History fun fact- Aldi and Trader Joe’s are corporate cousins. The original Aldi was started in Germany by a gentleman, and when he died, his sons partitioned the company into two separate companies- Aldi North and Aldi South. Both companies continued the original company’s emphasis on house brand products and low costs. When one expanded to the US, they became more of a specialty store, but retained the low cost and emphasis on house brands. That’s the store we know as Trader Joe’s. The other expanded into the us as Aldi, and has the same emphasis on low cost and house brand products, but is a full service, lowest-cost grocery.
That said, Trader Joe’s is kind of idiosyncratic, in that I suppose one could, if they really wanted to, buy everything they needed there. But in general, it’s more like a specialty/gourmet food store that carries some staple ingredients than the reverse. And what they’re best at IMO, is the relatively high dollar specialty stuff- cheeses, dips, chips, desserts/candies/cookies, frozen meals/ingredients, and alcohol. Stuff like plain milk, meat, bread and common produce isn’t where they shine. None of it’s bad, but it’s not really cheaper or better than the normal grocery store.
So for my family, Trader Joe’s is somewhere we go infrequently, and we tend to get stuff like cheap wine/beer and specialty treats/snacks. But if we want steaks, we’re either just getting what the local grocery has, or we’re going to the real specialty grocery nearby (HEB Central Market), which does shine in the meat, bakery and produce departments, as well as pretty much everywhere else as well, but you pay for it.
It’s like Costco that way, but like Costco, TJ’s has perennial items. Their Chocolately Cat Cookies (for People) is one. My kids loved them, and they’re grown now–and still love 'em!
One seasonal item I like is their turkey en croute. My TJ’s also has an excellent selection of breads, some from a favorite local bakery.
They have some really good dry pasta. My wife and I especially like the lemon pepper pappardelle.
We also stock up on chocolate treats whenever we’re there - English toffee, dark chocolate peanut butter cups, salted caramel squares… all way too delicious.
The papa of our little family-owned grocery store retired without an heir to take it over and it laid fallow for a season. Walgreen’s made a big push to move in (because the two Walgreen’s’s… what would be the plural?.. each half a mile away wasn’t enough saturation bombing for them). They showed the neighborhood their blueprints: two floors, drive-up… NO parking. We said “No way!” And luckily, Trader Joe’s moved in: one floor of tasty foods and alcohol*, and a full floor of underground parking.
*I stop there and ask “Hey, I’m on my way to a poker game full of wine snobs. What do you have for under $10 that’ll taste like it’s over 20?” I’ve discovered some great wines that way…
…including one that my boss loved. Next time I saw him he said “The wife and I loved that Grifone red so much, we made a trip downtown to Trader Joe’s and bought a case. Now I know where to go for wine deals… and how little you spend on your friends…:)”
A taste of Wine Idiot’s prose: “This is just a big, feisty wine with lots of stuff going on, and I think black licorice was the closest thing in my flavor vocabulary to what I’m trying to describe. It’s super peppery, and I also wrote, “Earthy?? Tobacco-y???” Which means…I honestly don’t know. Because it doesn’t actually taste like dirt, or cigarettes. It reminds me of a Malbec, or even that La Finca Tempranillo (another great bargain red)”.
I buy wine there often. I am not sure if all Trader Joe’s have it but in the Italian wine section there are four varieties from the Epicurio Winery. I but this stuff a case at a time. I like the produce section. The stuff is always fresh and somewhat less expensive than the full service grocery. Another plus: Their cut flowers are always nice and quite reasonable. The Incomparable Sunflower says they last longer than any other florist I have used.
We go there rarely, and when we do, we stock up on their gyoza (Asian dumplings) and their Indian frozen dinner, which are ridiculously good.
In the winter, they sometimes sell the only flavored coffee that I like. It’s regular coffee beans that they add peppercorns, cloves, chunks of cinnamon sticks, and maybe one or two other spices to; when you grind it, you get a pretty freakin tasty flavored coffee.
As to their seasonal products, at this time of year it seems that fully 40% of the store is some version of pumpkin flavored. Pumpkin Joe Joe’s and Pumpkin Spice Coffee and Honey Roasted Pumpkin Ravioli.
Yeah I definitely don’t like the fresh fruit at Trader Joe, and I’m very selective about the vegetables. Just the washed and prepackaged bags of vegetables or salad medleys.
I rarely get meat there either—raw meat that is—occasionally I’ve gotten a pre-marinated something or other but it’s not something I would do regularly.
just go on the MSN page and at the beginning of every month and season and you’ll find plenty of " the best things to buy this season" and sometimes they even have the best of the month articles …
Also do get on their fearless flyer mailing list they send a 30-page catalog telling you what your store will have every 6 weeks or so its actually amusing in a “dad jokes” kind of way
Their cheeses are good and less expensive than the other stores around me. Same with their selection of yogurt [side note: can stores and distributors just cool it with the “Greek-style” yogurt, please? Every goddamn market around me has 4 or 5 times the real estate devoted to faux Greek yogurt than other varieties. Ya girl wants some freaking European style yogurt. Luckily TJs has it].
Other things I haven’t seen mentioned yet: Corn Dippers are far superior to Fritos. They come in a couple of flavors now, but I’m partial to the original. Their coffee selection is pretty solid. Some of their frozen appetizers are pretty good when you’re feeling fancy. Fried rice is pretty good to have in the freezer.
My husband occasionally buys their single-serving frozen pasta dishes to keep at work for lunches. They have one with pasta and asparagus and brie that’s pretty tasty. They’re on the small side (as all such frozen meals are, in my experience —they’re comparable to a Lean Cuisine, size wise, but about 40% of the price.
nightshadea, Thank you for the links. They’re very helpful. I saw several items that I want to try. Looking forward to browsing TJ’s and buying a few things.
