Food & Drink Discussions

We don't have one, but I had read about them here. There is one on the way to take my son to or from college. I love it! I stock up when I go to Chapel Hill.

I went in our local one once to use the bathroom. It was clean, but old looking. Walked the aisles but didn't buy anything.

I love Trader Joe's.  Sometimes my friend takes me over (which means I can stock up on more since I don't have to carry it home).  Me walking through T.J.'s reminds me of that song "Take My Hand, I'm a Stranger in Paradise!"

 

epsgambler said…
I went in our local one once to use the bathroom. It was clean, but old looking. Walked the aisles but didn't buy anything.

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Perhaps they can start offering samples in the bathroom.

They don't have them where I live. They are in Maryland where one of my sons live though.  They also have one outside of Boston so when we visit either place we make sure to stock up on Italian Lemonade and Dragon Fire gum.

I love TJ's as well.  We got at least once a month to stock up on things.

I have a mild obsession with Trader Joe's. I love everything from their food, their prices and their people. The produce is always organic but reasonably priced. The Trader Joe's brand makes tons of their own products... pasta, hummus, yogurt, soy milk, vitamins, frozen foods, breads and much more. Their real, frozen chicken nuggets are one of my favorites. Jolie is a huge fan of their ready to roll pizza dough.

As an added bonus, they carry Charles Shaw wine for $3 (aka: 2 buck Chuck... which has become 3 buck Chuck, thank you inflation.) Charles Shaw wine is beyond mediocre to be so inexpensive. It's REALLY tasty... and comes in different grape wines: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, etc.

The employees never fail me with very kind, helpful service. Every time I visit Trader Joe's (which is about once a week for the past 6 months) I always encounter friendly staff who truly seem happy to have you as their customer. A couple employees even recognize me every week and remember to ask how I'm doing, what I'm up to... It feels like a small town market in this city of 9 million people. That's HUGE for me! I could go on and on about this grocery store, but I'll stop and just review them soon :)

If you have one near you... do yourself a favor and give them a shot.

AnnaBanana said…

I love Trader Joe's.  Sometimes my friend takes me over (which means I can stock up on more since I don't have to carry it home).  Me walking through T.J.'s reminds me of that song "Take My Hand, I'm a Stranger in Paradise!"

 

Funny Anna,  I always find myself humming Cheeseburger in Paradise when I get to a TJs.

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We have two but they are both at least 35 minutes away. One is too small and one isn't but we love shopping there. We go there and Whole Foods since they each carry items the other doesn't.

There are a few of them in SF, but none less than a two-bus ride away. About six months ago, when a large sporting goods store in the area closed down, I mentioned to my partner that it'd make a great TJs: great location, built-in parking, lots of space, etc. I forgot all about it until one of the senior citizens I see on the bus every day mentioned that he'd actually called TJ's headquarters and alerted them about the vacant space. He'd followed up his original call with another to ask if they'd pursued his lead and they had. Lo and behold - they've rented the space and are fixing it up right now for an Autumn opening! Yay for proactive senior citizens!!!

RudiXeno said…

AnnaBanana said…

I love Trader Joe's.  Sometimes my friend takes me over (which means I can stock up on more since I don't have to carry it home).  Me walking through T.J.'s reminds me of that song "Take My Hand, I'm a Stranger in Paradise!"

 

Funny Anna,  I always find myself humming Cheeseburger in Paradise when I get to a TJs.

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Oh YAH, you're a guy after my own heart!  When they usher me in through those pearly gates someday (hopefully, that's where I'll end up), the first thing I'm going to say as I walk up to God is "Hey, do they have a Trader Joe's here?!!!"  (What God says to me is anybody's guess!)

