Trader Joes... ??

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Tim Horton

Tim Horton

Old Bush Bear
Neighbor
Joined
Apr 16, 2022
Messages
1,220
Location
Lake Superior
There seems a lot of advertising and mention of Trader Joes grocery in many places... This weekend I got to go to the one most local to me.. This is the first time I have been in a Trader Joes store..

It was a medium size store, converted from a former neighborhood grocery store.. A lot smaller than I guess I was expecting for some reason.. When I got in the usual grocery items were on the 3 outside walls.. Most of the whole center isles were ethnic foods.. I did find some treasures.. Most notably, Korean BBQ, and lamb in a light curry.. Curry isn't one of my favorites, but lamb is.. I have never found anything Korean I didn't like... Except the live squid.. All this plus some other unique spices and sauces.. It was an interesting trip.. And I wonder how this store compares to other Trader Joes around.. At this encounter it will be only a once, twice a year stop for me at this location..

What are your...
Facts, details, experience, thoughts ??
 
Tim Horton said:
There seems a lot of advertising and mention of Trader Joes grocery in many places... This weekend I got to go to the one most local to me.. This is the first time I have been in a Trader Joes store..

It was a medium size store, converted from a former neighborhood grocery store.. A lot smaller than I guess I was expecting for some reason.. When I got in the usual grocery items were on the 3 outside walls.. Most of the whole center isles were ethnic foods.. I did find some treasures.. Most notably, Korean BBQ, and lamb in a light curry.. Curry isn't one of my favorites, but lamb is.. I have never found anything Korean I didn't like... Except the live squid.. All this plus some other unique spices and sauces.. It was an interesting trip.. And I wonder how this store compares to other Trader Joes around.. At this encounter it will be only a once, twice a year stop for me at this location..

What are your...
Facts, details, experience, thoughts ??
Click to expand...
Visited the close one, the parking lot was crowded, there were no bargains. There are better options around, especially at the bug out, lots of ACTUAL locals around there..
 
There’s one in the big city, it is out of the way for me. I wasn’t impressed, just a name, very few bargains, I don’t need to shop there. I went once, have two local friends who shop there regularly.
 
Trader Joes tend to be in smaller buildings and the parking lots are never adequate. I do like going to them once in a while.

There is something that many people probably do not realize about Trader Joes. They carry different products at different times of the year. I sure wish there was a list for all of those things.

There is a product called yak chew, or aka yak bone, which is a cheese made from yak milk or cream that is shaped and hardened by drying it. If you have ever seen a dog in action with a yak bone, you will be greatly entertained. Every dog I have known who gets them immediately hides them in a corner, under a pillow or somewhere. And then they will wait a while and move it, hiding it again and again. It is hilarious, imho. Eventually, they will eat it, but they must really appreciate them to think they need to hide them.

I know that TJ's sells a version of the yak bone. I learned last year that it is usually available around the first of November and it sells out quickly. TJ's is not the only place that sells yak bones, but they do have the best price I have seen. I buy my dog clients each a yak bone for Christmas along with a few other treats.

My daughter, who has celiac and eats gluten free, lets me know when they have their Mochi pancake mix in stock. It goes fast and we will buy at least a dozen boxes of the mix.

For you wine drinkers, TJ's carries wine that is called Charles Shaw wine, but for many years sold for $2 a bottle, and being known as Two Buck Chucks. I do think the price has probably gone up, but I don't drink so I am not sure of the current price of this brand of wine. I do know that at one time it was more than $2 a bottle. I once asked about the Two Buck Chucks. TJ's buys wine from small producers with the knowledge that they will label it Charles Shaw. So a bottle of wine of one variety may come from one of several different vineyards.

Trader Joes usually has freshly prepared pizza dough in a bag. I have never purchased any but thought it would be a good thing to buy sometime for an event or gathering.

TJ's carries large chocolate bars. I haven't bought any in years, but they were quite a good deal and may still be. They have a variety of options including dark chocolate, milk chocolate, milk chocolate with almonds, and maybe more. I know people who would travel somewhere where there is a TJ's and stock up on chocolate bars and wine.

One thing that I have purchased more than anything at TJs is cheese. They carry a variety of cheeses and I think the prices are good. I like blue cheese and am known to go in and buy some of each kind of blue cheese that they have in stock.

If you are not far from a TJs, and drive by once in a while, it may be a good idea to stop in to see what they have in season as their products do change a bit.

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/category
 
LOL - I love this group already! ;)

Trader's is a "specialty food store" (I think is how they call themselves). I think it started in SoCal. IMO it was much better before the pandemic. A lot of stuff I liked is gone. They are known for their "Two Buck Chuck" wines, which I think are Four Bucks now. I stopped drinking rot gut in high school. My mother loved it, but she thought box wine was haute cusine. ;)

They have a lot of deli items and frozen foods like orange chicken and lasagna. Much is very high salt. Their flash frozen fish used to be a deal. They had swordfish and shark, and mahi-mahi. What's a little mercury... They used to have a great bread section at reasonable prices, but since covid you might as well go to Walmart or bake your own. They do have good organic corn tortillas, made from corn, water and lime, and cheap.

