Let us all now praise Trader Joe's.

[Shakespeare]

Random post of adulation. I refuse to live anywhere that doesn't have a TJs within reasonable driving distance.

Random list of favorite TJs products:

Bay Blend uber-dark roast coffee
Chipotle sauce
Madagascar vanilla beans (at a fraction of the usual retail cost!)
TJ's hormone-free jumbo eggs (for 1.39 a dozen)
irish creme filled chocolates
peach strudel

Oh....I could go on and on and on....

I know there are other DUers as addicted to this place as I am. Speak!

[Bonobo]

1. Yes! Everything there is great!

Great hummos too! Excellent! I think that place is all class and fine taste. Nice prices too!

[SOteric]

Yep, yep, yep! Love me some Trader Joe's

The wide variety of baking and fine dark chocolates alone, are worth the trip. But there are soooooo many other goodies to be joyful about.

[mopinko]

2. wasabi peas and rice crackers

and cahill porter cheese.

[Shakespeare]

5. speaking of their cheese....

They carry an EXCELLENT cheese called Parrano (sort of a cross between a high-grade parmesan and aged gouda) for 6.99 a pound. I've spotted the same cheese in premium shops for close to $15 a pound. It's an excellent sharp, aged white cheese.

[ScreamingMeemie]

3. ...crab stuffed ravioli...garlic stuffed olives...mushroom and white wine

sauce in phyllo dough...chocolate covered almonds....

oh the list goes on and on...

It's a half hour drive but well worth it!!

My son loves the Gorilla Munch cereal.

[nini]

9. crab stuff ravioli??? ruh roh... gonna have to go check that out!

yum

[ScreamingMeemie]

15. I am hopelessly addicted to it.

:hi:

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

24. Goitta be addicted to something

May as well be that. After a discussion about "Two Buck Chuck" the other day, I searched for the closest Trader Joe's (Dayton, OH) and am already planning a visit. Crab stuffed ravioli means it will be sooner rather than later!

[GOPisEvil]

4. Too bad we can't get a TJ's here!

Central Market has the gourmet foods, er, market cornered here. It is very much like a TJs, but not quite the same.

http://www.centralmarket.com/cm/index.jsp

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

16. That place isn't anything like TJ's! It's GIANT!!!

Fruits from all over the world and everything under the sun...every time I have been in Austin, I ship stuff back! Love it!

[GOPisEvil]

23. Everything's bigger in TX, hadn't you heard?

:7

[REP]

6. Eating a TJ's Chicken Pot Pie as I Type

I practically live on TJ's Ginger Lemonade and pork potstickers. Looking around my kitchen, almost everything in it is from Trader Joe's.

[nini]

7. Great vino prices, cheeses, nuts, protein bar stuff .

interesting frozen things good to take to work for lunch.

Nice fresh veggies and salads

and 'Van Gogh vodka - someone here will know about that! :-)

[Beaker]

22. have you tried the 'Two-Buck Chuck'?

as featured on...60 minutes(?)

[Whitacre D_WI]

26. It is the most repellent thing I have ever tasted.

At least the Cabernet is.

Seriously, I would rather drink Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill or even Ripple or Night Train before that piss.

I've heard a few "pleasant-enough quaff" remarks about a couple of the other varietals, but the Cab is not worth a good goddamn.

[eyesroll]

29. I had some of their Sauvignon Blanc while in CA

It was at refrigerator temperature. Cold refrigerator temperature at that -- there were ice crystals in the milk in that fridge. Couldn't taste it at all. In that respect alone, it was 1,000 times better than the Cab.

[chiburb]

33. "Two Buck Chuck" is actually...

Box wine with no added sugar...
Try the Rene Barbier for $1 more... much better.

[NWHarkness]

8. For dinner tonight

We had chicken marsala made with TJ's Marsala sauce.

[g_philli]

10. weekly shopping list

all the frozen individual size things, saves a ton of money on work lunches (too bad it is package waste full).

beer and wine.

organic fruits and vegetables

hummus and pita bread

tasty bites. i'm a single male, need easy cooking.

