Sam's Club

[SueK]

DH and I just rejoined Sams after several years. I realize it's not as great as Costco, but does anyone have any good food item recommendations when I go there? I always read the threads about good stuff to get at Trader Joe's, Costco, etc., so I'm hoping maybe there are some foodie gems that I need to pick up at Sams. TIA!

[imloulou]

They have a really good selection of cheeses. (The ones in the dairy cases). I like their flank steaks and pork chops. They have a nice selection of wines they are priced low.

hmmmmm...oh, Bagged salads and spinach and their Portobella's (sp?) are huge and only about 3-4 bucks for 4 of them. If you use honey a lot it is worth getting their really big bottle (we go through one a month) and I like Uncle Luke's Maple Syrup (if you like real maple syrup.) The Hummus in the dairy cases is really good too.

I do not even go in the aisles with chips, candy, junk food or cereals.

I know there are a bunch more things...I will post when I think of more.

[SueK]

Thanks Lisa! Unfortunately, here in the land of archaic liquor laws, they don't sell alcohol at our grocery stores. :( However, I will definitely check out the meat and the shrooms. I love stuffing portabellos and broiling them!

[JLK]

both their regular salmon and smoked salmon are good. they also have very cheap generic bottled water.

[dlaboriel]

I like their chicken breasts and ribs.

[sweetpea]

i second the salmon--fantastic, the best i have had in a looonnngg time! it's not fishy smelling and i just bring home the big slab, portion it up, vacuum seal it and pop it in the freezer. de-lish.

also love their bacon, not the oscar meyer packages, etc. but it's in their meat case with the hams they sell--thick slabs at a good price. by far our most favorite bacon. i buy my flour in 25 lbs bags there, along with sugars, and cat food :)

happy shopping!

[sdcook]

I agree with the others about their salmon. They also have stuffed salmon that my DH loves. They have a great selection of cheeses and deli meats. They just remodeled ours and added a rotisserie in the meat dept. and they sell the best bbq ribs. I can always find good peppers there too. Their muffins are delicious but I don't buy them unless I'm having company. I could probably finish the whole tray by myself!

[alisajean]

I second the ribs. Their prices on whole beef tenderloins are also wonderful. I pay $12.99 per lb. here in Ohio which is a great price considering my regular grocery store charges $19.99 per lb. You'll need to trim it up a bit but well worth the extra work.

[imloulou]

Originally posted by SueK
Thanks Lisa! Unfortunately, here in the land of archaic liquor laws, they don't sell alcohol at our grocery stores. :(

Does your Sam's have a liquor store attached? Ours sells wine and beer in the main Sam's store but cannot sell hard liquor...but they can have a second store on the property to sell hard liquer...doesn't that makes a lot of sense?! :rolleyes: . The other liquor law here that is really silly is not selling alchohol until after 11:00 am on Sundays.

Anyway...I was going to Sam's for a year before realizing they had an attached liquer store:D Maybe yours does too!

I also like the Salmon as others have mentioned above and the red bell peppers.

[imloulou]

Originally posted by sweetpea

also love their bacon, not the oscar meyer packages, etc. but it's in their meat case with the hams they sell--thick slabs at a good price.

happy shopping!

Yes! I also get the bacon. I think it is called Wright thick sliced ham...very good.

[jjsooner73]

I agree; the Wright bacon is fantastic and is only about $2.77 lb.

I've been buying their boneless, skinless chicken breasts-$14.88 for a 6 lb. package.

The smoked gouda is great.

I also buy my laundry detergent, fabric softener, dishwashing detergent there. I buy toilet paper and paper towels in bulk-it's so much cheaper and I only have to buy them maybe 2x/year. :)

And if you want to splurge, there are these chocolate toffee covered macadamia nuts that are out of this world! (and will kill any diet you are on with just one)

[Kristine]

When you are in a pinch (or even when you're not), Sam's bakery has really good cupcakes and sheet cakes. Definitely much better taste than most store bought cakes.

[jjsooner73]

Originally posted by imloulou
Does your Sam's have a liquor store attached? Ours sells wine and beer in the main Sam's store but cannot sell hard liquor...but they can have a second store on the property to sell hard liquer...doesn't that makes a lot of sense?! :rolleyes: . The other liquor law here that is really silly is not selling alchohol until after 11:00 am on Sundays.


