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Costco cafe pizza hot dog churro
Cheapism

TikTok’s “glizzy gladiators” have found a new foe: Costco’s cheesy blaster. The artery-clogging, unofficial food court hack involves swaddling Costco’s $1.50 hot dog in a cheesy pizza blanket.

Although the idea of a cheesy blaster has been around for more than a decade — first conceived as a joke on an episode of “30 Rock” — Costco fans continue to post about the mashup on TikTok and Reddit.

“Omg this looks delicious … the only way I would be able to eat this is in the parking lot of urgent care,” a Redditor writes of the pizza-covered dog.

@actorevanb #stitch with @twistytowertowercrane #cheesyblasters #costco #foodhack #30rock #tinafey #alecbaldwin #tracymorgan #janekrakowski ♬ original sound – Evan Blanton

Purists will note that the Costco cheesy blaster isn’t faithful to the show’s creation because it lacks jack cheese. For a more faithful recreation, foodies can follow YouTuber Binging with Babish’s recipe.

This isn’t the first time that Costco fans have hacked the food court menu. In a variation on pigs in a blanket, Costco fans have stuffed a food court hot dog into the popular chicken bake. And other Frankensteined food court favorites include the root beer float and chili dog (rest in peace).

Costco’s $1.50 hot dog was recently in the news after the wholesaler’s Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said that the retailer’s all-beef hot dog combo will stay at that low price “forever.” Costco has been selling its soda and hot dog combo for $1.50 since 1985.

Gallery: Costco Superfans Share Their Favorite Discontinued Products

Meet the Writer

Maxwell is a California-based writer who got his start in print journalism, a career that satisfies his love of research. That penchant for learning also fuels his desire to be a discerning consumer — whether he’s looking for his next pair of headphones or rock-climbing shoes. When he’s not hunched over his laptop, you can find Maxwell sending routes at the crag, playing Magic: The Gathering, or hanging out with his buddies at the bar. As a UCSC alumnus, he’s also a proud banana slug. You can reach him at [email protected].