All I’d miss is their wines. Not two-buck Chuck, but their one notch-higher wines - the decent French, Italian, Chilean and California wines for under $5 a bottle. That’s a deal I can’t find anywhere else.
When I lived near a more crowded Trader Joe’s with a crazier parking lot I learned to go around 8-8:30 PM. Not crowded and they are stocking for the next day so you can find everything.
We like Trader Joe’s and shop there about once per week or so…it’s in the same strip mall as our regular grocery store. Our favorites include:
- walnuts, almonds, cashews
- dried Montmorency cherries
- chunky guacamole with Greek yogurt
- Quinoa and black bean chips
- shredded Swiss and Gruyere cheese blend (great for making quiche)
- boxed low-fat tomato soup, frozen chimichuri rice (heated together with shredded cooked rotisserie chicken makes an easy tasty soup)
- frozen veggies
- peanut and almond butters
- California olive oil
- frozen mini chicken tacos
Seasonal items:
- frozen pumpkin waffles
- Stroopwafel
- Peppermint JoeJoe cookies
“So, what am I missing?”
You are missing (consulting with my refrigerator):
Tarte aux Champignions (A French Style Flat Bread with Mushrooms, Emmental and Parmesan Cheese) (Made in France)
Fettuccine with Mushrooms (Made in Italy)
Vegetable Melange in Seasoned Butter Sauce (Made in Belgium)
Villa Italia Blood Orange and Grapefruit Sodas (Made in Italy)
In the NYC Metro TJ has practically nothing on a good Russian-American or Italian-American deli
I love Trader Joe’s and go at least once a week. I haven’t been to a chain grocery store in years. I am addicted to their ice cream. Especially the chocolate. I get my milk, eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt, whipped cream, etc… I don’t buy bread or vegetables, but I do buy bananas and sometimes avocados. For special occasions I get the frozen crossaints (regular, chocolate or almond). I like the cold brew concentrate. I buy liquid hand soaps, sunscreen, plants and dog biscuits. I buy wine, not the two-buck chuck, but usually in the $10 range.
TJ’s used to be a five minute walk from where we lived, so strange items or not, it became our regular grocery store. Now there is a TJ’s one block from DH’s workplace so he pops in there a couple times each week to drink the free coffee and try the sample of the day. I hate to cook and have learned to love most of their frozen convenience foods.
There’s a TJ in the next mall over from Costco, about a half hour drive. H and I have gone into TJ a couple of time. The Everything but the Bagel seasoning is the only thing I can think of that almost everyone in my family likes. My friends rave about their chocolates, but I hate chocolate.
If I lived in walking distance of a TJ, I might shop there more often.
The frozen mac and cheese is very good. Also a hot red salsa that is pureed so doesn’t have any chunks in it. Otherwise we just buy snacks there.
I like their frozen chicken potstickers (gyotza). Very nice price. I’ve found a few good wines at reasonable prices (recommended by knowledgeable employees). That’s about it.
Trader Joe’s is right next to Target here. I go to Target probably once a week but it never even occurs to me to go to Trader Joe’s. Maybe because I went when it first opened and it was so crowded I left and have never gone back.
I’m a big fan. Have been for years…first discovered them when I was looking into grad schools here in CA. My mom (she’s gone now) used to love shopping TJs whenever she’d visit –– now they have them all over NYC…she was sooooo exited when they opened them there.
I buy a lot of staples, frozen foods, appetizers at Trader Joes, including:
Milk
butter
spices
Olive oils, balsamic vinegars
fresh juices
Best prices on cheeses (St. André brie, cheddar, Stilton, goat cheese, Roquefort, Manchego, fresh mozzarella, Feta)
Hummus (organic is best)
Dried fruits and nuts
Crackers (the round pita crackers and the fig crackers are fabulous!)
Goat milk products (cheese, yogurt, kefir)
Pasta imported from Italy
Organic chicken stock
Wine
Alcohol
Some of the breads (brioche bread is great for French Toast; ciabatta -same as Costco, but more reasonable quantity)
Frozen foods (most are unique to TJs or better quality than anywhere else):
Steel Cut oatmeal
Frozen coconut chunks (great in smoothies)
Blintzes
Caramelized onion and feta cheese tartlets
Pizza (Imported from Italy – I especially like the arugula with fresh tomatoes and fresh mozzarella)
Flatbreads (Mushroom one is great)
Japanese rice with hijiki and edamame
Asparagus risotto (mushroom’s not bad; asparagus is better)
Small (individual-sized) frozen spinach quiche imported from France
Paella (my husband likes that one)
Riced cauliflower stir fry
Frozen grain melange with vegetables
Sweet Mexican roasted corn
Sweet Potato gnocchi
Regular gnocchi with Gorgonzola sauce
Cauliflower gnocchi
Onion soup (veggie base)
Langostinos
Swordfish
Sticky mango rice rolls
Oftentimes, I’ll stir fry (or microwave) one of their rice dishes and add a cooked (or defrosted) protein (roasted chicken, fish, langostinos, shrimp)
Sometimes I get produce there (not usually, though; when I do, I generally get organic). Avocados and Persian cucumbers are great.