This area of Texas also has archaic liquor laws. The city I live in doesn't allow ANY alcohol sales at any time, so the Sam's doesn't sell any liquor. Ditto for the one near where I work. Now, if I cross the county line into Dallas county, there is a Sam's that can sell wine/beer. In fact, there is a liquor store right across the line.

[SueK]

Thanks guys! I love salmon, so will definitely get some of that, but am going to check out everything mentioned.

Lisa - unfortunately our Sams doesn't have an attached liquor store. In PA only State Stores (owned by the LCB) can sell liquor.

[Luckyfeather]

I also love their cheeses, except the Sam's closest to me quit selling Fontina.

I also buy my angel hair pasta there, as well as the packets of Planters peanuts to have on hand for snacks. They have decent prices on some of their books, and we have gotten great deals on Kingsford Charcoal.

[Love to Run]

We love to shop at Sam's and now I use my FoodSaver on many things so they don't get freezer burn. Some items I regularly buy:
frozen raw shrimp
chicken breasts (try the Tyson Even Cook for grilling)
chicken tenders
salmon
scallops
mahi mahi
rack of lamb
pork tenderloin
Parmigiano Reggiano and other cheeses
bagels
asparagus
spring mix
fresh fruit
penne (we have a cousin who works for the company that makes the pasta and he told us that the grade of pasta produced for Sam's is higher than some of the more well-known American brands).
And lots of drug-store type items like Pepcid and Viactiv.

Carole

[tperes]

I also buy my flour at Sam's, and brown sugar (in 5 lb. bags), white sugar, vanilla extract (if I need lots of it), Ghiradelli semi-sweet choc. chips, chunks of parmesan cheese in the dairy case, raviolis also in the dairy case...

editing to add: pasta, pasta, and more pasta! cashews, ziploc bags, floor mats for the car! "pigs' ears" for the dogs, cat litter...

I also buy cut flowers there. They are very reasonably priced, and I love to arrange my own. They also last a long time.

And film developing. They do great 1 hour work (at least here in Lexington), and it is much better priced than the drug stores or a specialty store. We drop off the film, shop around, and it is usually done by the time we are ready to check out! We used the send-out service for our wedding cameras (the disposable kind) and it was abou $3 a camera for single prints.

I also buy clothes there, like CK jeans, Liz Clairborne shirts, Jones of New York capris, all priced low. The only catch -- you can't try them on there. So, I buy a size bigger than I think I will need and my size, and try them on at home, and return the one that doesn't fit!

Oh, long-distance phone cards are quite good!

Okay, I think that is about it!

Happy Shopping! :D

[tperes]

Some more to add to the list:

pasta, pasta, and more pasta! cashews, ziploc bags, floor mats for the car! "pigs' ears" for the dogs, cat litter...

[PAMMELA]

Sue,

I think it's safe to say you can buy ANYTHING and EVERYTHING at Sam's! :D


I know this may not be exactly what you were looking for, but when I belonged to Sam's my DH and I scarfed up the boxed, frozen, breaded chicken cordon bleu (can't remember the brand name). I have found them at Smart & Final now though.:eek:

[Molli526]

Sam's & Costco carry some of the same stuff, and different items too. I don't think I could chose between having one membership over the other as we get different items at both.

[lindrusso]

Originally posted by SueK
Lisa - unfortunately our Sams doesn't have an attached liquor store. In PA only State Stores (owned by the LCB) can sell liquor.

Yeah, and only beer distributors can sell beer. :rolleyes: I would LOVE to move back to PA, but I sure do NOT miss their backwards liquor laws! Too bad you can't get the wines at Sam's - they have such great deals!

At Sam's I love the frozen shrimp. It comes peeled and deveined (except for the tail). We can't get good fresh shrimp around here, so this is really nice for us. I also like getting the packs of Swanson's Chicken Broth, the packs of Campbell's Tomato Soup, the packs of tomato paste, and the packs of Hunt's Diced Tomatoes.

I just like to wander the whole store and see what's there. :)

If you buy a lot of film for your camera or a lot of batteries, they have good prices for those things too.

Just be careful not to assume everything is a better price than you get at the store. For instance, I can almost always find soda on sale at my grocery store for cheaper than what Sam's charges.

Alysha

[Barrie]

The Sam's near me has really cute baby and toddler clothes. I have gotten DS Oshkosh denim shortalls for $12 (retail $25), Carters outfits for $7-$10, and 3-packs of Carters footed sleepers for around $12.