Our nearest one from NW AZ is in Las Vegas, about 150 miles away. We made the mistake of going to the city to run errands on the day the lockdown panic buying started. Everyone at Traders was calm and polite, but the place was absolutely mobbed. I could see things getting out of hand very easily. I would not want to be there in a "real" panic. We can source most of what they sell locally so we only go maybe once a year now on a rare trip to a city. My wife likes their Apple Cider which is only available in the fall, so we buy like fifteen bottles that lasts until spring.

You aren't missing out on life if you haven't been there. All the California refugees who moved here are begging for one. Fat chance.
 
Weedygarden said:
Trader Joes tend to be in smaller buildings and the parking lots are never adequate. I do like going to them once in a while.

There is something that many people probably do not realize about Trader Joes. They carry different products at different times of the year. I sure wish there was a list for all of those things.

There is a product called yak chew, or aka yak bone, which is a cheese made from yak milk or cream that is shaped and hardened by drying it. If you have ever seen a dog in action with a yak bone, you will be greatly entertained. Every dog I have known who gets them immediately hides them in a corner, under a pillow or somewhere. And then they will wait a while and move it, hiding it again and again. It is hilarious, imho. Eventually, they will eat it, but they must really appreciate them to think they need to hide them.

I know that TJ's sells a version of the yak bone. I learned last year that it is usually available around the first of November and it sells out quickly. TJ's is not the only place that sells yak bones, but they do have the best price I have seen. I buy my dog clients each a yak bone for Christmas along with a few other treats.

My daughter, who has celiac and eats gluten free, lets me know when they have their Mochi pancake mix in stock. It goes fast and we will buy at least a dozen boxes of the mix.

For you wine drinkers, TJ's carries wine that is called Charles Shaw wine, but for many years sold for $2 a bottle, and being known as Two Buck Chucks. I do think the price has probably gone up, but I don't drink so I am not sure of the current price of this brand of wine. I do know that at one time it was more than $2 a bottle. I once asked about the Two Buck Chucks. TJ's buys wine from small producers with the knowledge that they will label it Charles Shaw. So a bottle of wine of one variety may come from one of several different vineyards.

Trader Joes usually has freshly prepared pizza dough in a bag. I have never purchased any but thought it would be a good thing to buy sometime for an event or gathering.

TJ's carries large chocolate bars. I haven't bought any in years, but they were quite a good deal and may still be. They have a variety of options including dark chocolate, milk chocolate, milk chocolate with almonds, and maybe more. I know people who would travel somewhere where there is a TJ's and stock up on chocolate bars and wine.

One thing that I have purcha5sed more than anything at TJs is cheese. They carry a variety of cheeses and I think the prices are good. I like blue cheese and am known to go in and buy some of each kind of blue cheese that they have in stock.

If you are not far from a TJs, and drive by once in a while, it may be a good idea to stop in to see what they have in season as their products do change a bit.

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/category
Click to expand...
LOL - I guess I cross posted. Great minds think alike. ;)

I didn't know about the pizza dough. Last time (her first, and last) my wife made pizza we spent $34 on ingredents. So we just go out for that.
 
Tim Horton said:
There seems a lot of advertising and mention of Trader Joes grocery in many places... This weekend I got to go to the one most local to me.. This is the first time I have been in a Trader Joes store..

It was a medium size store, converted from a former neighborhood grocery store.. A lot smaller than I guess I was expecting for some reason.. When I got in the usual grocery items were on the 3 outside walls.. Most of the whole center isles were ethnic foods.. I did find some treasures.. Most notably, Korean BBQ, and lamb in a light curry.. Curry isn't one of my favorites, but lamb is.. I have never found anything Korean I didn't like... Except the live squid.. All this plus some other unique spices and sauces.. It was an interesting trip.. And I wonder how this store compares to other Trader Joes around.. At this encounter it will be only a once, twice a year stop for me at this location..

What are your...
Facts, details, experience, thoughts ??
Click to expand...
My kids shop at Trader Joes in Mountlake Terrace, WA. I enjoy the interesting ethnic stuff they find there. I don't think I have ever been to a Trader Joe's because the one nearest us is too far for us to want to do it.
 
Trader Joe’s while based in SoCal originally is owned by the company that owns Aldi’s
So in other words, you are paying premium price for generic foods. Some of them are pretty good though.
Follow the $$$.
 
All about Trader and Aldi's. Thanks to Google's AI. Yikes!


Screenshot_20240528_164459_Brave.jpg
 
We go once or twice a year. I go for the heirloom tomatoes (and some other produce) so I can pirate the seeds.. lol.. and the wine. Hubby likes some of the frozen stuff.. it's different, but I wouldn't say a bargain (except the wine) .
 
We don't have a TJ's near but have an Aldi's about 100 miles away. My wife has a doctor's appointment every 3 months in that town so she always goes there. She loves it because she finds many things from Europe that she misses. They do have good deals on certain items IF you get there fast enough because they sell out fast. Her last trip she bought a chair/footstool for $49 for our patio. I thought that was a great deal & it was even easy to put together. I've never been there but she is a real fan of the store.
 
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