$200,000 Bentley Convertible tries to cut me off at Costco gas pumps

CHANGE FOR THE BETTER: Costco Wholesale's Kirkland Signature Egg Whites have returned. You get six 16-ounce cartons, and the price is lower than the four-carton Egg Beaters we've been forced to buy since the Teterboro warehouse opened last October.

Egg Beaters (four 16-ounce cartons for $9.39), left, and Kirkland Signature Egg Whites (six 16-ounce cartons for $8.79).

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

In the year since we bought Michelin Defenders for our 2010 Toyota Prius, Costco Wholesale's tire store moved to a new, bigger warehouse in Teterboro.

Teterboro offers a bonus over the Hackensack warehouse -- a members-only Costco gas station selling regular for under $2 a gallon, plus a cash rebate of up to 4% on credit-card purchases.

On Thursday, I had an appointment for a free rotation and tire balancing, so in the interest of conserving energy, I brought a long food-shopping list and figured I might as well fill the tank of my wife's 50-mpg gas-electric hybrid.

6,000-pound land barge

I entered Costco's parking lot, and started maneuvering so my gas door would be next to the pump, when I saw a couple in a Bentley Convertible on a collision course.

Damn if I was going to yield to a driver who blew more than $200,000 on one of the most environmentally irresponsible cars on the road -- a 600-horsepower, 6,000-pound behemoth that supposedly gets 12 mpg.

The bald driver had the top down in 90-degree weather, but didn't even know enough to wear a hat.

He was headed for a premium-gas pump on the far left and I was driving almost straight ahead, so I just hit the gas pedal and put the nose of the Prius in front of that flashy monstrosity, and got through.

The Bentley owner probably has to fill up his 24-gallon tank three times a week, so I guess I can't blame him for going to Costco.

After I filled up for $1.95.9 a gallon, I parked our Prius next to the tire store, and the car was ready before I finished my food shopping -- a little over an hour later. 

$2 off organic eggs

Two-dozen Kirkland Signature Organic Eggs were $4.99 after a $2 instant coupon.

Fresh Blackberries from Mexico were $4.49 (18 ounces), 3 pounds of Organic Bananas were $1.99, and 5.5 pounds of Premium Honeycrisp Apples were $15.99.

I also bought Organic Kiwi Fruit from Italy (4 pounds for $7.99).

I picked up a couple of pounds of fresh wild flounder fillets ($7.99 a pound), caught and processed in the United States, when I didn't find fresh wild salmon from Alaska.

The first Copper River salmon of the season arrived in Seattle on May 17.

On Friday, my wife saw fresh Copper River Alaskan salmon for $35.99 a pound at Whole Foods Market in Paramus.

Last year, the Hackensack Costco sold the first Copper River sockeye salmon for $14.99 a pound. 

Another change for the better at the Teterboro warehouse is Kirkland Signature Organic Coconut Water. You get the same amount as Vita Coco Coconut Water, which isn't organic, for a lower price, $9.99 v. $13.99, below.

Kirkland Signature Strawberry Spread still is made with fresh fruit, but is no longer organic. A 42-ounce jar is $5.99, a dollar less than the same size organic spread I bought in December 2014 at the Hackensack warehouse.

Kirkland Signature Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese from Italy ($8.79 a pound) costs a little more than Pecorino Romano, but it is aged longer, and has one-third less salt and less total fat. Parmigiano Reggiano is made with part-skimmed cow's milk and the other cheese uses full-fat sheep's milk. I like pieces of the crumbly Parmigiano with fruit, such as the delicious but pricey Honeycrisp Apples you can get at Costco.

My wife asked me to buy Organic Coconut Oil, but when I pointed out 1 tablespoon of the Kirkland Signature brand contains 60% of the daily recommended intake of saturated fat, she returned it the next day to the Hackensack warehouse and got a full refund ($18.99).