When I lived on Vinalhaven, I discovered Trader Joe’s. No, there was no store on the island but my house was stocked: condiments, pasta, spices… all with this brand name on them. I later found out my landlord’s wife worked for the company. He told me to eat/use whatever I wanted in the house (I was going to be living there full time for a few years) so I did. First the marinated peppers and then the whole grain pasta… by the time I left, there was a little salt and pepper left but that was about it.
Trader Joe’s was good but felt very unattainable to me. Primarily, it’s a city thing (and not online because they want to be your neighborhood store). Since it is a larger city thing, there are none in Maine. I didn’t think I’d ever get to one.
Well that all changed today folks. I’m in Boston for the weekend and since I brought my car this time, I helped my buddy Ally go grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s.
First of all, the tropical theme kind of struck me. “Are they all like this?” I asked. It seemed to put the pizazz back in grocery shopping. Then I started looking through the aisles.
I went to pay and the price was very reasonable. For example, the Emergence-C I usually buy at my local natural food store is normally around $15. At Trader Joe’s, it was $8. Luna Bars that are normally $1.25 at the natural food store were $.99. Trader Joe’s doesn’t use coupons of have sales; according to the website, they just try to buy direct, keep corporate costs low, and sell perishables when they are in season. The result is that I looked at the prices and in addition to seeing a low unit price, nutritional information was prominently featured. Cheap and good, just how I like my food.
In addition to having some staples that I always need (like a Vitamin C beverage), Trader Joe’s seems like a good place to go if you need some fun appetizer to bring to a party. Thai lemon spiced cashews definitely went in my cart and perhaps if you throw a party and invite me, I’ll bring them!
So I was happy to help out a friend and have my first Trader Joe’s experience. I would have liked to get more frozen stuff to bring home but next time, I guess I’ll have to bring a cooler.
Are you similarly in awe and admiration of Trader Joe’s?
Stocking up on frozen fish and vegetables from Trader Joe’s was so affordable when I use to shop at their Towson, Maryland store. There is something about their freezing process that keeps the produce really fresh. I really liked that. No air in the bag with disgusting freezer burn and ice crystals.
I absolutely love Trader Joe’s. There’s one not far from me, but with traffic, it’s not exactly the easiest place to get to. I’m continually amazed at how great the prices are – I walk out with a giant bag of food for under $30. I especially love a number of their frozen meals – they’re low fat and low cal, and more importantly low sodium and not crammed with preservatives. I also enjoy that you can buy things like stuffed chicken breasts one at a time – great for people who only need two, not six. My favorite though might be the frozen fruit. At my neighborhood grocery, frozen fruit is expensive and boring (peaches, grapes, strawberries, etc). At Trader Joe’s, not only is it cheaper, but it’s better quality and more “fun” (mango, pineapple, etc).
I’m a huge fan of Trader Joe’s. They aren’t in my part of the country, but whenever I visit a city with them I bring back a few of our favorite things!
Trader Joe’s is a really fun store! However, I have to avoid all of the processed foods…not so good!
I love Trader Joe’s, too, and find it consistently cheaper than shopping at a regular grocery chain store. But I want to remind people that it’s farmer’s market season, as well as CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) season, so don’t ignore those great, local resources, either! Putting your money right back into your town….what’s better than that?