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it's a fun, quirky place to find great snacky type entertaining foods, imho. my family has certain snacks that we LOVE from there, but you have to try to see. all my friends swear by the 2 buck chuck, but i am not a drinker. it's not an 'everyday' grocery store... but it's fun to poke around there maybe once a month.
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The Trader Joe's here on Long Island are about a third of the size of the ones out West so they really are not as crowded. . That is because they have a huge liquor inventory and that makes the store more profitable (no archaic liquor lobby there ) . They have wonderful and unique frozen food and great holiday baked goods. There are free samples, sort of like Costco.
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Frozen food Dumplings, fried rice, burritos, pizza ,lasagna, fish sticks, garlic French fries etc. they have a huge selection, ingredients are decent and very quick to heat and eat . Snacks are decent too
Kashi cereal is more reasonably priced at TJs as is the Irish butter. My kids love the chocolate Cats Cookies (as do I.) I like their hummus and salsas, and the three fruit ice pops are inexpensive and delicious.
Trader Joe's is not a supermarket, but its limited product line is much better quality, much more interesting and usually cheaper than supermarket fare. The company is German-owned and sometimes sources quality products outside the U.S. Just as an example, their jarred pasta sauce -- around $2.49 a jar, I believe -- is comparable to what's sold in Williams-Sonoma for several times more. Their coffees and nuts, with a wide selection, are also very well-priced. And if you need something that's quite expensive elsewhere -- i.e. pignoli nuts or saffron or Valhrona chocolate for baking -- TJ's is the place to go.
I'm a TJ's loyalist, but I will say that I'm not that crazy about their frozen fish nor their meat. Their fruit is hit and miss. Frankly, the supermarkets do better with their fresh/thawed fish and I go to a local supermarket/butcher that has much better and cheaper meat. I can remember buying TJ's rack of lamb (frozen in cryovac) and finding the meat kind of spongy when it was roasted. I grilled some of their ribeye steaks and they ballooned into very odd shapes.
Still, this is a great place to shop for most food items. However, I would avoid the one in Westbury. The other stories on the Island are much quieter and more convenient. I hear the Galleria location is a zoo.
I forgot to mention that the Trader Joe's Joe-Joe's cookies are also a big hit with the family. They are TJ's version of Oreos.
These are a good example of the difference with supermarket brands. Nabisco's Oreos have some kind of thin, artificial-tasting cream, while the Joe-Joes' cream is thicker and spotted with real vanilla beans. Of course, the Joe-Joes are cheaper. For a special treat, they also sell these cookies with a chocolate covering.
we love trader joes -- their prices are great, as mentioned by PPs. They also have a great selection of frozen foods; some unusual stuff you don't see everywhere. Great frozen appetizers. And randomly, their steam-in-bag brown rice is very good.
With all that being said, I wouldn't even go CLOSE to the one in Westbury. The ones in Merrick and Oceanside have been around for a while, and they are still crowded; I can't even imagine one on that nightmare stretch of Old Country Road. I hate even driving around there.
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Dumplings, fried rice, burritos, pizza ,lasagna, fish sticks, garlic French fries etc. they have a huge selection, ingredients are decent and very quick to heat and eat . Snacks are decent too
