Costco's Deli Has A New Fresh Seafood Dish That Has Fans Asking: 'Which Location Is This?'
A popular Costco influencer was recently gushing about the fresh poke they found for $18.99 per pound being served in the deli section and viewers seemed interested despite being a little grossed out that she put the poke on a food court hot dog. (The influencer, costcohotfinds, responded, "It was AMAZING.") Given that people were interested, some of them seemed annoyed that the location of the Costco where this item was being sold wasn't shared.
"Maybe tell people which Costco so as not to waste people's time if it's not in their area. You do know that not all Costco sell the same items," one person pointed out. The influencer, seemingly failing to understand, answered, "The poke is sold in the deli area." Another commenter remarked: "She sounds like she's about to run for office the way she dodged that question." Another chimed in, "It makes me crazy how she always tell people about what's at Costco ! [sic] But alas, it's never at my Costco." It wasn't a total pile-on, however, as someone pointed out, "Maybe she doesn't want to divulge where she lives ... yall are reckless."
An in-the-know commenter informed everyone that the poke bar is not a regular feature at any Costco but is instead a pop-up roadshow that appears in select stores for just a few days. Seeing as this roadshow isn't exclusive to just the location this influencer shops at, the frustrated commenters would likely need to check with their local store anyway. But should they?
Costco selling poke isn't that big of a deal, but calling it fresh does raise a few questions
Poke is Hawaiian in origin but is now one of those beloved regional dishes you can now get just about anywhere. Certain Walmarts added poke bars a few years back, so Costco selling the stuff is hardly earth-shattering. One of our top Sam's Club finds for September was a poke bowl kit, so poke now seems to be a big box store trend.
Still, the Costco poke being labeled as fresh does indicate that location might play an important role. That being said, none of the people commenting on the above-mentioned video asked the all-important question, "Is this Costco in Chicago? If so, does this mean the fresh poke is made from whatever dubious denizens swim in the depths of Lake Michigan?"
Wherever the influencer's Costco is located, there's a good chance the fish used in the poke
(as well as all the rest of the so-called "fresh" fish sold there) was flash-frozen on the boat when it was caught. Otherwise, it would have spoiled before ever making it to the store, even one that isn't inland. Fresh fish isn't always better than frozen, particularly when time and transportation are factors, so maybe this was used as more of a marketing buzzword than anything else.