 

I think God will say try the Lacey Cookies which are grand and will have no calories in heaven I hope (-:

I don't know if there is one around me, but my aunt brings me some lemonade from their that is really good.  It's "French Berry Lemonade" I reviewed it :)  So there must be one by her but I never looked for one by me.  I'm afraid if I find one, I'll go off spening lots of money on stuff like this.

i love trader joe's...i like all their organic products

It has been a while since the last post here, but I want to put in my two cents about how much I love my Trader Joes! It is 30 minutes from our house, I dream of the day they open one closer to where we live. If it would be closer I would do all my food shopping there. Trader Joes is the only way for us to afford organic and healthy foods, and I have been feeling so much better physically since we swtiched. I also love their shampoo and conditioner, with the generic big brand ones I used before I had to wash my hair nearly everyday, otherwise it would look and feel dirty really fast. This shampoo is amazing, I can't believe I lived without it for so long, even if I don't have time to wash my hair for 3 days it looks and feels freshly washed and clean, and it is no longer so dry and brittle like it was after Pantene or Head & Shoulders, AMAZING!

Meredith said…
I have a mild obsession with Trader Joe's. I love everything from their food, their prices and their people. The produce is always organic but reasonably priced. The Trader Joe's brand makes tons of their own products... pasta, hummus, yogurt, soy milk, vitamins, frozen foods, breads and much more. Their real, frozen chicken nuggets are one of my favorites. Jolie is a huge fan of their ready to roll pizza dough.

As an added bonus, they carry Charles Shaw wine for $3 (aka: 2 buck Chuck... which has become 3 buck Chuck, thank you inflation.) Charles Shaw wine is beyond mediocre to be so inexpensive. It's REALLY tasty... and comes in different grape wines: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, etc.

The employees never fail me with very kind, helpful service. Every time I visit Trader Joe's (which is about once a week for the past 6 months) I always encounter friendly staff who truly seem happy to have you as their customer. A couple employees even recognize me every week and remember to ask how I'm doing, what I'm up to... It feels like a small town market in this city of 9 million people. That's HUGE for me! I could go on and on about this grocery store, but I'll stop and just review them soon :)

If you have one near you... do yourself a favor and give them a shot.

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It has been ages since we started this enthusiastic thread about dear old T.J.'s but I I liked Meredith's idea of reviewing them and hope she has either done this or will do it in the future.  (Gotta check out your reviews so far, Mere -- think I might have missed some.)  I do not live close enough to them to be a regular customer but I know that some people are -- I myself would find it very interesting if a regular customer of T.J.'s was to systematically review a bunch of their products, one at a time.  For us occasional shoppers there, the variety of T.J.'s merchandise is a bit overwhelming and being informed beforehand about things they carry would help us shop more efficiently there.  Anyway, it's something for someone to think about.  Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

 

I really enjoy shopping at Trader Joe's. Their staff has been very nice and helpful each time. The Trader Joe's product line is of exceptional quality. That's why I've written about three of their products : Trader Joe's Organic Vodka Sauce, Trader Joe's Organic Vegetable Broth, Trader Joe's - Soy Essential Soy Beverage.   I plan on writing about more of their products. The next time we go there I'll make a list of some of the things there and include it in a review about them .  I hope that will be helpful. They have a wide variety of organic items. Also many products are from around the world. I wish a lot of their prices were lower. There are also many good tasty deals.

I loved those reviews, I remember them.  You could be the very person to really give us the scoop on this store.  I bet you've tried other things and you probably understand the departments more.  I wish you would do more T.J. reviews!  Have a nice day!  This would be good weather for a quick snort of Three Buck Chuck's with lunch!

Thanks, Anna. I'm really glad you enjoyed them. I don't get there that often. The next time I'm there I will indeed have pen and paper in hand and take notes. Yes, I will do more reviews on their products.

Anna, what is "Three Buck Chuck's?"

We rarely go into the grocery store anymore though one has a great health food section. My husband passes a TJ's on the way to and from work so he stops there at least once a week. There are items there we can't get elsewhere for that price like nuts and frozen wild salmon. Love TJs!!

LadyMagic said…

Thanks, Anna. I'm really glad you enjoyed them. I don't get there that often. The next time I'm there I will indeed have pen and paper in hand and take notes. Yes, I will do more reviews on their products.

Anna, what is "Three Buck Chuck's?"

