I budget my annual Costco membership as entertainment expense because browsing the aisles of this warehouse usually turns up some unexpected finds. Today, for example, I was wandering aimlessly around the crowded store while keeping my eyes open for new merchandises. In the bakery department, I spotted bread from the famed La Brea Bakery. That's right, Nancy Silverton's La Brea at Costco. It's a little ironic how these artisinal breads ended up in a big warehouse super store. I got a couple loaves of foccacia (they are packaged in pairs, of course) which actually tasted flavourful. I'm not going to comment on the crust because really, I can't expect much assuming these breads were baked from semi-frozen dough at the in-house baking department. However, if you're interested in trying some La Brea bread right here in Toronto, head over to Costco.
In the cheese aisle, I spotted creme brulee in packages of 8 servings for $15.99. At first glance, it looked a little expensive but consider this: the custards were packaged in individual 6-oz glass souffle dishes and made with natural ingredients. The ingredient list actually reads like an ingredient list from a creme brulee recipe! This product comes with little packets of sugar and detail instruction on how to make the burnt sugar topping. I was tempted to buy this since I have a soft spot for custards. Alas, they were too heavy for me to carry in my little shopping basket. Why no shopping carts? This is my little way of preventing overspending. I only purchase what I can carry.
One of the demo station had a whole line of duck products which looked very promising. There were rillet de canard, thinly-sliced smoked magret de canard, and many different kinds of duck sausages.
Doesn't shopping at Costco sound like a gourmet treasure hunt?
