Well, sure, if I could cook like you could. But since my skills stop at opening up a bag of Oreos, there is no need for me to buy all the fancy stuff. 
A Trader Joe’s recently opened up here. It’s not very big, about the size of a large grocery store, about half the size of the Wild Oats nearby.
I found the prices to be very mixed: some great bargains and also some very pricey items. You’ve got to know what things are selling for in other stores, and shop accordingly.
The only disappointment was a loaf of low-carb bread that was sliced so thin that the slices fell apart; I had to return it.
All in all, a fun place, but I wouldn’t do all my grocery shopping there.
Wild Oats sounds fun - is it like TJ’s or is it more like an health food/organic-type store? What a great name for a grocery store!
We have a Wegman’s opening soon, about 15-20 minutes from me. There’s a big hoopla over this. Why, I don’t know; it’s supposed to be a great place. I’ll probably go there once to see what all the fuss is about (once it opens), but it’s too far for regular shopping.
There’s a local chain here (Baltimore) that I think is similar to TJ’s, called Graul’s. The stores are all small, and have a rather limited selection. They have 6 or 7 stores just in the suburban Baltimore area (in the “nicer” neighborhoods), and it has a definite high-end, snooty reputation. The basics (cleaning supplies, canned goods, toilet paper, etc.) are over-priced, but their prepared foods and their deli and bakery are great. They have the most incredible chicken salad and ham salad. I went there today just to get some dill chicken salad and ended up getting that, and some peanut lo mein for my daughter, and some turkey & veggie pot stickers. Yum-my!
I really think its only good for a few select items. Price is the bottom line for me and they still can’t compete with the big stores on most of the ‘staples.’
My friends who are vegan or very health conscious practically live there though!
What you all need is a Jungle Jim’s!
Awwww, shucks. But you can open a jug of orange juice or a bag of granola, can’t you?
We had a Wegman’s “near” us in Western Pennsylvania and I really liked it. It’s like a regular supermarket with a couple of additional perks. These included a produce section that far outstripped any of the other local stores, a deli with a decent selection of cheeses, marinated olives, stuffed grape leaves and other delicacies. It also had a good fish selection (for Western PA), and an above-average bakery for a grocery store. We lived in a small, rural college town and were willing to drive 40 miles to Wegmans about once a week or so. It was also the only place around where we could get a good selection of ethnic ingredients.
I would be less impressed now that I live somewhere with many other choices, but I really loved Wegman’s back then. I had moved to PA from Berkeley, and the year or so before the Wegman’s opened was pretty grim.
Around here (San Diego) there is a chain called Henry’s Marketplace, which I think is owned by the Wild Oats company. They carry a lot of the same brands you’d find in Whole Foods or other health food markets as well as their own brands of things like olive oil and pasta sauce, which tend to be good and inexpensive. They also have a lot of things in bulk, a good selection of cheese, meat, and fish and very good seasonal deals on produce (not necessarily organic.) They have a bakery, but it doesn’t emphasize healthy stuff. I go there pretty often, although my husband objects because they are not unionized or a co-op. Our co-op is very nice, but completely vegetarian, which I’m not.
Lou, if you want to see a Whole Foods Market there is one on the corner of I-95 and Glades Road in Boca Raton. Southeast corner, to be exact
Thank you, but that’s a 90-minute schlep just to go grocery shopping. If I ever find myself up there for any reason, I’ll definitely check it out, though. Much obliged!
slight nitpick : “Trader Joe’s Brand” is actually just other brands packaged with their label. Just like Safeway Brand, etc.
I like Trader Joe’s but I wouldn’t do my regular grocery shopping there. The produce section (of mine) is rather small and dairy is way expensive. But they do have some things that are better than other places- I love their potstickers! Yum!
And I third the Harris Teeter. Reasonable prices and quality foods. Their butcher counter is great!
I’ve heard great things about Wegman’s. They just opened one in Dulles but I haven’t made it out there yet. Supposedly there’s a lot more gourmet stuff alongside regular grocery items.
Asian supermarkers are still the best and cheapest. Han ah Reum and Super H.
The word is supermarkets! :smack: Supermarkers sounds like a Crayola product.
I love Trader Joe’s. I love grabbing a cart and just moseying down the aisles to see what’s new and what looks good. The one thing that stands out for me is that most of their products contain very few if any preservatives or chemicals.
