Trader Joe's Products (2015–2017)

[palo]

2 hours ago, gfweb said:

We leave our carts all over the parking lot and stores pay the mentally disabled (or kids) to return them.

 

That's why they make you deposit a quarter to use a cart, you have to return the cart to a central location to get your quarter back. No more carts all over the parking lot. I live in a small town and don't have mentally disturbed people or kids roaming the street trying to make a few pennies.

 

p

[gfweb]

5 hours ago, palo said:

 

That's why they make you deposit a quarter to use a cart, you have to return the cart to a central location to get your quarter back. No more carts all over the parking lot. I live in a small town and don't have mentally disturbed people or kids roaming the street trying to make a few pennies.

 

p

 

 

Oh . I get it now. The quarter is a deposit to make you return the cart. It'll cost you a quarter to leave the cart in the lot.

 

Thanks!

 

Edited March 23, 2016 by gfweb (log)

[Toliver]

One thing that keeps surprising me at TJ's is they sell their own brand of butter cheaper than any other chain grocery store around. Even the Walmart grocery store that opened up near my home charges more for their butter than TJ's. This excludes any comparison to Costco, though, which I am sure is cheaper but I don't need their "Crate-O-Butter" until Xmas time when I do a lot of baking. 

 

One thing that really bugs me about checking out at TJ's is how the check-out employees (aka cashiers) always make positive comments on your purchases..."Ooo, I love that olive oil. It has such a great flavor!" "Those potato chips are da bomb!", etc

Enough already with the upsell. I'm buying it and taking it home so shuddup!   

[cakewalk]

Every time I go to TJ's I buy at least a pound or two of their butter and freeze it. I go through it pretty quickly when I'm baking, and that price can't be beat. I live in Manhattan and there's no TJ's in my neighborhood, so it means schlepping by subway, which means limiting what I buy to what I can carry. When I go I usually have specific things in mind, but a pound or two of their butter is always on the list!

 

And the cashiers here don't comment on anything!

[rotuts]

@Toliver   

 

do you recall what that goes for an lbs ?

 

at my TJ's  the cashiers ask when am I going to buy 12 cases of wine again.

Edited March 23, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[Thanks for the Crepes]

14 hours ago, Toliver said:

One thing that keeps surprising me at TJ's is they sell their own brand of butter cheaper than any other chain grocery store around. Even the Walmart grocery store that opened up near my home charges more for their butter than TJ's. This excludes any comparison to Costco, though, which I am sure is cheaper but I don't need their "Crate-O-Butter" until Xmas time when I do a lot of baking. 

 

One thing that really bugs me about checking out at TJ's is how the check-out employees (aka cashiers) always make positive comments on your purchases..."Ooo, I love that olive oil. It has such a great flavor!" "Those potato chips are da bomb!", etc

Enough already with the upsell. I'm buying it and taking it home so shuddup!   

 

I buy TJ's butter too, and it's cheaper and better than other sources around my neck of the woods.

 

I have had TJ's employees comment on my purchases too, but it has always seemed genuine to me. Maybe I am just socially naive, but I have always enjoyed my engagements with TJ's employees in my local store much, much more than anywhere else I shop, and that includes most of my beloved local mom and pop ethnic markets where my contact with employees is very hit or miss. Did you stop to consider that maybe your cashier really does like the olive oil or chips? After all, it's too late at that point for an upsell, and many of the products are very good. Stop and smell the few roses that we still have left, maybe? 

[rotuts]

I remember reading an interview with someone very high up in the TJ's Totem.  it might have been in the WSJ  about how the chain became successful   

 

the one comment got me thinking :   if the interview-ee   didn't smile during the interview, they would not be a good fit for TJ's

 

my Tj group is friendly in a genuine way.  

 

 

[kbjesq]

4 hours ago, rotuts said:

I remember reading an interview with someone very high up in the TJ's Totem.  it might have been in the WSJ  about how the chain became successful   

 

the one comment got me thinking :   if the interview-ee   didn't smile during the interview, they would not be a good fit for TJ's

 

my Tj group is friendly in a genuine way.  

 

 

We don't have TJs close by, the nearest one is >100 miles from here. But I do travel frequently, and from Florida TJs to California TJs and places in between, I've noticed that all the cashiers are chatty, and they all want to chat about what is in my cart. Frequently, this chat is a prelude to something like, "hey, if you like those pumpkin cookies, have you tried the pumpkin XXX? I'm just crazy about the pumpkin XXX" 

This script or a version thereof has been replayed to me in so many TJ stores across the country that I do believe it is part of corporate training. 

