The costco hotdog contains 580 calories, approximately 110 of which is the bun. If the bun shrinks by 30%, the calories of the entire dog shrinks by 5.7%%. But also the $1.50 is for a combo that includes a drink of up to 270 calories, so the caloric content of the combo shrinks by 3.9% -- substantially less than the 37% claimed volume loss (which does not account for the drink).
EDIT - The drink also allows for a refill which would add another 270 calories bringing the total to 1120, and the caloric shrinkage down to 2.9%
When looking at protein the meal loses 1 gram out of 23, or 4% loss, which is less than inflation. Good for all the gym rats.
Edit 2 - fixed percentage calculations
Also, it is not possible to buy the hot dog without a soda. So really, people are going for the soda when they get the hot dog, whether they want it or not.
That's why I have percentages for both the dog alone and the combo.
Potato chips are generally very low weight, and include other calorie containing products, such as oil.
Kid: Dad, why is my sister named Rose?
Dad: Because your mother really like roses.
Kid: Oh, ok, thanks Dad!
Dad: No problem, Costco Hot-Dog!
IMO, Canada has the superior bun. They also have the smoked meat sandwich, but their pizza is ass.
Afaik, it's location dependent now with the default being no.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/27/the-reason-why-costco-is-ban...
Now off to my PCP for a Polish Dog with Mustard and Onions Prescription...
But you cannot eat that, so potato chips are a distant second
And no, the calories in chips added by the oil offset the lesser amount of weight you buy per unit - at least in my locality.
If I just look at calories per dollar, potato chips are the most cost effective from the products I checked.
Pure potatoes are somewhere around 200-500 calories per dollar, cheap potato chips are around 1000/dollar
My original point is that by changing what metric and how much of the combo you look at the calculated loss can vary significantly: over an order of magnitude difference between the dog-only volume loss and the refilled drink calorie loss.
lies, damned lies, and statistics.