Trader Joe's

I was first introduced to Trader Joe's when I was attending college in California, but it probably wasn't until I moved to New York that I realized how much I loved that little grocery store. When they opened their first store in Manhattan off of Union Square, it was clear they had severely underestimated how much value people placed on their brand and their products. With many Californians living in New York City the store is always bustling, and there are typically two long check out lines that wind throughout the store. It's not uncommon to wait in line for 15 or 20 minutes. It's likely the people responsible for opening that location kicked themselves for not going for a larger commercial space. They just had no idea.

Now that I am back on the West Coast again, my local Trader Joe's is again a sane destination. That said, it's still the same products and friendly customer service that I experienced first in California and last in New York.

As a lifelong vegetarian, and more recently as a vegan, it is vastly important that I am able to find products that are free of meat, dairy and eggs. Although Trader Joe's does cater to omnivores they pretty consistently cater to everyone else, too. This is so much the case that their website has downloadable .pdfs listing the products that are appropriate for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, fat free, low-sodium and kosher diets. They also have a list for those on the run and needing a quick meal.

While a typical Trader Joe's store is smaller than the average sized suburban grocery, they do have a large number and variety of products. Many of their products are extremely competitive in price compared to other grocery stores. One example product that we almost always choose to purchase at Trader Joe's instead of other stores is Soy Garden, a vegan butter alternative. It is typically $1 - $2 cheaper than if we were to purchase it elsewhere. They also sell non-food products like Dr. Bronner's castile soap. I always buy the 32 oz. sized bottle, and it is often close to $14 or $15/bottle. At Trader Joe's the same bottle will go for about $8 or $9.

Their bakery is also impressive. They carry a lot of artisan-type breads like sourdough boules, as well as rolls, hamburger buns and sweet breads like muffins. These are all usually reasonably priced around the $2 - $4 range. Not all breads are vegan, so be sure to read the labels for eggs or milk.

I don't normally purchase a lot of alcohol from Trader Joe's but even in just perusing that section of the store, it's obvious that they have a wide variety of low-priced, but decent quality wine and beer. They also sell their famously inexpensive Charles Shaw wine, a.k.a. "Two Buck Chuck" - which, obviously, goes for $2/bottle (in doing a little research on the internet I am seeing conflicting information about whether or not their Two Buck Chuck is vegan-friendly, however - some wineries use animal products in the filtration process).

All of that said, as another reviewer pointed out, their produce section is probably the most lacking and overpriced. Bananas have to be purchased not by the pound, but rather by the individual fruit which is often more expensive. I was also surprised recently that they were selling New York apples in Washington state. It would seem that they would attempt to sell local produce when available over shipping in the same product from across the country.

This is probably my only real gripe with them. Even though their products are high quality overall, they still do not focus as much as I would like on local products. This would probably make the most sense in their produce department, however there are many local packaged products (like spices, for example) that they could offer exclusively to specific regions of the country.

Overall I am a big fan of Trader Joe's, and recommend that if you have one near you to go check it out. You're likely to find yourself something that compliments your diet and your wallet.