The Trader Joe's Product Discussion Thread (S/D)

xp: tehresa - Trader Joe's has booze in the locations I go to - the San Francisco one, one in Emeryville, CA and new one in Oakland, CA. I think they're trying to open a store in Berkeley, and the city is hassling them about selling hard alcohol because it is on a street homeless people frequent, and Berkeley is concerned that Trader Joe's selling booze will somehow enable their already existant substance abuse problems. So maybe your TJ's lack of booze is the product of some city zoning issue.

the half-loaves of sourdough are great though. i don't really understand wholewheat sourdough, but the white loaves. also the tuscan panes and similar little seeded breads.

It's sourdough bread made w/whole wheat flour. Or is it that you don't understand why this product would exist? I think the bread I was thinking of was the tuscan panes, though. I'm not a fan of pre-sliced bread, but I struggle to use up a whole loaf before it goes hard. The tuscan things actually last quite a while.

So maybe your TJ's lack of booze is the product of some city zoning issue.

― what happened? I'm confused. (sarahel), Wednesday, March 11, 2009 4:56 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark

In NYC I think it's a limit on the number of liquor sale licenses in a geographical area. The Brooklyn one has beer but not wine or liquor.

(although I have a feeling they get away with beers that approach wine-levels in ABV)

I think they're trying to open a store in Berkeley, and the city is hassling them about selling hard alcohol because it is on a street homeless people frequent

as opposed to every other street in the city. god I hate berkeley sometimes - opening up that trader joe's is the nicest thing that could ever happen to that area. (I used to live a few blocks away)

in ny though there are rules about selling both beer and wine, that's why it's always one or the other and not both.

There's a lot to loathe about berkeley. However they do have the best record store, video store, and book store in the East Bay.

There's already a TJ's on College. How many do you need?

In NYC I think it's a limit on the number of liquor sale licenses in a geographical area

California has these limits, too. There's a liquor license market and liquor license brokers. Parts of San Francisco are at the geographical limit, such that if you wanted to open a liquor store or restaurant/bar/club you would have to buy someone else's liquor license.

There's already a TJ's on College. How many do you need?

The new one is going to be on University where the Firestone tire place was (I think). I was surprised they opened the one on Lakeshore because there was one on College and the Emeryville one, though the Lakeshore one is a really good location. Probably my best TJ's shopping experience was after happy hour at the Easy Lounge across the street - tipsy TJ's shopping. Had to really focus on buying things other than chocolate covered snacks and sausage.

the one on college is shit - it's close to my work, but the other one is closer to where i live - and the one time we went there they were out of practically everything.

I would rather they open something else up at the Firestone lot. There has got to be something else that could go in there and be of use. 2 Andronicos, 1 Berkeley Bowl, 2 Safeways, 1 Whole Foods, and 1 Trader Joes seems like plenty of grocery options to me.

I've never been to the one on College. I tend to avoid that area, except for Zachary's Pizza.

if you don't have a car in berkeley, the college one is way too far away. don't think I've ever even been?

You guys need a bicycle with a basket, I think.

Anyway, off topic, my apologies.

If I worked in downtown Berkeley, I could see going to the Firestone trader joe's to get lunch. That Berkeley Bowl, Whole Foods, and Andronico's are so close together seems like overkill, but where I grew up 3 of the 5 supermarkets for the town were within 5 blocks, and that was where the supermarkets were, perhaps the same logic as putting all the car dealerships in one area - though that logic applied to supermarkets is not airtight.

you see the same thing in new zealand too - all the big chain supermarkets along one street.

yeah, the town where I grew up was home to the first super-Walmart in Northern California. I think it might have as many big chain retail stores as the city I live in now that has 8x as many people.

Last night's dinner was one of those metallic bags of Trader Joe's Dal Makhani, over leftover rice, with some frozen mixed veggies. The veggies were totally unseasoned, but the Dal Makhani more than compensated, and we both sat there eating going, "Oh wow, this is gooood."

This was prepared entirely with a microwave and two bowls.

Second the booze-loving. Big bottle of Walker Black (the 1.75L) for $7 cheaper than the BevMo, and you probably even a greater discount over liquor stores. Bought some bourbon and some good wines there the other day, I look forward to one tonight.

this thread totally was the only reason I made the uphill trudge to trader joe's today

I decided to buy the 'simpler times' beer because I am crazy poor and it is crazy cheap! is it any good?

