Photo Essay: Holiday Shopping and Nine Courses of Costco Food Samples

It's become a bit of a tradition. Each year, my co-workers and I spend one of our November lunch breaks at Costco. The seven of us help each other shop and have a fun time trying to find some deals.

The first year we did it, someone posed the question: "But doesn't that mean we'll miss lunch?" Well, nothing could be further from the truth. Thanks to the little food sample stands set up at key locations around Costco, it's a treat for the taste buds, and with so many options, it makes one feel like a judge on Top Chef. This year the store outdid itself. We tasted morsels from nine different tables and I daresay it might've been the best lunch break all year.

After the jump you'll find more store photos and images of all nine courses. Thankfully, the politics of restaurant photography don't seem to apply to the sample tables. The Costco employees were more than happy to let me take some photos of their food during yesterday's excursion.

Course 1 - Pistachios

Course 2 - Harry's King Crab and Sweet Corn Chowder

Course 3 - Yakitori Seasoned Chicken

Course 4 - Ling Ling Potsticker

Course 5 - Pasta Prima Italian Sausage Ravioli

Course 6 - Mrs. May's Cashew Crunch

Course 7 - Caffe D'Vita (it's a drink but I'm still counting it as a course)

Course 8 - Guylian Belgian Chocolate

Course 9 - Island Way Sorbet

At the end of our little trip, I ended up purchasing one of the sampled items: Mrs. May's Cashew Crunch. It seems like the perfect salty and sweet snack food, and I think I'll be going back for more.

Photos by Michele Reverte for LAist