What a great day! Trader Joe's and great people.

10 years ago

Just returned from Sarasota from a planned visit with Cathy (Mustangs) and her husband Ray.

Steve and I met them at Whole Foods where I had never been. With a quick peek into WF, we moved on to Sur La Table where I purchased two pyrex measuring cups, a palm peeler, and a cake tester. From there we went to lunch at a Seafood Grill in downtown Sarasota. I can't remember the name. The food was very good. I had a shrimp Po Boy, Steve had a Cuban Sandwich and a cup of Lobster Bisque, Ray had a Blackened Shrimp Salad, which he said was excellent. Cathy had fish, but I can't remember what kind. Hopefully, she will fill in the blanks for me. After lunch we walked down the street and discovered a Penzeys Spices store and I had never been there either. What a wonderful surprise. There I bought Vietnamese Cinnamon.

The finale was the visit to Trader Joe's. Oh my goodness, it was incredible. I found the prices to be very reasonable. I bought so much I couldn't begin to list it all.

This was a wonderful day. Ray and Cathy are just awesome people and so much fun to spend time with. Thanks Cathy, for making this day happen. I will dream about Trader Joe's in my sleep tonight.

Karen

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Comments (16)

mustangs81
10 years ago
You are quick Karen! Thanks for posting the trip experience.

Yes, it was a great day with wonderful and very compatible people. The weather was very breezy but very delightful!! Steve was showing some leg with his shorts. We could have spend so much more time in old downtown SRQ if our agenda wasn't created around avoiding the traffic; this time of year it's brutal.

I'm not a regular of Whole Foods but I like the one in Sarasota better than other WF so I was glad to have a few minutes to show Karen.

The bonus was the recently opened Pensey's. I don't think normal people squeal when they see a Pensey's. As you all know, it's so much fun to go to these places with CF members.

TJ's was a zoo! It's in a closed Rooms-To-Go showroom so it's a good size store. I was able to buy frozen and refrigerated items that I normally can't because it's 7 1/2 hours to the TJ's in Atlanta that I normally go to.

Fun day!
Teresa_MN
10 years ago
Sounds like a great day. I have to admit I thought I was in heaven the first time I visited a Penzeys here in Minnesota 15 years ago.

I just discovered a great salad dressing/dip at TJ's. It's in the refrigerated produce section. It's a lite, creamy Cilantro dressing. I just love it!
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I asked this same question over a year ago, when my experiences at TJ's were mostly failures. Since the, I've come to love the store, but it is hit or miss. As long as you know what's good there, it's terrific. Here are some things I like: - cereal - milton's breads (with 5 grams fiber/slice) - banana choc. chip muffins (6 pack) with 7 grams protein (great snack for kids in school) - various cheeses - good prices on empire chicken - whole and pieces - trader giotto's frozen pizzas (not the refrigerated ones) - frozen brown rice - box of 3 pouches (heats in 3 minutes and is quite good) - ciabotti rolls - frozen cheddar and potato perogi's - frozen little chocolate cheesecakes (thaws in 10 minutes - very handy for unplanned desserts) By the way, I bought frozen tilapia there - and also some fresh from Costco's that I had frozen. I was making a big batch of fish, so I used both. Hands down, Costco's was better. Really fresh and inexpensive. The TJ's wasn't bad - but it wasn't good either. If it had been my first taste of tilapia, it would also have been my last. I have a question for TJ'ers - Ive gotten flank steak there several times. The first few times I thought it was very good (it's prepackaged from New Zealand), but the last time wasn't very good - I just don't know if that was the meat or we overgrilled it or undertrimmed the silverskin. then I had flank steak from Costco which was excellent (and cooked correctly). So in retrospect, I wonder how TJ's flank steak is. Any opinions? Lynn.
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Yesterday I finally made it up to Trader Joe's. I went armed with a list compiled from the huge thread here of TJ favorites. Of the five or six "must haves" on my list, they were out of three---Rosemary ham, cooked lentils and scallion pancakes. I did get a tarte d'alsace for DH, organic tomato and roasted red pepper soup, and orange champagne vinegar from my list. I also purchased chicken and apple sausages, which we will have for dinner tonight with pasta, various crackers and other items. I forgot my cold food carrier so I bought one of their zippered, insulated totes which I will definitely use a lot for other purposes. When the checker asked why I was buying it and I told her I lived pretty far away and had never been there before, I became an instant celebrity. She rang a bell, welcomed me to the store, gave me a beachy patterned carryall for my groceries, a bag of plantain chips which she said was her favorite TJ snack, and a bouquet of flowers! We've tried the plantain chips and have sampled the roast beef, olive and fig crackers, some other kind of round pale yellow seasoned cracker., hummus and various other foods. They were all good except for the "organic vine ripened tomatoes," which were as hard as rocks, mealy, and did not taste anything like a tomato, and the plantain chips, which taste like I imagine chicken feed would taste. We've yet to try most of the things I bought, but except from the lovely warm welcome I was underwhelmed by the experience. On the up side, I now feel a bit less like I am missing out on a great culinary treasure trove living so far from civilization and I see that nothing can touch the home grown produce I am so lucky to be able to buy from pickup trucks that park around the courthouse on Saturdays. If anything we've bought proves a must have for me I will enlist my daughter to pick it up and bring it down, but I won't be making any more special trips.
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dedtired
10 years ago
Sounds like you had a nice get-together. I hope we get to see some pictures of Steve in his shorts.

Can you believe that I live about 20 minutes from Penzey's and have never gone? TJs and WF are very close and I go often.

I love the fresh soups at TJs. Not the kind in a box, but in the refrigerated section. My favorite is Ancient Grains Lentil. Yum.

