[inverse]

Who else loves shopping there for munchies and fresh, organic foods? I swear i can buy a weeks worth of delicious and fulfilling produce and snacks there for 70 dollars, which is just as good as "cheaper" safeway. It's so fun to get faded and go on a shopping expedition there...everything looks so tempting to buy.

this might be a cali only thread...but im sure you folks in the middle and eastern regions of our country have some sort of equivalent health/organic foods store such as trader joe's. Tons of fresh organic pre-made snacks and meals, as well as fruits, meat, and produce


i also appreciate the fact trader joe's doesn't try and sell unripe fruit that is out of season...like right now there's no mangos for sale at trader joe's like there is at safeway and the mexican supermarkets. i bought a fat mango at a mexican supermarket last week expecting it to be delicious, but the fruit ended up having absolutely no color or taste.

[FrankRizzo]

They make a frozen orange chicken that is f*cking great, especially if you are in a rush and don't want to spend much time making dinner. Some of stuff they sell is waaay over priced thou.

[NPK]

I shop 'em for their cat food, eggs, and dairy products. They do have some outstanding munchies, too--they used to have these spicy lime tortilla chips that were addictive.

Nowadays I do as much shopping as possible at the Grocery Outlet. Some folks are put off by it, but it's slashed my grocery bill by half, and I get excellent shit there. Hormone- and antibiotic-free chickens for $1.09 per pound, sharp white cheddar cheese for even cheaper than TJ's, Haagen Dazs for $1.49 a pint, Vital Vittles bread for $2.19. Plus a respectable selection of drinkable beer and wines. I could go on, but you get the picture. Great place to stretch your eating dollar.

Damn. Now I'm hungry.

[inverse]

true. i actually won't buy chicken there...outrageously expensive. maybe im eating some traces of fucked up chemicals with the $3/lb chicken from Mi Pueblo, but i cant afford that $9/lb trader joes chicken breast haha :-/

wooooow npk. do you need to own a business to shop there? it sounds super legit

[NPK]

No man, anyone can shop there. It's a small chain with stores in Northern California. There's one each in Oakland, Berkeley, and Hayward, and one across the bay in Redwood City. The contents are kind of random because they carry items that are coming up on their expiration dates, discontinued things, and products whose labeling has recently changed. But the stuff I already mentioned is there pretty routinely--the chicken and bread for example, are always on the shelves. I'm always finding excellent name-brand shit, like Amy's Organic Pizzas for $5 and eight-packs of Brawny paper towels for around $7. Already mentioned the Haagen Dazs at one-third the usual price. They've got it all: pet food, cleaning supplies, spices, and junk food. I've even seen pre-frozen organic buffalo burgers.

GO tends to be in working class neighborhoods, frequented by poorer folks--though I've seen a definite uptick in white middle-class shoppers in recent months. There's a reason for that: you can literally get twice the groceries for the same money. $20 actually goes pretty far there! The expiration date thing makes some people go "ugh," but you just have to keep an eye on it and you'll be fine. In the six or so years I've been shopping there, I've only gotten stale things (bags of chips) twice.

[emmy75]

hey all

i used to work at TJ's when i was 20 years old. I had alot of fun not only because i was 1 of 3 girls working there at the time( surrounded by good looking guys ) but most of the customers who came in were fun to talk to.

however all i did for eight months when i was there was be a checker. and not the mechanized shit they have there now. we had to do all the math in our heads to give back the change. its funny how many people cant count backwards. anyway this guy comes up to pay and he had opened up a box of dog biscuits and was eating them. i looked at him in amazement and asked him why he was eating dog biscuits. he told me he was really broke in college and that he could afford cheap food like biscuits. well he said he developed a taste for them and he still liked to eat them. lol


anyway i still shop there buy TJ's isnt the company it used to be, even when i was there the old timers used to complain that it wasnt the same store. for me personally i have done alot of research on the company now that it has expanded beyond proportions and alot of their organic food with a TJ brand, espcially dairy comes from farms where the animals are not treated very nicely. yes its organic, no pesticides, but the conditions are not very humane. TJ's has to make a profit to survive and they do sell their own brands relatively cheaply so someone or something is getting a raw deal.

i like TJ's as much as the next person but I think Whole Foods, although more expensive, is a better company. but i do still shop at TJ's but i buy only certain things, products from things that don't have a pulse.

just my 2 cents.

[killedkilleryo]

the thing i hate about trader joes are the people who are shopping in there .they are idiots who block the lanes with there carts, let there bratty little kids run around and act like the world revolves around them just alot of douchebags. maybe its just the one ive been to in san rafael but i assume trader joes attracts the same kinda customers everywhere .they do have good stuff though.

[inverse]

Originally Posted by NPK

No man, anyone can shop there. It's a small chain with stores in Northern California. There's one each in Oakland, Berkeley, and Hayward, and one across the bay in Redwood City. The contents are kind of random because they carry items that are coming up on their expiration dates, discontinued things, and products whose labeling has recently changed. But the stuff I already mentioned is there pretty routinely--the chicken and bread for example, are always on the shelves. I'm always finding excellent name-brand shit, like Amy's Organic Pizzas for $5 and eight-packs of Brawny paper towels for around $7. Already mentioned the Haagen Dazs at one-third the usual price. They've got it all: pet food, cleaning supplies, spices, and junk food. I've even seen pre-frozen organic buffalo burgers.

GO tends to be in working class neighborhoods, frequented by poorer folks--though I've seen a definite uptick in white middle-class shoppers in recent months. There's a reason for that: you can literally get twice the groceries for the same money. $20 actually goes pretty far there! The expiration date thing makes some people go "ugh," but you just have to keep an eye on it and you'll be fine. In the six or so years I've been shopping there, I've only gotten stale things (bags of chips) twice.

damn man...3 stores in my stomping grounds and i've never shopped there. what the fuck...haha...thanks for the heads up

[BiG H3rB Tr3E]

thats funny,,,never thought trader joes was cheap,,the TJ over here,, is full of rich ass yuppies>>> hell you go in there with $100 your lucky to walk out with some pastichos and a bag of grapes...

[inverse]

Originally Posted by BiG H3rB Tr3E

thats funny,,,never thought trader joes was cheap,,the TJ over here,, is full of rich ass yuppies>>> hell you go in there with $100 your lucky to walk out with some pastichos and a bag of grapes...

yeah, its not cheap by any means. for lots of things though it's really reasonably priced...for things like meat, however, i would go elsewhere