Trader Joes?

[azfiddle]

We always get oatmeal there, the quick cooking steel cut oats. I like some of their trail mixes, the fruit and cereal bars, frozen fruit like mangoes and mixed berries for smoothies. My DH likes the inexpensive med and dark Joe coffee. The cats cookies are a staple and other treats like the light kettle corn,'dark caramels and chocolate covered mints.

[Jolt]

Just to add to what people have already mentioned: their "Ruby Red Chai"--chai spiced rooibos tea--is excellent! They also have beef jerky that is nitrite free. The selection of nuts and dried fruits is great too, and the prices are generally reasonable. I don't get to TJs as often as I used to, because now my closest one is 40 minutes away in Portland (and the parking STINKS), but when I do there are some things I make sure to stock up on.

[snapdragen]

I'll second the frozen brown rice, there is also a rice medley that's really good. Super convenient when I don't have time to make rice. Mom loves the Cranberry Walnut salad dressing. Greek yogurt, wine, blueberry muesli, roasted baby beets, raw almonds, mini Brie, vegetable broth.....

I used to get hummus there too, but I've since discovered Tribe brand, I like it better.

[VeganBikeChick]

I love TJ's!! One just opened near my mom and she can't understand the hoopla.

I get:

Cheaper than regular grocery store fresh fruits and vegs
Tofu and Tempeh
Candy Cane Jo-Jo's (peppermint Oreos - super YUM!)
Their all-in-one facial cleanser - new and fabulous for cleaning skin and removing makeup (a steal at $5.99!)
Wine and Beer
Prechopped frozen garlic (awesome for cooking - no more peeling cloves!)
Premade pizza doughs
nuts/trail mixes
Clif Bars
Frozen dinners for a quick meal when I don't feel like cooking (pad thai, asian stir fry, etc)

TJ's is the best!!

[pll]

You have to watch this unofficial "commercial" for Trader Joe's:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdB7GDZY3Pk

They have some good deals and a quirky selection. It is fun to go there... the closest one to me takes 15-20 min driving.

ETA: gotta love that girl dancing towards the end.

[jobob]

Personally, I don't think their fresh fruit and veggies are as high quality as my local grocery store so I almost never get fresh produce at TJs.
....
That could vary from region to region though.

I agree! Maybe it's a Bay Area issue, but I've generally been underwhelmed with the produce at TJs.

It was our most reliable source for goat's milk when we were making chevre (which we haven't done sine the Austerity Plan kicked in, but we'll resume soon).

McCann's Steel Cut Oatmeal is significantly less pricey there than in our local supermarkets. And we do like the variety and quality of their frozen fish.

[nscrbug]

My TJ's favorites are - unsalted creamy almond butter, Bob's Red Mill ground flax (it's cheap there), Fage 0% yogurt (again...cheaper than most places around here), dried cranberries, walnuts and other nuts, almond meal, whole wheat pizza dough, frozen pizzas, frozen wild boreal blueberries, frozen banana slices dipped in dark chocolate (YUM!), frozen polenta and spinach combo, lite Havarti cheese slices, ground cinnamon and other assorted spices, oyster/soup crackers, pulled BBQ chicken breast (great for a quick and easy meal), Candy Cane peppermint tea bags (seasonal), Clif/Luna bars, and my DH loves one of their nut mixes (the cashew, almond, and chocolate chunk). I'm probably missing a few items, but those are the ones off the top of my head.

[Crankin]

No, it's not just in CA, the produce at the TJs 3.5 miles from my house, in Acton, is horrible. With a plethora of family farms, bakeries, and 2 outstanding gourmet farm markets that sell everything imaginable within 10 miles, I only go there for a few products I can't find elsewhere and a few occasional impulse buys/convenience foods.

Large dark chocolate bars that you can break into squares. We buy 5 at a time and eat 1-2 almost every night for dessert.
Machengo and Iberico cheese; it's the cheapest of any of the other local stores
Low fat provolone slices
lox
boxed soups: they have more flavors in low sodium than my local grocery store

Grocery stores in MA generally are not allowed to sell booze, although a few are grandfathered in to do so. The one I shop at is about a mile down the road from TJs and they sell beer and wine, although I buy my wine at a liquor store about half a mile from TJs.
The prices at TJs are definitely cheaper than other places; my son and his wife buy a lot of their food there.

[gnat23]

NUTS. Cheapest I've seen anywhere.

Clif/Luna bars. Sausages. Frozen fishies. And HEY it's almost Peppermint Green Tea and Salted Caramel season...!

-- gnat! (Just don't get hooked on any one food or they'll take it away from you)

[Sylvia]

Soy milk, yogurt, cheese, organic corn flakes, organic tortilla chips, pizza, chocolate, chilli, dog treats (made in the USA not China), fruits, nuts, hummus...

Truth is I do most of my grocery shopping there. Their prices are very good and they carry a lot of organic stuff.

[ny biker]

I don't go there too often. I used to buy big bags of unsalted cashews until I developed an allergy. I like some of the prepared foods in the refrigerator case, like soups and a spinach mushroom tortellini dinner.

I loved the pizza bagels they used to sell, though they tended to get moldy pretty fast so you had to eat them right away.

I also like their english muffins. They have some good cakes and pies, too. And some things are not always easy to find in other stores, like dried blueberries.

[winddance]

Dark chocolate covered caramels. The best.

These are ridiculously good!

I like this butter product they have, Balade, that's half the fat and made with sea salt. So tasty and not full of things I can't pronounce!

[GLC1968]

I've been continuously underwhelmed with TJ's. It's a sin to say so, though...so I usually keep my mouth shut.

It's not very convenient for us, so we only shop there on occasion. The only thing we buy there regularly is nuts because ours carries a lot of dry roasted varieties and we don't eat nuts roasted in oils. We've also often found fun cheeses there.

And yes, the produce is really lame.

Though, I will say that I did run into a TJ's in downtown Chicago (across from our hotel last summer) and their produce was MUCH more impressive. I do think it must vary by region or perhaps by season?

[Brandi]

Olive oil is a great price. olives, canned tomatoes, pasta, all kinds of rice, frozen garlic. sweet potatoe fries. CHEESE, spicy hummus, good bacon, free ranch chicken,coconut water, cream, organic milk, holiday goodies of all kinds, yogurt, frozen fruit, frozen Naan bread, frozen pie crust, butter, crumpets, italian soda, roasted almonds, walnuts and so on. All cheaper then the market. even the veggie section is awesome though I prefer farmer's market. Oh good pizza dough and roasted red pepper soup tomato, almond butter and good peanut butter also lot's of cracker's and cookies of all sorts! I used to work for them can you tell. It was one of my first jobs in high school. I worked in the very first one. Wrapped cheese back when they used to do that in the store.

[ultraviolet]

There's a TJ's about 8 block from my house, so I pop in for a few "staples" every couple of weeks because it's on my way home from work.

My list of regulars are:
- TJ's brand Greek style yogurt (full fat)
- Walnuts
- Unsalted almond butter
- Freeze-dried unsweetened blueberries (this and the walnuts go in the yogurt)
- Goat's milk
- Hummus
- Chocolate hemp protein powder
- Frozen fish and scallops (for when I don't have time to get to the fish market)
- Gluten-free ginger snaps or chocolate as an occasional treat