posted on April 17, 2008 08:40:28 PM new
I know a number of us shop at Trader Joe's. Aside from 2 buck chuck (in my neighborhood, 3 buck Chuck wine), what are your favorite finds that traditional groceries don't carry? My favorites include: all cheeses, dried fruit, all nuts, all coffee, baby arugula, peanut butter-filled pretzel logs (salted), NZ natural raised lamb (no hormones), swiss chocolate, garlic rice noodles, most of their frozen fish & seafood.
posted on April 17, 2008 08:51:30 PM new
I love their Hollandaise sauce - comes in a jar and just 30 calories for 2 TBSP. Goes great with asparagus!
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posted on April 17, 2008 11:57:39 PM new
Hollandaise! I'll look for it next time I'm there. We like to stock up on the noodle bowls and other oriental bowl-dishes for nights when I just can't eat my own cooking another day. Also, the big dark chocolate bars are great. And the cheeses, esp. brie and parmesan blocks.
We have to drive 1 hour in one direction or 50 minutes in another to get to the nearest Trader Joe, CostCo, etc. As a result, we don't get cold foods or fresh vegetables at those places, alas. Fruit does last, though.
Up here in Idyllwild, nearly every party we go to has lots of food from Costco--all sorts of hors d'oeuvres, frozen and fresh. We all laugh about it--but face it we're all lazy in our old age!
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posted on April 18, 2008 12:18:46 PM new
I wish we had a Trader Joe's..it sounds super.
Roadsmith, we too have to drive 40-50 minutes to get to Costco so we take two picnic coolers with us, we don't bother with ice because being in the insulated cooler and all being frozen to start with ensures that they arrive home in the same condition.
posted on April 19, 2008 01:42:51 PM new
Good idea, Otteropp.
Costco imports food and meat from all over the world. There is a good possibility that their meat from China may be packed and shipped to America in picnic baskets too.
Is it true that they sprinkle meat with a little kosher salt and call it Kosher?
posted on April 19, 2008 07:09:49 PM new
ix-Nay on the cheese enchiladas. Terrible comes to mind. On the bright side, a Grocery Outlet store is opening this month a few blocks away from Trader Joes's. I think I'll be able to almost avoid the over-priced traditional grocery and mega-stores, cutting my grocery bills in half.
Edited to add, an interesting lesson in neighborhood dynamics. Twenty-two years ago, there were three supermarkets and one (tiny, by today's metrics) megamarket to serve the community. All but one of the supermarkets died out, except the one that was acquired by the megamarket. The megamarket, against neighborhood protestations, moved a mile away, leaving the senior housing projects no where to buy groceries. One ex-grocery turned into a 24-hour Fitness Center, the other, Value Village. The irony is that real estate in the area has exploded, the average home sells for $500K. Has-been motels are turned into business communities, apartments are being converted to condominiums. Trader Joe's has moved into one of the groceries; Grocery Outlet is opening in the other. Buildings meant to sell groceries are selling groceries again.
[ edited by pixiamom on Apr 19, 2008 07:37 PM ]
posted on April 19, 2008 08:44:47 PM new
Don't they call that "gentrification"? You city rats would know better than me...as of today, it has been 9 weeks since I saw the inside of any kind of store besides my local feed store, I figure it'll be 12 or more until I am forced by the powers that be to go to town for a resupply. Those places give me the willies.
posted on June 9, 2008 06:48:41 PM new
More to add to the list: Absolutely awful: frozen chicken empanadas. Ever wonder where the left-over dough went when they discontinued Wiener Wraps? Wonder no more - it went here. OTOH, the frozen boneless Australian leg of lamb is one of the tastiest, most tender and flavorful meats I've ever eaten, fresh or frozen. I let it thaw, washed off their seasonings, studded it with garlic and marinated it in Crosse & Blackwell's mint vinagrette for an hour. Roasted at 500 degress for a half hour, then cooked at 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes per pound. What really amazes me is that TJ's has these in smaller sizes, with many weighing less than 3 lbs. I lived on it for almost a week. I got Neglus' favorite Hollandaise sauce - now I'm perplexed on how to use it. I like my asparagus naked and have no yearning for Eggs Benedict. She suggested using with rice - any other suggestions?
Edited to add: Grocery Outlet is now open, less than 2 blocks from TJ's. Both are stronger in organic, no hormones added products and Grocery outlet supports more local butchers than the traditional groceries. The one weak point of both is fresh produce but the neighborhood Farmer's market is held in Grocery Outlet's parking lot every Saturday. It has been over a month since I visited a traditional grocery store and I can honestly say I've cut my grocery bills by more than half.
[ edited by pixiamom on Jun 9, 2008 07:04 PM ]
