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TJ's does have plenty of stuff that's not often found other places and decent prices. And, at least for me, it has six or seven items that I am hooked on, so I keep coming back. I am a coffee ice cream person. I admit that O'Connell's coffee ice cream is very very good. But TJ's is delicious and it literally cost 4 times less. I am pretty much not interested in the rest of the stuff they sell, and my positive record taking recommendations here has run has not been stellar. But I do appreciate very much the ones that have been great. I realize that many agers do not live close to a TJ's. I have no idea how much those six or seven things are worth to me if determined by driving distance. I'm five minutes by car. And 15 minutes from another. And 20 minutes from a third one. The Bay Area is lousy with them. The NYT recently had an article on the TJ's carry all bag. Apparently you can make good money if you take a load of them to the UK and sell them on the street for a ridiculous sum. Aren't there enough promotional cloth bags that you acquire free? Best recommendation recently: that triple cream Delices de Bourgogne. Worst: Kringles, or whatever they are called. Chacon a son gout, as my father would say in an impeccably bad accent. It's almost midnight here in CA. Why am I writing about TJ's for gods sake. Because I'm on what appears to be a fairly strong steroid.

Yeah. I get that. I have friends here who will refuse to walk down certain streets because they contain fruit shops selling durian. I have no problem with coriander or asparagus pee, either. But other smells drive me mad.

I found it really difficult to separate the smell from the taste once my brain knew it was going into my mouth. I've tried it a few times hoping to get over it, but no joy. Maybe it's another coriander for me 😄

I suppose it doesn't smell SO bad, but I don't find the smell SO bad in the first place. I think it's one of those things that some people are more sensitive to than others. I'll eat it fresh or frozen.

TJs is in 43 states, has more than 600 locations.

Thank you all, it makes more sense now. Is it a nationwide chain? It seems to be mostly around California and the South/South-west from what I can tell (my phone hates their website, I promise I'm not being lazy)

Does it smell as bad when frozen?

I haven't been posting many of my meals recently. The weather has been so hot I have no appetite. Also, when I have eaten something more substantial, it's been a dish I've posted here a hundred times before, so not so interesting. Such was the case with dinner last night, but I did finish off the meal with some of my favourite ice cream. Durian ice cream. Food of the gods!

And let's not forget their tasting kiosks, and the Fearless Flyer newsletter ... informative, funny, and a worthwhile read.

Very much so! You can always purchase just one can or bottle from a six-pack or any multi-pack of drinks (alcoholic or non) and, as you said, return anything without question.

Then there's this book.

Service and a stong motivation to have happy and satisfied customers. In no particular order, you can return anyhing at any time, no questions asked. Tangentially, I was at the dairy case one day looking at something and unsure if I wanted it. One of the staff saw me, said that I should go ahead and try it, and if I didnt like it, it would be no problem. I didn't even have to pay for the item first. I was told thatTJ's wants people to try new-to-them items. They have some unique items, things you'll not see anywhere else. And their prices are lower than nearby markets, like Safeway. I can sometimes buy at Costco prices without having to buy Costco quantities. The staff is always happy to help and offer suggestions. I've never encountered a grumpy staff member. TJ's is a pleasant place to shop.

I love to watch when people are dexterous and elegant eating with fingers. I never learned that, so I don't try. I'm just a white Jewish old lady and did not grow up with South Asian or Ethiopian parents. Without untensils I eat the following: tacos, sandwiches, chicken wings and pizza if it usually pizza. Also I have a bad habit of grabbing the pope's nostrils off a hot roasted chicken. Nothing to brag about there.

We are back on the Cape for a few days, this time in Chatham. My husband booked a long weekend at Chatham Bars Inn because he has been wanting to stay here again for years and I have been dragging my feet. I used to have to come here every year for a multi day conference when I was working, and it was not fun. Being here as a tourist is a completely different experience, and much more enjoyable. Our room is in the spa building rather than the main inn. This part of the resort that is child free, so it is very quiet. The rooms are nice. The massive bathroom has a steam shower, a sauna, and a whirlpool tub that fills from the ceiling. There is a pool area just for the spa suites guests outside our room, but we probably won’t get there. Why sit by a pool when you can walk by the ocean? The resort is at peak capacity. My work events were always in early June, so I have never experienced crowds like there are here now. It’s crazy. We are afraid to move our car because we might never get another parking spot 😂. There are multiple weddings here this weekend, and the amount of flowers I have seen trucked in here for them defies belief. Last night we walked into town for dinner at Viera on Main. Drinks. Husband’s dirty martini and my phony negroni We shared some garlic clams and then husband had striped bass and I had a seafood pasta with clams, mussels, cod, and shrimp We skipped dessert at the restaurant in favor of hunting down some ice cream We chose coconut caramel swirl (way too rich, went uneaten) and heath bar peanut butter Friday nights are band concerts on the town green, so we stopped by for a bit. It’s a popular event! This morning we had breakfast on the veranda of the main inn. Scrambled eggs with avocado and asparagus on a smashed croissant and poached eggs with stracciatella cheese, speck, tomato, and greens After breakfast we took the resort boat shuttle over to North Beach Island, directly offshore from CBI. It was fairly uncrowded. Heading away from the CBI beach Lots of lobster and fishing boats doing their thing We ended up walking over six miles just while exploring the part of the island we got to. We are going back tomorrow to explore some more. Dinner was at Stars, the fine dining restaurant at Chatham Bars Inn. Menu Drinks. I had a non alcoholic amarena spritz, and husband had a cocktail with mezcal and strawberries. I forget the name of it. Amuse bouche of duck rillettes with cherries. I don’t like duck but husband said they were tasty. We shared some appetizers. Oysters. They were delicious, but very small! tuna and the peach burrata salad. These were both delicious I had the scallops and husband had the waygu with a lobster tail added Dessert menu I knew I wanted the berries and cream. It was really lovely. Husband got the coffee torte and regretted it after he tasted mine. Torte berries There was a complimentary parting dessert as well, but we had our server box it up for us to take to the room for tomorrow since we were both too full to eat anything else!

