Best Grocers for Memorial Day Cookouts
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Before you toss the hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill this Memorial Day, think about where you should buy all your cookout food. Besides the grilled meat, you might want to add prepared items, such as potato salad, cole slaw, and even a few deli sandwiches to your shopping list.
Fortunately, finding what you want won't be hard if you go to one of the grocery stores and supermarkets highly rated by Consumer Reports.
Seafood, Salads, and More at Costco
One great supermarket for stocking up for a Memorial Day cookout is Costco. It is the only national chain in our survey of more than 50,000 subscribers that garnered top ratings for fresh store-prepared foods.
This week at its Yonkers, N.Y., outpost near Consumer Reports' headquarters, Costco was selling quinoa salad with veggies, mung beans, brown rice, and red lentils for $4.99 a pound; tortellini pasta salad with mozzarella pearls for $4.99 a pound; and 20 half-croissant sandwiches filled with chicken salad, roast beef, cheese, and other fillings—plus two dressings—for $30.
To be sure, you can save money making these yourself; but if you're in a rush or can't be bothered cooking, they're good bets.
Wegmans Rules in the Northeast
East Coast-based Wegmans also got top ratings for fresh store-prepared foods. On the Facebook page for the Wegmans in Frederick, Md., the company advertised its ready-to-cook brown sugar barbecue chicken and zucchini noodles among its Memorial Day cookout suggestions.
In our ratings, Wegmans bested all other food retailers overall. In addition to its scores on fresh store-prepared foods, it won top marks for store cleanliness, staff courtesy, checkout speed, produce quality and variety, meal and poultry quality, selection of healthy options, and local produce quantity.
Leaders in the South and Midwest
In the Southeast, Publix shines for high-quality prepared salads, cold cuts, and other Memorial Day cookout food. The chain got highest marks in this region for fresh store-prepared foods, as well as for store cleanliness and staff courtesy. You might have to pay a bit more, though; the store ranked worse than average for the prices of organic options, and for competitive prices in general. (Here's where to find the best grocery store prices in America.)
Make Your Cookout Memorable
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