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.