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| - Being within walking distance from my house, I find myself frequenting AJ's DC Ranch quite a bit. The store looks huge from the outside - but once inside it's small. The one thing you have to remember is it IS an AJ's, meaning, you're not going to want to do your big weekly shopping there. You're not going to find $10 for $10 specials on canned soup or tuna or frozen foods. And you won't find the biggest selection of "grocery" items. But what you are going to find is a wonderful selection of fresh produce, meat, and bistro and bakery items to choose from, at a very high quality. And of course - a decent selection of wine and even craft beer.
I'm not going to lie. I was afraid to go into AJ's when it first opened because of their prices. But now I feel like I'm a pro. You just need to know what to go there for.
Produce - surprisingly you can find fruits and veggies for a "decent" price here. For fruits and veggies that are in season - the size and quality cannot be beat. Large Fuji, Red Delicious, Granny Smith apples that are the perfect shape and color. Fresh tomatoes...strawberries...you get the picture. Quality vs quantity.
Deli/Bistro - I agree with a past reviewer - you do need to be careful what you buy that's been packaged and is sitting in the cooler section. I always try to order something hot and fresh over the counter, and stay away from the stored foods. But what they do have to offer is wonderful. It may be a little pricey but you can find good sandwich and pizza deals. And they do wonderful breakfast sandwiches and burritos.
Sushi - I am completely surprised by this one. Reasonable and very well made. They make it fresh - and it's better than grocery store chain sushi at the same (or even lower) price.
Bakery - well, this is probably one of the biggest reasons AJ's managed a four star rating over a three. I have gotten cakes here, many a time (birthdays, anniversaries...etc etc) and for the price and quality - you can't go wrong. Sure, you can find a cheap cake at Safeway or Fry's, but you'll end up crunching on sugar crystals in your frosting and dry cake. AJ's offers gourmet cakes and pies (and they allow you a small amount of custom decoration - i.e. - Happy Bday insert name here") starting as low as $15 (which serves 8 - 12 - probably more of the 12 side). Flavors such as German Chocolate, Strawberry Mousse, Boston Cream (my fave) Chocolate Mousse, Tiramisu - totally gourmet, never too sweet. Just perfect. I was really surprised at the size and quality of the cakes for the price I paid.
Their liquor/wine section is wonderful as well - and sometimes you can find a great deal on champagne. They do have a pretty decent craft beer section - but to be honest - they are EXPENSIVE. I can go elsewhere for my craft beer fix (ie Total Wines).
All in all - a very pleasant experience. Everyone is really nice and it's such a cute little shop. It gives you the feeling of being at a farmers market indoors. And the few months in AZ it's not scorching hot outside - they have cute cafe style tables set up outside to enjoy your morning coffee and pastry, or lunch for that matter.
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