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

Purchased yesterday to replace the box we used up in a crumble:
https://i.imgur.com/3hk6Urp.jpg

I think Moonlight be a company rather than a varietal. It will be a shame if peach varietals lose their distinctiveness. I am glad you had them for a crumble and will have more after that.

TJ's has good prices on a reasonable amount of fresh herbs. I buy their produce if I'm eating it soon. The prices are usually good compared to my other fancypants options. A bag of persian cukes, for example.

I really loved their pasture raised eggs for a week, but the consistency ain't at Vital Farms level.

and they tend to play pretty good music in tj's

― hyperstudio (skeletor), Thursday, October 8, 2009 7:52 PM (twelve years ago) bookmarkflaglink

Is it just my regular TJ (Glover Park, DC) that is always playing 80s college rock (NOT alt rock) whenever I'm shopping there? Is it a general corporate vibe, or an assessment of the customers of my location?

based on nothing i feel like it's up to each store tho legally it has to be radio (i.e. pandora) of some kind i think? my regular tj's does not usually play good music. seems like a lot of the time it's smash mouth-y stuff. one day it was disney songs. the kind of thing white suburbanites in utah remember fondly i guess.

the music that stores and restaurants play is something i've always wanted to know more about. i wonder if there's some kind of inside industry survey about it that goes into all the details.

The Korean Beefless Bulgogi is just a good as early reports on other forums: one of the best faux meat products one can buy.

But like the others, its wildly overpriced. I think I'll try my hand with some textured soy protein chunks and Wang Bulgogi marinade soon.

Banana pudding flavored ice cream is good.

When I bought that a couple of weeks ago the register person held it up, looked me in the eye and said "this is the Devil."

Confirmed. Single serving.

I tried a free sample at TJ's today for the first time since before the lockdown, and the Super Seedy Cheese Snack Bite was an immediate purchase.

the frozen arepas are pretty good

I bought a bag of beef kebabs for ice storm emergency options - depressing 1980s microwave dinner quality meat.

The cheddar jalapeño pull apart bread is stupendous.

I actually don't mind the kebabs. They're seasoned fine, and good in a pinch, especially if you have pitas and other fixings on hand.

just want to remind people that Trader Joe's has had the most amazing Meyer lemons (a cross between a lemon and tangerine) right now, at least on the west coast. They are packaged in bags and the season for them is about to run out

https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/business/money-report/i-work-at-trader-joes-here-are-7-things-i-refuse-to-buy-there-and-what-to-get-instead/3098425/

All the algorithmic news sites serve me up so many TJ’s articles like this.

No one's posted about it yet so get the Mee Krob rice noodle snacks while they're available. Not sure if they'll TOS fast, stuff like this tends to. Best newer TJ salty snack.

To answer the thing upthread, stores have a lot of leeway about their in-store music and it mostly depends on the captain's general attitudes. Employees at mine get to control the music within reason about 70% of the time, especially during slow periods.

(my spouse works there)

Trader Joe’s used to carry some decent stuff but it’s truly just junk food for rich people. The quality of ingredients in their food has gone way downhill and they don’t even really come out with many interesting ideas anymore in my opinion.

I don't really buy much of frozen, prepared meals - tamales on occasion. But it's good for things like frozen berries, jars of olives, cooking oil.. shit like that

Oh, and alcohol!

Employee discount + inflation means all my kitchen staples are from there.

Their alcohol is very on point.

I think their processed foods are mostly bad, and that seems to be the focus of the posts in this thread

- but the fruit, produce, flowers, nuts, bread, meat, canned foods, pasta, cheese, spirits etc are pretty great

their ground espresso is significantly better than anything else near the same price point and also better than any ground espresso available at the “normal” grocery stores

my preferred brand of beef jerky

my local is only licensed to sell wine and beer. oh well

I think their processed foods are mostly bad, and that seems to be the focus of the posts in this thread

agree, but
1. that's what they mostly sell? at least the one near me is basically a giant freezer section with like a head of lettuce in one corner.
2. i'm not standing in that insanely long line to buy the head of lettuce, they sell those at stores with shorter lines.

^why i haven't set foot in a trader joe's in like 4 years

Any TJ I've been in is 20% freezer aisle at most and even then there is useful stuff on shelves above the freezers.

things i regularly buy at TJ's

bag of citrus
carrots
hummus
prepackaged deli meat like prosciutto
crackers
peanuts, almonds, and sunflower seeds
whole bean coffee
peanut butter, jam, mayo, pickles, condiments

is the produce anywhere near as good as my local co-op? no. but i live alone and ultimately a lot of the portioning / sizing works for me.

mostly i shop at my local supermercado or the asian market for produce, meat, and most other things.

^gets it

Yeah, I find their produce underwhelming & overpackaged

I just start in the freezer aisle, walk down and get one of everything, get a free sample, then run out without paying.

^^ gets it

I'm with budo jero. It's also good for pantry staples like cereal, pasta/sauce, rice, canned beans, olive oil, tinned fish, etc.

I tried a free sample at TJ's today for the first time since before the lockdown, and the Super Seedy Cheese Snack Bite was an immediate purchase.

These were so good! Due to some logistical reasons I go to TJs at least twice a week and I haven't seen them since they first appeared. Hope they become a regular offering.

cheddar & gruyere melange cheese is the greatest egg breakfast cheese

I buy the prosciutto to add to dry bean pots. A bit annoying that TJ doesn't sell dry beans.

comments on produce mostly otm, but I'll get a sack of little red potatoes, cherry tomatoes, and the herbs

I saw a barefoot guy wearing hospital scrubs walk in and drink two cans of room temperature beer, right there in the aisle

that is "Trader Joe", a mechatronic puppet that does this on a schedule at every location.

I miss the bagged babby kale since I no longer live near a tjs. Avocados were usu good but realize buying Mexican avos is controversial.

I saw a barefoot guy wearing hospital scrubs walk in and drink two cans of room temperature beer, right there in the aisle

i swear by the spicy chakri mix and the ginger lemon soda water. my kids love the brookies. their prices on yellow peppers and onions are better than our local safeway.

A bit annoying that TJ doesn't sell dry beans.

Yeah, that seems weird given how crunchy-granola their image is. Do people not cook their own beans any more?

it had its own COVID spike a la sourdough, iirc.

Yeah, I guess people don't have the time for an overnight soak + couple hours cook time any more. I would honestly never cook my own beans either if I didn't have a pressure cooker. I've worked out that a quick "presoak" of 2 minutes at pressure, then letting them cool off, changing the water, and then another 15 minutes at pressure gives pretty cook texture and flavor. The whole process can be done in about 45 minutes, which is easily doable for a weeknight dinner.

I remember reading many years ago (decades, tbh) that they don't carry products that they can't get a deal on, such that their price would be lower than supermarkets. I think the question was in regard to tea, which they carry a lot of now. Maybe beans are such a low-margin/high bulk product that it doesn't make sense to tie up shelf space for it.

I would think dry beans would fall into the same category as staples like flour and rice, which they have to carry even though margins are probably not great. But I guess if there's not the demand for it, they don't bother. IIRC, they do carry dry red lentils.

i ate two boxes of the pickle dogs. they arent that good.