Since I’ve been pregnant I’ve wanted lemonade almost every day. Buying it at the regular grocery store meant I had to buy something that had 30 ingredients I’d never heard of and tasted like Lemon Pledge. TJ’s Organic Lemonade literally is like 4 ingredients and tastes amazing. It’s a bit of a relief knowing even if you go overboard with some of the items you’re not making your liver process things like Sodium Caseinate, dehydrated Disodium Inosinate, Acesulfame Potassium, and the ever so lovely Phenylketonurics.
Their prepared frozen meals are outstanding – they have some Thai ones that are great and a curry one that’s out of this world. Puts Lean Cuisine to shame.
I’ve been to both. 'Course, this was in 1996-97, when Central Market was new-ish. (I recall they were the upscale version of HEB?)
TOTAL HIJACK THAT TEXANS WILL GET: Did you hear that HEB and Whole Foods were going to merge? Yeah, they’re going to call it H.E. ButtWhole Foods.
Anyway… Trader Joe’s is a much smaller enterprise/store than Central Market. Really, TJ’s reminds me of what Whole Foods used to be, ie - their original tiny store in Austin - before they got all high-falutin’. 
Hey, who said their dairy products are expensive? I’ve found that TJ’s dairy products are less expensive than at most supermarkets, and rBGH-free to boot. Now, I don’t know your feelings about whether rGBH is bad for you (it’s certainly bad for cows), but the hormone-free stuff definitely tastes much, much better.
And mom and I have successfully done our week’s grocery shopping at TJ’s on more than one occasion. On the whole, though, we usually end up running across the street to Albertson’s to pick up a few items…
I said their cottage cheese was more than the Safeway store brand. I’m suddenly drawing a blank on the name - it’s not TJ’s brand, but a “name brand.”
It’s a lot better, though. Richer and creamier. Very tasty.
TJ’s Brie is about the same as the regular grocery stores, if not less. I bought it a lot last summer, and it seems like it was bigger slices then I got from Safeway for about the same price.
Is this the one on Glebe, or the one at 29 and Harrison? They’re both great, but the one on Harrison is a bit newer.
That seems to be my observation here, too. I live in Southern California where the dairy prices have become outrageous, and even though Trader Joe’s prices went up, I know that they’re still a good 25% less than the other major supermarkets in the area. I’ve seen their prices for butter and eggs to be almost half the price of some other national brands.
I love shopping at TJ’s, and I’m pretty pleased with the quality of their produce, cheeses, and whatever else I’ve bought there. I love getting the cellophane bags of cauliflower–I just snip the corner off the bag and throw them in the microwave for 5 minutes–presto! Hot steamed cauliflower for dinner! Another thing I love is their Morrocan Simmer Sauce. It’s a kind of tomato sauce with olives and raisins and spices–I cut up some chicken breasts and simmer them in that sauce–and I’ve got an easy dinner when I don’t have much time for cooking.
Since I’m on a low-carb diet, they have an excellent selection of foodstuffs that aren’t full of crazy crap–their Reduced Carb Blueberry Waffles make excellent lazy Sunday morning breakfasts.
But, that all being said, I have a hard time doing all of my shopping there. I usually end up going to Costco to get my meat/poultry and all those other sundry items like toilet paper.
TJ’s expensive? Not for the quality. You want expensive, go to Whole Paycheck, err, ah, Whole Foods.
What’s great about TJ’s other than the rBGH-free milk, triple-ginger snaps and all those nifty things that you can grab and build a nice party’s worth of tasty nibbles? Three words:
TWO
BUCK
CHUCK
At $1.99 a bottle, their 2002 Charles Shaw California Shiraz has made some wine “experts” start stammering when it won a double gold status at a recent tasting event.
Their produce is usually quite good, if pricey; their milk prices are lower than the grocery stores; I love the sourdough wheat bread, Tofutti cuties, wine and cheese selection, to mention a few.
I just went there this morning to get an apple pie, edamame, Rainier cherries, mango tea, and some other delectables.
I’ve never heard of Harris Teeter. Where are they?
I’d go to Wild Oats and Whole Foods if they were closer.
There’s also one at on Army-Navy between Hayes & Joyce, I think that’s the newest of the three. The primary reason we go to HT is for the great sushi.