Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I live in California, where there are TWO Trader Joe's in my area. I shop there, once a week, for specific "favorites." I rarely buy meat there, because I prefer Whole Foods meats and fish. I DO shop for cheeses there. They are less expensive than most large chain groceries stores. I always buy marscapone and ricotta. I like to grab their butter leaf lettuce ($1.99 a bag is great) which we eat all the time. I love their Orange Juice-- no high fructose corn syrup and cheaper than Odwalla. I buy their lemons and limes by the bag-- cheaper and always good. Their pancake mix is awesome-- by the way, while there are a lot of mixes, there aren't any scary ingredients. I read labels! Their maple syrup is top quality for a great price. Oh, and their Margarita mix... at $1.99, it's the best. No HFCS, just pure and good stuff. Their beer and wine is a great buy, too...not to mention their tequila. Their Tuscan Marinara sauce is an emergency staple in my pantry. If I'm too busy to make my own (which I usually do) this one has great ingredients and is better than the junk brands with HFCS. Spices are a great buy, too. Is TJ's the best? No, but it's well worth checking out.