Glad you all had a fun time and that the weather was nice.
annie1992
10 years ago
Karen, you missed the nice weather here in Michigan! (grin)

OK, you're visiting Cathy and Ray, so you get a pass. It's kind of funny that we have a Penzey's right in Grand Rapids, though, and you had to go all the way to Florida, LOL. Their Vietnamese Cinnamon smells wonderful, doesn't it?

The closest TJs or Whole Foods is in Ann Arbor, of course, and I can't see that we'll ever get one any closer, so I'm envious of your trip.

So, Florida, Steve in Shorts, TJs and seafood, PLUS Cathy and Raymond? How could it get better?

Annie
KatieC
10 years ago
What fun!

I remember sniffing herbs with Cathy. Somewhere on one of my dead computers I have pictures.

We're heading for TJ's Friday morning....yay.
lakemayor
Original Author
10 years ago
Annie, I'm sorry I missed the nice weather in Michigan but I don't think you had much sunshine with those warm temps did you? Don't get me wrong, I love Michigan, but it is really nice to see the sun almost everyday this time of year. And yes, Steve was in shorts showing off his great tan. It's that Itilian blood and olive oil he has pulsing through his veins. He can just step outside in the sun a couple of times and is more tan than the person who lays in it for hours.

Dedtired, I'm not sure about the pictures. Our camera wasn't working because the batteries were almost dead. Took some using our phones but I don't know how well they turned out. Of course there were none of Steve, only Cathy and I. Sorry LOL

Karen
pat_t
10 years ago
Sure hate I missed it. One of these days, I'll be able to meet some other CFers. In the meantime, I'm planning a trip to Oviedo to see my Mom later in February and will try to stop at the new TJ's in Gainesville (it's only 1 mile off I-75!) on the way home. I'll be SURE to throw a cooler in the back of the truck!
whgille
10 years ago
Cathy& Karen

I am so glad to hear that you had a wonderful time! Next time, if you are planning a trip on the weekend I probably can join you...
And I agree that is always fun to go shopping especially for food related items.

Silvia
Jasdip
10 years ago
Spoken like true CF'ers. Other visitors would clamor to other retail stores, but you're in heaven over food shopping. LOL

What a great experience for you. We only have one very large company with several off shoots of the same store.
They recently opened a huge Loblaws in the former Maple Leaf Gardens in downtown Toronto.

When I used to go to Michigan for the odd weekend, grocery shopping never entered my mind. Now I would die to be able to find the varieties of foods, especially canned tomato flavours.
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
10 years ago
Warmer weather in Florida warms the bodies.

Nicest people I know meeting each other warms the hearts.

Pictures please?

dcarch
doucanoe
10 years ago
What a wonderful day indeed! Having met three of the four of you, I can attest that you all got on fabulously and had a lot to talk about!

The closest Penzey's to me is about an hour, so I usually drive 7 hours and go to the one in Oak Park IL! Go figure...

Love TJ's and Whole Foods, too but again, they're along way from my home in the "boonies". But they are opening a new TJ's this coming summer/fall only 1/2 mile from my work, so I see lots of paychecks being spent there in the near future!

Glad you all could get together, and really glad you get to enjoy some sunshine. Not sure when I'll see the sun again around here! LOL

Linda
sally2_gw
10 years ago
That sounds like an ideal visit and shopping trip. Shopping for food and kitchen gadgets is the only kind of shopping I like to do. What a fun day, thanks for sharing.

Sally
riverrat1
10 years ago
Sounds like a beautiful day weather wise and a wonderful day of shopping! Being a foodie comes with certain resposibilities...like always having an ice chest in the back of your vehicle! Load 'em up, I say!

It's so nice to meet up with our friends from the CF. Glad you guys enjoyed your time together! I would like to see pictures!

Katie, I remember sniffing herbs ;-) with you, Cathy and a few others at the Pensey's in Michigan for Canny Camp. We had such a good time and made some pretty great memories!
mustangs81
10 years ago
Yup, it was a CF agenda for sure. We didn't even turn our heads as we passed the really nice boutiques, clothing stores, and antique shops but took great pleasure in sniffing the herbs at Pensey's.

Speaking of foodie responsibilities, as I prepped for the trip with my cooler, ice bottles, TJ shopping bags, GPS and addresses, I forgot the CAMERA! Sorry.

Shoppers were in sandals, spaghetti straps, shorts. But NONE of them had the TAN that Steve has. I've seen and had a lot of tans, but his is rich in color and depth. I hope Karen didn't notice that I kept look at him, yes he is handsome too. Okay, was that just weird?
wizardnm
10 years ago
Sounds like a wonderful meet-up. Glad you all had so much fun. Maybe someday......

If you only purchased one thing at Penseys, you have far more restraint than I do. The one thing you did buy (Vietnamese Cinnamon) is probably the best choice of all. It's the only cinnamon I use. I've had numerous inquiries about what cinnamon I use from people at the farmers market. It smells THAT good!

Have a fun time in FL...not nice outside here in MI today!

Nancy
lakemayor
Original Author
10 years ago
Cathy, you are too funny. No I didn't notice you looking at Steve, and yes I think he very handsome too. I tell you, it's that Italian blood and olive oil in his skin. Ha!

Nancy, I was so taken off guard that there was a Penzey's Store there that I couldn't even think of what I needed. Only the cinnamon. And yes, it is the best cinnamon I have ever used! What else would you have purchased Nancy? If I get a chance to go back again I want to have a list.

It really was such a great time! Cathy is a hoot and Ray is so nice and sweet! Oh, Cathy is nice and sweet too!!!

Karen

What a great day! Trader Joe's and great people.

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mustangs81

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What a great day! Trader Joe's and great people.

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