Wow, one of the reasons I love Trader Joe’s is because they’re so inexpensive!!!
FROZEN EDENAME PEAS
As good, if not better than the sushi restaruants.
I hate living here. I want a Trader Joe’s too!
Come on out! We’ll have a Trader Joe’s DopeShoppingFest!
My fav’s…
- Their sushi is great! Especially the salmon sushi and the spicy cali rolls. WOW!
- Salmon patties
- Salmon wt/ dill cous-cous
- Spinach flatbread pizzas
- Shrimp bowls
- Portofino shrimp bowls (these are very hard to find, but oh. My. God.)
- Rolled chicken burritos
- Chicken taquitos
- plus they have excellent salt-free tortilla chips.
Mmmmmm, good stuff!!
"Is TJ’s “Two-Buck Chuck” really as good as I hear it is? I’m guessing it is, as the TJ in San Francisco is always out of it. "
Yes, it is. I tried a lot of it.
Now I see other stores coming out with $1.99 stuff, like Raleys & Albertsons. their stuff tastes like watered down TJ $2 wine.
The Two-Buck Chuck is a hit with my roommate, too (not really a wine drinker, m’self).
TJ’s Flatbread
Cashew Butter (none of this peanut butter dreck for me, thanks)
TJ’s Meringues
Cheap Brie
Cheese Dip
Hummus
I love Trader Joe’s, and go pretty regularly, but I also have to go to a large chain for staples like sponges, trash bags, etc.
Did you guys know…According to my mother (out searching for jobs for my sister’s BF), Trader Joe’s stock/cashier/staff members START with a $40,000 annual salary. Managers start at $80,000. These may be Los Angeles figures, but those are excellent starting wages for what are essentially un-skilled retail/managerial positions. Those are 2-3 times what standard retail chains (GAP, Borders, etc.) pay their employees.
Also, TJ’s apparently starts a 401(k) account for each employee and contributes 15% on top the employee’s salary to it. That’s to start, with no matching funds, and added to the 40k/80k base. No. I’m not a Trader Joe’s recruiter, but I have a new measure of respect for the company after finding out how well it treats its employees.
I like them for the beer. Nothing like spending $4 on a six-pack of “Frugal Joe’s Ordinary Beer” to finish off a long day.
Sometimes I cross over to the dark side and buy their imitation sushi, but only because of the price. Calling their “let’s open up some of our imitation crab and make it look different” stuff “sushi” is like buying a big mac and calling it a steak. Still, good price.
Wow - no wonder the employees always look so happy!
It isn’t just the Hawaiian shirts.
I thought the merlot was quite good. Maybe a little too sweet, but definitely drinkable. I’ve spent a lot more on wine that didn’t taste nearly as good.
Mmmmmmmm.
Frozen sweet corn
Frozen green beans
Frozen peppers (yellow/green/red mix)
Frozen fish of all varieties
Frozen tamales/taquitos/enchiladas
Frozen guacamole
And for dessert - Frozen Chocolate Ganache, washed down with Two Buck Chuck Merlot
Bon Apetit!
TJs is the only place around here to get the No Pudge Fudge Brownie mix . . . . serious chocolate goodness and no fat. Drool, drool.
I don’t even want to think about this thread for a while. I’ll have to savor it in small bits.
I do have my Trader Joe’s “Care” package, sent from back home, but it’s looking a little picked through.
Some Trader Joe’s “UFOs” (mint chocolate) are always in the “Care” packages. Those sound really good right now.
Damn. I hate not having a Trader Joe’s nearby.
Oh, I forgot about the frozen cream ouffs with chocolate sauce! We usually don’t even wait for them to defrost!
If those numbers are accurate for TJs starting salaries, wow. It’s hard work being a manager though- like 14 hour days plus all the usual BS. The lower-level jobs would make a hell of a second job, though. Yowza.
I resent Trader Joe’s . . . They are moving into my mother’s neighborhood, and are running out of business a long-established Farmers Market right next door. The Amish farmers probably won’t be able to rent space in Trader Joe’s, as they can’t work Sundays and the space will apparently have to be customer-available seven days a week.
They sound to me like the Barnes & Noble’s of food . . .
I married into the Trader Joe’s family.
I can’t believe no one has mentioned the capuccino truffles yet. Jesus Smokin’ X.
Hrm, I hate you. Sounds like a nice place to be.
But then again, you west-coaster’s don’t have a Harry’s.
Neener, neener, neener.
I’m going to ask what might be construed as a really stupid question.
Can you use coupons at Trader Joe’s?
'Cause I got a bunch of Kashi coupons, and TJ’s has such a great selection of their products, that would be my best bet for buying them.
No.
Not even “not exactly”, just No.
We can debate whether places like B&N and Borders are better or worse than the locally-owned bookstores that they supplant. But there’s no question that such bookstores exist, and the biggies make it hard for them to survive, since they’ve occupied the same market niche.
In the case of TJ’s…well, I’ve never seen a grocery like a TJ’s. I can’t imagine what sort of place a TJ’s would drive out of business, niche-wise, although they’ll certainly make your Safeways, Food Lions, and Winn-Dixies seem boring by comparison.
TJ’s really does not compete with farmers’ markets, or threaten their market niche, which is mostly based around produce. TJ’s has some produce, but it’s not their strong point. If there’s a farmer’s market near a TJ’s, you’d stop at the farmer’s market on your way to or from the TJ’s and buy your produce there, the way I stop at Bagels and… in Annapolis on my way to the Annapolis TJ’s.
While it’s a shame that the Amish farmers’ market’s space got bought out from under them by the new TJ’s, Eve, I’m sure it was simply about space. If the Amish market can find a new location, TJ’s shouldn’t be a threat to them.