I like the book as well and need to pull it out more often. Some of her other books seem to assume you have a staff of prep cooks on retainer and this one is somewhat more restrained. Still, as you noted, it’s not exactly opening jars and poof - dinner!

Thanks. Won't make a special trip but will try them out when I happen to be nearby.

I can’t say they’d be worth a special trip, but if it’s on your way or a short detour at the right time of day…worse things could happen!

Interesting, never heard of this chain but there are two within 50 miles of my house. 🙂 Thank you @blue_dolphin.

Thanks tou you @blue_dolphin for enablement. I found a copy of Nancy Silverton's Twist of the Wrist for dirt cheap in great condition on eBay. I like it a lot. She has a very nice way of recommending specific ingredients and then letting you know what good options are available, and whether some of the ingredients can just be omitted. She's exacting and fairly practical at the same time. I will say this though, many of the recipes have lengthy ingredients lists and complex techniques, so I am not so sure all her shortcuts make things quick. Partly because, probably like you, I rarely use canned beans anymore. I'm trapped in RG quicksand . I look at canned beans and can't do it.

This id almost a reverse of the topic, but in the last few months I'm hearing the use of "cooked" on political blogs. Google definition below. But on these pods it is very specifically political. In modern slang, "cooked" primarily signifies thatsomeone is in a bad situation, facing trouble, or defeated. It can also be used to describe someone as extremely tired or affected by drugs.The term has roots in older slang and is frequently used on social media, particularly by Gen Z, to indicate a dire or hopeless circumstance.

My 2 cents is that TJ's is more of a niche market rather than a supermarket. They don’t carry everything one might want in their weekly shopping, though they keep getting closer. They never carried any fresh produce at all (maybe bananas and apples?) until a big grocery union strike here in SoCal (Oct 2003) shut down the chain supermarkets and TJ's picked up the slack. Costco, Target and other retailers also jumped into the fray but TJ's was the most nimble and it was a big turning point for them. Still no name brands. Lots of their own private label stuff. There are similarities to Aldi, though I find them quite different. Most of Aldi's private label stuff is packaged to be almost indistinguishable from the big name brands while TJ's tends to go for more trendy items than copycats though both sell at lower price points than their competitors.

I hold the roti in my right hand and use the fork with my left. I was brought up with the "fork stays in the left hand" school of eating. So it all makes sense and I assume it doesn't offend anyone. In a restaurant, I will usually order naan or garlic naan. I like the wholemeal chapatis but would have to make them myself. At home I get frozen roti from Aldi and use them for almost anything that calls for flat bread except Mexican, especially kabab since the bread at my local shop is pretty ordinary. We just get a meat pack and eat it with roti like it is Indian. I use my fork concave side up. Scooping onto the back of the fork baffles me. I hold my knife overhand and the English hold from below grip seems odd.

I have some cans of paint and some engine oil. Will that work?

Actually, that's a very good question. It isn't like "any other supermarket" but, having said that, I'll start the floundering about what makes it different. It's kind of a specialty grocery store, with their own product lines and not many from outside companies. Friends who have ready access find sometimes that they have to go to the main chain stores for certain household items...cleaning agents, for example. I think they focus on organically grown produce and humanely raised (and killed) animals. Their product labels typically don't require a chemistry dictionary. In my experience, they also must have excellent employee relations because I've never run across a grumpy or harrassed employee. As I've noted before, I don't often get to one so my experience is limited. And yes, Safeway is still a US supermarket chain. 😉 Okay, TJ's enthusiasts -- what have I missed? Let's help Ddanno understand Trader Joe's. Edited to add: their About Us writeup gives some explanation of why/how they're different from most US grocery store chains.

I was also sent this recipe as an example of a dump meal. Seven Can Chicken Taco Soup. That's right. Seven cans that you open and dump into a slow cooker. And they even include a video to show you how to open the cans. When they say dump meal they aren't kidding.