Every week I make the long trek over the tide flats and up the hill to Twin Lakes/Federal Way. It's an enjoyable drive filled with sawmills, acres of new cars, scrap heaps and landscaping supplies. It's a hell of a lot better than strip malls and fast food joints if you go the I-5 route.

As fate would have it, I recently had to make a stop close to the Federal Way Costco - where I soon found myself winding along SW Campus Drive. That's when I saw it - WinCo Foods. For years my sister has been singing the praises of WinCo Foods. She bragged about the good deals and huge selection. So, of course, I was curious. And well, it's kind of my job - so here I am.

I can't believe I went this long without knowing WinCo Foods existed. It probably had something to do with the fact it's in Federal Way, and much like Spanaway, Parkland, Ocean Shores and Auburn, etc., I usually try to avoid going to these sorts of places. The irony and flip side of my snotty attitude is that it almost always backfires on me - because clearly I'm destined to find little jewels like WinCo.

WinCo (which stands for Winning Company) Foods was founded in 1967 by opening its first store in Boise, Idaho. It now operates over 70 stores in six states (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Nevada and Utah) with over 12,000 employees. Again, how did I not know this?

WinCo boast's 90,000-100,000 sq. ft,, with a huge selection of groceries, fresh meat, produce, fresh bakery, gigantic bulk foods and a large deli. Oh, and they're open 24 hours for your convenience. It's like Costco had a baby with Top Foods. No membership required.

My sister has three kids and they are all very athletic. Feeding these food vacuums isn't an easy task. Walking into WinCo made it very clear to me why she shops here - food for miles and families everywhere. I stuck out like a sore thumb while walking around without a basket or cart and taking notes on my phone.

Enough anecdotes and jabber: let's get to the meat of this store. Speaking of meat - there's a lot of it and you better have a good size freezer or a large family. Cheddar, Jack, Colby, Swiss, all your standard cheeses were going for about $2.98 a pound. You won't find any fancy triple crèmes or Manchego, but $2.98 for basic cheese is a score.

Here are a few of the other good deals: Canned tuna in water - .49 cents, Lindsay olives - .98 cents, 32 ounce trail mix by Emerald - $3.98, 32 ounce jar of minced garlic - $2.98, Shasta 12 pack of soda - $2.98, bananas .49 a pound, MD 18 roll toilet paper (excuse me I mean "bath tissue") - $8.78, International Delight coffee creamer - $2.48.

And the deals don't stop.

The most fascinating part of WinCo Foods has to be the bulk section. Holy crap. If it comes in bulk, WinCo seems to have it. Pasta, dried beans, candy, flours, cereal - the list goes on.

Not to be out done by the bulk selection, the wacky varieties of hot dogs, sausage and brats are also impressive.

WinCo is borderline overwhelming - but in a good way. It's clean. The produce and bakery items are fresh. Everything is clearly marked and organized. And, of course, the selection prices are staggering.

WinCo is definitely worth a scoot up to Southside of Federal Way or check out their Puyallup store.

[WinCo Foods #43, 160 SW Campus Drive, Federal Way]

[WinCo Foods #16, 9518 176th St E., Puyallup]