lansbury

What do you expect for $2, it isn't bad for the price. I have always found the wine in the bottom half of the bottle is better than the top half.

Sally Redux

joto

Last time I was in a TJ's they did have Weetabix. Wholefoods did give me a sample tin of coffee beans to try, as I was looking for strong whole beans, and just asked if they were similar or stronger than Illy espresso beans. They set up a lot of stands for sampling various different foods in our local store, but mainly on a Saturday. The local WF's used to have a fair amount of British food, but sadly hasn't had any for quite a while.

Giantaxe

Whole Foods typically has a great selection of English cheeses - at Whole Foods prices, of course. In addition to what's previously been mentioned Trader Joes here has a few varieties of English cookies. But not Digestive biscuits unfortunately.

AmerLisa

My stomach is very much past two buck Chuck (although I think it was 3 buck Chuck up here.... )

Karrie72

I'm a big fan of Trader Joes and do almost all my food shopping there, you can't beat the price and quality for organic, free range meats, and frozen veg. I love the bread, yogurts and well, everything! I also love the frozen fish. The one we have in Portland is huge and l believe the biggest in the country.

I love Whole Foods too but its way too expensive. They do a nice sausage though and have a great vitamin department. It's a really fun visual shopping experience but its easy to get carried away by all the goodies. Whereas I've trained myself at Trader Joes to stick to the essentials. Great people watching in the Portland Whole Foods too.

Guindalf

The nearest TJs is ab out an hour's drive from us, but we go there and stock up about once a month. It's great for those unique 'finds' that you just don't get in regular grocery stores.

There's a reason they call WF Whole Paycheck! We like to go there very occasionally (it's about 90 mins away), but try not to buy too much. The food is awesome, but the prices are not. Wifey likes the Muffaletta sandwich.

yellowroom

Whole Foods is like an organic version of Waitrose - very nice but pricy. But as others have said, it is good for certain things (mine has a great butcher), especially if you want food without HFCS, hormones etc. I tend to get my fruit, veg, milk & meat from there. They also sell Lurpak and Kerrygold butter, Green & Blacks chocolate, and Marmite (but I can get that a lot cheaper in Kroger).

My Trader Joe's is quite, um, eclectic. It feels slightly chaotic when I go in, like things have been thrown on the shelves at random. Not British brands, but more British/European style foods than in the main supermarkets. Another vote for the freezer section, although some of the ready meals I've tried have been a bit hit and miss. I am a sucker for the chocolate covered frozen banana pieces though. they are rather yummy and moreish.

naomi

Trader Joes is great--they have some really good frozen dishes for work lunches/or quick dinners (the curries are yummy). They have a great cheese selection, yummy treats, and lots of well priced wine/beer. Whole Foods is okay, their deli is pretty good, and sometimes they have good deals on produce.
Much prefer TJ's though.
Naomi.

Philk

Will be nice to have a change from Meijer

N1cky

So from reading this it appears people love TJ's because of the snacks and the freezer section. Is this why I don't like it? The only time I go into the frozen section anywhere is to buy ice-cream, and I try not to buy snacks. Do most people just heat up frozen meals for family dinners?

GeoffM

So how big are your Trader Joe's? We're moving at the weekend and there is one nearby - not one where we are now. From Google Earth it's only 12 car park spaces wide by 10 slanted ones deep - and that presumably includes back room storage. In other words, small. Hard to tell with other ones nearby as the buildings are joined together with other stores.

Karrie72

I don't use freezer meals unless I'm totally knackered. I'm a busy Mum of three and a business owner, so couple of times a week I feel fine collapsing into a chair, sipping a glass of two buck chuck while a trader Joes lasagna heats up in the oven.
Other than that, I cook and find plenty of raw ingredients for recipes. I love the frozen veg at TJ during winter and its just as good for you as fresh. They have great rice and pasta, organic meats and cheese. Plenty of scope for a 'real' cook.

N1cky

Isn't rice and pasta the same everywhere though? It's the sauce you make with it that makes it great. Or are you buying the pasta and rice with some kind of flavoring/sauce accompanied?

yellowroom

my local one doesn't have any spaces - it shares them with the other stores nearby. One if the reasons I didn't go too often as it can be tricky finding a space.