When I lived in London I preferred Selfridges and F&M over Harrods, but that was perhaps driven as much by location and the hordes of tourists in and around the latter.

I live in South Florida, and we have those plus Winn Dixie, Presidente', and Bravo. Publix has a small chain of Latin focused stores called Sabo'r and Winn Dixie has their Latin focused Fresco.

I have found Winn Dixie's to be dirty stores that surprisingly haven't been shut down by the health department. Albertson's used to have many stores, but pulled out of the market when they had financial issues, with Publix taking over many of their locations.

All-in All, I shop at Publix the most, with stops at Target, Walmart, and Whole Foods when I need something and I'm nearby on doing something.

we used to stay at honua kai in kaanapali in Maui and shopped staples at times. Plus times has or had nice taro bread. I felt that Safeway had less great quality in Maui. I love napili market the most. Times and food land to me are better than Safeway. This is very Maui specific for me.

what is a CC multiplayer?

For sure - although my local Safeway shops in Sf has a good “ethnic” section. One is so local that I’ll walk there as I no longer need to worry about driving to shop big like I did in 2020 lol

Oh, it's just my term for when credit cards offer bonus points for supermarket purchases, e.g., Chase Freedom, Amex Plat's 10X promo.

I'm just never impressed with Sunset. It seems like the same stuff as the other stores with a 10-20% mark up. What do you like there?


Another vote for Fresh Farms. Whole Foods is fine, but still a little overpriced. I don't get the fascination with TJ's (among everyone, not pointing at you!).
What I've learned is there's no all-around great store in Chicago. Fresh Farms doesn't have household items like paper towels, and they aren't necessarily in your neighborhood. Jewel or Mariano's are always close. But Mariano's might have horrible produce and great frozen items. Jewel might have great produce and bad meat. It depends on what you're shopping for.

When Bob Mariano opened the chain, it was pretty darn amazing in terms of our Chicago options. But since it was bought by Kroger, it's just a Jewel with a different sign on it.

Favorites. We have other supermarkets, like Winn Dixie, Walmart etc and some local ones. But I don't frequent them

LOL...Initially, I really didn't either. Until one day I noticed they were selling Valrhrona 85% dark chocolates for about $1.89. Naturally, I thought this was too good to be true and investigated further to see what was the catch. The packaging appeared genuine and it was actually authentic with the only difference that unlike their peers it wasn't priced at around $4 - $5.

So, before buying up 10 of them, I looked for someone who looked like some kind of manager, and just asked him/her how they could sell it at such a price. It turns out that what TJ does to be very selective and just buy a huge volume of one item of a product line--and only that item--and offer it at heavily discounted price. This may have been 20 years ago? I've been going their ever since to buy this chocolate.

The vast majority of what you buy at Trader Joe's is actually repackaged other brands. In mot cases they work out great deals, and so offer it at a little lower price point, but without the brand name. In a way they are the master of the store brand. For instance, their frozen Indian Meals, which are really the whole reason I even go there, are actually the Deep brand frozen meals. However, Trader Joe's is able to sell theirs for $1-$2 less. If you do a google search, there are many sites out there that try and identify which Trader Joe's product matches what name brand.

Nevertheless, they cram in a lot of different flavors in much small footprints than standard issue supermarkets. I'm probably not going to be able to get Georgian adjika, jicama, and oolong tea at your average supermarket, but Trader Joe's has me covered.

On the other hand, does it all taste legit? In general, I'd say they have more hits -- particularly the Balinese sambal matah and mango sticky rice from years back -- and my ex-girlfriend used to send me their chocolate-covered sunflower seeds in China.

But their ingredients lists are no less shady than more commonplace chains.

Mariano’s used to be much better before Kroger bought them.

There are some aspects of Woodman’s that I love and other parts that drive me mad.

I really wish we had something like Wegman’s here…

I don't know about adjika (and don't even know what it is!), but I can get the other two just about anywhere around here. My issue with TJ's - and there are a few things that I like there and can't find elsewhere - is that out of 4-5 aisles of food, about half is frozen, pre-made stuff. There was a time in my life where throwing something from a bag or box in the microwave was a fine meal, but not any more. I know that's not all they have, but most of the rest doesn't seem very unique to me, so why go to a store where I can't fill my whole shopping list.

Again, no judgment, I just don't get it.

Because some of the stuff is just very good - from certain mustards and seasonings, to dried fruit/nuts, to cereals, to cheeses, and I could go on, at quite fair prices. Most of what I buy there isn't frozen, and most of what I buy there isn't produce, but I'd sure miss TJs if I didn't have it available. I do keep a few frozen entrees around for a quick lunch if I've not got more time, and keep some frozen vegetables (where you ask? In the freezer) for when I don't have anything fresh at home. I also typically have a few frozen appetizer things for whenever snacking or unexpected guests. The "regular supermarket substitutes" for my TJ's purchases would not be satisfactory substitutes.

