trader joe's

Today marks the second time that I have been inside a Trader Joe's. I love it. Somehow, when Trader Joe's arrived in Union Square in NYC, I picked up on some very negative sentiments and carried a secret resentment against Trader Joe's ever since. I don't know how it happened. I suppose an article in the Times about veterans of Whole Foods being worried about the impact. But it took only one recent foray down the aisles of the Madison, WI shop to change my mind. The dairy aisle would have sufficed.

All of my favorite cheeses for about half of their Minneapolis retail price. St. Andre Triple Cream for $5.99/lb. Say no more. My mind reeled with plans for all the dinner parties I would throw if only I lived within reach of a Trader Joe's. Then I saw this:


I have been a devotee of Fage for over a year now. Any longer and I would actually be broke. That's how expensive it is to keep up with a serious Fage habit. I'd fare better with a foie gras addiction, save for the bad goose karma. Trader Joe's greek style yogurt is about half the price of Fage and indistinguishable in taste and texture.

Today Jon and I ventured to the Minneapolis Trader Joe's. We had already biked to a place within 'a half mile' of it. That was Scotty's estimation. After a mile of walking, Jon informed me that Scotty is notoriously lax in estimating anything. My shoes were starting to feel tacky inside. Jon said he felt like he had been picked up and set down on the moon. I said we were definitely in Whatthefucksville. We laughed about it, thinking it was more sad than funny. Minneapolis is both those things, most of the time. Finally, a half mile after that, we reached the store. I bought cheeses and greek style yogurt and a 30-pack of E-mer-gen-C. Next time I'm taking the 12 bus.