| rev:text
| - As a bachelor, I have to agree with Abu: TJ's is paradise. It's seriously the reason I picked the Biltmore neighborhood two years ago when I moved from LA. It made my move seamless. I can honestly say that for the last 8 years I have been going to TJ's weekly (first in LA, and now in PHX), and perhaps a little sadly, I tend to buy the same things each and every week. If TJ's closed, I would die.
Food:
-- TJ's hummus: all of them are awesome, even the white bean hummus
-- TJ's whole wheat pita bread, and the mini pitas. Just dip these guys in the hummus (see above)
-- TJ's dolmas (stuffed grape leaves). Don't buy the more expensive canned dolmas they have from Greece. Trust me. TJ's is in a jar, you get a few more dolmas in there and they are firmer and don't have that old canned taste. I think the Greek ones have been sitting on a shelf somewhere for years.
-- TJ's nuts, all of them.
-- TJ's frozen fish and shrimp. They have excellent sea food and it's all been extremely good in my experience. Their raw peeled shrimp makes for an easy meal of your choice. I like to saute with garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice.
-- TJ's Greek yogurt. They have a "brand" name, but stick with TJ's. I have tried them both and still think that the house brand rules
Household Items:
-- Dr. Bronner's magic soap! This stuff is great and will make you smell good (if you don't already smell good)
-- STAY AWAY FROM THEIR PAPER TOWELS. In the last few years they seem to be carrying more household stuff, but their paper towels are worthless and actually smell kind of strange. If you spill something and reach for a TJ's towel, the spill will get worse. These towels repel all moisture. Go to Target and get the real thing or use a washable dish rag.
-- Desert Essence face wash. For a bachelor, this stuff is great. It's a simple face wash that does what it says and doesn't leave you smelling like an orchard
Drinks:
-- Their juices are all amazing, especially their unpasteurized orange juice, but it's not cheap.
-- Water is essential but I am a filterer at home so just buy their sparkling mineral water. It's the best deal in town.
-- Beer: They have the large bottles of Chimay, Arrogant Bastard Ale, and the usual suspects of trendy breweries such as Stone, Stella, Guinness, and some of the Japanese brands. These are great, but my recommendation is for the Simpler Times lager. It's only $2.99 for a 6-pack! That's 50 cents a beer. At first I was afraid, I was petrified...but seriously, I even served this beer to a female guest the other night and she was totally impressed. Pour it in a pint glass and Simpler Times will stack up to the best brews.
-- Wine: You have to be careful with TJ's wine. Yes, they have some cheap wines, but you will have a serious time trying to swallow some of them. Stick to the above $6 bottles at a minimum, and if you want to be safe, aim for the $11 plus bottles. Also remember that southern hemisphere wines can be a bit younger because of the grow season. For Chilean wines and Argentinian wines my price rubric can be cut in half because these countries have such low labor costs that even their cheap wines seem to be palatable somehow. Also, those Bota boxes are convenient, but I think they taste about as good as two-buck chuck. Someone told me they are inconsistent so I might give it another try.
Other Hints:
-- If you take your own bag they will give you a raffle ticket and every week they draw a name for a $25 dollar gift certificate (don't hold me to that price, but it sounds right). I've been playing this bag game for years at this TJ's and my prior TJ's and have never won. It makes you realize that if you can't win a simple raffle at the local TJ's you probably shouldn't waste your money on lottery tickets where the odds are really against you.
Flowers and Plants:
-- I've purchased all manner of TJ's flowers and plants over the years and find that they aren't very durable. The flowers seem to die much quicker than the flowers you buy at the local florist and the plants are hit or miss. If you have to buy flowers in a rush, go for it, but if you need them to stay perky for more than an day, you might go elsewhere.
That's my two cents.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)