I find it annoying, but then again, I'm annoyed by a lot of things that I perceive as thinly-veiled marketing gimmicks. Like the pharmacist as my local Walgreens saying, "Be Well" last week when I was picking up my Tamiflu, 6 boxes of Puffs Plus, Pepto-bismol, and Pedialyte 

I guess he didn't get last year's memo that nixed the "Be Well" campaign: 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-walgreens-be-well-0326-biz-20150325-story.html

[rotuts]

I think its easy to think that  @kbjesq   

 

in my area  i.e. my persona store, I comment to them as much as they comment to me about new items.  I think at lest for me the thoughts are genuine.

 

sometimes they point out something they think is better.   never have any comments increased or decreased what i buy.

 

but this has to vary.   I can't imagine they are trying to sell stuff.  but regions vary

[blue_dolphin]

On March 23, 2016 at 10:58 AM, rotuts said:

@Toliver   

 

do you recall what that goes for an lbs ?

 

at my TJ's  the cashiers ask when am I going to buy 12 cases of wine again.

 

Not Toliver, but TJ's butter is $2.99/lb at my store in SoCal.  I use it for most things but usually buy Kerrygold butter for toast.  I just purchased some "Trader Jacques" cultured butter from Brittany, France but haven't tried it yet.  $2.99 for 8.8oz.  Nothing's too good for toast!

 

On March 22, 2016 at 3:15 PM, rotuts said:

TJ's cheeses, branded or not are simply at least 1/3 d cheaper than the average chain MegaloMart.

 

they may not have the larger selection, but its the same stuff for what they have.

 

just cheaper.

 

Boursin is another one.  $5.99 @ Sprouts and chains, $3.79 for the same size package at TJ's.  

 

I'm not wild about the practice of pre-cutting and shrink-wrapping cheeses, but the practice is almost ubiquitous.  Whole Food will cut cheeses to order, and I'm willing to pay their big mark up for some special cheeses, but not everything.  

 I try to buy cheese at the busier TJ's that have more rapid turnover and it does pay to look over the display to pick the newer packages and avoid any that look poorly wrapped.

[dscheidt]

31 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

Not Toliver, but TJ's butter is $2.99/lb at my store in SoCal.  I use it for most things but usually buy Kerrygold butter for toast.  I just purchased some "Trader Jacques" cultured butter from Brittany, France but haven't tried it yet.  $2.99 for 8.8oz.  Nothing's too good for toast!

 

 

That's the same price as it is in Chicago.  It's also what the local chain store charges for their brand (Roundy's), which is just as good, and has the decency to be printed using an Elgin printer.  Land o Lakes goes on sale for about that, sometimes less, at holidays, and its notably superior to either.  The little greek/mexican grocery I buy produce from has a wisconsin brand, which I buy sometimes if it's on sale.  It's hit or miss, sometimes I think it's very good, sometimes I don't. 

[MelissaH]

The rosemary Italian style crackers remind me of matzah with flavor, something I don't mind eating. Think anyone would notice if I swapped them in for the officially sanctioned version at my Seder? (Ingredients: unbleached enriched flour, expeller pressed canola oil and extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and dried rosemary)

[curls]

55 minutes ago, MelissaH said:

The rosemary Italian style crackers remind me of matzah with flavor, something I don't mind eating. Think anyone would notice if I swapped them in for the officially sanctioned version at my Seder? (Ingredients: unbleached enriched flour, expeller pressed canola oil and extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and dried rosemary)

If you usually serve traditional matzah, yes, they'll notice! Also, the TJ crackers are probably not kosher for Passover.

[MelissaH]

(psst, @curls: for me the Seder is all about friends and food, and I don't hang out with a very observant crowd. We go for spirit, not letter, of the law. I don't think I've ever served a meal that's completely kosher for Passover, depending on whose rules you follow. For us, the fact that there's no leavening in the crackers themselves is good enough! Given that the taste of these is so much better than the cardboard usually served, I'm seriously considering it.)

[rotuts]

""   the Seder is all about friends and food ""

 

Ive gone to many like this.  I take Vertical Chickens from the Weber.  Regular Chickens.

Edited April 1, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[ElsieD]

On Sunday, August 16, 2015 at 0:35 PM, rotuts said:

Im a fan of green chili.  hot.  tart. think Green tabasco sauce

 

this is new in my area :

 

 

I love it.  good heat. Good Green flavor  like siracha but green

 

Ill use it in my next tortilla/chicken/green chili bake.

