There's almost nothing I like better in the world than finding a good deal, and when it's a good deal on wine? I'm in heaven. That's why I'm excited to post about Cameron Hughes Wine today, because not only is the wine an incredible value, but it's sourced from all over the world, so you'll never get bored.

The wine distribution world is complex and sometimes irritating. You read about a good bottle, only to find out it's unavailable in your area or sold out altogether or produced in such small quantities that you can't possibly lay your hands on any. I'm sympathetic to all of these complaints. When I was first getting into wine, I remember ripping out a magazine article on recommended Chardonnays and taking it to my wine store. The clerk just laughed. "You won't find magazine wines in here, honey," he said. "You have no idea how complicated it is."

Well, now I do know how complicated it is, and because I know, I love nothing better than coming across a fantastic, incredible-for-the-money wine that's also widely distributed. And believe me, that's a rare combination.

More Cameron Hughes - Wine of the Week after the jump.

There are many times that people have told me I was nuts for popping to Costco for a grocery run every now and then. They'd laugh over my huge packages of toilet paper and dish soap, and say that they don't think it's worth the steep membership fee. Sometimes, they're right -- there are products in there that seem like a good deal, but are no more (or, in fact, a little more) than regular store prices. But I just had to tell you Slashfoodies about my shallot find last weekend. Sometimes it's wonderful to buy in bulk.

Since I was out of shallots, I begrudgingly picked up a small bag of shallots at a big-box grocery store -- the bag only had 250 g, or 8.8 oz, which totaled approximately 5 shallots. As I put the bag in my cart, I wistfully remembered summer days where local shallots were cheap and plentiful, and then moved on. A few hours later, I found myself at Costco, staring at a three pound bag of shallots.

The cost difference? The smaller was $3, while the large bag was around double that. As you can see from the labels, they're both from the same company. It's a shallot dream come true.

Now I've just got to decide what to make with them....

A good friend of mine once spilled a gallon of milk in his car. If that ever happens to you, head directly to the car wash. Do not stop on the way. Once that milk smell sets in, it never goes away and it is not pleasant. According to the New York Times, milk spilling has become a big problem due to a change in the classic milk carton.

Wal-Mart and Costco are rolling out new milk jugs. The difference is that the new jugs are square and made of recyclable plastics. This makes them stack-able and compact in trucks and on shelves. These jugs are less expensive because of easier shipping and the elimination of milk crates.

The downside of the new jugs is that it is taking consumers some time to get used to them. People are having difficulty not spilling milk during the pour since there is no spout. Sam's Club has even been offering in-store classes on how to pour from the new jugs. I suppose you could always transfer your milk to a glass container with a spout if it were that much of a problem.

Have you tried the square milk jugs yet?

This is a recall of bulk proportions.

Costco has issued a voluntary recall on 10,368 pounds of frozen Red Curry Chicken & Jasmine Rice from Discover Cuisine. The frozen food packages are suspected to be contaminated with Listeria. According to Costco, "Each package bears the Canadian establishment number 'Est. 302' inside the Canadian Food Inspection Agency mark of inspection as well as a 'Best By' date of '12 18 08.' The item number '2880' also appears by the UPC code on the package."

No illnesses have been reported yet, but Listeria can cause headaches, neck stiffness, and spontaneous abortions. Those people with weakened immune systems are most susceptible to infection.

So check your freezers, and if you'd like more information, call this number, provided by Costco: (800) 774-2678.

[via: Consumerist]

I would hate to find a rat in anything I purchased. That seems like the worst kind of surprise ever. Unfortunately, that's what awaited one consumer in Korea upon opening a bag of frozen mixed vegetables.

The person contacted and filed a complaint with the Korean Food and Drug Administration after purchasing the frozen veggies from a Costco there. The Korean unit of the company acted quickly to recall all Willow Wind Organic Mixed Vegetables, which were imported from California. Of course Costco suspended sales of the product, as well.

The thought of a rat in anything that I've bought is not a pleasant one. I know that some things just happen, but I'd like to think that a rodent would be caught before it got into a product. I know we've seen a lot of product recalls lately, so don't you thing that manufacturers would work a little harder to keep foreign objects out of their products? What do you think?