[stanwyck]

11. I hate you all

I live in Georgia. No Trader Joe's. And you can't order online! What's up with that?

[Pithlet]

12. Should have figured

There would be nothing cool like that around here.

Anyone else in the Memphis area that mabye knows of a place like this? I'm Krogered to death, here.

[Jim Sagle]

13. Yummy flash-frozen lamb loin chops - cheap, too!

:9

[cally]

14. The frozen garlic cubes!

I've only seen it a TJ's but the garlic tastes like fresh. All you have to do is pop out a frozen crushed garlic cube to add to your dish. :bounce:

I love the 18 month aged Cheddar, the peanut sauce, the hummus, and the pesto. TJ's has the best prices on winter cucumbers and tomatoes.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

17. and handmade flour and corn tortillas!

yum!

[flamingyouth]

18. Escargot en brioche

I could eat those every day (if I were on a bread-butter-garlic and snail diet, that is). Mmm-mmm-mmm.

I also love their one-pound bags of frozen Australian slipper lobster meat. It's great for my lobster-corn chowder (and such a deal at $7.99 a bag).

[Shakespeare]

19. Oh, their seafood is the BEST!

That's pretty much the only place I'll buy it lately. Wild-caught (less toxic!) salmon....HUGE New England scallops...

[Melsky]

20. I love them

I have been shopping there since I was in high school.

They have so much cool stuff I use! One of my recent favorite discoveries is their Cedar/Sage scented spray cleaner. Also, they have great catnip. Way too much to name.

[Missy Vixen]

21. I'll see you and raise you

We really enjoy TJ's. They're quite a distance from our house, but we're spoiled now -- we'll make the drive.

Their meat is superb. They have sliced bleu cheese. We're happy to get organic milk at a substantial savings from the local grocery store. The bread is unbelievably good. The "Two Buck Chuck" isn't bad, either -- where else can one find a decent wine for $2 per bottle?

Here's the best thing, though:

DESSERT.

TJ's is second to none with desserts. They have a chocolate ganache cake that is so good it should be illegal. Same goes for Opera Cake, Key Lime pie, and their profiteroles. Did I mention the candy they always seem to have around? If you can get your hands on the French truffles, they're worth anything you had to go through to get them.

The TJ's is close to dear husband's office. Imagine my amusement to open the freezer a few days ago and find FOUR BOXES of profiteroles. (There's two of us...) I asked the man why he bought so many. "I didn't want to run out."

TJ's rules.

Julie

[regularguy]

25. Soy Beans!

For some reason normal supermarkets price soy beans like some sort of rare exotic delicacy.

[Catshrink]

27. Clouds, cat cookies, english toffee...

get me out of the candy aisle! It's also the only place I know of to get Belletoile brie -- the only kind of brie that doesn't taste like vomit.

And the chucky shaw merlot ain't bad for $3.

[Bertha Venation]

28. The Font of All Good Things!

I have to drive an hour to get to Trader Joe's. It's worth it.

[Lorien]

30. I have to fly three hours

then drive half an hour, at least! The only TJs I get to visit are in California (I hate going to the ones in LA-crazy crowded)! And Ohio (much better). I always come home with my suitcase full of deliciousness from TJs. I just wish I could take a big cooler with me, lol!

I love their nutty,crunchy, seedy munchies. I also always buy quite a bit of fish and unusual rices when I'm there, and I make dinner for my parents. :-)

[DinahMoeHum]

31. Chocolate-coated espresso coffee beans. . .the 4- variety pack.

Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, and "latte" chocolate

Not to mention their dried slab apricots and dried pineapple.

And I'm within a 5-mile area of TWO Trader Joe's stores!!

:9 :9 :9

[Melsky]

32. No more threads like this please

I am an hour away from trader joes and I'm very hungry!

[chiburb]

34. Wild salmon, canned tuna...great! n/t

.