Here We Go to Trader Joe’s

Well by now, you’ve probably heard that Trader Joe’s opened this weekend.

In case you’ve been under a rock, this speciality grocery store is so popular that some of my friends wept with joy when they heard that San Antonio would be one of the first cities in Texas to have their very own store.

Can y’all believe we got a Trader Joe’s before Austin? Now, who is hip now?

The big Stud and I went on Sunday to check out exactly what all the fuss is about.

We went by ourselves so we considered it a date. Anywhere we go without our children present and we can have a fully uninterrupted conversation in my book, parent teacher conferences were recently added to that list,  qualifies as a bona fide date. Can you sense my excitement because that was a really long sentence!

As further proof, he winked at me in the produce section across the brussels sprouts.

Above is a picture of the flowers so your man has no excuse to be romantic too!

 I was presently surprised when we got a parking spot right out front. There were police officers directing traffic and I am pretty certain that it helped with the overall flow of people and cars.

The place was packed. The store is fairly small compared to Whole Foods or Central Market. The thing that struck me the most was that no one was upset about being unable to move their cart very far and the ridiculously long line that wrapped around the store to checkout.

They were sampling asian food at the bistro. There were lots of samples being handed out.

I kept overhearing conversations from people that had experienced Trader Joe’s in other parts of the country. I would stop some of them to ask them about a particular product. This store isn’t like a regular grocery store. They stock about 75 percent of their own brand name product.

In order to get the scoop on what to buy, you must ask around,goggle it or just live on the edge and buy it like we did! I guess this is the suburban dwellers version of risk taking!

This cookie butter kept getting mentioned as the thing to take home. They were sampling it. It tasted just like cookie dough. We resisted it.

They are well known for their beer and wine. One of their most popular brands of wine  is Charles Shaw. It is affectionately known as “Two Buck Chuck”. It barely makes the nickname in the San Antonio store priced at $2.99. We were feeling so crazy that we bought one of each kind. We haven’t opened a bottle yet but at about $12, we’ll consider it cheap entertainment!

We took some to the neighbors too. It’s easy to spread the love at these prices.

What I couldn’t get over was the amount of organic items that they had on hand as well as the lower costs. The prices were so much lower than what we are used to paying for most of the items that we purchased. It is also so refreshing to buy something as simple as their bread and cereal and see all the simple ingredients that you would expect to see without all those extra chemicals that you can’t pronounce.

Their salsas are incredibly popular. The roasted garlic versions were no longer on the shelf!

Maybe we’ve been married too long or we are both just nerdy foodies, but I consider going to Trader Joe’s fun.

A real date.  The total came to $34.97.

Cheaper than a movie and popcorn!

We can’t wait to go back and see what else we can find!

Until the next date night……Stay Sassy Y’all.

Click on TRADERJOES for more details on the store.

(pictures in the store were taken with the hubby’s phone because we aren’t quite that nerdy)