Man, the Asian countries have it so good.

First we hear about Dunkin Donuts going to Shanghai and offering things like honeydew flavored doughnuts, then we find out that Costco in Taiwan is pretty much the picture of bulk Asian food awesomeness. (I didn't even know that Costco was anywhere except the United States).

Teczcape documented a trip to Costco in Taiwan, and though the ridiculously long lines at the rotisserie chicken counter and the requirement that all payments are made in cash are nothing to envy, I couldn't help but covet the bulk bags of kimchi (in the picture, lower left bag in the cart). It's Costco, so who knows about the quality of the kimchi, but at least it's not Kirkland brand!

Come on, you just knew that this was going to happen sooner or later: Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has reached a deal with Costco to offer frozen and fresh refrigerated foods for customers. The items will start showing up in Costco locations in 2008.

This article makes a good point about how this will affect Martha Stewart's image. It's one thing for Martha to tell us how to make neat crafts and how to clean our homes and where to vacation and how to decorate, and give us recipes and kitchen tips, but what if we try these foods -- foods that the company has made, supposedly -- and we don't like them, or they're just "typical grocery food?" As the piece says, drapes and paints cannot spoil in the refrigerator."

But they'll probably be fine. But I wonder what foods she'll offer? Probably something a little fancier than corn dogs and Salisbury steak.

After a week of summer vacation and trying to feed anywhere from four to five constantly ravenous teenaged boys everyday, I lost it. For six consecutive days I trudged to the grocery store stocking up on boy friendly foods, and spent the greater part of my food budget on the ungrateful oafs. In an effort to combat this problem, we decided to use our new Costco membership card and make the trek to the land of economy sized packages.

A Costco visit is no small effort on our part since we must drive about 175 to the nearest store; but when I weighed the one time trip against standing in the grocery line everyday while my toddler tried to pull everything within reach off the shelves, it seems like a swell idea. 

The best place to get a cheap meal is no longer your local McDonald's, Burger King or other fast food establishment - it's Costco. The warehouse store, known for its enormously sized products and low prices, is also known for good eats at even better prices.

The first way to eat there, and certainly the least expensive, is by stopping in for free samples. The store gives out samples of many of its products every day, with the highest concentration of sampling stations set up around meal times. The range of foods is huge, form coffee (roasted in-store) and cookies to crab cakes and beef taquitos. Even without making a second round through the tables, there is a lot to eat.

Dateline NBC, after interviewing health inspectors and touring dozens of supermarkets all over the country, compiled a list of the 10 least hygienic supermarkets in the country. From expired milk and deli meats to lack of hot water in employee bathrooms, there were many violations that were not immediately obvious to the customer's eyes, but the hidden cameras caught blatantly unhygienic practices and major health and sanitation violations, like dead insects in food products. After analyzing the data from inspections in 2005 of 1,000 stores in 27 states from the each of the top ten grocery chains, the list was final. From fewest violations to most, the least sanitary supermarket chains are:

• Food Lion
• Wal-Mart
• Save-a-Lot
• Costco
• Sam's Club
• Wynn-Dixie
• Kroger
• Publix
• Albertsons
• Safeway

According to the company responses received by Dateline, all the companies are vowing to improve in every area where a critical violation was received. They emphasize that customers who see a violation should report it to the store manager immediately so the problem can be dealt with.

Saveur magazine just released its "100 list" for 2006. 100 what? Since any explicit label would be too restricting, the annual list is simply described as Saveur's "favorite restaurants, food, drink, people, places and things", which certainly covers a lot of ground.

Making the eighth list this year are restaurants from India to Mexico City, as well as a variety of restaurants and chefs from Las Vegas, including Daniel Bouloud, Bouchon, Alex and Joel Robuchon. Favorite foods included Costco birthday cakes, Crispy Buffalo Wontons from Ruby Tuesdays (a US chain) and Rich Man's Purses at Gundel Restaurant, Budapest, in addition to duck eggs, spicy Thai kettle chips and Japanese freshwater crabs, while favorite drinks included California dessert wines, Hendrick's Gin from Scotland and cointreau.