HEY JOE.

[surreallis]

So, my small and progressive, yet somehow still backwoods, city has finally gotten a Trader Joe's. And we might be going tomorrow. So, tell me, dear friends, what do you get there that is good? What do you get that is horrible and I should avoid at all costs? GIVE ME RECS!

Comments

[raqs]

Oh my god, what DON'T I get???

The vanilla ice cream is awesome. The frozen organic wild strawberries also. The toscano bread. The druid's circle cookies. (Hmm, I'm listing a lot of things I don't even get to eat any more.)

The chicken salad with cranberries in it, I love that stuff; the cheese doodles; the peanut butter filled pretzels; hmm.... I get my olives and roasted red peppers there, because they are best quality and cheapest, I think. Oh, just go and explore. And congrats!

[surreallis]

Heee! Mmm, all of those things sound really good, tbh. I hope I don't come home with a carfull of stuff.

[lauridsen09]

It's great for bulk spices/nuts/etc. on the cheap. And it's a fun store as far as grocery stores go because they have a lot of random stuff, but I don't quite get the hype.

[carta]

Same here. The bananas are always super inexpensive, and they have mochi ice cream which I love, but other than that - they're ok? I mostly see college kids/young parents in ours (young as in they're not even 25, and young as in the kids are still babies) but it seems that as their clientele gets older, they start shopping at Whole Foods.

[surreallis]

Yeah, I think the random stuff is the hype. Like, they are on a really 'artistic' street in the city that won't allow chain stores usually, but because TJ's has so many weird things and isn't all over WI they let them set up shop there.

[analise010]

EVERYTHING AT TJ's is fantastic! They even have a little demo area where you can try new foods. I honestly have never gotten anything that I didn't like, which I can't say about any other grocery store.

[surreallis]

Coolness! I've been sort of finding lists of best and worst things there, all over the net. But it really comes down to taste, obviously, because the same stuff is on both lists, lol.

[calcitrix]

The mango lassi (Indian yogurt drink) is to die for. They also have good Indian ready-to-eat dishes and fresh naan in the bread aisle. Other than that, I usually stock up on their coffee (cheap and awesome in so many varieties) and bags of dried fruits and various nuts, because again--cheaper than I see elsewhere and very good. Don't forget to check the Two Buck Chuck, their wine deal. Oh, and how could I forget--frozen banana slices dipped in chocolate! Sometimes they have awesome exotic fruits, too. Their hand lotion is also great. And I'll stop there or end up recommending their entire stock.

[surreallis]

Hahahaha! The dried fruit and nuts sound great, because I make my own nut/fruit/candy mixes for work as a snack! :)

[ever_rational]

They have a salsa in a little jar, white label with yellow accents, that I absolutely love. They also have frozen tamales that are an absolute guilty pleasure. Their mini ice cream cones are unbelievably smooth. Even their cheap wines are delicious.

[surreallis]

I really have to try some of their frozen meals. Everything I've heard named sounds awesome, and it's always good to have something like that on hand for when I don't want to cook.

[zorb]

I can +1 the frozen tamales and enchiladas. Their salsa selection is nice, too, to go with. Not sure if it's a regional item, but here at least there's a mango salsa that I especially like.