[clarity_muslimah]

Costco!

I love it. It's like massive playground. I love going crazy with all the feature products that they out, esp the music instruments lol
and the choc muffins! mmmm

[Caramel_Candy]

Costco hands down.

[marjanih]

Where does BJs fit into all this?


shadha-

[meraj]

as salaamu alaikum,

shadha said:

Where does BJs fit into all this?


shadha-

BJ's is not nationwide. ive only been to it once, and that was on Long Island. but my initial impression was that it was close to if not on par with costco in terms of appearance and products. i didnt get a chance to experience their customer service, so i dont know how that compares.

meraj

[ChotooMotoo]

I went to Coscto yesterday, and yes indeed they had Halal lamb. The lamb is imported from Australia, and you can clearly see the halal label on the whole lamb shank roast. There is some smaller cut up lamb pieces, and they are labled as imported from the same folks who do the shank, so yay!

Too bad it's 50 miles away

Buys buys from Costco yesterday:
lamb
halibut
blender

[meraj]

as salaamu alaikum,

ChotooMotoo said:

Buys buys from Costco yesterday:
lamb
halibut
blender

there are better ways to make a protein shake

meraj

[ChotooMotoo]

meraj said:

as salaamu alaikum,



there are better ways to make a protein shake

meraj

that totally made me LOL!!!

then there was the one time this guy came through my line at work, and all he purchased was:
Beer
Paper Plates
Cat Food
plastic dinnerware....

hmm... makes you wonder eh?

[nunyobeezwax]

i don't know anything about either sam's or costco but if meraj is right then i would definitely go with costco over walmart. i've been kind of anti-walmart lately because they are so bad to their employees. grown women with families work there for years and barely make anything over minimum wage, it's disgusting. it's hard though, walmart has everything! except for fresh veggies, i buy my produce from cub foods now.

wheelworks said:

Halal or kosher?

wouldn't matter since we are allowed to eat both.

[meraj]

as salaamu alaikum,

ChotooMotoo said:

then there was the one time this guy came through my line at work, and all he purchased was:
Beer
Paper Plates
Cat Food
plastic dinnerware....

hmm... makes you wonder eh?

either the recession has reduced him to cat food, or he was going to use it to bait a cat and... yeah

thejellymill said:

i don't know anything about either sam's or costco but if meraj is right then i would definitely go with costco over walmart. i've been kind of anti-walmart lately because they are so bad to their employees. grown women with families work there for years and barely make anything over minimum wage, it's disgusting. it's hard though, walmart has everything! except for fresh veggies, i buy my produce from cub foods now.

we learned about it in a business legal studies class i just took this semester. costco's basic code of ethics is:

- obey the law
- take care of our members
- take care of our employees
- respect our vendos

so it's pretty much the anti-walmart on all counts.

meraj

[MrZ]

All lamb from New Zealand is zabiha as their biggest exports are to the Middle East and South Asia. Outback Steakhouse also serves zabiha lamb steaks n such.

[The Girl]

some other good buys from Costco...

• tandoori naan - really soft and yummy!
  
• 20 lb bag of basmati rice for $20
  
  (i found a 10-lb bag of the same brand rice at my local desi store for $17.)

[ChotooMotoo]

The Girl said:

some other good buys from Costco...

• tandoori naan - really soft and yummy!
  
• 20 lb bag of basmati rice for $20
  
  (i found a 10-lb bag of the same brand rice at my local desi store for $17.)

Mr. doesn't like plain old regular basmati rice. If I'm cooking something with basmati, he wants it to be the parboiled basmati rice, which they don't sell ANYWHERE.

Since he doesn't like it, and feels cheated when I cook it, I'm not going to spend the money for Basmati. Jasmine rice is 25lbs for $15, so Jasmine rice it is.

[ChotooMotoo]

I got a sams club membership cuz it's right here in town, but I'm sharing it w/ my SIL. She has sam's club but no costco.

MuslimZ said:

All lamb from New Zealand is zabiha as their biggest exports are to the Middle East and South Asia. Outback Steakhouse also serves zabiha lamb steaks n such.

is that true because sams club sells lamb imported from New Zealand, but it doesn't have a halal stamp

(one handed typing is teh suck)

[ChotooMotoo]

OMG I'm psyched! The lamb at Sam's Club is from New Zealand lamb company (nzlamb.com) They have the website on their package, so I went to their website and sent them an e-mail about their lamb. Is it halal or not because there is nothing on their package that says so or their American website, but the companies Canadian website has the halal symbol right on the home page.

Here's the e-mail:
Yes, all of the plants that process our lamb in New Zealand are halal
accredited. The plants are monitored by regional Islamic Associations in
NZ. All processing facilities have to recertify annually for the halal
processor status. We are transitioning our packaging...and soon you'll see
the halal legend on each package of boneless legs and frenched racks you buy
in the store. The master cartons that we ship into Sam's also carry the MS
(Muslim Slaughter) stamp. You can consume our products with confidence.

Thank you for your email~
Marybeth Laleman
___________________________________________

Sure, I can get lamb from the local guy, but he's not the most honest guy and more often than not I've paid $9 per pound for lamb that is mostly bone, fat and gristle with very little meat. The local guy is good for goat, I've always gotten nice goat from him. He's good for steaks, but for whatever reason the lamb he sells is terrible. Nice to know I have an alternative. It's nice for the rest of you too who might live in areas without a halal shop.

[The Girl]

that's cool. thanks for sharing.

but i'm wondering why there is no mention of "halal" on the USA website if it's the same company?

ChotooMotoo said:

OMG I'm psyched! The lamb at Sam's Club is from New Zealand lamb company (nzlamb.com) They have the website on their package, so I went to their website and sent them an e-mail about their lamb. Is it halal or not because there is nothing on their package that says so or their American website, but the companies Canadian website has the halal symbol right on the home page.

Here's the e-mail:
Yes, all of the plants that process our lamb in New Zealand are halal
accredited. The plants are monitored by regional Islamic Associations in
NZ. All processing facilities have to recertify annually for the halal
processor status. We are transitioning our packaging...and soon you'll see
the halal legend on each package of boneless legs and frenched racks you buy
in the store. The master cartons that we ship into Sam's also carry the MS
(Muslim Slaughter) stamp. You can consume our products with confidence.

Thank you for your email~
Marybeth Laleman
___________________________________________

Sure, I can get lamb from the local guy, but he's not the most honest guy and more often than not I've paid $9 per pound for lamb that is mostly bone, fat and gristle with very little meat. The local guy is good for goat, I've always gotten nice goat from him. He's good for steaks, but for whatever reason the lamb he sells is terrible. Nice to know I have an alternative. It's nice for the rest of you too who might live in areas without a halal shop.

[ChotooMotoo]

The Girl said:

that's cool. thanks for sharing.

but i'm wondering why there is no mention of "halal" on the USA website if it's the same company?

it's the same company. The company home page has two links, one for US one for Canada. Click the Canada link, and the halal label is right there, but not on the US site. It's not that surprising really when you compare the Muslim populations in the US & Canada w/ the overall populations of the countries. Also I'm in a pretty redneck area, maybe they don't want the label on the package because they are afraid it would hurt their business what with all the islamophobia in this country.