The food court has always been a “must-stop” at the end of every Costco run. Or at least it was. Then 2020 happened.
Everything about the way we shop and eat changed this year. Including the much-beloved Costco food court, which was closed for a few months right after COVID hit and reopened in late May. When Costco did get cooking again, it was with a minimal menu — with some stores only serving hot dogs, pepperoni pizza, cheese pizza, and soda. Other shops were still slinging Chicken Bakes and Hot Turkey sandwiches, but it varied depending on where you were in the country.
The old days of rocking up to a Costco food court and actually having to think about what to order are on hold, at least for now. Costco’s Updates and Coronavirus Response page still lists food courts running “a limited menu” for “takeout only.” Still, this pandemic will diminish in due time and life will start reopening in some capacity — the Costco food court included.
Until that day, let’s take a look at the UPROXX exclusive ranking of our favorite Costco food court menu items.
13. Double Cheeseburger
The Order:
This burger was advertised as Costco’s answer to a Shake Shack or In-N-Out burger. Seems like a bold and presumptive move on Costco’s part. This microwaved double patty with a cold slice of cheese, some secret sauce, lettuce, and tomato is in a different (shittier) galaxy than a Shake Shack burger.
Bottom Line:
It’s shocking how much of a swing and a miss this burger is. We’ve even tried it with Costco’s chili to make a chili cheeseburger and it was still an underwhelming experience.
If this menu item doesn’t come back post-COVID, no one will shed a tear.
12. Salads
The Order:
Costco’s salads are getting bundled on this list. There isn’t that huge of a difference between the Al Pastor salad and the Chicken Ceasar to give them each a slot. The lettuce base has a very plastic bag edge, the veg is often tasteless (due to being out of season hot-house grows), and the meat is mass-produced to the core.
Bottom Line:
Who goes to Costco to have a salad? Who???
We kid. That being said, the Al Pastor isn’t terribly offensive if (for some reason) you do want to get your salad at the Costco food court.
11. BBQ Beef Brisket Sandwich
The Order:
This hot sandwich piles pulled brisket fairly high with a nice scoop of legitimately tangy and crunchy slaw on a soft bun. All of those components are a winning combination. Then … there’s the BBQ sauce the brisket is mixed in.
It’s a sickly sweet almost-paste with no smoke or spice.
Bottom Line:
This should have been a huge win. But wow, that sauce is hard to get past. Imagine a cheap cola, boiled down to a glaze, and then hit with more processed white sugar.
If you could order the brisket “easy on the sauce,” this would be ranked much higher.
10. Acai Bowl
The Order:
This is a “healthy” option on the food court menu. The bowl mixes Acai berry soft serve with fresh blueberries and strawberries and a crumble of granola and dried banana.
Bottom Line:
This would be a solid seasonal option. Year-round, you end up with berries that have zero flavor that ends up just being wet next to soft serve. The granola/dried banana crumble has pretty rough edges, always one wrong-angled bite away from slicing up the top of your mouth.
9. Soft Serve
The Order:
There are a few options when it comes to soft serve (usually). The swirl is always an easy choice, as it blends decent milk chocolate and vanilla soft serve that’ll take you back to those hot days after school where you ran straight to Dairy Queen.
The vanilla sundaes with berry or chocolate syrups are fine, but they tend to lean very sweet on an already aggressively sugary soft serve.
Bottom Line:
Look, the soft serve is just okay at Costco. It’s fine on a hot day in a pinch, but it’s nothing to write home about in any form.
8. Beef Chili with Beans
The Order:
This is a classic lunchroom ground beef chili with beans. It’s spiced just enough to have a decent flavor. Still, you know it’s come out of a big ol’ can with a sprinkle of pre-grated and bagged “cheddar.”
Bottom Line:
We were pleasantly surprised by this — not blown away, mind you. It’s a good portion for $3.99. It’s also a nice addition to a hot dog, if you want to hack your own Costco chili dog.
7. Hot Turkey and Provolone Sandwich
The Order:
Given how deeply flawed the double cheeseburger and brisket sandwich are, the Hot Turkey sandwich gets a lot more respect from us.
Turkey, provolone, onion, tomato, and pesto spread mix into a melty sandwich that’s a solid lunch choice for $3.99.
Bottom Line:
There’s nothing inherently off-putting about this sandwich. The bread is a bit dry and chewy — in an industrial way — but it’s perfectly fine for what it is.
6. Churro
The Order:
This long piece of fried dough covered in cinnamon sugar is a classic Spanish snack. It’s really, really hard to argue with good fried dough. There just isn’t quite the freshness and depth of cinnamon at play to make this one shine as brightly as it should.
It is only $1 though and that’s a win.
TIP: Ask when they last changed the fry oil. This is always a little better/ cleaner tasting after an oil changeover.
Bottom Line:
If this came with a small cup of chocolate dipping sauce as it does in Spain, it’d be much higher on this list. Still, there are better churros out there.
5. Cheese Pizza
The Order:
A big slice of cheese pizza for $1.99 is a steal. Gobs of melty mozz mingle with (overly) sweet tomato sauce and a chewy, crispy-edged crust. This is the epitome of “even mediocre pizza is still okay.”
Bottom Line:
Of the three pizzas at Costco, this is the least well put together. There’s just too much cheese and sauce and it gets everywhere — turning to a cheesy red slop. A tasty slop, but a slop nonetheless.
4. Pepperoni Pizza
The Order:
Tons of pepperoni is added to the cheese pizza to create this tasty slice. It’s a pepperoni slice for $1.99. What more do you need to know?
Bottom Line:
Somehow this pizza holds together better than the cheese pizza even though it has a fistful of oily pepperoni baked on the cheese. That pepperoni oil also helps the crust’s edges get a little crispier, giving this slice the edge over the cheese slice.
3. Chicken Bake
The Order:
This is a divisive order. The Chicken Bake is kind of like a jumbo pizza pocket with chicken, creamy Caesar salad dressing, bacon, onion, and cheese. It shouldn’t work as well as it does, and folks either swear by it or never touch the thing.
Bottom Line:
Look, this is only $2.99 and will fill you up with no extra slices of pizza or side hot dog necessary. That says a lot. Still, these have to be pipping when you eat them. Otherwise, you’re looking at a solidifying gooey mess that loses a lot of its luster rather quickly.
2. Combo Pizza
The Order:
This is a solid slice of pizza all around. The pie is piled high with pepperoni, Italian sausage, black olives, green bell pepper, and red onion with the requisite mozz and tomato sauce on a big chewy crust.
Is it the best pizza slice in the world? Of course not. But it’s a damn good one.
Bottom Line:
This is the slice to get if you’re at Costco.
Come on! It has more ingredients yet holds together much better and is less greasy than its cohorts while still being 100-percent satisfying. Plus, your reptile brain will tell you that you’re being more “healthy” with all that veg on the slice.
1. Hot Dog
The Order:
The all-beef hot dog is a lock for this spot. It’s a solid dog with a nicely steamed bun that’s big enough for the sausage. It’s also customizable according to what you want on your dog. Ketchup and onions? Great! Kraut and deli mustard? Go for it! Ketchup, yellow mustard, onions, relish, and chili? No one is stopping you!
Bottom Line:
$1.50 for a dog and a soda. Enough said.
