A Sample of Sam’s

I don’t know about you, but I have a bad habit of shopping both without a list and when I’m hungry (which is JUST what they tell you NOT to do). Of course, this can be a ♥/- situation, especially when it comes to shopping at my neighborhood Sam’s Club. For those who regularly shop at Sam’s you already know that showing up on a Friday – Sunday MID-DAY means samples…lots and LOTS of scrumptious foods to taste as you walk around the store.

On the PLUS side, it means that my hunger is relieved as I nibble my way through aisle after aisle, but couple that with the fact that I arrive without a LIST and it means that I’m easily swayed into purchasing items that I had NO INTENTION of buying.

Take today for example. For those who have been following my dilemma on facebook, you know that a “fancy” hotel (the kind that charges over $500 a night…and those AREN’T the rack rates) lost my beloved DSLR, lenses, etc. I figured that I’d grab a little point and shoot at Sam’s until they sent the reimbursement check. Of course I needed a few things as well…

My list (which was all in my head) consisted of:

• Orange juice
• Point and shoot Nikon
• Diet Coke

After shopping the camera department and picking up the tag of the one that I wanted (I went in for a particular model), I headed back to the grocery department. I was hit with the most delightful smells. Cheerful cooks standing over individual pans, pizza ovens and toaster ovens offered a variety of items as I walked up and down the aisles. Gosh, I do love coming here when they’re sampling (and even more so when the store isn’t quite as full and I don’t have to stand in line to get a taste).

My first stop – a NEW artisan bread that I’d never seen at Sam’s before. I chose a piece of rosemary and garlic focaccia dipped in a seasoned olive oil – SUBLIME. I immediately headed to the bread department and picked up a loaf. I proceeded to make my way through Sam’s home made pizza (passed on that one), Tyson buffalo wings (ran and grabbed a bag for tonight), Tyson Honey wings, 3-cheese tortellini with Ragu sauce, mini bundt cakes (ran back last minute to grab a package and tossed them in the cart), etc. One of the cook’s named Dennis called me over and asked if I’d tried his pork tenderloin sandwich. OMG – DELISH!! I asked him how he prepared it and he explained that he had created a dry rub out of both Cajun seasoning and a garlic butter salt and just rubbed it on the tenderloin, he had sliced the pork into medallion size to really infuse the flavor into the meat (as well as cook it quickly). I made a mental note to put ALL THREE ingredients on my Sam’s Club list for next week.

While I left with a full belly, I also left with a full basket (see what I mean about the ♥/- relationship). $300 later I was out of Sam’s and on my way home.

The good – I would NEVER have tried those foods had it not been for the samples that were served. Now I have ALL new recipes and ideas for dinner. I was in a cooking RUT and this helped.

The bad – $300 – of course that included the camera, but still – I had not planned on buying that much.

The result? – I still love Sam’s and it’s always an adventure eating your way through on a Friday afternoon.

It just brings to mind the expression….“There’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.  All hunger pangs and opinions are truly my own.