to bilk me out of $25 today.

I have one for the account which I split with my parents (my dad is my AU even though we have different addresses). For $100/year, it is not a horrible deal, as you get discounts on services and you get 2% on most purchases in the form of a rebate gift certificate. I usually get between $53-$60 back, so it's a marginally positive deal at a $50 upcharge. But at a $25 upcharge, it's a pretty good deal if you go there every 2-3 weeks.

threadkiller wrote:

Saint Pizza wrote:Does anyone upgrade to the "Executive Card"? Some lady tried to bilk me out of $25 today.

I have one for the account which I split with my parents (my dad is my AU even though we have different addresses). For $100/year, it is not a horrible deal, as you get discounts on services and you get 2% on most purchases in the form of a rebate gift certificate. I usually get between $53-$60 back, so it's a marginally positive deal at a $50 upcharge. But at a $25 upcharge, it's a pretty good deal if you go there every 2-3 weeks.

We got one when we were making some really large purchases there (I think we were spending like 5k there in the course of about 2 weeks to handle a lot of purchases). I'm very curious to see what our rebate looks like at the end of this year.

don't they do everyone's rebate checks in january, or is it just a few months before your membership renewal? (i actually always found this annoying... the rebate checks don't correspond to your annual membership dates... on purpose if you ask me.

i've gotten about a $100 rebate the last few years, which really means i saved $50 ... but the reality is i saved more than that because they have some deals on their services that executive people get better deals than normal

A couple of weeks ago, they had some really stellar ahi tuna at the Lincoln Park location for only $8.99 a pound. I wish now that I had bought a couple of extra pounds and frozen it for future use as I haven't seen it there since.

Saint Pizza wrote:Does anyone upgrade to the "Executive Card"? Some lady tried to bilk me out of $25 today.

I found this comment mildly amusing, as I read literally a matter of minutes after opening my $154 Executive Member rebate certificate for the most recent membership year. That's a net return of $104 on the $50 price premium paid for the Executive Membership.

Add to that the ~$540 rebate on my purchases on the Costco Cash Back Am Ex card (available at no fee to Executive Members) that I cashed last month, and I calculate a $644 (1288%) total ROI on that $50 additional investment in the Executive Membership for the year. And that doesn't include the additional discounts and cash cards made available to Executive Members on other services.

Now I freely grant that how much one buys at Costco, and your spending on the Costco Cash Rebate AmEx card outside of Costco (should you choose to avail yourself of the card), will have a direct correlation on the ROI calcualtion.

But at a 1200% ROI in my case, I should have more people try to "bilk" me just like that, all day every day.

The Costco Amex card is available at no fee to all members, not just Executive members. They've recently added 3% cash back on gas, so now it's 3% gas, 3% restaurants, 2% travel, 1% everything else.

The executive membership is actually a no-cost option. If you don't earn more than $50 (it's $100, the normal membership is $50) in rebates, you can bring your rebate check to the customer service desk and they'll make up the difference with a costco cash card.

So, if you pay the extra $50, only get $28 worth of rebates, they'll give you the other $22 if you ask for it.

If the other services of the executive card, and extra discounts and such, aren't worth it to you, and you spend less than $2,500/yr at Costco, you might as well skip it. But if you're near that $2500 mark, or you want the other perks, why not? No real risk involved.

Thanks everyone, especially Grizzly, for the rundown on why an Executive upgrade might be useful. I'm seriously considering doing most of my shopping at Costco (my family is certainly getting big enough!) with a side run to H-mart here and there.

Another favorite blog:
http://addictedtocostco.com/


She recently did a comparison with her local grocer and Wal-Mart and posted the spreadsheet on Google docs.

gleam wrote: executive membership is actually a no-cost option. If you don't earn more than $50 (it's $100, the normal membership is $50) in rebates, you can bring your rebate check to the customer service desk and they'll make up the difference with a costco cash card.

seriously??? i never knew that. it doesn't seem like they readily advertise that either. it seems like a no brainer when they do that, so as long as you plan to renew (though if not, i know they'll let you quit mid-year and pro-rate your membership fee back, or downgrade and pro-rate the difference you paid)

Yeah, they don't advertise it too much. But when I hesitated, the woman trying to sell me on the Exec. membership let it slip out. I've since tried it, and it works like a charm.

