Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who don’t “get” TJs are boomers who shop at giant and treat themselves to canned green beans.

No need to criticize boomers. I am one and go to TJs for certain items. Please blame the MAGAs instead...

I can’t stand Trump but how on earth does EVERYTHING become about “MAGA” with some of you. Maga has nothing to do with liking or disliking Trader Joe’s ??

We have this thread every year.
There are certain things where TJ just has better suppliers. Their organic frozen mango and organic frozen peas siginificantly better than other brands. Tortillas significantly better than other brands available in mid Atlantic. Certain cheeses are better than other groceries and even better (for much cheaper) than Balducci’s. Cooked lentils are great. The tarragon mustard aioli is great and I use it for the base for tons of sauces, salad dressing etc.

So once I am there I also get frozen gnocchi, chocolate, and stuff like almond Kringle and jalapeño cheese bread. But I wouldn’t go for those things.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who don’t “get” TJs are boomers who shop at giant and treat themselves to canned green beans.

No need to criticize boomers. I am one and go to TJs for certain items. Please blame the MAGAs instead...

MAGAs can’t even microwave frozen food. It’s McDonald’s or bust.

Microwaves have radiation. I cook my food over a bonfire. 'Merica!

Anonymous wrote:I picked up some ice cream last time I was there and my husband was surprised at how it tasted high quality and was reasonably priced. Never put ice cream on the TJ list but I will now

Their seasonal ice cream flavors are so good. I love the Horchata ice cream.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People who don’t “get” TJs are boomers who shop at giant and treat themselves to canned green beans.

No need to criticize boomers. I am one and go to TJs for certain items. Please blame the MAGAs instead...

MAGAs can’t even microwave frozen food. It’s McDonald’s or bust.

Anonymous wrote:I have tried to understand why people shop at Trader Joe’s for years now. Not a single time that I’ve gone have I ever filled a basket or truly understood the reason for its hype.

Everything is seasonal or expires so quickly unless it’s frozen.

Same. I can’t do groceries there just snacks.

Anonymous wrote:People who don’t “get” TJs are boomers who shop at giant and treat themselves to canned green beans.

No need to criticize boomers. I am one and go to TJs for certain items. Please blame the MAGAs instead...

You people have such weird sad grocery store habits. What are you eating??? Giant and HT and Safeway are just giant aisles full of chemicals. Who even goes in the middle of those stores, it is seriously disgusting. Stop doing it. Their produce is also so so. TJs is fine unless you’re comparing it to like, Balduccis. Whole Foods here in Bethesda on River Road has really poor produce and a crappy bakery and I’d rather go to TJ any day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Their dairy and flowers and wine are superior to and cheaper than Giant and Safeway. They have things like frozen chopped leeks and cauliflower gnocchi and pork buns, which I cannot find in other store and use often. The workers are nicer than anywhere else.

This post explains why TJ’s has its ardent supporters but is not worth the trip for most people. I don’t care about buying things like frozen chopped leeks or cauliflower gnocchi! I also don’t want frozen foods. So to each their own!

People rave about the cauliflower gnocchi but it’s not good!

Anytime I’ve tried to shop there for a recipe they didn’t carry one of the ingredients. I hate going to a second store.

The gnocchi is great. Pan fry it. Or air fry. It’s delicious.

I picked up some ice cream last time I was there and my husband was surprised at how it tasted high quality and was reasonably priced. Never put ice cream on the TJ list but I will now

People who don’t “get” TJs are boomers who shop at giant and treat themselves to canned green beans.

Anonymous wrote:The produce is terrible. But I keep going for the easy to prepare yummy and healthy frozen foods—my teens love these things and like that they are easy enough to prepare themselves whenever they get hangry.

I was just in there and got my usuals (I'm one who skips baked goods and produce) but I desperately needed felafel wrap stuff so did by the lavash bread for $2.99 and some packaged campari tomatoes that looked good (the vine tomatoes looked terrible). I put the bread right into the fridge. Needs to last til tomorrow night!

Everything else was amazing: sundried tomatoes, lemon curd, pasta, potstickers, gyoza sauce, brie bites, shelled edamame, love it all! Anyone turning their nose at it is truly missing out!

Oh I didn't see their inside-out gnocci! Anyone know if that's coming back?

I never used to go and also didn’t get the hype. Then one opened 3 blocks from my house, en route to my kids’ school. Now I go a lot for dairy, salad, coffee, and fruit. The quality is definitely worse than Whole Foods, which I prefer and still use for other foods. But the convenience can’t be beat, it’s cheaper, and the above foods are fine. We go through a lot of milk and yogurt and the TJ products in this regard are good.

So I still don’t get the hype exactly but I do love having these products a five minute walk away! I still shop at other stores too but far less frequently than in the past - every other week instead of weekly or twice weekly.

The produce is terrible. But I keep going for the easy to prepare yummy and healthy frozen foods—my teens love these things and like that they are easy enough to prepare themselves whenever they get hangry.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For people who don't see the appeal, where do you regularly shop? What do you like instead? Whole Foods? If I were to buy comparable quality items at Whole Foods, I would quickly go broke. If I were to only shop at my regular grocery store, my taste buds would be so bored. Trader Joe's has tasty snack and frozen items, including ethnic selections. They frequently stock new items so you don't get bored of seeing the same thing over and over. They are not as expensive as Whole Foods, and while affordable they cater towards more adventurous taste buds than Aldi, Safeway, or Giant.

I don’t need ‘snacks’ like pb filled pretzels or Thanksgiving flavored potato chips. For ‘ethnic selections’ I prefer authentic take-out or to make it from scratch, even if I need to go to an H-Mart/Bestway/I Dian grocery store.

You’re so much better than us, PP.