Our TJs are a little more expensive for staples than the discount grocery stores around here (Indianapolis, which must have one grocery store for every 10 people). However, the quality is much, much better for many items.
Personal faves:
Bread – the California Complete Protein bread is especially great. Also love the soy pita breads.
Cheese selection is very good, and reasonably priced.
Juices are well priced and good quality.
I am a total sucker for their cookies aisle. Chocolate chip dunkers – oh my!
Nuts, especially the blister peanuts.
I wasn’t as enthralled with their dishwasher detergent. Like the dishwashing liquid, especially the lavender one.
Our TJs offers wine and beer, but since I don’t drink either one, I can’t comment.
DON’T attempt to shop there on a Saturday. Good god, it is crowded!
:smack: I totally forgot until just now: I adore their shampoo and conditioner. The nourish spa line. It’s not Phytologie, but what is? $2.99 each for 17oz bottles. No sodium laurel sulfate, no funky silicones. All my scalp yuck went away and my hair (mid-back length) is deliciously lustrous. Also, my greasy scalp problem has greatly diminished since I started using it.
And I can get Dr. Bronner’s at TJs, too! ALL-ONE! I like it when my soap is crazier than I am…
Today I bought my first-ever package of boneless short ribs - they looked too good to pass up. So what are your favorite ways to prepare them? This one looks intriguing, but I’m open to suggestions. I’m looking for a recipe that will give me a yummy, flavorful gravy of some sort, to eat over rice or noodles, though I am also open to side-dish suggestions. I’m thinking of doing them in my Crock-Pot. Go on, fire away!
(I’ve got 3+ lbs. of them, and there’s only one of me, so it would be helpful to be able to freeze at least half of whatever I make.)
[PLEASE IGNORE THE ABOVE - I meant it to be a new thread. Well, OK, don’t ignore - if you have an opinion, please visit the other thread.)
Have you affirmed this personally? Cuz there are people here who are convinced TJ’s is expensive, but I’m convinced they’ve never set foot in our local one. It’s the cheapest in the neighborhood. We buy all our staples there. Only the things that are hard to find there (produce, mainly; and name-brand cereal, which I prefer) do we buy elsewhere.
I like Trader Joe’s a lot, but there is no way it is cheaper on the staples here in the Boston area. I can get pasta for three for a dollar at my local grocery store. Milk pricing is regulated, so it really doesn’t matter where you go. Their eggs are more expensive, too. Some stuff is a good deal and there are things that you can get there that just aren’t available elsewhere.
However, when I used to live in Davis, CA, Trader Joe’s was price competitive on almost everything, compared to Albertson’s, Safeway or Nugget, the local chains. Granted this was the land of six dollar boxes of cereal and five dollars for a 12 pack of soda. Needless to say, as a poor grad student, I went to Walmart.
Oh yeah, I go to TJ’s all the time. I like to pick up something nice here and there, and also, its where I get my beer. (We’ve got a much better beer and wine store nearby, but when I’m out, I’ve always got my toddler with me and I just feel funny taking him into a liquor store.)
That’s about how much these things are where I live, at my local Albertson’s.
So that’s expensive compared to the rest of the country? (Due to the innocence and stupidity of youth, I never really paid attention to prices before a few years ago, right around the time I moved here.)
I came in to recommend that, actually. I make a “taco soup” with canned beans and tomatoes and taco and ranch seasonings (don’t laugh, it works, somehow) and the frozen roasted corn just gives it an incredible depth of flavor that it was lacking before.
I also like to take the frozen roasted corn, thaw it, and mix with canned black beans, some finely diced onion, chopped tomato and chili peppers. Add some cilantro if you like it. Heck, throw in some diced bell pepper for pretty. Toss with a little oil, salt to taste and serve chilled as a salad. It’s a beautiful multi-colored salad that looks impressive, but is so easy.
My son loved TJ frozen crab cakes, and they’re not too badly priced. We also like the** biryani rice**, although someone mentioned it’s not there anymore? I had a little panic attack reading that.
Their dried fruits and nuts are great for making your own trail mix. While I’m partial to cashews, I made a “peanut butter and jelly” mix by mixing peanuts and dried cherries that was to die for.
