went to Trader Joe's for the first time

[trmiv]

I love their TJ-label Highland single malt scotch.

I miss their hard alcohol selection. When I lived in California, you could get some hard booze at decent prices there. Now that I live in NC the Trader Joe's can't carry liquor because of the stupid ABC stores.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Trader Joe's is not a vegan store. They sell meat and fish. :whiste:

 

[Fritzo]

Yep, I'd say the frozen entrees are the number one reason we go.

They sell very good versions of a lot of ethnic foods that I would otherwise never try. I like to buy some random meals that I've never had to see if I like them, then I try to make them fresh

 

[nakedfrog]

to me, it's like whole foods, a store full of weird overpriced shlt for hippies.

they do have good shrimp cocktail sauce though.

Some of the stuff is pretty well-priced.

I miss their hard alcohol selection. When I lived in California, you could get some hard booze at decent prices there. Now that I live in NC the Trader Joe's can't carry liquor because of the stupid ABC stores.

I have some of the vintage ale from last winter aging in my basement, too ^_^
Their bourbon is decent enough, but not enough to get me to drive out there.

 

[KeithTalent]

Trader Joe's is not a vegan store. They sell meat and fish. :whiste:

I think he was just poking fun at the OP specifically, not talking about Trader Joe's as a whole.

KT

 

[xSauronx]

Trader Joes is my favorite food store ever. We actually drive a hour once a month to get to our closest one. We stock up on wine (best wine prices ever) and their one-of-a-kind frozen food is amazing.

i need to try those, ive only been twice but i have to pass the place to get to my friends in raleigh. i went for coffee and beer more than food, though.

 

[ponyo]

to me, it's like whole foods, a store full of weird overpriced shlt for hippies.

they do have good shrimp cocktail sauce though.

Whole Foods is overpriced. Trader Joe's? It's probably one the the cheapest stores.

 

[Fritzo]

Whole Foods is overpriced. Trader Joe's? It's probably one the the cheapest stores.

Their business model is neat in that they make direct relationships with suppliers instead of going through brand name manufacturers. That's how they sell top notch stuff for less than well known brands.

 

[xeemzor]

Trader Joes is good, but I wished they focused more on real food instead of snacks, dried food, and frozen food.

 

[WT]

I'm officially addicted to the Virgil's Root Beer they sell @ TJ.

Trader Joes reminds me of the first time I walked into a Wegmans, only TJs is about 1/8 the size of any Wegmans.

 

[Fritzo]

I'm officially addicted to the Virgil's Root Beer they sell @ TJ.

Trader Joes reminds me of the first time I walked into a Wegmans, only TJs is about 1/8 the size of any Wegmans.

FYI- They sell Virgils at a lot of other places: Kroger, Meijer, and some other chains.

Do yourself a favor and try their cream soda. I'm not a fan usually, but this stuff is unbelievably amazing.

 

[FeuerFrei]

Virgil's Orange Creme soda is the best I've ever tasted.

I've never been to Trader Joe's but my two sisters visit all the time out in St. Louis. So it must be good. heh

I'm guessing Trader Joe's is the equivalent Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati.

 

[Fritzo]

Virgil's Orange Creme soda is the best I've ever tasted.

I've never been to Trader Joe's but my two sisters visit all the time out in St. Louis. So it must be good. heh

I'm guessing Trader Joe's is the equivalent Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati.

Jungle Jim's is a private owner that went crazy on his store. Trader Joe's is a small national chain that specializes in cheap, high quality food.

 

[WT]

FYI- They sell Virgils at a lot of other places: Kroger, Meijer, and some other chains.

Do yourself a favor and try their cream soda. I'm not a fan usually, but this stuff is unbelievably amazing.

Good to know. I did a search for Virgils and was only able to find it at a Cali distributor, and shipping kills that deal. No Kroger or Meijers around me either.

 

[SandEagle]

i can attest to Virgil's magnificence. their root beer is hands down the best root beer i ever had. local shop here sells it for $1 per 12 oz bottle

 

[FeuerFrei]

Jungle Jim's is a private owner that went crazy on his store. Trader Joe's is a small national chain that specializes in cheap, high quality food.

:biggrin: That's kind of the impression I got. I realize Jungle Jim's isn't a chain, just wondered if it was similar to Trader Joe's in the type of merchandise it offers. The whole "international market" type vibe.
I suppose I could Google up pics.

 

[RossMAN]

Thanks to this thread I plan on trying Virgil's Soda this weekend, hopefully I don't get addicted.

Store locator: http://reedsinc.com/store-locator/

 

[ringtail]

Some of you may enjoy an interesting book I read telling their story:
The Trader Joe’s Adventure, turning a unique approach to business into a cultural phenomenon, by Len Lewis, ISBN 1-4195-0013-9

 

[Craig234]

I started shopping at Trader Joe's in the 1970's when I think it was the only store or not many, in Long Beach CA. Loved it then and glad to see them in new places.

It seemed like a great fit for the Bay Area and it seems to have gone well.

Some things are hit and miss but overall they have a lot of good, often not easy to find items at usually fair prices.

I love their red chocolate covered cherries, the tourbadine chocolate covered almonds (?), the fettucine alfredo frozen is just fine, their ice cream is pretty good, they have a nice pear torte frozen, the frozen crème brulee isn't as good as usual crème brulee but it's 'good' and inexpensive, their smoked gouda cheese (if you don't know that cheese, change that) is better than most, they have Virgil's Root Beer at the best prices around.

