What's the appeal of Trader Joes?

Renae said:

It's... your blood sugar spikes, your intestines get undigested food... I generally just find somewhere to PTFO till it is done.

Click to expand...

I went permanent change of diet and exercise as an integral part of lifestyle, 20 years ago. Lost about 60 pounds in a year and I've not seen it or even thought about it since.

ecofarm said:

I went permanent change of diet and exercise as an integral part of lifestyle, 20 years ago. Lost about 60 pounds in a year and I've not seen it or even thought about it since.

Click to expand...

Yeah by the time I got that motivated I had, a host of health issues and I had to act. I don't regret the surgery, I regret the need. BUT eating sucks now... so, that's my own damned fault.

I usually visit Trader Joe's like once a month, and buy pretty much the same things every time. Every once in a while I find a new product to add to my list. I like the people who work there, they seem happy, and the cashier always tells you that one of the things you are purchasing is their absolute favorite!

So, my list is: Fresh Flowers...best price anywhere, a few bananas, portabello mushrooms, pesto (great bargain), boursin cheese (great bargain), those little mozzarella balls (can't remember the name. I usually skip the meat and fish. Frozen pot stickers, stir fry veggies, and those great tiny little ice cream cones. They have a great frozen ham and gruyere cheese tart. A very decent marinara for $1.29 to use in a pinch, trail mix, nuts, olive and fig crackers, corn salsa, peach salsa, olive oil (great bargain) and I'm about done. Oh year, the waffle butter cookies, and dark chocolate covered almonds. Now I'm done!

Would love to hear of any other recommended products.

Checkerboard Strangler said:

Except it's not really all that much of an upgrade anymore.
Back in the early days, Trader Joe's was a Southern California niche supermarket that offered something different from the typical store.
Nowadays, it's not all that different anymore.

To me, it's not much different from Gelson's or Pavilions.

Click to expand...

This nails it on the head.

It was different. It was (usually) cheaper. It had a wide variety.

Fledermaus said:

This nails it on the head.

It was different. It was (usually) cheaper. It had a wide variety.

Click to expand...

Hey one can't blame the other stores for emulating a bit of the TJ appeal.
Sooner or later the competition either catches on and figures out ways to steal some of the fire or they fail to adapt and they wither and die.

Of course, I am not at all sure how TJ's in other parts of the country are faring against their own local competition. For all I know, a TJ's in Dallas might be stomping a mudhole in the other chains collective asses.
I do know this much...Albertson's was a huge grocery chain down in Dallas when we lived there and their prices were set by the individual neighborhoods they were located in, and not in a good way at all.

When we lived in "The Woods" (near Cedar Hill) we noticed that the prices were significantly higher than another Albertsons located only ten or twelve miles away in Mansfield. And this is the suck part: The Woods, like Cedar Hill, was predominantly black.

I used to hear friends and neighbors give a wry chuckle about it: "Yup, Albertsons has 'black people prices' in The Woods."

I don't know what their prices were in Cedar Hill but that's only because we would just go to Kroger or Tom Thumb in Duncanville instead, which was just a couple miles down the road. But that Albertsons in The Woods was just right on the corner.

Checkerboard Strangler said:

Hey one can't blame the other stores for emulating a bit of the TJ appeal.
Sooner or later the competition either catches on and figures out ways to steal some of the fire or they fail to adapt and they wither and die.

Of course, I am not at all sure how TJ's in other parts of the country are faring against their own local competition. For all I know, a TJ's in Dallas might be stomping a mudhole in the other chains collective asses.
I do know this much...Albertson's was a huge grocery chain down in Dallas when we lived there and their prices were set by the individual neighborhoods they were located in, and not in a good way at all.

When we lived in "The Woods" (near Cedar Hill) we noticed that the prices were significantly higher than another Albertsons located only ten or twelve miles away in Mansfield. And this is the suck part: The Woods, like Cedar Hill, was predominantly black.

I used to hear friends and neighbors give a wry chuckle about it: "Yup, Albertsons has 'black people prices' in The Woods."

