anoop ranganath

I love Costco. Costco is one of my top three favorite corporations (along with Southwest Airlines and American Express). I’ve lived in New York for six months now, but it wasn’t until today that I made it out to one of the local Costco stores. I went to the one in Queens, and it was awesome. It’s funny. No matter what’s on my list, I always end up spending the same amount plus or minus twenty dollars. Today was no different. I bought sixty bottles of beer, a case of organic chocolate milk, two and a half pounds of lobster bisque, a take and bake sausage and mushroom pizza, six pounds of edamame, ten toothbrushes, two bottles of ibuprofen, two bottles of face lotion / sunscreen, a four pound leg of lamb, four pairs of wool socks, eight boxes of contact lenses, seven pounds of chicken tenderloins, a handle of vodka, a bottle of Maker’s Mark, five seven dollar bottles of wine, and fifteen bars of soap. As always, I had my questionable purchase and my splurge. The questionable purchase was three pounds of Kirkland Signature Meatball Bakes described as “Hand-rolled crust stuffed with Kirkland Signature Italian-style meatballs, shredded cheese, and a tangy sweet red sauce.” I’m concerned about the sauce being described as “red” rather than tomato or marinara. My splurge was four pounds of USDA Prime New York strip steaks at $13/pound. Given that Prime generally sells for over $30/pound, though, I’m pretty thrilled. Here’s my fridge. You’re looking at beer, eggs, prepackaged soup, leftover black beans, chocolate milk, beef, and a lot of hot sauces. I know. I’m working on it.