It's less complicated.

it's certainly drinkable, though it needs a more hilarious label to suit the name.

It's sourdough bread made w/whole wheat flour. Or is it that you don't understand why this product would exist? I think the bread I was thinking of was the tuscan panes, though. I'm not a fan of pre-sliced bread, but I struggle to use up a whole loaf before it goes hard. The tuscan things actually last quite a while.

ah yeah, i just don't really understand it based on having eaten it. all the familiar sourdough taste was missing. the tuscan panes are real good.

lovelovelove (and would marry) the chocolate raspberry sticks.

So I was in Trader Joe's the other day with my son, who's 3 1/2, and really likes the ready-to-heat chili mac in the refrigerated section, and my son runs over to the refrigerator case, grabs a box of chili mac, hoists it over his head like the Stanley Cup, and bellows "CHIIIILLLLLIIIII MAAAAAAAAC!" to the great amusement of all nearby TJ employees.

So, chili mac.

the trader joe's near me is just this side of being too far to conveniently walk to for regular shopping expeditions, so it's been a while since i've partook of their stuff

that being said, something about their snacks always seemed slightly "off" to me-- their hummus, chips, salsa etc.

i remember their greek yogurt being awesome, though

plus awesome cheap beer, olive oil, nuts...

it's hard to go wrong with chocolate-covered fruit products - raspberry sticks are my fave after the milk chocolate covered pretzels.

jaymc, i had a nightmare about astronomical sodium levels last night, thanks to you

Haha, sorry.

the TJ's in berkeley is going to be like three blocks from my house so Yes to that (although I don't see how anyone is going to park, maybe they're doing underground parking or something). This is the former location of the supermarket immortalized in that Ginsburg poem, incidentally.

^^ really? For some reason I thought it was the Safeway in the Marina in SF.

no.

also, yeah, there are a lot of supermarkets in berkeley, but not as many as lots of other places, and anyway, andronicos and whole foods are prohibitively expensive for lots of people these day, and north berkeley safeway is fucking gross (though i shop there all the time)

anyway now I saw somewhere else that it was about something on college, but the daily planet in berkeley had an article a while back that stated it was about a supermarket that used to be on that lot. Gisburg lived on Milvia, right down from where I live now, which is where Howl was written.

ok here it is: http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2008-05-22/article/30062?headline=Reader-Report-Requiem-for-a-Berkeley-Strip-Mall

the ginsberg thing... wow, weird.

i hung out one night with a guy who worked at trader joe's. he was friends with a dodgy ex-roommate of mine. at one point he was like, "oh i'm going outside for a second to smoke some crack". i thought he was joking but he was totally and completely serious. it was kind of horrifying. such a nice young man, too...

I thought it was the Trader Joe's parking lot in Berkeley that Delroy Lindo got into an altercation at, but it looks like it was Whole Foods. (I think Adamrl mentioned this a while ago.)

there is no trader joe's in berkeley yet so it must have been, if it wasn't berkeley bowl

the berkeley bowl parking lot probably has more altercations than any Berkeley supermarket.

berkeley bowl is an overrated pain the ass. it'll be good when they open the new one, but seriously, it is just groceries, and not even cheap groceries.

^^ agreed.

go shop at grocery outlet for some real entertainment though

I saw a lesbian furry couple at Whole Foods a couple weeks back. Okay, only one of them was wearing a tail, the other had a fake fur animal print jacket. I saw them again the other day, not in furry garb.

i realized after a trip to fairway the other day that their products are like 10x plus awesome than trader joe's.

I don't even know what fairway is, but I know that's a lie

In NYC I think it's a limit on the number of liquor sale licenses in a geographical area. The Brooklyn one has beer but not wine or liquor

Wine and liquor can't be sold at grocery stores in New York State (and food can't be sold at liquor stores, I think), although there has been talk to allow wine to be sold.

Fairway is pretty great. I wish it weren't all the way down in Red Hook.

i went to the 72nd street one!

Since this is such an East Bay flavored thread I'll give a shoutout to the TJ's on Concord Ave in Concord. It doesn't get too crowded and there's never stuff out of stock. You need a car though.

I've noticed that cereal can be really cheap at Trader Joes. My favorite cereal, Nature's Path Organic Heritage, costs about half as much there as it does at the nearby Lucky.