Young woman eating a hot dog
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There are many benefits to being a Costco member. First, shopping at Costco will definitely lower your grocery bill. Also, if you’re planning a vacation, you might get cheaper cruise, resort, or theme park package rates if you book through Costco.
But the obvious benefit of joining Costco is access to the food courts in the stores, and to be clear, you can’t just walk in as a non-member and grab a cheap lunch like you used to.
Costco is severely restricting access to its food court for nonmembers, so if you want to sample its tasty, inexpensive food, you’ll have to shell out $60 for a basic membership or $120 for an executive membership, and in September, those prices will increase by $5 and $10, respectively.
By now, most people are familiar with Costco’s famous hot dog and soda combo. It costs just $1.50, and it’s hard to find a cheaper prepared meal. But recently, my husband and I teamed up and pulled off a crazy hack at Costco’s food court. It was definitely delicious, but not for the faint of heart.
Two great deals in one
Because the food at Costco’s food court is so cheap, it’s easy to tinker with and create some seriously tasty meals, which is exactly what my husband and I did recently.
Here’s the story: I was shopping at Costco and I got hungry. My husband usually ends up ordering a hot dog and soda combo, while I usually order ice cream or a slice of pizza. But this day, my husband was in the mood for something different, so he suggested we order a slice of pizza.
He agreed, but that’s because he eats hot dogs all the time, so we came up with the idea to ditch the unattractive hot dog buns and wrap the hot dog in a slice of pepperoni pizza.
As a vegetarian, I can’t pretend that the idea of these meat-lover’s pizza roll-ups appealed to me, even though I came up with them myself, but my husband thought they were great, and best of all, they weren’t too expensive.
Even though I paid $1.50 for the hot dog and soda and $1.99 for the slice of pizza, I got a hearty lunch for just $3.50. It’s hard to find a cheaper takeout lunch, even at fast food restaurants.
Costco’s food court is packed with great deals
You might not be inclined to go to Costco just to eat the food court meals. But while, financially speaking, it’s usually better to cook your own food at home than to buy meals outside, Costco’s food court is an exception to that rule. Some items on the menu are so inexpensive that you can spend money without straining your budget.
In fact, besides the hot dog combo, the best deal at Costco’s food court is the large pizza, which costs just $9.99. Where I live in New Jersey, a pizza is usually over $20, and you don’t get much bang for your buck there.
Ultimately, if you’re shopping at Costco, it’s not a bad idea to plan on grabbing a bite to eat at the food court, at least financially. Nutritionally, well, that’s another story.
But if you buy Costco hot dogs or pizza, or in my husband’s case, both, you can offset that by buying cheap veggies in bulk or a big pack of salad, so you, too, can enjoy a meat lover’s pizza roll from Costco guilt-free.
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