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It's a nickname for a type of wine sold at Trader Joe's.  (See Meredith's message above for further explanation!)  Take care, Lady!  I'm going offline to watch a scary movie now!

I wish we had a Trader Joe's!!!!  When I lived in California, I regularly shopped there.  Trader Joe's has health conscious products reasonably priced!!!  I loved the pasta selection, soups, wine, etc. 

If anyone would like to know where the Trader Joe's closest to them is she/he can go to their website and click on locations. A special map of the US will come up with dots in various areas. Click on the dot closest to where you live. Then a more specific map will pop up providing you with exact store location of the Trader Joe's closest to your home. It also has directions if you need them. I hope this helps.  Unfotunately though there is a whole vertical strip in the middle of our country with no Trader Joe's. What a shame.

 

I love Trader Joe's.  I like the small local market feel and the unique products that they offer.  A few of my favorites are:

• 3 layer hummus with a layer of cilantro, roasted red bell pepper and regular hummus.
• Ready to go pizza dough.  It's like $1.00 and perfect pizza dough!
• Of course the 2 buck chuck.  It is still $2.00 in San Diego

I'm going to Trader Joe's tomorrow. Is there anything anyone would like to see in a review about Trader Joe's. I'll be paying more attention to the layout, depts., T.J. products, specials..... I'll be making notes.  Feel free to drop by my profile page if you have any suggestions.

LadyMagic said…

I'm going to Trader Joe's tomorrow. Is there anything anyone would like to see in a review about Trader Joe's. I'll be paying more attention to the layout, depts., T.J. products, specials..... I'll be making notes.  Feel free to drop by my profile page if you have any suggestions.

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Good luck on your trip.  I'll be interested in anything you tell us!

Thanks, Anna! I'm back and what a trip it was. Anyone who's been to Trader Joe's knows it can take awhile because of everything they have. Well it took us longer than usual because of all the notes I took. A woman saw me taking notes and overheard Kevin and I talking about organic products and things with chemicals. She later asked me if I was some kind of reporter or writer for a consumer group or vegetarian newsletter. I told her about Viewpoints and wrote down the website for her. Who knows we may have a new member.

Anyone looking for some holiday goodies definitely stop in. Everywhere you looked was another sweet treat. A good variety of different cookies and candies in time to entertain your guests or fill gift baskets.

I remembered Jo mentioned salmon; there were four different kinds. We bought two kinds to try.

We bought a lot of things so that's a lot of possible reviews. I'm definitely looking forward to writing about Trader Joe's itself. I do think they should print a map of the basic layout to make it easier for first time shoppers and those of us who don't go often.

 I spoke to the manager and got some quotes for the review. I asked him for a tip for shoppers. He said new people should go on weekdays before one o'clock, so that they can have more one to one attention for their shopping. Now that's service!

I also think they should have regular sales. Still, they make organic food affordable.For example a can of organic chick peas is cheaper than a regular non-organic brand in supermarkets. Same thing with broths and soups.

My mouth is watering remembering all the delicious foods I saw today.  

Well I hope this was helpful. I also hope you all will read the review when it's finished.   (I know, I know... it will indeed be printed..... really)     : )

we don't have around here,but  near hamilton ohio,there is a place called jungle jim's.All the international foods anyone could want.great selections.

After reading all of these great comments and reviews of the store, I definitely need to get to a Trader's Joe to do some shopping.

There is so much stuff I love to buy there.  They have a good spinach artichoke dip in the frozen section that's killer on their parmesan crisps. Of course I always shred some Jarlsberg lite into it to make it more gooey and stretch it a little.  I love to get my brie there as I can get bigger chunks than at my local grocery and it's super inexpensive.  It just blows my mind that I can get a huge chunk of brie for like $3 but it would be more than $8 or $10 at another store.

Our cats love their cat food too and DH and I are addicted to something called Snap Pea Crisps.  We call them Peatos (like Cheetos but made from peas).  They're wickedly good.   I buy a ton there and am always amazed at the low prices. I'm sure I'm forgetting some of our favorites so I'm sure I'll be back to add more :)