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chili spiced mangoes. in the dried fruit and nuts aisle.
also, the pot-stickers in the frozen section... sometimes i even throw them in soup and use them as dumplings.
their cheese is usually a great deal and the TJ's water crackers are just as good as Carr's and half the price.

I know that the stores in Seattle not always have them but the turkey burger are great!!

So I really really love these awesome mango/cream ice cream bars they have. I did a post about them a while back - hard to find as they sell out super quick.

I also think their frozen food section is bar none the best around. Easy to make dinners - their frozen fish and scallops are great! I also like their crabcakes - super easy and they go great with eggs - make your own crab benny at home.

They also sell great soups in a box - roasted red pepper, cream of tomato, butternut squash, corn...

They also sell Annie Chun's noodle bowls - udon, miso soup, teriyaki. Those are great as well.

Agree with the above on their nuts/dried fruits - they have dozens of varieties of trail mix.

Finally - definitely their wine & bar store if the Rhode Island location has one...very cheap and reasonable - everything at Trader Joe's is super reasonable - but especially their liquor. Can usually find local and organic brews as well...

I wish they would open another location in Manhattan - it's always so packed! :)

They carry a huge selection of different milks, my favorite being the almond milk. It's delicious, and that's coming from someone who hates rice and soy milk. They have great cereal and oatmeal to go with it.

Also wonderfully (or horribly?) addictive are their SEA-SALTED brownie bites. Their regular frozen croissants , not the chocolate ones, are well worth the trouble of defrosting overnight. They might be some of the best I've ever had!

I live across the street from Trader Joe's and go there often, but these are my favorites. Their pre-packaged fresh produce is hit or miss though.

I like TJ's more for the things that I can't get anywhere else. A few of my must haves are...
hummus (either the cilantro hummus or the white bean & basil)
pita crackers (tastes like pita bread in crispy cracker form)
spicy black bean dip
roasted red pepper & eggplant spread
homemade pizza dough
cereals - granolas, strawberry or chocolate-filled bites
chocolate-covered, peanut butter filled pretzels
candies (peanut butter cups, dark choc. espresso beans, milk choc. covered cranberries, dark choc. pistachio toffee, mint-cremes, non-pareils)

I also sometimes get their soups, frozen veggies, and bread, but honestly, I can find some of these in other stores that I think are just as good and cheaper...

We like their Thai shrimp gyozas and their chicken chile-lime burgers from the freezer section. Oh, and their mandarin orange chicken makes a tasty, quick meal. The orange muscat champagne vinegar is always in our fridge; it mixes into a nice salad dressing for greens or cold noodle salads.

Cannele, in the frozen dessert section. Haven't tried the chocolate yet but the regular far surpasses ones I have made at home, at significant cost and obsessive trial and error.

I am suprised nobody has mentioned the ginger snaps. They are in a clear plastic tub and I think they are called "tripple ginger snaps". They are the BEST ginger snaps I have ever had. I buy them in bulk (unfortunetly, I also eat them in bulk) and are wonderful as a snack with ice cold milk, or crushed and added to other recipes. I haven't been impressed with the produce section at my store, but pretty much everything else is worth a shot!

CORNBREAD MIX. It is the best I have ever had, even better than some homemade recipes!

I'm not very impressed with Trader Joe's. They have mostly prepackaged specialty items (at my location anyways), and I thought it disconcerting that there is no meat or deli counter at all. I can see the appeal of it if you are in an area where there isn't much variety (i.e. small town). But in my city I can find really fresh ingredients, specialty and ethnic foods at various markets, grocery stores and farmer markets. I would rather go to the corner Halal (or Asian, or Mexican, etc.) market and explore the variety, support local business, and meet people. IMHO.

Here are my favs from TJ's:

-Artisan Puffy Pastry (which I use to make a Cheat's Pain aux Chocolat)
-Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (it's even better than the Nestle Toll House )
-Sipping Chocolate (available seasonally, winter)
-Joe's O's cereal
-Turkey & Rice stuffed red bell peppers (it's really good)
-Tiramisu (it's what I often bring to a potluck and it's always the first dish finished)
-Blood Orange Soda (this soda is always sold out, I've saw 1 woman put 10 bottles into her cart)
-Triple Ginger Cookies
-Chocolate Orange Sticks
- Carolans (sp?) Irish Cream

the thing i remember impressed me was there nut selection. if you have a great supermarket nearby this might not do it for you... but bags of unsalted cashews... yum!

- I don't know what they are called but the are butter cookies with chocolate centers. SO GOOD
- Frozen fish items like the seafood mix are great
- Vanilla beans are pretty affordable, especially compared to other places by me

Great place to buy nuts (cashews, pecans, walnuts) - much cheaper than Whole Foods. Generally, Trader Joe's is fantastic for basics and less expensive than its competition. By basics, bread, condiments - anything packaged.

I wouldn't buy produce there, however, it's better from a farmer's market or a Whole Foods-type store.

Haricot vert in frozen foods
Whole grain english muffins

hey definitely check out the organic coffee selection!