On the other hand, I'm not a "fill my whole shopping list" kind of person. Fish comes from the fish store, most baked goods come from the bakeries. Produce comes from various places, primarily a produce store.

To me, TJ is kind of a substitute for going out. I spend about a week a month away from my family for work (and have access to a kitchen) and will often just go stock up on quick/easy (but good) meals. A couple salad bowls, a frozen meal or two that are better than national brands, maybe a pack of smoked salmon, some fresh fruits/veggies. They have some really good marinated beef short ribs that cook up super easy and things like that. I can grab a container of good coffee beans and a couple bottles of wine. All at a decent price. A week's worth of food and drinks runs me $50-$75 and it's good stuff with little preparation needed. Going out 1-2X would cost more and the food would be less healthy and taste worse. I wouldn't do my weekly shopping for a family of 5 at TJ but for a few things it fills a great need.

Trader Joe's & Whole Foods (WF for certain items only).

There is a small chain in the northeastern USA called Stew Leonard's and it is a joy to shop at any of them. All of the items are fresh and most are the store's own brand. They have a number of animatronic displays (such as a dancing banana, or a cow that says moo when you pull the rope). Some locations have a petting zoo.

-J.

US: Sprouts, Costco

The Netherlands: Albert Heijn (aka THE Albert Heijn). I dream about the things they carry that I can't get anywhere else. Prepared salads, my favorite green curry paste, favorite shakshuka mix, kale by the kilo, the ham/cheese croissants that come in bags of two, their double chocolate muffins, etc.
Germany: REWE is my fav for everyday stuff just because you can figure out the sales patterns and plan around them a bit and they have better selection than many of the cheaper places. The food hall at Galerie Lafayette in Berlin is fantastic for picking up French specifics.
Belgium: hear me out: buy your chocolate at the grocery store. Same fancy names as the boutique stores, fraction of the cost. I got Galler on discount in many flavors, even at the train station convenience stores.
France: Épicerie is fun for getting gifts, but your regular local Monoprix will often have gems as well like Brittany butter (favorite tabbouleh salad comes from here!).
UK: Waitrose--I got a card before they added restrictions and was getting free coffees all the time! But the 5PM discount freezer was my favorite to hit up, with weird interesting things (chicken parsley burgers, pumpkin pizza) discounted.
Japan: High end, I loved the discount hour for Isetan food hall in Tokyo. Got to try so many things I wouldn't have considered, but with people in the aisles offering you the last of the day's food with high discounts, it's interactive and fun. Cheaper end: 7-11 is amazing! I travelled solo for 12 days and it was so nice to pop in late in the evening to get really high quality food to take for picnics or back to my room without the hassle of going to a restaurant.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, Draegers for the high end, and Berkeley Bowl for good produce. I find the cakes at Draeger's bakery to be very good - especially the carrot cake. H-Mart for Korean-focused groceries. 99 Ranch for general asian groceries.

In Manila, the SM Hypermarket at the SM Mall of Asia was huge. I found the selection of corned beef hash to be impressive.

I agree with those two lines. While I am now 25 miles away from my nearest TJ here in Florida, in California, I basically went there for five items: Bananas, Milk, Eggs, Pizza Dough and Monopolwa Vodka. No hard liquor sales in Florida TJ's makes it a non-starter.

I made fewer trips as a Grocery Outlet with liquor opened with walking distance on a Saturday morning a half mile from me and on the way back from a further away a newly renovated Safeway and a 99cents Only store for bagged produce and eggs.

Today, here in Tampa, it's ALDI, Target, or Winn Dixie as a last resort for me as I have been anti-Publix since the 90's when they were notorious for racial and sexual discrimination regarding employee promotions. Now, nothing really is "on sale" there, they just insist on BOGO offers so people, like my Mom overbuy as the price is like really isn't a deal.

This is one of my biggest complaints with Safeway. Everything is "buy 3, get 2 free". So, if I don't need 5 boxes of birthday cake mix I'm just screwed I guess. The worst example of this was one year when I went to buy a large foil turkey roasting pan. Yep, BOGO! So, I'm supposed to buy two turkey pans and store one for a year? Use it as a litter box? Come on Safeway! They pretty much lost me there.

This is an honest response that I can understand. With all the pre-made stuff, it's more comparable to takeout than groceries...and yes I know they have a couple aisles of regular groceries too. I don't know that I ever buy pre-made frozen stuff when I'm grocery shopping. Well, maybe a bag of frozen tator tots and a Jack's pizza twice a year. I've worked from home for about 15 years, I have the time to cook, and I enjoy it. So most of my shopping is produce and meats. Again, not judging anyone, just not for me.

But who doesn't need 5 boxes?

