I was walking through Trader Joes the other day when it suddenly hit me, I was in love, so in love that I wandered aimlessly through its aisles looking for new products and dreaming of the products I already new and loved. I gazed lovingly at the large blocks of cvholov yisroel feta and imagined simple arugala and shaved green apple salads. I looked at the fire roasted pineapple sasa for less than$2 and wondered what people who shopped at ordinary grocery stores did when they realized the good salsas were all treife and the bad ones all sucked and cost more than the Trader Joes one.
I retrieved my free cup of freshly brewed Trader Joes coffee and filled my basket with energy bars that cost no less than double the price everywhere else besides Wal Mart (which is hard to find in the Bay Area anyway) I grabbed some honey wheat pretzels and organic almond butter, again half the price of everywhere else.
I made my way to the ice cream and meatless hippie food aisle, just to see what over processed delicacies lay in the freezer. It seems that Trader Joes has their own brand of chickenless nuggets, cheaper and probably better than the morningstar version, I move on to the ice cream – my favorite window shopping area of grocery stores. I think about getting the mini ice cream bonbons with cookie crunch or the mint cookie ice cream sandwiches, my drool is beginning to build up as my excitement grows. Tantra style I move on down the aisle, leaving those calories and making my way to the nut aisle, where I buy raw almonds and dried mango to satiate me when I am fleishigs.
I have no idea what I would do with Trader Joes in my life, he really helps out big time, sure they could use a bulk nuts and grain section, but did you know they have a bottle of Moscato (not in a blue bottle) that is kosher and only 6 bucks,m what about the $4 kosher red wine, or you can splurge on Herzog chennin blanc for $7 – I have seen these bottles at $20 in other stores around the country. Don’t even get me started on the beer and liquor prices or the beautiful baby heirloom tomatoes they have. As bananas are quite cheap as well and welcome you in a very non-sexual way to the store. They did it in Brooklyn and they do it here in the Bay – except here they are on every corner.