Questions about Trader Joe's

[Maresche]

I just learned that a Trader Joe's has recently opened near my home and was hoping someone could tell me a bit about it. Is it a health food store along the lines of Wild Oats? Something better? Something worse? Do they have a bulk food section? What are folk's general opinion of it? I thought I'd ask around here before checking it out later this week.

Thanks in advance!

[rabid_child]

Its not really a health food store. I think they market themselves as a "unique grocery store." They have their own line of foods and then have an assortment of other things as well... a lot of frozen foods and stuff..

[Artichoke47]

I've never been in one, but there are a few around here. I've heard that they normally have a lot of vegetarian and vegan items, but they also have "unique" things, as rabid child said. For example, they have that wine there that sells for $2 a bottle. I forget the name of it. Some of it is just rare things you can't find anywhere else.

From experience, the health food stores are more willing to special order for you than Trader Joe's is.

[smedley]

i love trader joes. they have organic frozen veggies for 1.09/lb, vegan bar soap at 1.87/3bars. and on and on-cheap organic marinara sauce. some stuff is more pricey than others--just look around, they do have a lot

[epski]

TJ = inexpensive, quirky, decent selection of organics, modest selection of vegan food, but not great. I go there in a pinch, but it doesn't replace Whole Foods by a longshot.

[punkmommy]

I love Trader Joe's. I don't have a Whole Foods close by, the nearest is about an hour from me, and the hfs get really expensive. I get a lot of stuff at TJ's, they have a decent amount of cheap organic food and bath stuff. In my area it's defenitly a good thing!

[Maresche]

Thank you all very much.

Do they carry things in bulk? I buy lots of things in bulk from Wild Oats, so that's my biggest question really.

[smedley]

mine does not have bulk. yeah tho--wild oats is great for bulk--whole foods too tho.

[epski]

No. No bulk at TJ, though they have very large coffee cannisters. Larger than I've seen elsewhere. But stick with Wild Oats for your main groceries. I like to go to TJ's to find unusual items, and the occasional item that's cheaper than you'll find anywhere else (like Thai Kitchen noodle bowls, maple syrup, what have you).

[Maresche]

Thanks again all! Looks like I'll be going to both Wild Oats and Trader Joe's. Lucky for me they are practically next door to each other. :naughty:

[eggplant]

I love Trader Joe's. The only thing I don't like about it is that they overpackage their produce. Instead of just letting you pick your own apples or peppers or whatever, they package four or more in a tray wrapped in plastic. This is really annoying, not only for environmental reasons, but because as one person living alone, I usually only buy one pepper at a time. As a result, I never buy produce there.

[Walter]

Trader Joes is good for a few things. Definitely worth stopping into!

It's not a Health Food Store because they carry many conventional items as well, tho though do carry plenty of HFS items.

There aren't any in New Orleans, but I used to go to a couple in Boston to buy some delicious cheap veggie meatballs. :lick:

[vegankittykat]

I really like Trader Joe's. I think their own store brand is usually high quality and inexpensive, and probably the same as name brands. For instance, they recently came out with their brand of cheeseless pizza, which seems to be exactly the same as Amy's, but at least $2 cheaper.

[Wiccanveg]

The only thing I really like about trader joes is there dried fruits, seeds and nuts that they have in bulk for ultra cheap. Everything else kind of reminds me of Aldi, where it's there own specific label. I've tried numerous things and everything was nothing to rave about.

I'm a huge Wild Oats fan since you can find so many different unique items there.

[tearhsong2]

Trader Joes is awesome. I don't buy their produce because of what eggplant said, but it's a good place to pick up frozen items, pasta, pasta sauces, dried fruit, peanut butter, maple syrup, Thai rice noodle bowls, etc. I don't go there that often because there's an HFS that's much closer, but when I'm in the neighborhood, I stop by and pick up a few things.

[scareyvegan]

i love and miss trader joes
everytime im on the east coast i go back there

they are awesome and label a ton of things as vegan

its hit or miss for a lot of stuff....
but if you want cheap snacks that you wont be able to find anywhere else, trader joes is the place to go

i wish that theyd open ones off the coast

:(

[Strix]

I love that market too. They are continually adding new vegan items and organic items too.
They have Tofutti products (vegan cream cheese, sour cream, cuties) and Nate's meatless meatballs, under their own label (they're the best commercial veg meatballs!)
Lots of nuts, seeds, dried fruits, some organic and at great prices, plus soy, rice, grain milks, organic coconut milk; nut butters; jams; sauces; pastas; cereals; chips; snacks fruits; veggies; pre-packed; to-go lunches; liqueurs; beers; sodas; juices; wines; breads, all types; fresh flowers; natural cleaning products; toiletries...
tons of stuff.

[Quizeen]

Trader Joes is the greatest! I make a point of going there first every week when I do my shopping. I buy everything on my list that they carry and then I move on to Wild Oats. If TJ's has something you want, you can bet it'll be cheaper than anywhere else.

They have a large selection of bread, hygeine items, frozen, and cereal items that are vegan and vastly cheaper than conventional markets. Try Tom's of Maine Toothpaste for $3 or their deodorant for $3.50. They also have delicious, cheap baked tofu in three flavors. Their own brand of meatless meatballs are second to none. Their wine and beer selection rocks and their packaged nuts and dried fruit are cheaper by the pound than the bulk section items at my local Wild Oats (fresher too). They have nice canned cat food too, much less additive laden and less expensive. My cat loves 'em.

I highly recommend their soy chorizo and potato taquitos (frozen), vegan choco chip cookies, Cats cookies (animal cracker grahams sold in tubs), Thai baked tofu, house brand of organic tomato paste and tomato sauce, house Pinjur spread (roasted eggplant and red pepper spread that's great on toast and crackers), and if you're lacto-ovo my husband loves their veggie corn dogs (better than Morningstar Farms and cheaper). They also carry Gardenburger Riblets for half the price they sell at conventional markets.

Steer clear of the $2 a bottle Charles Shaw wine, though (also known as Two Buck Chuck). You can get nicer stuff at reasonable prices like Kenwood Zins and Merlots for $10 or Marques Riscal Rioja for $8.

[epski]

Produce is definitely a weakspot. Their soy cream selection is pretty disappointing, too. I look at it the way I look at .99 cents store. It's an adventure waiting to happen.

[epski]

Oh, and I bought some of that Shaw wine on impulse. I mean, come on... So, is it really that bad, or did you chug the whole thing out of the bottle in one sitting?

[Artichoke47]

I don't drink wine, but somebody I know highly recommended the Charles Shaw stuff. Might as well give it a try, Epski!

[epski]

Yeah? I'm going to try it on Sunday, I think. I'll try to remember to post back to this thread.

[Quizeen]

Oh, and I bought some of that Shaw wine on impulse. I mean, come on... So, is it really that bad, or did you chug the whole thing out of the bottle in one sitting?

Uh, what is that supposed to mean? It sounds a bit insulting.

It's crappy $2 wine. I think nice deals can be had on wine if one is lucky or knows what they're doing, but come on, let's not get silly.

[epski]

Actually, it sounds humorous to me, but that's probably because I understood the intent when I wrote it. It was expressed above that the wine induced sickness. Drinking a whole bottle of wine may well cause someone to throw up. That was the joke. Anyway...

[Quizeen]

I get ya. I must be overly sensitive today. :o