Want to be obsessed with your grocery store? MetaFilter re TJs - Trader Joes to Z0603 item a ... saved by 1 other person ... on march 8 1stlinkoffpp is to nytimes re TJs in Ny (mcass wayw).
I wonder if they sell snark? 'Cause people seem to be buying a lot of it.posted by Justinian at 5:52 AM PST on March 8

http://www.slashfood.com/2005/12/13/slashfood-ate-8-worst-things-at-trader-joes/#comments several people go for the Fage (Total) Greek Yogurt !
- And packaged salads are sold in every grocery chain, and they're all a salmonella risk. Just ask Dole.
- The only thing I ever had from TJ's that I absolutely *hated* was their walnut cilantro pesto, and I love cilantro. I think that's the one I like, jar of green.
-But their cottage cheese - so much better than knudsons, and they have great prices on organic milk, and I love how many of their products are made without trans fats and preservatives, at still a low price.
- I have also expounded on my theory of "Trader Joe's as communism manifest," which goes something like this: at a megastore like Ralph's, if you want cottage cheese, you have at least the following choices, ranging in price from : Knudsons, Daisy, Kroger, Large Curd, Small Curd, Regular, Low Fat, NonFat, big container, small container, regular lactose, reduced lactose, then there's the fruited versions etc. Oh, ok, you get your "freedom of choice" blahblah, but...go to TJ's dairy case and you get these choices: organic or not, regular or lowfat, big or small container. Yes, your choices are limited, BUT, most I've heard from agree: it's a BETTER product and there's no argument that it's CHEAPER. Give me that anyday over pay-for-play shelf space supported by million-dollar ad budgets that create racket and hullabaloo and keep kids watching TV and asking for syrup-coated-sugar-bomb cereal...I definitely think Trader Joe's is a better place in SoCal, where it started. Never have I had an inedible banana. The apples are good enough to avoid a trip to another store/market. Have had the odd bad food item. But unlike any other store I know, they have always taken it back for a refund or replacement, no arguments.
Also, I have never come across a Trader Joe's employee who was not helpful and polite, if not downright friendly. Try and find anyone at a Ralph's or Albertson's who doesn't disappear the moment you spot them! Anyone (in the Midwest) know of Aldi? There's a connection between Aldi (German-owned, with stores by the same name in Germany which are more like TJ's) and Joe's. Apparently there was a sale/merger etc. Anyway...if you're not shopping at TJ's where are you shopping for the things that meet your standards? The big chains don't cut it. In a super-populated area like West LA, I don't come across a convenient fruit/veg market. I don't want to pay the Whole Foods status prices. I don't always make it to the farmers' market. And I sure don't have a garden in the back yard like I grew up with!

http://www.losanjealous.com/2006/01/20/a-trader-joes-primer-for-manhattanites
-the infamous TJ parking lot clusterfuck-by-design. huh. research-.
-i’ve never noticed a problem with eggs, butter, or yogurt from tj’s. werd.

Is Whole Foods Wholesome? - The dark secrets of the organic-food movement. By Field Maloney [Slate] the haute-crunchy supermarket chain that has made a fortune by transforming grocery shopping into a bright and shiny, progressive experience.
"If Whole Foods marketing didn't revolve so much around explicit (as well as subtly suggestive) appeals to food ethics, it'd be easier to forgive some exaggerations and distortions." - RobotHeart [dlcs]