Trader Joe's

I'm a pretty big fan of Trader Joe's, but for all of their selection and great prices, sometimes the Laissez-faire mentality gets to me. It's not so much on the floor, but at the registers. One time I was behind an older couple, and they were talking about how they were somehow involved in the art world. The kid behind the register took it upon himself to show them a piece of register tape that he'd accidentally sprayed with antibacterial solution. He thought it was awesome, and either the couple though it was neat as well, or they didn't have the heart to tell him to take up finger painting. "Yeah, I'm an artist too", the employee said. It took 5 minutes too long for their transaction to complete, and waiting in line with groceries, that's a long time. Kill as much time on the floor as you want, chat it up, but when there's a line of customers waiting to pay, don't waste their time with your corner-store chit chat. And their fresh meat and fish selection is lacking...everything is frozen. more

I love this Trader Joes but it is so hectic on weekends. This is when all the Boston whine-os come out to stock up on their cheap wine. I am usually right there with them. They have a great selection of different types of wines from all over the world. Most people go right to the two buck chuck but I say, try something different. Go for the the $7.99 bottle of Chablis. It is definitely worth it especially if you like to be adventurous with your booze. more

This is my second favorite Trader Joes, largely because they have wine here. The store is a bit cramped, but I guess this gives the most variety of products. The parking lot can get super crowded during busy times, but they are also right across from the Coolidge Corner T stop. The customer service is friendly, and I like it that they always commend me for bringing in my own canvas bags. They often have free samples in the back. The prices are terrific on all the items, and I think this store has a bigger selection than a lot of the others. Thumbs up to their new chocolate tangerine cookies, cheaper than Dancing Deer brand and even better (little bits of orange inside). Always a great selection of nuts, frozen foods, and cheeses. I wish they had more prepared foods. I don't like their fruit selection very much -- it's the one thing I don't find competitively priced, and I hate that most of the fruit is prepackaged. I love the cold cereal selections, and I really like their own brand milk chocolate (good value). more

To begin, I love every single Trader Joes, but this one is probably my favorite. They have unique, mostly health-oriented foods that are affordable. This particular location is my favorite though since it is on the larger side, they almost always have delicious samples, and they sell alcohol. I highly recommend Trader Joes. more

Trader Joe's has so much to offer in virtually every category you'd expect in a grocery store. Their selection of wines, international foods, microwavable items and almost anything else you'd need is excellent. Another great aspect of Trader Joe's is their Fearless Flyer with reviews of new items, their "If you try and don't like it, return it" policy and their own brand of almost every type of grocery item. more

Just came back from there again and spent $40 on two giant bags of great staples, really nice veggie based frozen foods which could be the basis of a meal, some frozen Indian food, snack foods foods and more. A great change from supermarket shopping to find unique and appealing almost-fast foods. more

Trader Joe's is a fun place to shop for groceries, toiletries, wine and beer. They have many wonderful products and an easygoing return policy, so you can feel free to try things. the parking, which is limited, is the only downside, although they employ someone to keep things moving at crowded times. more