I don't know what their prices were in Cedar Hill but that's only because we would just go to Kroger or Tom Thumb in Duncanville instead, which was just a couple miles down the road. But that Albertsons in The Woods was just right on the corner.

Click to expand...

I see 'black (or brown) people prices' in San Diego often. The gas prices and store prices seem a bit awry given they are closer to the distribution points then rural and semi rural SD county.

Fledermaus said:

I see 'black (or brown) people prices' in San Diego often. The gas prices and store prices seem a bit awry given they are closer to the distribution points then rural and semi rural SD county.

Click to expand...

LOL so it's not just me...
I don't see it as much around here in Whittier, and I am actually surprised about San Diego.
The dumb thing is, people figure it out sooner or later. Believe it or not it was our (very young at the time) daughter who noticed it first in Dallas, and we didn't think she was paying annnnnny attention.

"Mommy, why's the milk almost a dollar more here?"
And that got "Mommy" thinking and going back through our grocery receipts from a couple weeks ago.
Yup...

What we have here is a weird thing with the gas prices. Yeah of course it's Cali so they're stupid high but the ARCO right on the corner here...the one I keep talking about that's owned by that Egyptian family, the gas prices are almost 60 cents LOWER than anyone else.

But I'll tell you what is really high, handyman services. No matter who I go with, lawn stuff, locksmithing, car detailing, minor repairs, junk hauling, no matter who I try to use, the rates are ghastly.
I had to polish up my home handyman skills back when we first moved into the house in 2014 because five different locksmiths wanted something like five or six HUNDRED BUCKS to change out four locks and install two special door handles (lever type for handicapped)

Detail my stupid little 2007 Prius, guy wants three hundred dollars! Nope, I don't think so. No car is that bad. Mine's in pretty decent shape, I just wanted to gussy it up so I can sell it.

Chomsky said:

You've answered your question, here. You are not their target customer.

BTW - I used to avoid organic food, thinking it was a marketing crock. But then after I started shopping at some more upscale places having a larger organic presence than the more value oriented markets, I've changed my mind. I've since found that many of the organic products are grown, shipped, and handled & packaged in a higher quality manner. I hate to call it "boutique" vs "mass merchandised", but that seems to be exactly what it is. To my tastes and experiences, organic food often seems to be higher quality, better & more natural tasting, and has a longer shelf life.

The following may be a poor example because it is mass merchandised and available virtually everywhere, but have you tried Heinz Organic Ketchup? It sounds crazy, but it's absolutely excellent, with a "fresher flavor" profile of sorts. Try a comparison with the old. It's all I buy, now.

Click to expand...

There are some things I like organic, some I don't care about one way or another. You are right, the main difference many times is flavor. Organic meat also has better taste and flavor, but there is a 'lesser' alternative that is 'hormone and antibiotic free' that is cheaper, and tastes just as good.

Renae said:

Our HEB Central Market has a lot of good stuff, that's not Organic labeled, or priced. I also love Farmers markets, the real ones.

Click to expand...

HEB did have good quality. One of the very few things about Texas I thought was really good. During my time there, there also was a pork overstock on the market, so buying a huge amount of pork butt was cheaper than getting dog food for the dog. I became her second best friend when I did that.

RAMOSS said:

HEB did have good quality. One of the very few things about Texas I thought was really good. During my time there, there also was a pork overstock on the market, so buying a huge amount of pork butt was cheaper than getting dog food for the dog. I became her second best friend when I did that.

Click to expand...

Our local HEB has lost something, had to return seafood, meat market isn't what it was, the Sushi is all fake crab... Central market is still aces. Waiting for a business to take advantage of HEB's lax behavior of late.

JMR said:

I usually visit Trader Joe's like once a month, and buy pretty much the same things every time. Every once in a while I find a new product to add to my list. I like the people who work there, they seem happy, and the cashier always tells you that one of the things you are purchasing is their absolute favorite!

