Monday, May 12, 2008

Review: Trader Joe's

While on a weekend get-a-way with friends, I had the opportunity to visit the Santa Fe, NM Trader Joe's. Similar to Vitamin Cottage or a mini Whole Foods, Trader Joe's offers a variety of healthy foods at much lower prices than even a Super Walmart. Since I went on a Saturday night, the place was packed. Even with the large crowd, the staff was very helpful and pleasant. The isles were a bit crowded with stockers trying to keep up with the demand, but they were helpful and courteous as well.

Here is short list of some of the great buys we found...
Ground Almond Meal - $3.69/lb
White Balsamic Vinegar (17oz) - $1.99
Sumatran Coffee (small can) - Less than $5? (A friend bought this so I didn't see the actual price. The taste was AWESOME!)
Coconut Milk - $1.04 (same sized can is now $1.12 at Super Walmart)
Vitamin C Lotion (16oz) - $2.50 (high end lotions with similar ingredients are closer to $20 for a much smaller container)

One of the best bargains at Trader Joe's is their wine. The Charles Shaw brand wine is affectionately known as "Three Buck Chuck" since they sell at only $2.99 a bottle. Despite its low price, this is AWARD WINNING wine! I picked up a bottle of White Zin and one of my girlfriends picked up an assorted case.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Shaw_wine

While there is no Trader Joe's in Colorado, and due to our insanely stupid liquor laws, there may never be one, a yearly trip to Trader Joe's may be something I have to schedule. Even with the high gas prices, the money I saved on the 6 bags of almond meal I bought pays for the trip since it retails for over $14/lb at my local King Soopers...IF you can find it. Besides, the drive from Colorado to New Mexico is beautiful. Having cheap, drinkable wine and affordable heath food at the end of the trip is just a bonus.

http://www.traderjoes.com/index.html

7 comments:

JD said...

Is it $3 in Sante Fe? It is $2 in LA. We call it two buck chuck.

Ed Duffy said...

The rest of the country has to deal with THREE buck chuck due to the shipping costs to get the wine out of California.

oakdryad said...

I didn't think we would be getting a TJs in MN because of OUR insane liquor laws, but three have opened in the last 18 months. Keep the dream alive! :)

Unknown said...

We have Trader Joe's stores that don't sell wine - liquor laws wouldn't stop them from setting up stores.

Linda said...

Great news! Maybe there will be a store here some day. Until then, it REALLY is a nice drive down to New Mexico :D

Anonymous said...

The vitamin cottage by my house always has almond meal for under $4 a pound...

and nuttyguys.com has EXCELLENT prices on nut meals! $2 a pound for walnut meal!

Anonymous said...

Hi Wifey, Black57 here. I have been wanting to comment here since forever. I wanted to also share that Trader Joes has the thickest heavy cream I have ever seen. It is as thick as puss.You can scrape out any residual cream once you empty the bottle and spread it on a slice of beef.