Phew. You will probably need to take a breather after visiting the Rea Road location of Trader Joe's, especially if you have the misfortune or poor planning to go on a Saturday.
Trader Joe's is pretty awesome. I've always heard good things from my friends that found their way over from the West Coast, but never really paid much attention.
Positives:
- Fresh. Lots and lots of fresh food. Copius amounts of refrigerator/freezer space around the store with lots of food. I haven't tried the deli meat yet, but other meat I've picked up has been great. The frozen seafood is reasonably priced and tastes great. The crabcakes scare me a little bit so I haven't tried those yet.
- Selection. I'm big on random snacks, and Trader Joe's helps me indulge. The chip aisle has a great selection of flavored chips like salsa tortilla chips, veggie chips and other things you haven't seen. There are these crackers called Savory Crackers, they're on the back wall in the store and they're fantastic. They actually taste sort of like pork rinds, only they're not actually pork rinds.
Negatives:
- Soccer moms/crowdedness. This was my only negative and the only reason I gave it a 4 instead of 5. The lines are ridiculously at checkout and don't move especially fast. Otherwise I have no complaints.