Costco’s lunchtime samples are a treacherous, delicious undertaking
Lunchtime in the Costco food aisles can get a bit crazy, but the delicious samples make it worth exploring. Check out our review from a recent running of the Costco samples gauntlet at bit.ly/1CfjIMT
The exterior of Costco's Orem location.
Don't be a chicken — try Costco's lunchtime samples gauntlet or just buy a whole chicken.
Great prices and selection aside, Costco is a battlefield. Especially at lunchtime.
I navigated Costco’s food aisles last week for lunch. My goal? To complete — nay, to conquer — the gauntlet of food samples that Costco has become so famous for. Now, if you’re a card-carrying suburbanite like me, you’ll likely be visiting Costco sometime soon. Hopefully this review helps guide your next Costco grocery run.
I decided that, as a rule, I would try every sample offered, even if it didn’t seem appealing. I’m nothing if not committed.
The gauntlet began with an unexpected twist: pills! A friendly old lady offered me some collagen and turmeric supplements. (Don’t worry, she was a Costco employee, not just some rando.) We made conversation and I pocketed the pills for a later time. Gotta keep my senses sharp.
Hitting up the lunchtime samples means dealing with considerable foot traffic. And those Costco customers aren’t just walking by the sample stations, either. They wait, with varying levels of patience, for food on toothpicks, in Dixie cups and on mini napkins. There’s a subtle kind of shame you feel while waiting with 10 other customers for a single mini chocolate chip cookie. Less so for me, because, hey, I’m just there for work. But I still felt it.
Things got a little dicey midway through the gauntlet, at the Vitamix blender booth. The Vitamix rep was making smoothies and people started to gather. I suddenly found myself trapped between three of those huge Costco shopping carts. One cart pusher looked at me, and I at her. She looked familiar. After a moment it clicked: Tinder. I’m pretty sure we matched up on the dating app a while back. We both pretended like we didn’t recognize each other, and I broke free. On with the gauntlet.
I’ll give it to Costco — some of their samples are expertly crafted. One sample station was giving out pigs in a blanket, made from Pillsbury Grands crescent rolls and Cloverdale All Beef Lil’ Smokies. Truly a time-honored classic. Other sample combos that day were even more adventurous. Take, for example, the Stonefire Tandoori Baked Mini Naan, served with Good Foods Guacamole Singles. I’d never thought of serving guac on Indian bread, but this is why we pay you the big bucks, Costco.
The absolute best of these combo samples, and the best sample of the day, was the Crunch Master Artisan Four Cheese Baked Rice Crackers, served with Kirkland Signature Fresh Goat Cheese and Something Special Red Pepper Chili Spread. I’ve never been one for goat cheese, and was slightly hesitant when I approached this one, but man did it pay off. One sample was not enough.
Almost all of these combo samples were in the second leg of the gauntlet, once you get past the frozen foods section. This is where Costco really brings its A-game. Even the non-combo samples were stellar, like the Del Real Foods Chicken Tamales made with stone ground flour. Tamales, whether store bought or not, are the surest way to my heart.
The gauntlet concluded with Costco bakery’s cranberry orange Bundt cake. The Costco employee told me the cakes were half off that day. Somehow, I resisted the urge to buy one — honestly, I wanted to buy nearly everything I sampled. I miraculously left the store with no food items in tow. But now I’m sitting here writing this review and I have no Bundt cake.
If you’ll excuse me, I have to run to Costco real quick.
COSTCO
Where: 648 E. 800 South, Orem — and other Utah County locations
Hours: 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday
Info: Costco.com