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I love their 2% Greek-style yogurt, which is considerably less expensive than Fage, but indistinguishable; the frozen organic wild blueberries (the two pair up for a wonderful meal-in-itself smoothie); and most recently in the pasta aisle, the anelletti, little pasta rings that I swear are the same ones for which I used to trek to the Arthur Avenue market in the Bronx before moving to the west coast. My family is fond of O's and peas, with a little butter and parmesan. The peas rest charmingly inside the pasta O's. I have to admit that I did a little victory dance in the pasta aisle when I spotted these.

I love the "greens with envy" frozen veggie mix, chips, juices, cheeses (a log of Silver goat from Vermont is about $4.00 cheaper at TJ's than my regular supermarket). We also can't get through a week without the organic frozen pizza (my 7 year old's favorite).
Not a fan of the boneless rolled & stuffed turkey breast. Very disappointed.

I second the "greens with envy", great organic staple to keep in the freezer. Frozen organic peas and corn are good and cheap too. The nuts are always good and I like to get the assortment with triangular dividers.
Organic raspberry jam is great. Let's also not forgot about the wine..love that lambrusco. Many more goodies just haven't been in awhile so I can't remember them all.

I like their fresh flowers ... always long lasting and less expensive than elsewhere. I also like their frozen edamame in the shell ... great snack food. Thirding the "greens with envy..." makes a really good base for a gratin. And they sell this really great mix of israeli couscous and other grains, near the rice... forget what it's called, but it's a tasty side, esp. if you make it with chicken broth. And I always buy a couple cans of their canola oil spray ... makes seasoning and re-seasoning cast iron pans a breeze.

Their almonds never fail me. I also like their 50% less salt pistachios and cashews. Dried fruits like peaches and pears are fantastic. To tell the truth, the only negative Trader Joe's private label experience was with their frozen spring rolls. Very fishy, very oily and generally not very good. Hate to say it, but their frozen tilapia and salmon are pretty good in a pinch.

Raw nuts
Frozen edamame
TJ Pound-plus chocolate
Peanut butter
Olive oil
Thai chile & lime peanuts

I love their coffee. The Ethiopian has this incredible flowery taste. I know, it sounds weird, but it's fabulous, really. The Volcano is great, too. If you like the lighter type, try the NM Pinon. Their sweet Italian sausage is, as far as I know, the best around. And their chocolate covered raisins... mmmm... there is too much to list, really.

Marinara Sauce.... unbelievably good; I was incredulous it was only 99 cents!
Their whole grain English muffins... flavorful. Makes a fantastic egg sandwich.
Dark cohcolate
And the flowers really do seem to last a long time. Beautiful and affordable.

Edamame, black-pepper cashews, Thai peanuts, blueberry waffles, traffic-light frozen peppers, steamed seasoned lentils, marinara sauce, pizza sauce, spinach dip, mushroom turnovers, mini-pita, coriander-yogurt dip...I love TJ's!

We literally buy 5 bags of the frozen edamame a week. It's frightening. The pepper crusted salami, natural peanut butter, ff yogurt and hummus are also staples. My personal favorites are the Grainfest cereal and the rosemary marcona almonds!!

TJ's dried pineapples are spectacular, and all others pale in comparison. Unsweetened but chewy and moist (as far as that can be said of dried fruit). I have never gone through less than an entire package at one sitting.

All these recommendations & I live >100 miles from the nearest TJ :(

I love many of the above-mentioned things, but don't forget the best company hors d'oeuvre: TJ's chicken stix in the Thai flavors of lemongrass and coconut. I've had guests who never wanted to progress onto the main course! And their balls of pizza dough turn out excellent, yeasty, thin-crusted, bubbly-and-charred pizza.

You know, I know everybody loves Trader Joe's, but the one time I went to the store in Manhattan, I couldn't get out of there fast enough. There was virtually no fresh produce, shelves were chaotically organized, and the vast majority of products seemed to be designed to appeal to the NYU students in the dorm next door -- an entire aisle given over to various kinds of "trail mix, but they were out of butter, and all the chicken was frozen. Plus which the register lines were horrendous and the staffers were much more interested in comparing iPod playlists than in actually helping shoppers. I LOATHED it.

Edamame shui mai, quiches, tofu in the two pack, amazing masala gardenburgers (i eat them over brown rice!), spinach mini-pizzas (i eat these topped with arugula dressed in vinegar and pepper, extra tang!), the frozen gnoccis... yum!

i'm on the bandwagon with the "greens with envy". i keep a bag in the fridge for impromptu pastas and such. i also like doctoring up their Chicken Chili Verde soup. They have a Chianti and a Pinot Grigio sausage that are very tasty on a cheese or meat board. All flavors of coffee that I have tried from TJ's are very good, also.

The basil and garlic sausage, cranberry/choc./almond granola bars, tiramisu, frozen burritos, Oregon chai (up to $3 cheaper than grocery stores!), wheat pitas and tortillas, pistachios, plantain chips, sparkling pink lemonade and more. I always end up spending more than what I thought I'd spend.

