The Simple Costco Trick Customers Do For Better Food Court Condiments

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Acclaimed celebrity chef Julia Child's favorite Costco food court item was its hot dog, and, honestly? Same. Not only is the price of Costco's iconic weenie a knock-down, drag-out deal, but the hot dogs are delicious at any time of day — the perfect fuel for a bargain grocery haul. If we had one tiny complaint about this scrumptious repast, however, it's that Costco isn't always generous with the topping options. Ketchup and mustard are de rigeur, of course, but, beyond those two essential condiments, pickings can be slim. We don't know about you, but a dog without yummy toppings can seem slightly humdrum. Even Costco's links, which are premium 1/4-pound all-beef heavyweights would taste better with some well-chosen accompaniments. 

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Trust social media, however, to cook up the absolute best Costco food court hacks. Recently an enterprising Redditor showed off a double-bagged Ziploc of sauerkraut smuggled from home, with the title "Taking Foodcourt Matters Into My Own Hands." Cue legions of abashed Costco-ites emerging from the woodwork to admit that they, also, had been known to sneak some bonus toppings into the warehouse for topping not only their hot dogs, but their slices of pizza as well. This got our brains spinning on all the DIY toppings we could easily bring into Costco; maybe in a small lunchbag. But, wait ... in addition to what we could source from home, how about the raw materials that Costco already provides?

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Going deeper down the DIY condiment rabbit hole

Not content with simply bringing in their own condiments to jazz up hot dogs or pizza, some brilliant social media denizens built on that thought to suggest that you might be able to spice up your food court entrees with some items from the Costco sample carts. Any sort of cheese sample, for instance, is a TKO, but a visionary Redditor built a jaw-dropping deluxe glizzy with diced mozzarella sticks, jarred kimchi, and Wendy's chili, all sourced from sample ramekins available that day. Feel free to sample your little heart out in the name of food court glory, just clean up after yourself, which is the main etiquette rule to follow at Costco when taking free samples

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When it comes to switching up the toppings on your Costco lunch or dinner with DIY toppings, you are only limited by your imagination. You could grab some diced ham and bacon bits left over from breakfast for a meaty take on your pepperoni pizza. Bring along a single-serve container of Tostito's queso dip, and you have yourself one very impressive cheese dog. We've heard of folks using the red pepper flakes and grated Parm packets that Costco keeps on hand for topping pizza; why not bring a small container of marinara and make yourself a pizza dog? Speaking of pizza, we're imagining stashing a small Tupperware of oregano, crumbled feta cheese, and sliced pepperoncinis in our bag for an unforgettable slice with Greek flair. 

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