Karrie72

They do have some nice basil and garlic sauces which I appreciate on a week night. The main reason I go there though is for their affordable organic chicken, grass fed ground beef and wild salmon. I just couldn't afford that stuff if it wasn't for TJ.

N1cky

Now that I understand, unfortunately it's not cheap here and more expensive than other places for like products.

Bob

We don't get much in way of frozen meals, but the odd pizza, chicken nuggets, meat balls for pot luck dinners and the missus gets a couple microwave meals for work as a back up in case we don't have left overs.

The frozen veg are good too, like the grilled corn, peas, beans. Organic for the cost of regular stuff or near enough. The fish is good too. The fresh meats are a bit pricey, but they are good.

Big tub of mini biscuits is $3 and they're perfect for kids, same sized one at Wegmans is double that. Fruit roll up type bars are 45c each which is about half the price of the other stores for the healthy organic range. Dried fruit, nuts, rice cracker type things are usually half the price too and the bag of choc chips and bricks of chocolate are great for baking for the % and cheaper than else where. Plus their version of Pirates Bootie, cheese puffs, bag is twice the size and now up to $1.80 but that's a couple bucks cheaper than the brand stuff and can last the kids a week or so which alone is almost work the hike for us.

Bob

Size does vary so much. Some in the strip mall type areas tend to be reasonable and have decent parking.

The one in Needham, down here has a shitty, tiny car park but a decent sized store. The three floored store in Boston doesn't have parking and while very cool and a bit of a novelty is just crazy crammed, tight and to busy.

The odd thing is how varied the contents can be depending on the store. They definitely cater to the local market, as some have way more cheeses and crackers than others for instance.

kins

No I don't.

RoadWarriorFromLP

Trader Joe's is owned by Aldi Nord (which, confusingly enough, does not operate the Aldi chain of supermarkets, but is related to them.)

Contrary to some of the comments here, TJ's is often cheaper than the major supermarkets for similar items (and the quality is often higher, too.) However, Trader Joe's carries very few major brands -- virtually everything sold there carries a Trader Joe's brand -- and there are no sales or coupon clipping.

Whole Foods is called "Whole Paycheck" for a reason. Prices for very high for almost everything. The exception is with some of the hippy-dippy bulk staples such as dried beans. (If you buy wheat germ, for example, you'll find that you can't beat Whole Foods for both quality and price.)

You had better not say that to an Italian.

In any case, pasta at Trader Joe's is cheaper than what I'd pay at the local chain supermarkets. And whereas the dried pasta at Trader Joe's is imported from Italy, the most similarly priced pasta at my local supermarket tastes as if it was produced in a cardboard box factory.

Bob

Aye, the brands tend to be cereals, booze and snack bars. Everything else is own brand stuff.

Do like the fact that there's no pissing about with coupons and sales, makes it easier to plan for and know what's worth getting there and what to get else where.

We do end up doing most of our grocery shop at Wegmans these days, but there are some things we'll wait on and hit TJ's for when we know we'll be going by one at some point.

Yorkieabroad

A new Wholefoods just opened about a mile up the road from us. At first glance, I don't think we'll be buying a lot there, but there were a few interesting bits and pieces that will be pulling me back form time to time (sasuage/cheese/wine/coffee).

But the best part by quite a long chalk had to be the bar in the middle serving a few draft ales, about 10 steps away from a counter serving hot Butter Chicken with pilau rice and naan bread....maybe not quite the venue for the next lads night out, but a rather pleasant distraction amid the drudgery of grocery shopping...

Englishmum

There is also a similar discussion on this board (you may wish to skip some posts which are relevant to the locality):

http://forum.maplewoodonline.com/dis...oeswhole-foods

Now here in Switzerland the Movenpick ice cream is wonderful....but I do truly miss my favourite ice-cream ever.....the Trader Joe's Triple Ginger Biscuit & Lemon (zest) ice cream. I Just love it

Lion in Winter

We are finally getting a TJ's where I live, which will be good since you can get decent meat and cheese there for a lot less (also a good dijon mustard) and also the nuts and dried fruit are good and cheap, but it's annoying that their fruit and veg are almost completely useless, and that seems to be the same across the whole country.

Guindalf

I forgot to mention that for a lunch or even a smaller dinner, TJ's has amazing frozen curries! The Chicken Korma and Lamb Vindaloo take under five minutes in the microwave and are probably better than most Indian restaurants.

Pair these with one of thier frozen garlic Naans, covered with a thin layer of melted butter and you have an awesome meal.

(Guess what I had for dinner last night?)

Karrie72

Yes, the fresh fruit and veg is fairly limited. I buy big packs of trail-mix with almonds and dried fruit for pea-nuts though. I think people either love TJ or hate it. I'm a fan.

Karrie72

Agreed, they are fab, and the naan is good too. Have you checked the sodium content though? I had to stop buying it after my blood-pressure went up.

Karrie72

Funnily enough I was told that some of their products are made by big companies. The TJ organic mac and cheese is actually made by Annie's but at way cheaper.

Guindalf

Yeah. I'm on BP meds and I'm type II diabetic, so I don't eat these as often as I'd like, but for an occasional treat, I'll deal with it!