Trader Joe's & Whole Foods - Page 2

[rhiOrion]

I don't think anybody has mentioned TJ's beer selection. They make it very easy to make your own 6 pack of individual beers, and for the most part they're pretty cheap. Most of their beers are about a dollar each (at least here), so that's a 6 dollar 6 pack. Some are more expensive. They have their own brands of beer, too. Definitely not the biggest selection for a big beer snob, but pretty good.

And the Three Buck Chuck, of course. Three dollar wine? I can't beat that.

[sellendie]

Remember when 3 buck chuck was 2 buck chuck? Those were the days...

We buy our Greek yogurt and olive spreads/tapenades at TJ's because of the great price, and we love their Blistered Peanuts. They have interesting dried fruits also, like chili spiced mango, etc, that are tasty for something a little different.

[CookiePie]

At TJ's the organic 78% cocoa, chocolate bars, so yummy!

[beanma]

I just finished some apricot mango TJs Greek yogurt. It was pretty good, but not as thick and creamy as the Fage stuff I sometimes splurge on at our local coop.

Love their chocolate covered everything, though : !

[rhiOrion]

Oh yeah, I just discovered their greek yogurt last time i was there. I'm trying to get more protein, so it was perfect. Way more flavors that my local grocery store (which, I think has plan, vanilla, and blueberry).

[Ldavis24]

Maybe I am one of the few dissenting voices here but I am not a fan of our local TJs at all. I feel like it is so small and never has quite what I am looking for that I generally leave frustrated and having to go somewhere else.

Our closest WFs is over a 1/2 hour away but I take a trip there once a week and take orders from family and friends for anything they might want me to pick up.
I absolutely love it although I will freely admit some of the stuff is over priced.

I always get produce from there
Always get my meat there because there is a selection of local farms that supply meat (plus they have beautiful fresh fish). I can also get local dairy and I am in love with their store brand lavender shampoo!

Where we live it is hard to find many local farms and during the winter it is almost impossible. WFs is a way for me to try and spend some money on things that at least came from New England if not the state I live in. When we move, I will be spending less there and more on actually going to local farms because we will live in a more rural area. We really only want organic stuff as well which is certainly very easy at WFs, I have found that I really have to label watch to get that at TJ....
Sorry for the ramble just gotta stick up a little bit for WF!
DH also loves that on a saturday afternoon they have tons of food samples
I make most of our food from scratch which is another reason I don't really go to TJs because they have lots of (delicious looking) prepared food.

[oceanbaby]

I shop at both stores, and agree with much of what has been posted here. A few additions:

I find the nuts in the bulk section at WF to be much superior to the packaged ones at TJ. There is no comparison with the walnuts. The ones from TJ are kind of bitter, and the ones from WF are like butter!

The WF 365 brand is pretty good, and pretty price competitive.

I love the smoked sliced turkey from the WF deli much better than the packaged organic turkey at TJ.

TJ has "uncured" (meaning nitrate free) bacon that rocks! They have organic free range chicken which I stock up on, but they don't have any good organic ground turkey, so I get that at WF.

WF has better produce, hands down. The only produce I buy at TJ (other than frozen) is baby carrots, and maybe bananas or onions and garlic. Sometimes during the summer they have decent organic berries.

I don't like the TJ bread selection. They only have one version of Alvarado bread, and it's not one we like, so I get our sprouted multi grain at WF.

My kids go crazy for the TJ peanut butter crackers, and I often stock up on Clif Bars there.

The only organic cheddar that TJs has is a New Zealand cheddar, and it is way too "grassy" for me, so I buy our cheese at WF. I do get the organic cheese sticks for the kids at TJ, though. Oh, and the kids like their frozen cheese pizza.

Overall I like WF a lot more, but I hit TJ first for staples - frozen berries, yogurt, butter, crackers, pasta, olive oil, etc. Lucky for me TJ and WF are across the street from one another so I hit TJ first and then pop on over to WF!

[4JMJ]

Originally Posted by Ldavis24

DH also loves that on a saturday afternoon they have tons of food samples

YAY for us because we are going Saturday!!

[Arduinna]

I forgot I also buy maple syrup at WF.