Lots of nuts, some with 50% salt options, some weird but tasty stuff called 'speculous' you can get alone or with chocolate that's a gingerbread taste, the 'pounder' big chocolate bars are pretty affordable and popular for those who like that (form Belgium, milk or dark, one with almonds), some of the frozen meals aren't bad, but seem small.

The Hawaiian BBQ potato chips are quite nice. They have a peanut butter and jelly candy bar... fresh fruit... just an idea of some of the items (#1 seller of California wine I hear).

 

[Craig234]

Thanks to this thread I plan on trying Virgil's Soda this weekend, hopefully I don't get addicted.

Store locator: http://reedsinc.com/store-locator/

I posted before seeing any mention of Virgil's, but I'll give a couple comments.

The Root Beer is worth trying. It's more distinctive than better, it seems to me - it advertises flavors like nutmeg and vanilla and there are strong unusual flavors and it's quite tasty. I'm happy to get it when I want a root beer, but really, it usually wouldn't be my first choice - I just like to get it now and then.

What I just love though it Virgil's Black Cherry - much harder to find though, not at Trader Joe's.

They do have the Cream Soda, which is a 'just fine' cream soda with a hint of the extra flavors, but I'm not at all excited about it.

(The only cream soda I get really pleased with is a microbrewed one at a chain called 'BJ's Brewhouse', which has perhaps the best of the three sodas they make, root beer, black cherry and cream soda. Not easy to go three for three like that. I'd say the black cherry is close to a tie with Trader Joe's.)

Make sure to have the root beer (or any Virgil's) as cold as you can, as it says on the label.

By the way, there are two additional varieties of the root beer.

One is a big 'keg' where you 'draft pour' the root beer (usually something like $17, available at places like Beverages & More or World Market), and the hard to fine 'special edition' bottles of Root Beer, I think 'made in Bavaria', with a special top - great to try, but at about $5 or $6 for I think a 16 ounce soda, not quite justified more than a rare treat.

 

[Craig234]

Virgil's Orange Creme soda is the best I've ever tasted.

I've never been to Trader Joe's but my two sisters visit all the time out in St. Louis. So it must be good. heh

I'm guessing Trader Joe's is the equivalent Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati.

I forgot about Virgil's Orange Cream Soda (and that says my opinion). It seemed a bit ordinary to me and did not stand out.

The best Orange Cream Soda I know of is a cold Henry Weindhardt's. I'll also mention the best grape soda, Stewart's.

Oh, Virgil's also had a cola, and some diet stuff, I think I might have tried the cola once and didn't need to get it again, but I'm not a big cola fan.

 

[Raizinman]

They've got some good stuff, and the prices aren't as bad as you might think. We have one about 40 minutes from us and we'll make a pilgrimage now and then. The last time, though, I went specifically looking for some good jerky because I had heard theirs was good, and it turned out to be awful. Most of the stuff we get there is pretty uniquely great, though.

I know that jerky is subjective, but I find their Salmon Jerky to be of high quality and consistant as opposed to other brands that have bones in it and often mold. Being vegetarian I am not familiar with the meat jerkys. In the midwest, Trader Joes is about the only place to purchase salmon jerky in a Bricks and Mortar store.

 

[Fritzo]

I started shopping at Trader Joe's in the 1970's when I think it was the only store or not many, in Long Beach CA. Loved it then and glad to see them in new places.

It seemed like a great fit for the Bay Area and it seems to have gone well.

Some things are hit and miss but overall they have a lot of good, often not easy to find items at usually fair prices.

I love their red chocolate covered cherries, the tourbadine chocolate covered almonds (?), the fettucine alfredo frozen is just fine, their ice cream is pretty good, they have a nice pear torte frozen, the frozen crème brulee isn't as good as usual crème brulee but it's 'good' and inexpensive, their smoked gouda cheese (if you don't know that cheese, change that) is better than most, they have Virgil's Root Beer at the best prices around.

Lots of nuts, some with 50% salt options, some weird but tasty stuff called 'speculous' you can get alone or with chocolate that's a gingerbread taste, the 'pounder' big chocolate bars are pretty affordable and popular for those who like that (form Belgium, milk or dark, one with almonds), some of the frozen meals aren't bad, but seem small.

The Hawaiian BBQ potato chips are quite nice. They have a peanut butter and jelly candy bar... fresh fruit... just an idea of some of the items (#1 seller of California wine I hear).

I've taken a liking to their Indian food. We don't have a lot of Indian restaurants around here, and the ones we have seem to be of questionable quality, so it's nice to be able to get a taste of decent Indian food to see what I like, then I can try making the fresh version myself.

So far I've discovered kati rolls, pani puri (flavor explosion!), tandoori chicken, and bhelpuri. I've also discovered my digestive system dislikes curry powder.

 

[Insomniator]

I like trader joes, but vegan cheese is the dumbest possible reason to like a store.

Vegans.....

 

[WT]

Thanks to this thread I plan on trying Virgil's Soda this weekend, hopefully I don't get addicted.

Store locator: http://reedsinc.com/store-locator/

There is a downside to Virgils - you only get a 4 pack, not a 6. :|