Being half Canadian, with all of my non-immediate family living in another country, every summer my parents, sister, and I would embark on a 10-hour road trip across borders to spend a week seeing my extended family. I would look forward to these trips – while the drive up would be long, seeing my family and eating Canadian (and also Asian!) food would make it well worth it.
I wanted to start off my blog posts talking about something I personally enjoy – Costco. My opinion is that Costco is the best store ever invented – it helps that there’s one super close to me! With the samples, the bulk goods, and the toweringly high shelves with deals tantalizingly close yet hidden underneath the clutches of plastic and packaging, Costco is truly one of the most unique shopping experiences there is.
A few years ago, we went to check out what a Canadian Costco looked like – we were also looking for a packaged version of this really good smoked meat sandwich that is a Montreal staple. Check out https://www.costcuisine.com/post/costco-schwartzs-smoked-meat-review if you want to hear a bit more about it. We tried the famed smoked meat sandwich at one of their restaurants the prior year, and my family and I knew we had to bring some back.
Normally, the Costcos in the states are busy, yet you can still get around with a shopping cart pretty easily. The various times I’ve been to the Costco on Odgen have been like this – busy but not claustrophobic.
Yet stepping into a Toronto Costco (a Canadian city comparable to the size of Chicago), my family and I were instantly greeted with the sound of a warehouse full of angry shoppers. Something to note was that we were going early on a Saturday morning – not exactly peak hours. The sheer amount of people, however, was astonishing.
I was searching online trying to find pictures that would show the Black Friday-esque scene before us and this picture perfectly shows just how chaotic it was in that warehouse – the aisles filled with shoppers and carts alike.
While I doubt every day at a Canadian Costco is this busy, the sheer amount of people looking to buy in bulk on a Saturday morning was quite astonishing!
While the bulk goods are some of my favorite parts about Costco -I should share a bit about the food court (arguably better than the samples themselves!). Getting a hot dog and a drink for $1.5 or a (really big) slice of pizza for $2 is a really good deal! I personally stick to Mountain Dew (as a drink) with the hotdog – the best pairing by far.
A story for another day is Poutine – a simple Canadian staple: french fries, gravy, and cheese curds (the best approximation could be cutting a mozzarella cheese stick into .5-1-inch cubes). While you can’t find it here in the states, Costcos in Canada does have this – right next to their pizza selection!
While there is always great food at the food court, I think the random nature of the samples is one of the reasons I keep going back to Costco. Ranging from bread and butter to pickled herrings, the sheer variance of these samples is next to none. My personal favorite samples are when a food company comes in and sets up a table – for example I’ve seen pierogis, sausages, and ice cream – and they’re always super delicious!
One other main point I’d like to address is the overall layout of the store – while sometimes it can be a bit of an endeavor to navigate the towering shelves, I really enjoy how the store is set up!
Walking into the store, you’re greeted on one side with massive, projector-sized TVs with most likely the most scientifically interesting things there could be to watch on such a screen. From hummingbirds to breathtaking natural landscapes, one can’t help to be enchanted by these TVs.
On the other side, a (first of many!) wall of products and deals – the most useful products I assume to pressure shoppers to cart these items around the store and thus buy more.
Skipping past about 7 aisles of food processors, lights, and batteries, I find the busiest place in a Costco is the meat/bakery area! Being one of the only areas without 20-foot-tall shelves helps to open up the warehouse, especially for the bountiful amount of bread, deli goods, and rotisserie chickens available.
In summary, Costco is one of my favorite stores! With the layout, the samples, the food court, and most importantly the deals – Costco is a store worth going back to again and again for your bulk item needs.
One of the prizes for summer reading was burgers at Meatheads – one of my motivators to read!