So, my list is: Fresh Flowers...best price anywhere, a few bananas, portabello mushrooms, pesto (great bargain), boursin cheese (great bargain), those little mozzarella balls (can't remember the name. I usually skip the meat and fish. Frozen pot stickers, stir fry veggies, and those great tiny little ice cream cones. They have a great frozen ham and gruyere cheese tart. A very decent marinara for $1.29 to use in a pinch, trail mix, nuts, olive and fig crackers, corn salsa, peach salsa, olive oil (great bargain) and I'm about done. Oh year, the waffle butter cookies, and dark chocolate covered almonds. Now I'm done!

Would love to hear of any other recommended products.

Click to expand...

I occasionally enjoy their Greek style chicken with orzo, olives and feta cheese. A quick heating in the toaster oven, and I'm happy splitting it with my wife after a fresh salad. They have a good price for Irish butter, small coffee ice cream sandwiches, peach juice I see nowhere else and jarred peach halves, a good source for apples and other fruit, a reasonable costing source of camembert and brie cheeses, and flash frozen fish when I don't want to stop at the local Vietnamese fish store for lack of parking. Their almond chocolate chip cookies can't be beat and keep the grandkids happy. The cans of Tunisian olive oil has proved of better quality than imported olive oils in pasticeries and exotic food markets here ten times over at a tenth the price. Their organic mayo is almost as tasty as homemade. Plain frozen veggies are a steal when fresh aren't in season. Their frozen artichoke hearts a steal, I've added to all kinds of soups and stews over the years. Good deals on fresh mushrooms almost always.

Renae said:

Our local HEB has lost something, had to return seafood, meat market isn't what it was, the Sushi is all fake crab... Central market is still aces. Waiting for a business to take advantage of HEB's lax behavior of late.

Click to expand...

When it comes to the 'fake crab' , part of the reason the price of crab has gone up so much, because the catch is down

RAMOSS said:

When it comes to the 'fake crab' , part of the reason the price of crab has gone up so much, because the catch is down

Click to expand...

Very true.

RAMOSS said:

When it comes to the 'fake crab' , part of the reason the price of crab has gone up so much, because the catch is down

Click to expand...

Actually the catch is up for this past decade compared to the previous three decades. Obviously loss of habitat and pollution have had their effects on crab populations, as they have for all shell fish, however managed fishing of crabs have led to a resurgence of crab populations. Last year, American Atlantic crab harvesting reached 400k tonnes. However, 350k tonnes were used for both chemicals in demand by the medical (pharma) markets and fertilizer, reducing the amount of the harvest that ended up in the dining consumer market by 50k tonnes.

In the northeast commercial fishing industry, crabs and lobsters were once viewed as trash byproducts. In Maine and other New England states on the Atlantic, lobster meat was reserved for prison food. Crabs almost strictly for use as fertilizer. As a child during the early 1930's, my father and his brothers would walk the beaches of Brooklyn, gathering crabs and oysters for steaming in discarded oil barrels. A practice by hundreds of other young boys. It was viewed as public service to clear the beaches of pests. Pollution had not yet entered the lexicon, tho the boys were poisoning themselves with their catches. Times were hard, and they were hungry. By the time he enlisted in the last days of 1933, those harvests were extinct. Today, as pollution has receded from NY waters, and all along the beaches and tributaries of the east, shellfish populations are recovering. In turn seals are arriving to feed, followed by sharks to feed on the seals. One of the reasons we are hearing of more shark attacks on humans. Sharks do not find humans particularly tasty, it is a question of identity politics.

The most prolific landfill used to create much on lower Manhattan's battery park and nearby battery neighborhood, along with lands now known as 9th and 10th avenues on the west side of the island was oyster shells. Oyster beds in Manhattan harbor were so vast that oysters were a predominant street food for more than 300 years, a giveaway lunch with a nickel beer in local taverns and bars, the shells providing that landfill. Ptomaine Tommy hot dogs didn't arrive until the very early 20th century on the streets of NYC, and for decades a hard sell. A 10¢ hot dog a far more expensive quick lunch than a dozen oysters for a nickel, or free with a beer. Now we're introducing millions of oyster seedlings to filter water in the harbor, adding to the pollution clean up, spending $millions to do so.