Chicago: The Eponymous Thread

I had that same feeling going to Dominicks after a few months at Trader Joe's. It was fun to be in a gigantic store with a whole different array of brands.

At Trader Joe's I pretty much get: nuts, carrot juice, pre-prepared chicken breasts w/ lemon, Clif bars, Go Lean. NOT MUCH OF A COOK.

I dunno. First and foremost, it's too far away. I don't have to drive to Dominick's if I don't need to, the train goes right there. Second, I don't like the co-op(heh)t-ing of local grocery/health food/etc stores' ethea into some kind of national chain. It is what it is, stop pretending. Third, and semi-related, I like supporting local business. Hence Belmont and/or Stanley's produce markets. Hell, even Dominick's is based here, even if it is in with Safeway or whatever.

And, as I mentioned before, the atmosphere/clientele all moving at 1/4 speed, gabbing on phones and blocking already narrow aisles, makes me want to kill. Grocery rage!

I love Stanleys, but I'm usually lazy and just go to a big store because I want to get all my shopping done at once.

Oh, I forgot to comment that the employees at TJ's always seem super friendly (and, um, a little high).

Today seems to be going superfast for me, even though I don't have any work to do... weird...

I've definitely been frustrated at TJ's on a Saturday afternoon when it's crowded, but that's the case at any grocery store during peak hours. And I do appreciate the friendly employees there, as Sarah said.

They do not, however, have things like cheap paper towels, Meow Mix original cat food, and light bulbs

Hmmm, I've gotten paper towels there, and I don't remember them being ridiculously expensive. And yeah, you're not going to be able to find things like light bulbs there, which is why I just go to Ace or CVS if I need something like that right away, or else save up a trip to Target if there are lots of things like that that I need. Trader Joe's is definitely not a one-stop shop, so if you like having a place where you can get all your shopping done, then yeah, TJ's is not that place.

Yeah, this is silly. A tub of fresh salsa at Whole Foods is like three times as much as one at TJ's.

I forgot another thing that Whole Foods has that you can't find elsewhere, though: Tofurky deli slices.

If I don't get to the CPU, I'll never get this tiff open and all will be lost!

I wasn't trying to directly contrast TJ's with Stanley's, necessarily, just kind of rehashing a point from an argument I got into with a friend (which was the genesis of my "are you a yuppie?" question from a few weeks ago) -- that argument being based on my dislike of stores that co-opt a philosophy (say, eating "health" food or living frugally) and turn it into a nation-wide profit maximization venture. To be very honest, I view places like Wal-Mart and TJ's/Whole Foods in the same light because of this, for better or (mostly) worse.

But I'm a cynic... doesn't mean much of anything except to me.

Whatever, soy nuggets totally rule.

...ok, that joke is getting tired.

Places I go 2x/month:
Trader Joe's for frozen shit, including fish, which is indeed cheaper there than anywhere else. Other things I get there include: dried fruits/nuts, cereal, coffee, wine (DUH), stuff for Dan to make when I'm not there, applesauce, mochi, various other things, including meat which is of a higher quality and cheaper than I could get elsewhere. Oh, and CHEESE. Their cheese section rules.

Places I go once a month or so:
Golden Palace (Asian market that Kenan mentioned) which is great for noodles, sauces, odd produce and giant frozen fishes

And the Spice House for spices.

I do spend a lot of time grocery shopping and cooking, but it makes me happy and I guess that's something I do for "fun."

One place I never go is Whole Foods. Too expensive.

The end.

How could I forget cereal! That's also a staple. Nature's Path 4-EVA.

And the Spice House for spices.

I meant to tell you, Amanda, I went there for the first time on Saturday. OMG. I bought some cinnamon. Kr bought about $35 worth of various spices and things like "orange flower water." I can't believe I'd never been there before, esp. since the Evanston store was two blocks away from my last job.

We also checked out House of Glunz, the 119-year-old wine store on Division/Wells while we were at it. This was on the recommendation of EZ from an archived Chicago thread.