A bunch of folks mentioned the frozen edamame. Anyone happen to notice if its imported from China? At Fairway that's all they've got and I'm a little wary of Chinese anything these days.

My father made weekly trips to Trader Joes. After his heart surgery he had to move to my area, and the one thing he missed was TJs. They opened up a store within sight of his assisted living home, and by doing to has added years to his life. I have found a number of the things that he bought on a regular basis at cheaper prices at COSTCO, under the manufacturer names. However, the cheese prices at TJs are so much cheaper than other places that it is astounding. Beats Fresh Market, Whole Foods, the local speciality stores (Sendiks, Larry's, V.Richards). The fresh flowers as well are always a treat.

Chicken Tamales. Dang easy to make.

raw nuts
tamari-roasted almonds
dried fruit
fage yogurt (considerably cheaper than elsewhere)
cereal

I like their creamy tomato soup, black-pepper cashews, goat cheese, korma sauce, frozen pizzas, pound-plus chocolate w/ almonds bar, chocolate ganache torte, and lime cheesecake. I also like their ham which has more flavor than the usual supermarket brands.
I miss the raspberry salsa and the citrus blend marmalade and some of the cookies they don't sell anymore.
The best thing about TJs is the combination of dependably tasty products (they are great about taking things back if you don't like them, which almost never happens) and excellent prices, especially for dried fruit (love the cherries) and nuts.

The chocolate!! I can't go back to the grainy, cloyingly sweet Hersheys stuff anymore; I can't afford to buy only high-quality imported European brand names, what's a girl to do? TJ's has some of the best store-branded chocolate, most coming from Belgium, for only a bit more than generic American chocolate. :) Mmmmmmmmmmmm!!

TJ's brand: Organic mint tea, Organic orange juice, vegetable chips, original beef jerky, frozen brown rice, frozen Thai shrimp dumplings, gyoza dipping sauce, jalapeno stuffed green olives, whole wheat pizza dough, challah bread rolls, garlic naan, orange blossom liquid hand soap, and their french chocolate truffles.

Cream-topped whole milk – Never thought I'd see that again!
Naan – my daughter's favorite. Fortunately, our new copy of How to Cook Everything has a recipe! (The nearest Trader Joe's is an hour away from where I now live.) Actually, almost all the TJ breads I've tried have been good.
Double Gloucester cheese. Like cheddar with extra butter. And chives. Mmmm.
Maple syrup – affordable at last!
King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour – beautiful stuff, but it's about $6/bag at Safeway.
Spelt Farrotto!
Sugar/salt scrubs for getting extra gooky stuff off your hands. My son swears by it.

the manhattan store is just too crowded and can't keep the stock on the shelves as quickly as things are purchased. they probably gear it towards nyu students because they are the only people who can go during the middle of the day when its empty. its frustrating, but it is so much cheaper then our neighborhood grocery stores and the quality is much better so my roommate and i go every few weeks to stock up on staples. we love the gingersnaps and all of the cereal is great.

Ditto on the gyoza. Sesame-crusted cashews. Marinated tri-tip (almost impossible to find in any other store in New York). Frozen pizzas. Greek yogurt. Frozen raspberries at half the price of any other store. Double-roasted salsa.

kqrbob: The edamame are from Thailand.

bareneed: There is a recently posted video of a fan-made TJs "commercial" on this site. It sums up the store better than I can, but here is a brief overview. TJs sells mostly private-label products, which are often identical to brand name ones, just with different packaging. They sell them at much lower prices than the branded counterparts, but even when they do carry items you can find elsewhere, they are often significantly cheaper. Their basic "philosophy" is to cut out middle-men as much as they can, and buy directly from manufacturers. Other ways they keep prices low are by having a more limited selection (and smaller stores) than most suburban supermarkets, limiting advertising to radio ads they record themselves, getting rid of products that don't sell well, buying from suppliers in large quantities, etc. etc. While they do sell a lot of organic and healthy food, there is also a ton of snack food and other items that are upscale but definitely off-limits to anyone on a diet (witness the bacon spinach salad containing 50 grams of fat). The stores are done up in a mock-maritime decor, with wood paneling, a ship's bell for signaling the crew, Hawaiian shirts for full-time employees, etc. As you can probably tell, people are fanatical about the place. Aside from the food and prices, there is a fun atmosphere to the stores; I worked there for three years, and constantly had people telling me that it was their favorite place to shop (for anything). The company also treats its employees better than just about anyone else does; IMHO, the only reason it never appears on Fortunes Best Companies to Work For is that it is privately held.

My pleasure bareneed, especially when it is to bring new people into the TJ's cult. Unfortunately there isn't a store in SC yet. They have locations in Chapel Hill, Charlotte, and Cary in NC, and half a dozen locations in GA. Perhaps a road trip is in order once you get there; you can even use the excuse that you want to compare the 'cue in NC and SC (well beyond the scope of this thread).