Trader Joe’s O’s taste even better than Cheerios, and they’re organic (which is nice when I can afford it) and under $2 for a big box!
I second their **olives **and frozen hors d’oevres. I keep some on hand and look like Martha friggin’ Stewart when people come over and I’ve had no time to prepare.
Here in Chicago, they’re definitely the best deal on many things - not all things, but many. I tend to shop in the order of Aldi -> Food4Less (Kroger’s) -> Trader Joe’s -> Dominick’s -> Wild Oats/Whole Foods , and I’d probably boost Trader Joe’s to second place if it was more convenient. But the closest one is 25 minutes (city traffic) away with a horrible little triangular parking lot shared with a CB2 that’s nearly impossible to park in.
Nor on a Sunday. Total bedlam! Also, Dec. 23 is absolutely the worst day of the year for shopping there (and probably anywhere).
I’ve bought a lot of wine there and found it more than decent. I’m drinking the imported wheat beer now–not too shabby.
Queen Bruin: Does TJ’s have their own line of shampoo and conditioner? I never looked.
Most if not all of their salads/prepackaged lunches are good, both frozen and fresh. I particularly like the lasagna, the non-frozen paper-wrapped burritos, the dolmas, and the tri-tip salad.
I’m not sure if it’s their own line or a rebranding, but yes indeedy, it’s there in the soap aisle. Here’s a picture, sorry about the stack of junk, I’m paper writing (also, yes, the bottles have been upside down a while!).
Max: Not to tread on anyone’s toes, but…The way I cook the tenderloin is to let it cook for five minutes on one side, and then the other. It’s okay if it’s still a bit pink inside as long as it’s not red. Those who object to pinkness can, of course, cook it a bit longer. I think the ribeyes would be the same…?
I am so, so jealous that you have a Trader Joe’s. They continue to ignore my attempts to bring them to Canada. They’d make a killing in my area of Toronto.
I have friends visiting from a TJ-rich area in a month. I must make a list. Maybe I’ll start a thread.
I’ve been loving the TJs canned organic vegetarian chili lately. I’m not vegetarian by a long shot but this stuff is great. I dump some of the frozen roasted corn on top, nuke it, and then top with some avocado and a bit of light sour cream. Welcome to Heaven.
The TJs cereal aisle is great for something healthy but a little more interesting for breakfast. The Kashi Go-Lean and Barbara’s Puffins are usually around a dollar less than they are from other supermarkets around here. Of course there’s all the dried fruit and nuts to throw in, too. Orange Craisins are my favorite, they’re awesome in a peanut butter, banana and jelly sandwich on multigrain bread.
The frozen wild salmon slabs they’ve got in the freezer right now for what, 5.99/lb? They are great. We are also stocked with frozen burritos and tamales. I love the triple ginger snaps, and the chocolate covered roasted soy nuts are frickin addictive. In the crunchy snacks aisle, parsnip chips are like the sweetest darkest thickest russet potato chips, but better. Oh they are so good. Try them!
I love TJs. Oh, if I remember right they give you a discount if you bring your own bag to pack your groceries in.
The only things from there which were overtly bad (which is to say, we didn’t like them, not that they were spoiled) were some frozen pizzas, and a particular flavor of indian rice bowl. Not bad, considering we’ve been shopping there for 10 years!
My newest find just last week was candied pecans. They come in small bags and have 17 g of fat per 1/4 cup serving but they are really, really yummy!
Isn’t it funny how we take things for granted but when someone says we’re really lucky for having something, we appreciate it more? I guess Trader Joe’s has been getting good word of mouth press lately because people from all over are telling me how lucky I am to go there every week. Before I heard that, I just thought. . . meh. . . just buying stuff to eat. But now I appreciate it a lot more when I go there.
A discount for bringing your own bag? Wow. I’m not sure if mine offers that, but they do give a raffle ticket it to you to fill out if you bring back the TJ’s paper bags. I think it’s for a $25 gift card or something similar.
You guys are right - I was misremembering - I knew there was some perk! I know I had the “25” in my head, but no way was it going to be 25% off. It was the gift cert amount, not a discount.
