Yum
One of the guilty pleasures of being 50 years old is the fun I have shopping at Costco. Big cases of cool stuff. Great prices. All you need is a homestead large enough to store the stuff.
One marvel of the Costco world is its wine selection. Awesome! And now, they've got their own "Kirkland" brand wines in the cases next to the big hitters.
We just took a $9.69 flyer on the Kirkland Australian shiraz, and I'll tell you, we'll be heading back for more of that. It's a $15 bottle at least. Go, Costco!
| Posted at 10:54 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (12)
Enjoy the Costco wine, Jack, but it kind of shatters any cred you might have had complaining
about the loss of the old Portland sensibility,
disappearance of small & family-owned businesses
and sense of self-supporting neighborhoods.
I know, youve heard all this blah, blah, blah
ad nauseum. Happy tippling, bud--glad you found a
bargain!
Posted by Theo | September 6, 2004 8:48 AM
Can't tell if this is sarcasm or not. Could be both...confused.
Its a guilty pleasure for 25 year olds too. Except we mostly sample stuff.
Posted by Andy | September 6, 2004 10:09 AM
It's all about the free samples. They also make those yummy muffins, too.
Posted by davidwhunt | September 6, 2004 11:31 AM
I don't know. To me, anything in bulk kind of loses its concentrated goodness.
PS: Those muffins kinda suck.
Posted by rose | September 6, 2004 12:53 PM
Costco is perfectly compatible with my vision of Portland. You can't use Costco very well if you live in an apartment tower. But if you live in a nice, close-in east side neighborhood, you should be able to drive to a big box warehouse store out by the airport once a month and buy the things that would cost you twice as much at a California-owned Safeway, a Colorado-owned Wild Oats, or Ohio-owned Fred Meyer.
The greedy landlords have pushed all the small grocers out of my neighborhood, so I find it hard to blame Costco for that one. If I need a lemon, I have to get in a car and pay an out-of-stater, any way you look at it.
Posted by Jack Bog | September 6, 2004 2:01 PM
Andy-
As a fellow "50 something" that loves Costco "outings", Jacks not being sarcastic.
Posted by Randy | September 6, 2004 2:28 PM
Another benefit is getting to watch tax cheats in action. Every one of those customers with Washington plates on his or her car is violating the Washington sales and use tax law by hauling stuff back to the 'Couv and not paying tax on it.
The ones that are covered in patriotic bumper stickers and decals are the most amusing in this regard.
Posted by Jack Bog | September 6, 2004 3:04 PM
Can't it be both?
Posted by Andy | September 6, 2004 5:00 PM
Jack, feel free to buy your lemons at New Seasons, which is still in-state-owned. Plus, you can buy just one lemon, if you don't need a case.
Posted by Matt | September 6, 2004 6:42 PM
Aside from Costco, New Seasons is my favorite shopping stop. About 10-15% too expensive, but worth it.
Not too helpful when you're after a large quantity of something, however. Plus, it's too far to walk. Gotta take the bike or, realistically with a big order, drive.
I remember when Costco tried to move into industrial northwest. Oh, heavens, no! Vera quashed that idea. But a Home Depot next to the Burnside Bridge? No problem. As long as the developer slush fund known as Portland Development Commission (run by Goldschmidt lieutenants) gets its cut, everything's hunky dory.
Posted by Jack Bog | September 6, 2004 8:18 PM
One could also argue that by shopping at Costco, one can now afford to pay the Multnomah County property tax bill that keeps climbing and climbing and/or the water bill that keeps climbing and climbing as a result...
Posted by Betsy | September 6, 2004 8:52 PM
There is an interesting article on Slate about the politics of Costco shoppers.
http://slate.msn.com/id/2104988
Posted by Jyah13 | September 6, 2004 10:20 PM