# Trader Joe's opening store in LR. What should I try first? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 15, 2019, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-opening-store-in-lr-what-should-i-try-first/841808 "2019-10-15T17:37:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-opening-store-in-lr-what-should-i-try-first/841808/81 "2019-10-18T16:19:11Z")
> [@Hatchie](#): > > Two things I don’t recommend: Every one of their pasta sauces is thin and soupy. If you boiled them down to about 50% volume, you’d have a reasonable sauce. > > Also, peanut butter. Thin and soupy! I find the peanut butter very good. The jar has got a lot of oil in it. You need to do some industrial strangth stirring when you open the jar. But then it will stay mixed under refrigeration. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-opening-store-in-lr-what-should-i-try-first/841808/82 "2019-10-18T16:44:38Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > I find the peanut butter very good. The jar has got a lot of oil in it. You need to do some industrial strangth stirring when you open the jar. But then it will stay mixed under refrigeration. I get the no stir peanut butter (creamy, salted, no sugar added). It’s a bit on the thin side but you’re supposed to refrigerate after opening, which thickens it up. ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-opening-store-in-lr-what-should-i-try-first/841808/83 "2019-10-18T17:35:28Z")
> [@Hatchie](#): > > Two things I don’t recommend: Every one of their pasta sauces is thin and soupy. If you boiled them down to about 50% volume, you’d have a reasonable sauce. > > Also, peanut butter. Thin and soupy! Their “Italian Marinara Sauce with Barolo Wine” is the only one I’ve found there that isn’t too thin. Their frozen molten chocolate lava cakes are really good and a bargain at $3 for 2. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-opening-store-in-lr-what-should-i-try-first/841808/84 "2019-10-18T18:33:43Z")
Check out the Apple Blossoms in the frozen dessert section. They’re single-serving apple pies that you can microwave (1 minute) or bake. They’re fantastic! TJ’s frozen NY cheesecakes are pretty good, too. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-opening-store-in-lr-what-should-i-try-first/841808/85 "2019-11-11T02:18:54Z")
I went to the new Trader Joe’s in Little Rock today. I found most items to be reasonably priced and some of them to be absolute deals. They had bags of potstickers for $3 and their pizza dough was only $1.19. It was a little too crowded but that’s to be expected in any new place that opens in Little Rock. I won’t go there all that often because of its location but I’ll go there again I’m sure. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-opening-store-in-lr-what-should-i-try-first/841808/86 "2019-11-11T02:35:12Z")
I’ve learned TJ hides a stuffed animal somewhere in the store. Kids get a prize if they find it. It’s a clever way to occupy the kids while mom & dad focus on shopping. > **[Trader Joe’s has been hiding stuffed animals in store aisles for years —...](https://www.today.com/food/trader-joe-s-has-been-hiding-stuffed-animals-store-aisles-t166611)** > > Beyond the produce section, hidden somewhere in the aisles in most every Trader Joe's, is something special for kids. > [@](#): > > “Each store has a stuffed animal of some sort hiding somewhere. It’s really just for kids to run around and find the missing animal, and they get a treat,” the Reddit poster wrote. “Kids seem to LOVE it and parents go along with it too. So, I’m guessing the store your (sic) referring to has a lobster as their animal.” ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2019, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-opening-store-in-lr-what-should-i-try-first/841808/87 "2019-11-11T18:08:55Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Trader Joe’s is for treats, not for food. > **[Aldi](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldi)** > > Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 12,000 stores in 18 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when they took over their mother's store in Essen. The business was split into two separate groups in 1960, that later became Aldi Nord, headquartered in Essen, and Aldi Süd, headquartered in Mülheim. > In 1962, they introduced the name Aldi (a syllabic abbrevia... Perhaps it’s best to think of Trader Joe’s as Aldi Nord and American Aldi as Aldi Süd, Nord for premium quality treats at generic prices, and Süd for premium quality staples at better than generic prices. For meat and deli you go to your neighborhood butcher and for produce you go to a Mexican or Italian store, just like your grandma did. You know how good Grannieś cooking was? It was partly because she wasn’t afraid to shop. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-opening-store-in-lr-what-should-i-try-first/841808/88 "2019-11-12T02:08:07Z")
It’s spiced apple cider season! 😃 (I actually had no idea…I attempted to check out the new Wegman’s, found the TWO-LEVEL parking deck to be excessively crowded, and decided to just go to Trader Joe’s instead.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trader-joes-opening-store-in-lr-what-should-i-try-first/841808.md?page=4)