Actually this love song is for Trader Joe's.
Does anyone not like Trader Joe's? I assume that some people don't, but they probably also don't like the Beatles, or spaghetti, or babies. (I'm not saying you have to like all those things, just that a lot of people do.)
I feel so at home at Trader Joe's, or TJ's as we TJ's shoppers are fond of saying. I love that many of their products are labeled "Monrovia, CA 91016." I love how small the stores are, and that I don't feel like I have to be wealthy or yuppie or earthy to shop there, as opposed to most health-food supermarkets. I love that they don't ask "paper or plastic?", they just assume you want paper. Unless you have purchased a few of their snazzy vinyl bags of course.
I love their ridiculous and corny "newsletter" ads that come in the mail.
I love their frozen section. Did I say love, I meant LOVE. I always pick up some frozen naan, which is an excellent addition to any meal and convenient if you don't have a stone or clay oven, who does these days, right? as well as the individual servings of Indian and Thai food. Chicken Vindaloo is my #1 favorite. Their frozen pizzas and stuffed pastas are also tasty, the mochi and other assorted ice creams are lovely, the cheesecakes and other desserts are mighty tempting, the frozen vegetables and other side dishes are also quite nice.
And generally every time I go (once a week or so) I see something new that I want to try.
TJ's pre-packaged salads are divine, particularly the spinach one with raspberry vinaigrette, candied pecans, craisins, and blue cheese, which I forgot to pick up when I was there yesterday, drats.
Their jams and fruit spreads are very yummy and somewhat low in sugar.
The checkers I meet there are unfailingly nice, and come in all ages (early 20s to late 70s) and "looks" (preppie to covered in tattoos).
I always either run into someone I know, or witness someone else running into someone they know--or the other day when I was there, two women started chatting about something and realized they lived a block apart, and made plans to get together later. It feels very small-townish in the large town that I live in.
Baby T always makes lots of friends there, even more than usual.
TJ's can be a little pricey at times, and it doesn't have everything. I don't LOVE their whole-wheat bread, for instance. And sometimes they are out of Chicken Vindaloo. I know it's not PERFECT. I still go to the "regular" market for a lot of things.
But it's just a breath of fresh air . . . you know?
8 comments:
I agree, we also love Trader Joe's. If you like Crab Cakes, theirs are good, they are frozen and you can just fry them with a little oil. What is naan? Am I missing something I should try?
I love the fact that I knew Trader Joes when they were a little market on the corner of May and Foothill!
I forget to go there sometimes - I'm in a hurry - and ours is not conveniently located - as in I can't really walk to it.
I could if they opened at 6 a.m. though.
Pam, you have probably had naan if you've eaten at Indian restaurants. It's flatbread that is yummy with anything spicy--I am a wimp when it comes to spicy things and need good bread to balance it out. This particular naan is as good as anything I've had in a restaurant, it's precooked so you just put it in the oven at 400 for about a minute to warm it up.
I like to put food straight on it, or it's also good on its own.
Too bad it's not on May and Foothill anymore, Babs. Then you'd have no excuse not to go!
They also have great flowers and cheap nuts!
Amen,
Try the Chocolate Truffles and any of the candy, the trailmix is divine, as is the Potato Medley and the Fettucine Alfredo (Frozen)
I could go on, but it's making me hungry!
how timely. My family was just having this discussion about how Omaha needs a "TJ's" (not to be confused with TJ Maxx - another favorite). You will be disappointed to know I have only been to one TJ's in my whole lifetime and it was only for like five minutes - not enough time to take it in. Frozen Naan? I'm there - that is when we get one.
I love TJ's. SLC needs one!
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