From what I understand, TJ’s got bought by Aldi Nord some time back. I stepped in to one a couple of times years ago and bought almost nothing, but my focus then was on cheap produce, and nobody could touch my H-E-B.
Fasf forward and we find TJ’s and shop while on a day tour. I find TJ’s has one glaring similirity to regular Aldi, which is preponderance of house/unknown brands. Large produce section and wide aisle lined with horizontal freezers. Nice selection of chocolates over the freezers. Yuge selection of frozen stuff. Hard to compare prices but new bride had no trouble picking a fair basket of stuff…
Touché Bill! Should have known 6 years ago she would be expensive. Guess I am a slow learner. And for sure, this store is not as bad as turning her loose in Costco.
We’re on the same page on the processed foods. Wife does a lot of cooking and it is normal for her to get some weird produce. Don’t think we bought any processed stuff other than some non-resistable chocolate.
Traders is cool for what it is, unique things at a reasonable price. I don’t think they can replace a traditional grocery store or even Aldi. I do wish we had a H-E-B near me, I watch a lot of barbecue channels on YouTube and a lot of them shop there, it looks interesting.
there was a Trader Joe’s in my town when I lived in Connecticut, but I liked Whole Foods better
trader Joe’s did not have an express line which was annoying if you only wanted to buy one or two things, but I did go there once a month because it was convenient
I agree, but they do have some interesting things you can’t find elsewhere. I like some of their seasonings and sauces, they have decent fresh veggies, marinated meats and interesting “junk” food. My wife recently bought coffee ice cream from Traders and it’s pretty tasty. When my kid was living at home we always had Traders orange chicken and potstickers in the freezer, they were always good for a quick meal when we were busy on weeknights. My wife used to buy wine from Traders, but has found better wines at a great price from Costco.
I also tried a couple of the viral Trader Joe’s recipes, the lobster pasta was just okay, the curry potsticker bake was pretty good even though my wife doesn’t care for curry.
I’m happy enough with TJ’s to go once in a while. I think their clientele believes they are buying healthier food than they really are.
Organic dark chocolate and cheap wine are still subject to limits of moderation before they become fattening and unhealthy. Same with all the semi-higher-quality dairy and free-range-ish chicken.
I’d rather go to Aldi. Acceptable quality and super cheap.
I agree. Aldi is cleaning up their offerings with better ingredients, I buy their Okinos Triple Zero Greek yogurt knock off every week. They also have decent produce, they usually have the best prices on berries and eggs which we buy every week. Their chicken is fine, but I get beef and pork from Costco.
Their prices are really pretty good. They have a good selection of things I might not see in a regular grocery store. And it doesn’t hurt that in my area area (ward Parkway in Kansas City, Missouri) they seem to attract some very attractive women