Kitchen

[rockygems123]

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@GingerHead wrote:

For those of you who do have a TJ's, a must try is the

Apple Cider donuts but you have to heat them up in the Airfryer for around 2 minutes....they are sheer heaven this way!

Warmed, the top ever so slightly browned and crisped (very slightly) the TJ's cashier told me to do this when I purchased them and it was the best advice!

Sorry, @QVCkitty1 ....don't look!

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@GingerHead 

NOOOOO!  They look so good yum!  And the air fryer suggestion is great

[haddon9]

Tj's is about 40 minutes from me and as others have mentioned they have unique items but they tend to be processed foods.  I try not to buy too many processed foods anymore.

I do love Wegmans and we have one about ten minutes away.  I tend to go at least once a week and was there this morning.  They have a wonderful selection of prepared foods and organic items.

I also shop at two local grocers.  One is a family run supermarket with about 5 stores in the general area with a branch very close to me.  The other is an organic grocer and I also go to our local farmer's market a lot. 

[roeroe1005]

TJ is lost on me.  I can go in a TJ and walk out empty handed.  Now that I'm back in NY, there are several I could drive to.  When I lived in lower Delaware, oh my gosh, people were rabid about getting one.  I think there is one finally coming in the Lewes/Rehoboth area.

I was a Whole Food fan, but since there wasn't any near me while I was in DE, I lost the desire.

But give me a Wegman's!  When I lived in NY before moving to DE, I would drive to NJ to food shop.  Crazy!  While in DE, I would take every senior trip to Wegman's.  When I visited family in NY, I would make a stop to Wegman's before driving home.  

I went to the Wegman's in Westchester County on Monday.  I recently moved and hadn't really food shopped.  So my grocery bill was $214.  I was expecting that one. 

I'm good for a while!

[Icegoddess]

Like another poster mentioned, I'm about 15 or so minutes away from ours.  I go there every so often, maybe 2 or 3 time a year.  There are a few items I look for when I go, but I also think the quality is not as good as more mainstream offering in the same type item.  

Two problems I've noticed.  

1.  Their business model seems to be about introducing new items to tempt customers to keep coming to discover.  However, the flip side is, a lot of items get discontinued.  As someone who is the kiss of death for any item I like, this is not good for me. 

2.  Much like Aldi's, they mostly do not stock name brand items.  Now, if the quality of their not-name-branded items was as good as, say Costco's Kirkland brand or Kroger's Private Selection brand that would be great.  But it's generally not.  And that's the same reason I've never shopped at Aldi's.  They don't sell namebrand products and I fear theirs won't be any better than TJ's. Aldi's business model is all about efficiency.  

We just got a new Aldi and a lot of people on Nextdoor were chomping at the bit for them to open.  We already had one, but it is located in a shopping center that is a bit difficult to get into and out of.  That's another reason I don't shop there, but I MIGHT try the newer one.  When they first opened the first one, they didn't accept credit cards and that was yet another reason for me not to go there.  

[foxywoods]

THE TJ is down the road from one of he Aldi's but the parking lot is a nightmare. for me it'd not worth it because Aldi and TJ have some crossover in their products.  Aldi has a good cheese selection.  I love their bagged bartlett pears and the autumn crisp grapes. Alsi also has teaser stuff that you need to grab when they have it.  for holiday they had some Pecan Meltaways that are out of this world!  I scooped up a bunch of the tins and wish I got more! for charcuterie boards they have all the fixings.

They have taken credit cards now for about 5 years. prices went up after this.

@Icegoddess   check out THE DEAL GUY on youtube. He does reviews of ALDI offerrings each month.

[Nightowlz]

Everyone with any of these stores is so Lucky.

We don't have $hit here. The nearest Sam's Club, Whole Foods, Costco etc are at least a 3 hour round trip drive.

I have no clue where the nearest TJ is?

We don't have any name brand grocery stores here either.  

[Moonlady]

This is Wegmans (I hate to sound like Joan Crawford, but no apostrophe...EVER!!)  home base so their stores and are abundant here. Tops, Walmart, Trader Joe's, and a few local establishments round out the grocery shopping experience. Competition is good--not only for prices, but for a broad selection, especially when [my favorite] name brands are increasingly supplanted by a particular store's brand.

I always enjoy the Trader Joe's shopping experience, and love to try their unique items. One of our favorites is their frozen chocolate croissants. They rise in the fridge overnight, then you bake a couple (or the entire package of 4 lol) in the morning. I use the toaster oven. They're delicious! However, we haven't seen them in quite a while (DH really checks lol.), so they may have been discontinued.