I

We are planning a run to TJ's in Syracuse and I am making up my list of what to get.  Rotuts, could you elaborate a bit on this?  We are suckers for the Roasted Garlic and Sriracha sauce and will be bringing a bunch of that back but this looked interesting too.  What is the main ingredient list?  How spicy is it?  My husband eats raw whole Thai chilis so his tolerance for heat is pretty high.  Me not so much.   I try to stick to buying stuff that I have not seen here so if this is something truly different I would buy it.  Thank you.

[rotuts]

my gold standard for bottled chili 'sauce' is  tabasco green, not red.  I like the flavor of green heat

 

this is not quite as hot as T.G., and TG has a lot o vinegar in it.  I added some white vinegar to it after i used some up and love it that way.

 

I don't think you can go wrong,   if you don't like it, keep the container and take it back next trip

 

they demo'd a Sriracha  BBQ sauce the other day.  I like it.  delayed heat.  consider it .

[ElsieD]

7 hours ago, rotuts said:

my gold standard for bottled chili 'sauce' is  tabasco green, not red.  I like the flavor of green heat

 

this is not quite as hot as T.G., and TG has a lot o vinegar in it.  I added some white vinegar to it after i used some up and love it that way.

 

I don't think you can go wrong,   if you don't like it, keep the container and take it back next trip

 

they demo'd a Sriracha  BBQ sauce the other day.  I like it.  delayed heat.  consider it .

 

We'll try a bottle,  thanks.  Was that the roasted garlic Sriracha bbq sauce you tried?  Last time I was there we brought back 4 jars and there is about 1/2 "  left in the last bottle.  We love that stuff and will be loading up on it for sure.

[rotuts]

yes that seems to be it.

 

they have a lot of bottled BBQ type sauces that are far better than the name branded stuff.

[blue_dolphin]

I tried these frozen crab cakes recently.  I don't recommend them.  They are $6.99 for a box with two 3 oz crab cakes.  Unlike many frozen crab cakes, they are almost all crab, very little in the way of filler.  Most of the crab is very fine shreds but each cake has a 4 or 5 larger pieces on the top and bottom surfaces.   

All crab!  Large pieces!  Sounds good, right?  Not so, in my experience and I suspect it's almost impossible to cook them in a way that achieves a little surface browning without drying the crab into sharp splinters.

 

When I cooked the first one, I followed the package instructions (which caution against overcooking) 425 deg F for 10 minutes, flip and cook 2-4 minutes longer, until golden brown.  I got this:

which looks OK but like I said above, the bigger pieces on the surface of the cake were basically sharp little splinters of crab.  The middle of the cake was fine, with moist shreds of crab, the flavor is good and they really taste of crab.

For round 2, I went for 10 minutes at 400 deg F on steam-bake in the Cuisi steam oven then into a saute pan with butter to get a little color on them but they weren't any better.  

 

I think a good crab cake should have a lightly browned, crisp exterior and moist interior filled with small to medium pieces of crab.   I don't think there is a good way to get some surface browning on these guys without overly drying those larger pieces, which should really be the best part!  

If anyone else can report better success, I'd consider giving them another try but for now, I'm giving them a thumbs down!

[ElsieD]

This rice blend is really, really good.  I plan on picking up a few more bags when next we go.  The first first time I cooked it, there was a lot of water that had not been absorbed.  I cooked it again tonight and cut back a bit on the water.  Much better.  Does anyone else buy this?

 

[blue_dolphin]

56 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

This rice blend is really, really good.  I plan on picking up a few more bags when next we go.  The first first time I cooked it, there was a lot of water that had not been absorbed.  I cooked it again tonight and cut back a bit on the water.  Much better.  Does anyone else buy this?

 

Yes, I like it and try to keep it on hand.  Cooks up well in the Instant Pot and seems a little more "fancy" than plain brown rice.

[ElsieD]

BD, I have the instant pot.  How do you cook it in the IP?  How much water do you use?

[blue_dolphin]

I use 1 cup of rice and 1.25 cups of water or stock for 23 minutes at high pressure + 10 minutes natural release.  I see from reading the package directions that doesn't exactly save a ton of time but it's easy to just set it and forget it .

To avoid sticking to the bottom, especially with a small amount of rice I like to use a pyrex bowl on a trivet with a cup of water in the pot.

[ElsieD]

9 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

I use 1 cup of rice and 1.25 cups of water or stock for 23 minutes at high pressure + 10 minutes natural release.  I see from reading the package directions that doesn't exactly save a ton of time but it's easy to just set it and forget it .

To avoid sticking to the bottom, especially with a small amount of rice I like to use a pyrex bowl on a trivet with a cup of water in the pot.

 

Excellent.  Thank you, you covered all the points.  I'll do it this way next time.