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I go to TJ's for specific items that are either more expensive, or hard to find elsewhere. Their frozen basil cubes are $1.99, but $3.99 for the identical item in our grocery store. Charley Bear dog treats are $2.99 at TJ's, and $4.99 at Petsmart next door.
While there I will pick up frozen eggplant cutlets, because I can't replicate them at home. I get pepitas and dried cranberries there for making granola. However, I am most tempted by items such as chocolate croissants and frozen creme brulee, so I steer clear of the dessert case.
I find things at TJ that I can't get at Safeway or Fry's (Kroger). Found roasted chestnuts there last week that I couldn't find anywhere else - I find that if I need a fresh herb that I don't grow myself - I get it there cheaper than at grocery stores. I will try their tamales - if DH doesn't make them this Christmas.
......... the Aldi atmosphere is like an Army PX store and Trader Joes has a hip, gourmet vibe. ............
You don't get to take the store home with you and if you buy the same product at both places and take them home and put them on your own shelf, you won't be able to tell any difference between them.
It really isn't frugal to pay extra for a store with a "hip vibe". Concentrate on the quality and the price, not the decorating.
Everyone was so excited when Trader Joe's came to town, so I went and looked. I even gave it a second chance.
All I saw was stuff for people who don't want to cook. It is all prepared or heat and eat. It looked like the prices might be decent for what you are getting (not positive, since I didn't buy any). I did buy dried bananas there and they were so ghastly I had to throw them away.
The heat and eat food was more gourmet than a Banquet TV Dinner from the supermarket. But the price wasn't low enough that I could not make better at home for less money. So, again: absolutely fine for people who don't cook. There isn't much selection of ingredients for anyone who wants to do their own cooking.
By the way -- Trader Joe's and Aldi's are owned by the same parent company. The thing that turned me off Trader Joes was everything sold there becoming a trader joe brand. That's exactly what turned me off Target. Store brands CAN be good, but often aren't. And what's wrong with allowing us some choice?
By the way -- Trader Joe's and Aldi's are owned by the same parent company. The thing that turned me off Trader Joes was everything sold there becoming a trader joe brand. That's exactly what turned me off Target. Store brands CAN be good, but often aren't. And what's wrong with allowing us some choice?
Agree about the choice. I'm not sure if this is nationwide or not, but I've noticed lately at the Aldi by us that they have raised their prices on some items quite a bit. For instance, I used to buy all of my frozen fruit there for smoothies, but it is actually as cheap now at Kroger or Piggly Wiggly or even Trader Joe's as it is there. Milk is the same way, think it might be $.20 or so less/gallon, but since grocery stores run sales quite a bit on dairy, it often ends up being cheaper there. When you add in things like fuel perks, coupons, and selection/variety, I end up purchasing pretty much all of our household groceries at stores like Kroger & Publix over Aldi any more.
I like a lot of things at Trade Joes. I love their 100% juices, dried fruit, nuts, snacks, and frozen entrees and sides: breaded eggplant, frozen vegetables, gnocchi, risotto, and....LOVE the pot stickers.
They're also one of the only places where I can find a small (12-16 oz) grapefruit juice in the chilled drink case. Everybody always has orange juice or apple -- it's hard to find grapefruit juice cold and ready to drink. I dont' recall now if they sell Kombucha. But I like that too
You don't get to take the store home with you and if you buy the same product at both places and take them home and put them on your own shelf, you won't be able to tell any difference between them.
It really isn't frugal to pay extra for a store with a "hip vibe". Concentrate on the quality and the price, not the decorating.
Everyone was so excited when Trader Joe's came to town, so I went and looked. I even gave it a second chance.
All I saw was stuff for people who don't want to cook. It is all prepared or heat and eat. It looked like the prices might be decent for what you are getting (not positive, since I didn't buy any). I did buy dried bananas there and they were so ghastly I had to throw them away.
The heat and eat food was more gourmet than a Banquet TV Dinner from the supermarket. But the price wasn't low enough that I could not make better at home for less money. So, again: absolutely fine for people who don't cook. There isn't much selection of ingredients for anyone who wants to do their own cooking.
Actually, you took my observation about the "vibe" out of context since prior to that sentence I stated I was an Aldi shopper. So the lecture on being frugal, I hope, wasn't directed at my comment. I do think,in life and in shopping for food, we should be able to decipher differences and sometimes just have a bit of fun. Trader Joes is cool, Aldi's is practical. They both have a place in the realm of food shopping. We don't always have to be value shoppers every time.....once on a while we can go to Central Market and TJ's for the fun of it and some great items.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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We buy their nitrate/nitrite-free all beef hot dogs ($4.99 for 7, I believe). And their 96% lean ground beef is $4.99/lb. We also like their regular hummus ($3.49 for 16 oz.). Their TJ's "Pirate's Booty" called Treasure something is a good deal at $1.99 for a large bag. We also get their organic popping corn ($1.99 for a big bag). In the frozen section, we love their sweet yellow corn and their other frozen veggies are good and cheap, too (under $1.50 per bag).
I hated their version of Cheerios (Trader O's), but others like them. I also didn't like their version of Boboli pizza crust.
Within a 3 mile radius of my home there are eight grocery stores, two of which are Aldi and Trader Joes. While there are plenty of stores to choose from in the city, no one beats Aldi's prices, no one. Trader Joes has natural foods (or so they say) at prices slightly below, or sometimes far below the competition. The biggest bargain at Trader Joes is the cheese, high quality imported cheeses at great prices. Ditto for the chocolate bars. Their OJ is $1.99 for a half gallon (64 oz.) container; I can't find it anywhere else for that low. I like their Indian food TV dinners, and I don't even like Indian food. So maybe their Indian food is not good, but they sure sell a lot of it. Many times they are completely out of stock. I love hot dogs and sausage, but I avoid eating them because they almost always have nitrates and nitrites, two chemicals everyone should avoid. Trader Joes has hot dogs and turkey sausage without those harmful chemicals and the taste is better than the products with the chemicals. Their pasta sauces, salsas, and jams are all very good and reasonably priced.
I hope the executives of Trader Joes are not reading this thread and getting the idea that their prices are too low so they can raise them.
Last edited by james777; 12-04-2013 at 08:42 PM..
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