Next time I go to TJs, I’ll try to take a photo of the packaged product. We eat it weekly. High satisfaction. I’m now shopping there weekly after years of limited shopping. I first found Trader Joe’s around 1995 while in preschool and I liked their jam.

Some of us remember not so long ago that you absolutely refused to step foot in a TJ...the same as your Costco ban. :p

I used to regularly buy TJs wraps, salads, and soups for lunch, as we have a store just a short walk from my office.

I can't recall trying anything that I didn't like.

Grilled chicken
coconut Jasmine rice
baby broccoli
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organic carrots & celery
spaghetti with pecorino and olive oil
Tiberoni linguini with pesto (one pot meal) and pecorino - it’s good and I might try their other products.

Girl Scout cookies
blood orange

thankfully the hour-long queue stopped occurring, combined with my going around 9a and not 11. Good lessons :-)



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Let me clarify my earlier comments. It's not that I dislike TJ's. Nothing I've eaten from there is bad. It's just nothing special. I don't see the point, for me personally, in going to a smaller store with a more limited selection for items that aren't better than I can get at the big stores. It's just an extra stop. At the store near us, since the pandemic began, there's been a line outside the store (even in 20 degree weather) because they're limiting the number of customers in the store. There's no way I'm waiting in line, regardless of the weather, to buy groceries, unless they are amazing things that are worth waiting for.

So hopefully no one is taking my comments as dislike or judgment. Just doesn't work for me.

Corky, you nailed it. They were a mess, and you're right, there was next to no sauce. I do make enchiladas from scratch, but saw them regularly referred to in this thread and thought it would be a convenient thing to grab for a lunch time meal. I think the packaging says one has 290 calories, but a fair amount of sodium so I'm not sure I would want to eat two in one sitting. Though I may have done just that with the first one I ate, which in retrospect was fairly gargantuan. now I'm going to be craving enchiladas and we'll have to make them next week from scratch. Though I may just do a lazier enchilada type pie/casserole.

Now I am thinking that it has been a while since I have made enchiladas (or the casserole) from scratch too. Fortunately my freezer is full and I would normally freeze at least half because it is too much for one person. Maybe the feeling will pass. :p
290 calories for one does sound like a lot but it was hard to tell how big they are when looking at the package although I am sure my homemade ones are equally high in calories!

Store entry lines are a huge factor for me - I tolerated them early in pandemic when there was no choice; I used my FlyerTalk skills for navigating line efficiency which meant early time shopping etc. I definitely eschewed stores during spring / summer 2020 because of the queue and my phone calendar indicated store queue etc.

now I can shop and avoid queues so it’s easy for me to go to Costco Trader Joe’s et al with no queue! Phew. I only learned this via FlyerTalk skills for finding flights and upgrades back in 2007-2010.

My TJ's down here still limit capacity and sometimes I have to wait about 2 or 3 minutes (mostly before big food days such as Super Bowl etc). As everyone on here told you, the lines at first were never an hour wait. I think about 10 or maybe 15 minutes at the most during peak time. WF still limits capacity but it has been a long time since I had to wait longer than 45 seconds. I was and am still more interested in a safe shopping experience than worrying about spending a few minutes in line but I was also not going to 5 different stores every few days for one thing at each store. Actually many places other than grocery limit capacity still. I went to Home Goods a few days ago and they had a posted customer limit and a person with a counter at the door to keep track of going in and out. I am fine with all of this.

Interesting. In the early days, about a year ago, places like Target and the grocery stores had people posted to count and enforce limits here. I haven't seen anyone doing that anywhere around here since maybe last summer, except for TJ's. I can almost guarantee it's not happening, nor do I think it's required here. So waiting in a line at TJ's in below freezing weather makes it stand out in a bad way, IMO.

But it does seem like California is operating on a much different set of rules and guidelines than the rest of the country.

Edit to add: Forgot the reason I came here :). Tonight we decided to try buffalo chicken stuffed spaghetti squash. Basically all the good stuff you'd put in a wrap, but instead it gets mixed with the squash "noodles", stuffed back in and baked for a few more minutes. Wish me luck.

Spaghetti squash just tastes icky to me...I have tried because I would love a pasta substitute ( no thanks on the zoodles etc either). But maybe the tasty buffalo chicken will help. A couple months ago I think all stores went to capacity control...clothing, bookstores etc. Now I still see some with a posted max capacity but I don't know if it is enforced....my nail salon for sure is doing it. Ralph's & Vons have one door to go in & one to come out and once in a while I while see them limiting people, Costco lets everyone in but that wasn't the case last spring but their lines went fast too. TJ has upped their capacity but it is still limited and I think this is what WF is doing too. But as you pointed out, we aren't waiting in snow to get in!

I like TJ's but I don't buy a lot of their prepared foods. I typically shop their produce section, the meat section, and the seasonings. I like some of their pre-cut produce mixes and their marinated meats. I also like their flowers. A single friend likes TJs because she can get a lot of items meant for a solo for a reasonable price. But it's definitely not for everyone.

Yeah, so weird. We don't even have anyone outside counting now, except at TJ's. I don't believe we have any retail capacity restrictions other than restaurants and events. If we do, they aren't being followed anywhere.

I'm not a fan of squash. Spaghetti squash is the only one I'll buy at the store. To me, it doesn't have a lot of it's own flavor but takes on whatever flavors you add. I'll eat the others if served, but don't seek them out, including pumpkin pie. And the actual Zoodles are a No. We've had the spaghetti squash with pasta sauce and it's good, but it's not pasta. Honestly, we treat it like a vegetable rather than pretending it's something else. Anyway, if you cover something in wing sauce, I figure it has to be good.

Funny thing, for everyone teasing Gaobest about veggies, it's kind of the opposite in our house. We eat mostly veggies and protein, and not a lot of carbs or sugar. It's not some kind of health kick, although we're aware of the pros and cons, it's just what we prefer.

I was going to be in a different part of town & a friend was going to meet me for dinner at a nice restaurant in Santa Monica. She cancelled so I ended up going to Tito's Tacos....a real greasy spoon take out place that has been around for 60 years. The tacos are kind of crappy (unrecognizable beef) but really addictive. Great salsa and fresh fried chips. This place has a real cult following & always has a line---I have been going for years. I used to pay $1 for a taco with cheese (85cents without cheese) and today it was $4.40 for one! Packed on weekend nights...good drunk food.