Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Four new Trader Joe's stores opened in Atlanta this past year. I've shopped there a couple of times but they were crowded and I was in a bit of a hurry each time. I've not been converted into one of their fanatics yet. (Maybe it's because we already had Whole Foods and Fresh Market.)
So convert me into a raving fanatic.
What did I miss?
What does Trader Joe's have that I really must try?
Organic cleaning products (less expensive that any othe place I've found.) Organic catsup, mustard and mayonnaise, extra virgin olive oil. Organic frozen veggies and blends. I buy all my cheese at TJ's. I've used the ready made pizza dough and the fresh lasagne sheets. I don't buy breads or produce there. The bread always seems to be stale. Fresh flower selection very reasonable. Desserts from freezer section are great in a pinch. I love Lime Cheesecake and Carrot Cake. Their boxed cake mixes are goodas is chocolate frosting mix in a jar. I love the trail mix and nut section. We hate eating the same foods all the time and there's some new to try every time I visit. I try to avoid shopping on Friday - seems to be the busiest. I don't want to move to a city that doesn't have a Trader Joe's. LOL
Don't pass up their chocolate selection
Last edited by tigerlily; 02-26-2007 at 05:44 PM..
Reason: addition
I do almost all my shopping there. They are cheaper than Whole Foods and their turn over is so great, that everything is really fresh and nice. I am a WeightWatcher and have 20 lbs. to lose - in my meeting today there were many Trader Joe products mentioned as being low calorie, high fiber and very tasty. I like their roasted peppers in a jar, their bruschetta (both in jars and fresh - it is delicious), their Kosher chicken tastes like no other chicken I have tasted, their healthy steaks and "turkey Mignon" are really good and low calorie and fat. They have buffalo burgers that are delicious and have almost zero cholesterol....and they have a large variety of first class frozen fruits, vegetables, delectable desserts, imported chocolates and candies, etc. They have applewood bacon and and other specialty bacon and sausages with and without nitrates and preservatives. Their breads and pastries are baked daily (their sour dour crown is to die for) along with all kinds of unusual cakes, cookies, breads, tortillas, pita bread, etc. They have a rice blend that is incredibly nutty and delicious and has 5 grams of fiber (brown rice has 1 gram). I buy their fresh microgreens and herb salad mix (they have a large variety of different salad green mixes), microwavable fresh baby squashes and green beans and other fresh vegetable packages that are so quick and easy to fix, vacuumed sealed fresh beats and mango, the best guacamole and fresh salads and sandwiches that are a cut above any fast food. Their cheeses are to die for (stilton with dried apricots is one of my favorites and during the holidays their goat cheese with cranberries is really tangy and festive. They have a large choice of high fiber cereal (hot and cold), gorgeous $9.99 orchids and fresh flowers, sparkling pomegranate juice and Italian lemonade, their fresh bell pepper pack (yellow, red and orange) and freshly shelled endame (soy beans)- cheaper than any place else. They almost always have a wonderful selection of fresh blueberries, raspberries and strawberries and fresh herbs. Their Truffle Brownie mix and decadent chocolate frosting are like no other mix I've ever had, cioppino sauce, Cuban Mojito simmer sauce (and many others), specialty olive oils and dressings (white and black truffle oils are fabulous), both fat free and regular - are all exceptional. They have organic chicken broth at cheaper prices than I've seen any where. Their natural peanut, almond and cashew butters are wonderful (their pumpkin butter in the fall is heavenly) and they have a huge variety of nuts and dried fruits (some of them dried naturally) and unusual dried fruits and nuts from other countries as well (they have very high quality imported chocolate). I love their flax seed infused chips and low-fat potato chips (huge variety of different chips and crackers). Around the holidays they have lots of specialty items and wonderful Christmas greens and wreaths.
I haven't mentioned half of the things they sell - just a few of my favorites.
One thing I forgot to mention. My sister lives in Cleveland and when she visited our TJ's in Portland she thought our store had a much better selection. Do you think all TJ's are equal?
Location: Sometimes Maryland, sometimes NoVA. Depends on the day of the week
1,501 posts, read 11,754,434 times
Reputation: 1135
Quote:
Originally Posted by tigerlily
One thing I forgot to mention. My sister lives in Cleveland and when she visited our TJ's in Portland she thought our store had a much better selection. Do you think all TJ's are equal?
From everything I have heard, west coast TJs are must better than those we have on the east coast. :\
Figment - I'm with you. I never became a huge Trader Joe's fan. Living in Las Vegas we had a couple, so they were there for me to shop at. But only did occassionally. I much prefer Whole Foods Market or Wild Oats Market. Trader Joe's just didn't do it for me, just went there once in a while.
One thing that REALLY bothered me about that store is how they way overpackage their fruits and vegetables! It's nuts...so much wasted packaging. Like they will take to green peppers and put them in all this packaging instead of selling them loose like most stores. It's such an environmental waste for a store that seems to be wanting to considered more environmentally / eco... for me it was a turn off.
Our trader Joe's in Long Beach, CA sells loose and packaged fruits and vegetables. If the fruits and veggies are loose, they have to be contained in a bag of some kind...if they are packaged, they don't need a bag - so I don't see a big difference.. I believe the plastic wrap is the biodegradable variety - at least that is what I was told. There are 3 Trader Joe's close to me and they are really wonderful, large, well-stocked stores. I have been to several stores in other states and they are not as clean or as big and do not have nearly the variety of specialty foods as the California stores.
Our trader Joe's in Long Beach, CA sells loose and packaged fruits and vegetables. If the fruits and veggies are loose, they have to be contained in a bag of some kind...if they are packaged, they don't need a bag - so I don't see a big difference.. I believe the plastic wrap is the biodegradable variety - at least that is what I was told. There are 3 Trader Joe's close to me and they are really wonderful, large, well-stocked stores. I have been to several stores in other states and they are not as clean or as big and do not have nearly the variety of specialty foods as the California stores.
All the ones I've ever been to overpackage the produce. It's not just the thin bags... it's that they actually will place said fruits and veggies on a styrofoam container and then wrap it in plastic. TOO much waste! It's horrible. Take a closer look when you go in again and see if they do it there. Maybe you never noticed it. Or maybe that's the only place Trader Joe's doesn't use the styrofoam to package simple fruits and veggies that stores usually sell loose and you place into thin bags.
I'm lucky to have a wonderful locally owned small chain (New Seasons) in my area. I buy fish, chicken, produce, bakery products (all organic) from them. They're building a Whole Foods 10 minutes from my house. Whole Foods is just another corporation as far as I'm concerned. They just gobbled up Wild Oats. All things being equal, I'll give my business to privately held companies; i.e., TJ's and New Seasons.
They're building a Whole Foods 10 minutes from my house. Whole Foods is just another corporation as far as I'm concerned. They just gobbled up Wild Oats. All things being equal, I'll give my business to privately held companies; i.e., TJ's and New Seasons.
Trader Joe's started out in South Pasadena as local privately owned, but has been owned by a large supermarket and food distributor in Germany called Aldi for many years. Ever notice all the imported German cookies, snacks and beverages? That's from Aldi.
I have been shopping at TJs for several decades. Cattknap listed most of the "fearless flyer", but a few things I like at TJs are the flash frozen salmon or orange roughy (better than "fresh" at most markets), soy milk, whole grain hot cereal, unfiltered grape juice, Jumping Cow beer, and so on. I find a better selection of fresh fruits and veggies at a local market called Henry's, owned by Wild Oats that is now gobbled up by Whole Foods!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Trader Joe's
