Comments on: Give me Costco or Give me Death

By: Carter J

Carter J — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 14:01:31 +0000

Kristen:

Thank you for the clue as to how to spell pepperoncini. I have been looking in on-line dictionaries for some time, but as a rule, if you aren’t close, they won’t suggest an alternate spelling. Yours was close enough to allow me to find this in whatscookingamerica.net:

pepperoncini, pepperoncino (pep-per-awn-CHEE-nee) – Also known as Tuscan peppers, sweet Italian peppers, and golden Greek peppers. The Italian varieties, grown in the Tuscany region of Italy, tend to be more bitter than their Greek counterparts. The more popular Greek varieties are sweeter and commonly found in pizzerias tossed in salads for a crunchy, salty taste. They have a bushy plant that grows to 30 inches tall and producing sweet green peppers that turn red when mature. Usually picked at 2 to 3 inches long, these bright red, wrinkled peppers taper to a blunt, lobed end and are very popular for pickling. These peppers are mild and sweet with a slight heat to them, and are commonly jarred for use in Greek salads and salad bars.

Carter J

By: Kristen J

Kristen J — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 03:28:06 +0000

We had a similar experience at our house. My husband loves peppercinis while I do not. One day at Costco Geoff saw this large jar of them and decided that we must purchase them. 6 months later I was begging to throw out the 1/2 full jar of peppercinis and Geoff finally relented.

By: danithew

danithew — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 03:07:45 +0000

Costco is a great store. My experience was that because it sells things in such quantity, it is easy to spend $70-$80 on a relatively smaller number of items than I’d get in a regular grocery store. I might have 8-12 items walking out of Costco and for the same money I would walk out of a grocery store with 20 items or more. It’s kind of a strange thing and if a person isn’t careful and follows similar patterns, it can lead to a lack of refrigerator diversity after awhile.

Also, because of the prices and the joy of discovery, it can lead to some funny decisions. My wife and I walked out of there once with something like four or five containers of huumus. Hey, we were on the South Beach diet at the time and I guess at the stage we were in, huumus and vegetables was allowed. Still, I never had dreamed (after living in the Middle East for awhile) that I’d ever convince my wife to buy that much of that kind of food, at one time.

Needless to say we overdosed and didn’t buy the stuff again for a long time.

By: Kristen J

Kristen J — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 19:12:34 +0000

Good point V the K, I guess if I’m going to be a conscientious shopper I might want to find out what causes the stores I’m shopping at are contributing to.

I too miss those delicious chicken bakes but I’m not as altruistic as you are though, I’ve given them up because they have about 5,000 calories per bake.

By: V the K

V the K — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 17:30:30 +0000

I don’t shop at CostCo (although I really miss the chicken bakes) because I don’t agree with their policy of coercing communities to use Eminent Domain to acquire property for building their stores… including a church in California that unfortunately sat on land CostCo wanted. Also, they tend to donate generously to left-of-center causes I don’t support.

I’m not a big fan of Wal-Mart, either. But there is definitely something hinkie about people who drive to anti-Wal-Mart protests in Volvos and Subarus, and then complain that Wal-Mart is bad for American workers. Huh?

By: Kristen J

Kristen J — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 16:10:48 +0000

Yeah, contacts are really cheap there too. I’m too lazy to beat off the crowds to buy them there though, I just buy them from 1800 Contacts.

Costco brings out the angel/demon in me evertime I go. The demon says things like, “Look how beautiful, stuff. Lots and lots of stuff.” I feel like Charlie entering the chocolate factory.

Then the angel says, “It’s too much stuff, you don’t need this much stuff.”

Maybe that’s why I don’t go that much any more.

By: Susan M

Susan M — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 14:44:09 +0000

I never buy groceries at Costco. But we just got my daughter eyeglasses there. And they have cheap car insurance that I’m about to sign up for. And maybe even health insurance.

By: annegb

annegb — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 13:43:45 +0000

I’m with Aimee, I think it’s Wal-Mart. I hate to shop. However, as we contemplate Buttgold’s wedding, I’m thinking I will come to appreciate Costco and Wal-Mart. Grudgingly.

Since I started going to Al-Anon, I work the first step and I am very nice to people in those stores. I consciously just slow down and accept my fate and be my graceful and kind persona, one of the many inside my brain.

By: Steve H

Steve H — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 05:23:51 +0000

I think Sams and Costco are a distorted conspiracy by big business to throw us off the fact that they want to control our lives. They think, hey, these people might catch on to the fact that we don’t want to think for themselves, we just want them to buy lots of our stuff. So to keep us from catching on, they decide to set up a front for letting us into the club. Hey, guys, come on in and be like someone important that shops for a business. What they don’t realize is that most of us weren’t sitting around waiting for someone to sell us food that is 30 percent cheaper that we waste 50 percent of because it’s so increadibly huge.
The funny thing is, we’re buying it. We feel so good being part of the club that we buy an inhumanly large container of grapes and throw half away. We buy potatoes in bags big enough for a small army and bring them home to our two small children. We’re spending money that we weren’t planning on spending, and we’re paying 35-50 dollars a year for the privilege. So why do I feel special? It’s the two-inch-square sample piece of pizza, hot pocket, and or stuffed halapeno popper I get every time I enter the store.

By: Kristen J

Kristen J — Sun, 24 Jul 2005 01:47:24 +0000

Honestly, I love Costco, this article is mostly tongue-in-cheek. My biggest beef with Costco is that I feel a little guilty when I shop there because I’m able to live in a country that is so well off compared to most other countries in the world. I’m not sure if it’s the excess of goods there but for some reason Costco brings out those feelings in me.

Mimi- Thanks for the link, it was a very interesting article. I feel better about shopping there after reading it.

Aimee Roo-My husband says that I don’t seem very nice in my shopping cart story and he’s right I don’t. I think shopping can bring out the worst in some people and you’re right, it’s not just Costco but in most shops.