I don't have the temperament for visiting the Bowl very frequently. Yes, excellent produce, but I'd rather go to Monterey Market (but since that is a 90% produce store, I didn't list it amongst my favo(u)rites) :star:

Japan | Chicago
 

I love Donki. I have made any number of purchases from its stores in Tokyo, Yokohama, and Osaka. The next time the country deigns to let me in, I will shop there again. Also: see this FT thread about buying whiskey in Japan. Donki is one of the shops where only those in the know buy bottles of the ultra-rare Japanese single malt whiskies.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JBord (Post 34178363)

[edit] When Bob Mariano opened the chain [Mariano's], it was pretty darn amazing in terms of our Chicago options. But since it was bought by Kroger, it's just a Jewel with a different sign on it.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Duke787 (Post 34171210)

That's disappointing. I'm making my first trip to Chicago in years this summer (haven't been outside the airport since 2014). Guess there's no need to swing back by the old neighborhood to check on Mariano's.

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It gets worse. Bob Mariano sold his stores to Kroger. Then, after his non-compete period ended, he resumed opening elevated grocery stores.
But then, he struck a deal with a landlord to not renew the lease of a genuinely independent grocery store in order to open another of HIS stores in the same location! View this thread on the LTH Forum for an overview of the situation. {Warning: This can go very deep.}

I have fond memories of Géant in Bahrain, because they had giant supplies of ras malai, ras gullah, and jalebi ... although jalebi is best freshly fried.

In Chicgoland Valli is getting better & stronger, 10 % off on Senior Tuesdays too ! Good prices & quality on sale items.

RE: Trader Joe's

I may have jinxed myself! I've noticed that in the past couple of weeks, they no longer carry those Valrhona chocolates. Quite a dilemma for me; continue enjoying them as I have the past 2 decades and cough up $5+, or live without it?

Hm...perhaps, I'll change to the inferior Lindts?

Have you chatted with the local manager? There are periodically supply shortages ... at least, that's what they say.

Oh, and something else I like about TJ's, their "What's New" page: https://www.traderjoes.com/home/prod...s%22%3Atrue%7D.

Also, I don't quite get the problem with the frozen foods. I don't buy them. And supermarkets with larger shelf space have larger frozen food sections, too. What's left? Flavorless tomatoes, Bleu cheese-stuffed ham, and Churros cereal?

OTOH, there are a lot of weird ingredients in TJ's foods, much like almost everywhere else in the US. That shredded part-skim mozzarella didn't quite melt right.

Good idea! I should ask them this afternoon, so at least I'll know and see if I'll have to acquire them through different channels. Initially, I had thought it was just out or a delay, but it's been several weeks now.

The Trader Joe Belgian chocolate bars (little sets of 3) are made by Callebaut and I think they are really good. I start my day with a half of a TJ dark chocolate bar.

Oh wow, didn't know that! Gonna pick some up later today.

These. They also come with almonds or milk chocolate. It is a pack of 3.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b384b27245.jpg

Thanks again for the tip! Picked up some tonight, the ones in your photo. For 1.89, can’t beat it!

PS - Having a bar now with my coffee. They're great! If the Valrhona's return (which doesn't appear they will at my local TJ's), great; if not, I'm set. On my own, I would never had known just by looking at the packaging that these were high quality Beligan chocs.

Good to know -- there's a Valli in Evanston that I frequently pass but I've never shopped there.

I have never been to this supermarket but drove by it today, and figure it deserves a mention :cool:

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...eaf661d35b.jpg

-J.

Anyone been to Erewhon? https://www.erewhonmarket.com


Also anyone going to France should check out Picard. An only frozen market. Even the most talented sophisticated cooks have done whole dinner from Picard. https://www.picard.fr

City Market, Mexico City
 

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...06b464cbf0.jpg
Spices. Yep.

My local supermarket (Key Food) is by no means my favorite, but I made out very well tonight. They had everything that was advertised in the circular and then some unadvertised items also, including a five-pound (!) bag of whiting fillets. I spent around $66 but "saved" over $45 and have enough protein items to last a few weeks.

-J.

I'm living in Maui and ended up remodeling a condo my wife just bought (labor shortage, our contractor bailed at the last minute - long story). Anyway, the condo is a 30 second walk form an ABC Store which I've found to be outstanding. For those not familiar, ABC Stores are in a lot of tourist destinations and are basically a clean convenience store with a few more offerings. They have all the standard food/drink goodies but some (the one I'm near) also have an amazing deli/restaurant. They actually cook up a full prime rib each day and sell it until it's gone for example. And it's REALLY good. They also have really good sandwiches, fresh fruit/veggie packs and, of course, all the drinks you could imagine (including beer/wine/liquor). Beyond that you can get tourist goodies like T-shirts, mugs, snorkel sets, beach towels and things like that. Prices are actually very competitive in most cases. Pretty much in line with Safeway for like items. The one next to me is even a gas station..... and you just can't beat gas station prime rib!

In the UK , Sainsbury & Waitrose .

Wholefoods

We love eating at abc in Kapalua (Maui). Is the gas station abc by Wailea?