I'm a fan of Costco. I have an Executive Membership and always receive an end of the year check that more than pays for the membership. Some of my favorite things:

produce - usually very fresh and the prices are great - I've gotten some delicious berries there
rotissarie chicken - delicious and good for a quick meal
meat - I buy just about all of my meat there
seafood stuffed talapia - a ready for the oven dish that my kids love
eggs - good price!
Pacific organic chicken broth - excellent price!

I do have a large family and buying in bulk makes sense for us. But, even if you don't and buy things that you can freeze, I think it's worth the trip.[/list]

We also have the executive membership. Last year was the first time we tried it and we got a $78 check a few months before our membership expired. I felt it was well worth it, it was like getting a membership for $23 instead of $50, plus, of course, we got the perks of being executive members. There was no question that we would sign up for it again. I think we've already got over $50 in purchases for this year.

I bought the ahi tuna at the Orland Park Costco a few weeks ago and we threw it on the grill. It was terrific.

Suzy

Not too mention the exec membership you should check out their insurance. I have a ok driving record and I was at the cheapest point with all major carriers. Costco beat it by 20 percent

Crystal wrote:I've gotten some delicious berries there

The strawberries they had before Easter were wonderful. Box of 4 pounds for, IIRC, $4.99. My husband was out of town and I bought them anyway, and ate all 4 pounds by myself. They were not only deliciously sweet-tart but they kept extremely well. I just ate the last of them yesterday -- they were a little tired, but not rotten.

(Yes, I did have qualms about buying California strawberries instead of waiting for local fruit, but I couldn't resist. And whatever Frankenfood thing they're doing to make strawberries look and taste good and keep well has my hearty approval.)

On-topic, has anyone tried the frozen mongolian beef yet?

Off-topic, is Costco still selling beach umbrellas?

thanks!

I've been to the Mt. Prospect and Schaumburg locations, but neither of them had the Toscano extra virgin olive oil in the squarish bottle! I know I have asked this before, and last time I finally found it at the Lake Zurich location. Does anyone know if they still carry it or is it only available during certain times of the year? Thanks!

They had it at OakBrook about 10 days ago.

I've been looking for the Toscano olive oil too. In the last few weeks, I've checked the Niles and the Lincoln Park stores and didn't find it. Perhaps this current vintage (if one can use that word for olive oil) is gone?

It comes out and when it's gone, it's gone.

Looks like Costco.com is now selling USDA Prime Beef among other assorted meats and such.

Jamie

Jamieson22 wrote:Looks like Costco.com is now selling USDA Prime Beef among other assorted meats and such.

Jamie

According to the website, it's Niman Ranch prime beef.

They've been selling it for a while, although mostly around Christmas. They don't sell it in the warehouses, unless it's changed recently.

edit: Also, some of the beef is Niman, some is "1855", which is an imprint of JBS Swift, a subsidiary of a big Brazilian beef processor (JBS-S.A.)

Friends in TX have mentioned the availability of prime grade strip steaks in the frozen meat section of their costco. I got the product code and found that it's a "local" item and not avail in our area.

IIRC, today the Lincoln Park store had beef marked prime ribeye steaks at $9.99/lb. Certainly had more visible fat than the other ribeyes right next to them. I don't know how anyone could sell it for that price, though.

Rick T. wrote:IIRC, today the Lincoln Park store had beef marked prime ribeye steaks at $9.99/lb. Certainly had more visible fat than the other ribeyes right next to them. I don't know how anyone could sell it for that price, though.

Was just digging this thread up to post that I saw the same thing when I was there on Wednesday. May have to run back and grab some.

Jamie

We had the prime ribeyes from Costco in Oak Brook tonight, they were outstanding. Nice beef flavor and tender as a mother's love. They had choice ribeyes for $8.99 and prime for $9.99, I don't get it.

I got some yesterday and will be grilling tonight. The Prime do look more marbled, which I suppose is the main difference between Prime and Choice. For $1 per lb. I'll try it - the price difference was higher for the NY Strip, so I didn't get any of those (I only tend to like the strip if it's prime).