Kendall S.
Yelp
It took me a long time to finally visit Trader Joe's. I'm not sure why I was feeling so, "eh, whatever" about this trendy little chain... that was dumb of me, because Trader Joe's is pretty dang awesome!
In my head, before I ever went inside, I imagined Trader Joe's as being much, much larger than it is... more like Whole Foods. It was a pleasant surprise to walk inside and be greeted by a charming, simple, not over-stocked store. Besides its very trendy appeal, I started to feel like I was in one of those old-fashioned town markets you'd see on Little House on the Prairie or Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman... (anyone else watch either of these? I loved Sully). Obviously Trader Joe's is not a tiny, hometown grocery, but it still maintains that neighborly, intimate, and wholesome feeling. There aren't rows and rows of perfectly organized items basking beneath fluorescent lights; everything's set up a bit more organically.
Like I said, Trader Joe's isn't huge, but there are a ton of quality items to peruse. Great produce, cheeses, wine (3 Buck Chuck!), grass-fed meats, baked goods, etc. Same objects in your typical grocery store, but with a more appealing look and price! Know what? I was really most intrigued by Joe's frozen food items! There was everything! Ethnic cuisine (Spanish, Japanese, Middle-Eastern), healthy looking junk food (corn dogs, chicken nuggets, bagel bite looking' doodads), a huge array of seafood, and a ton of side-dishy options. I ended up buying a bag of "roasted butternut squash risotto." Uhhh... yum!
And, if you were wondering, Trader Joe's really does offer competitive prices for most items. You'll definitely save a couple bucks, especially if you're into frozen foods and $3 wine (it's seriously good).