Their Norwegian salmon is usually pretty good (it’s better than the Atlantic you get at Whole Foods and better than the Norwegian salmon at Costco
Seasonal stuff: Their Creme Brulée Frozen tart; baked lemon ricotta. They get a bit carried away with pumpkin stuff in the fall…
I’m sure I’m missing some stuff, but those are the basics.
Freakonomics Radio (NPR) did a fabulous piece on why and how it’s so successful –– Should America Be Run by … Trader Joe’s?
I love Trader Joe’s. Their selections are different, interesting and cheap.They are like IKEA, cheap and interesting. I love their frozen French pizza/flat bread and frozen desserts. I once bought a great champagne at a good price there, too. I don’t see why anyone would object to it. They offer unique items at a good price.
I do about half of my grocery shopping at TJs. Prices on some items are very good and they have some unique items my family enjoys. For example, when I was little my family used to order kringles (Danish pastry) from Wisconsin at Christmas - and TJs now carries the same kringles from the same bakery.
Items we like include:
Milk
Butter
Cheeses
Organic yoghurt
Crackers
Nuts & dried fruits
English muffins
Whole wheat hamburger buns
Veggie burgers (frozen)
Orange Chicken
Potstickers (agreeing with @bobo44)
Frozen vegetable selections
Mini beef & chicken tacos
The closest TJ’s is an hour away from me. I buy roasted nut butter, chile lime seasoning, and everything but the bagel seasoning. D and SIL live down the block from one and rely on it for most of their shopping. I think that may be getting old for them. I think if I could get to one more frequently I’d shop there more, but I prefer Whole Foods (also an hour but I drive there for that specific purpose).
I just had their pastry with feta and caramelized onions with 0 sugar. Was good. Agree about their chicken potstickers, It also has 0 sugar.
I’m a huge fan of TJ’s. I shop there regularly. Great products and customer service. I’ve had a few products that were misses, but that’s it. Their sweet stuff is dangerous. lol
WTH @doschicos , are you cray cray?!?!? I’m kidding of course, but I am thinking about unfriending you now?
I adore Trader Joe’s, as does my family. Yes, some products are duds, and I really dislike that many vegetables are packaged in plastic. But their value for money far and away surpasses every one else, at least in my area. Examples abound, but here are common ones: boxed breakfast cereal. I can buy very tasty frosted wheats squares for $2.50 a box at TJs. At the nearby Stop and Shop, the same box costs almost $5. My Irish tea bags are about $3 a box, and the same teabags at S&S are $9. $1 can of refried beans at TJ, same can $2 at S& S. Meatless ground beef, $2 at TJ, $5 at S& S. A jar of roasted garlic marinara sauce is less than $2. Easily double the price at S &S. There’s no comparison.
In my town, there’s a large community of retirees who shop at Trader Joe’s.
They also sell a lot of really delicious food that isn’t even available at our local grocery story. Kale and cashew pesto, cheap and delicious. Green dragon sauce, fresh nan bread, delicious Thai green curry sauce, fresh salsa, cilantro jalapeño hummus, really good fresh salads for lunch, delicious creamy yogurt, praline pecans, excellent frozen petit peas and French green beans, great baked desserts, best veggie burgers, and the best selection of dried fruits and nuts anywhere.
I’m a fan, to say the least and I don’t think the hype is overrated. Now if you apologize, I’ll consider being your friend again. Maybe.
ETA: amazing cheeses! The veggie gyoza are GREAT! Love the spanakopita in the frozen section! Great arugula ravioli, excellent rosemary ham, the ciabatta rolls have been making my kids’ and hubby’s lunches for years now, ooh yeah, that mango sticky rice is good!
I embarked on a serious diet 6 months ago and one of the mainstays is to eat more fish. I have come to enjoy the Costco salmon and steelhead trout. Your endorsement of TJ’s salmon makes me think that I will pick some up for comparison the next time I hit Costco, which will be next weekend with S17.
@Lindagaf - Thank you for the side by side with S & S, which is my local supermarket. There’s a WF nearby but I find their Amazon Prime specials misleading - you have to download an app to get the discount. Once i realized that, I have not gone back to WF.
I don’t know if it’s overhyped or overrated but it’s IMO overpriced. It’s not the same crowd in general that goes to Aldi.
Yes, but Aldi is just gross. Yuck. Cheaper, but not good in general.