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Seafood
Kirkland Signature Lobster Bisque from Costco
Bowl of Kirkland Signature Lobster Bisque

My life got busy, and I haven't posted in a while, but I'm hoping to start up posting again. So this is a late review - I got this lobster bisque with my dad when it was on sale a couple months ago.

My dad ended up freezing the lobster bisque first because he didn't think we'd eat it fast enough, so this was warmed on the stove top from frozen when I had it. The preparation was pretty standard for a pre-made soup - just heat it up on the stove top until it's hot, stirring occasionally, or you can microwave it in a microwave-safe bowl, as well.

The consistency of the soup was good - not watery or super thick. I really liked the savory seafood taste. It wasn't overwhelming, but it did taste quite good. The lobster pieces were pretty small, and some pieces seemed a little dry. It also wasn't super filling, and I kept going back to get more. I haven't had much lobster bisque before, so I don't have much to compare it to, but it did taste really good overall.

Overall Rating:
Good
Food: Kirkland Signature Lobster Bisque
Source: Costco, Scottsdale, AZ
Rating: Good

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Box of Boudin Clam Chowder from Costco
Bowl of Boudin Clam Chowder from Costco

I received a request to review this clam chowder from Costco which worked out because I just got some the week before. By the way, if you thought it might come in a bread bowl since that's the picture on the box - it does not - the box just states that it's great with Boudin bread bowls. The clam chowder comes in two large plastic containers. I heated one of the containers of clam chowder in a pot on the stovetop per the directions on the box, however, you could also just microwave it following the directions, as well.

The consistency of the soup was fine - it wasn't too watery or goopy, and it had the typical potatoes and clams (with more potatoes than clams). The taste was OK - it had a creamy, savory clam chowder taste that was maybe slightly better than your typical clam chowder out of a can, but not by much. The main flavor of the soup was its saltiness, and it was too overwhelming for me... I couldn't taste much more than a salty cream taste. I noticed the ingredients also listed bacon, but I don't think I really tasted a bacon flavor (unless that was the saltiness I was tasting).

I've had clam chowder in San Francisco in a sourdough bread bowl, and it was much better. Even Sweet Tomatoes/Soup Plantation has clam chowder that is much better. I know there's a difference between being made fresh vs. preserved, but I still expected a better taste.

Overall, it was better than your average preserved clam chowder, but it was too salty for me. I wasn't able to eat more than one small bowl of it. Maybe it would have tasted better if I had eaten it from a bread bowl...

Overall Rating:
OK
Food: Boudin Sourdough Clam Chowder
Source: Costco, Scottsdale, AZ
Rating: OK

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Box of J. Scott's Seafood Fest from Costco
J. Scott's Seafood Fest inner packaging
J.Scott's Seafood Fest frozen on tray
J.Scott's Seafood Fest cooked on tray

I first noticed this Seafood Fest when I went to Costco around July and the price was around $36.00. The price then dropped to $25 and dropped again to $19.95 last month so I finally decided to try some. At $19.95, it's about twice the price of the Aquastar Seafood Feast from Fry's/Kroger, but this one from Costco has more meat and no filler corn and potatoes. It came with a decent amount for the two of us: two lobster tails, 8 shrimps, 7 clams, and 9 scallops.

According to the instructions on the box, there are three different ways of cooking the Seafood Fest: boiling it, baking it, or grilling it. You can also thaw it out overnight first, but my boyfriend and I forgot to do that beforehand. So, we pretty much baked it right from frozen in the oven.

First, we melted one stick of butter and added approximately half of the given seasoning packet to the butter (the instructions say to use only half the seasoning if baking). We preheated the oven to 400 degrees F, and strayed from the instructions a little bit: we put all the seafood on a metal baking tray (without any seasoning) in the oven for five minutes to get it to start thawing and poured out the excess water. Then, we quickly poured the butter and seasoning mixture over the seafood using a spoon, and resumed baking it the rest of the way.

1 stick of melted butter
1 stick melted butter
Seafood Fest seasoning mixed with butter
Seasoning mixed with butter
Butter mixture poured over seafood
Butter mixture on seafood

It took about 25 minutes to bake the lobster tails (possibly because they were towards the back of the oven), and it took about 30 minutes for everything else.

It turned out pretty well! Nothing was rubbery, and everything had a crisp feel to it. The seasoning had a kind of salty, savory taste... sort of like a saltier Old Bay seasoning. If I ever had these again, I might do less than the half packet of seasoning because the seasoning started to seem saltier and more tiring the longer I ate.

However, the seasoning combined with everything still had a good taste, except for the clams. The clams had the strongest taste, and they started out tasting OK, but they tasted a little sour to both of us... like burnt egg yolk or something. I've never had clams before so I'm not sure what clams are supposed to taste like, but I ended up not liking the taste of these. I still ended up eating the majority of them since my boyfriend disliked them even more than I did.

Everything else was pretty good. Shelling the shrimps and lobster tails was a little time-consuming, but at least they had good meat on them. My favorite were the scallops, which had a nice sweet taste and complemented the seasoning well.

My boyfriend and I finished the entire Seafood Fest in one sitting, except for one last clam, which we just threw away. Overall, it was a fairly filling and satisfying seafood meal.

Finished plate with empty shells
My finished plate with empty shells + 1 clam no one wanted
Overall Rating:
Good
Food: J. Scott Foods: Seafood Feast (with lobster, scallops, shrimp & clams) (Frozen)
Source: Costco, Tucson, AZ
Rating (lobster): Good
Rating (scallops): Delicious
Rating (shrimp): Good
Rating (clams): OK
Rating (overall): Good

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