I've said plenty of nice things about Costco in the past, and regular readers will have seen my specific product recommendations in the Costco Reports that I post on this blog, but I have no special agenda in support of Costco shareholders, and I don't pull my punches, so today - as I pour another badly needed but instantly regrettable cup that tastes very distinctly of incinerated carbon- I have to call them out: Dude, your Kirkland coffee really sucks.
Think of the very best "cult" wines from the Napa Valley floor, shoot them up with enough steroids to power the Tour de France and Major League Baseball combined, and then somehow balance all that bulging, bronzed muscle with enough subtlety and grace to keep everything harmonious - imagine The Incredible Hulk dancing a perfect Swan Lake, or The Situation passing abstract algebra - and you'll have some idea of what Quilceda Creek's freak-of-nature wines are all about.
SoCo's mobile caravan is gearing up for Munch Monday
Pistou is seriously good stuff. Made in minutes, from very few (and entirely raw) ingredients, it turns a vegetable soup transcendent, transforms pasta from simple to sublime, and, perhaps less conventionally but no less successfully, it works wonders with certain seafood. The problem is, unlike in the case of its far more famous (and near-mystical-when-done-properly) cousin, pesto, there seems to be no clear agreement on what actually constitutes a true pistou.
Santa Rosa family deli will shutter in December
Talking sheep? The Food Show Promo
Former Forestville banker rolls out a family tradition
Hidden Italian eatery in Cotati
The Costco Report: A recurring, if episodic, column devoted to ferreting out the more promising offerings, as well as to warding off the worst of the hazards. This Week's Pick: Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, at about $7/liter.
A crop of guy-friendly cookbooks will get him into the kitchen
