I've been twice now to the one that opened up an hour away from me. They are going to open one 5 minutes from my office (about 15 min from my house) on SEPTEMBER 15!!! Yeah baby. Two things I discovered that are fabulous are their cinnamon raisin bread and the carrot juice. The cinnamon raisin bread is full of cinnamon and sliced thick so one slice is practically a meal. I bought one loaf the first time I was there and I got one slice out of it. It got eaten by the other two members of my household in seconds flat. The next time I went I bought four loaves and marked one loaf as MINE. There is still some of that loaf left but the other three have been decimated. The carrot juice is not something I would normally have thought to try but they were giving samples and it was delicious. It is a combination of carrot and some fruit juices with no added sugar but it is very sweet and refreshing. I can't wait to buy more in Sept. Oh and their sweet potato chips. And their sweet potato flavored corn chips. Yum. Once they open the one near my work, I'll be spending some lunch hours shopping there. How convenient! We have plenty of fridge/freezer space at work so I can buy anything and just store it at work till the end of the day. I can't WAIT! Between TJ's, Central Market, Phonecia and Penzey's I am set!

KatieC, the grocery outlet here was one of the rainbow dented can places, too. I don't think I ever went there. We have a Fresh-n-Easy but it's not in an area I ever go. I might check it out while on a bike ride today, though. It will give me a destination for my ride and is far enough away to supply my hour of exercise. A friend of mine went there, she didn't like it but she is very much a traditional scratch cook. Another friend of mine loves the store for its imported food bargains. TJ has turkey jerky which I buy as a care box treat for Alice. I love the organic brown sugar, it has a great flavor. I like the organic shelf stable polenta in a tube. I've tried others and they tasted "preserved" TJ's does not. Bought a box of quinoa. Eh. It was okay. Love the pound plus bars of dark chocolate for dipping. I buy their white whole flour and vanilla. Eggs are a good price as is butter. I do like their compressed sponges and vitamins. Larabars are a good price and I like those as a backpack snack. They have a low sodium deli turkey I like. Costco has it too, I think. But I don't need that kind of quantity.

I have never been in a TJ's that had several rows of frozen foods, and we have a few that aren't far from us. I don't think it's a big deal to access the crackers and cookies over the frozen foods. Unfortunately, I am able to easily grab the boxes of Jo-Jo's. ;) The parking lots are always small and awkward! I thought it was just around us because the stores are in urban locations, but I guess not? I think maybe we oversold the whole TJ's experience and you were disappointed, Oakley! I like it for certain things, but to me it's not the greatest store ever. I doubt that I'd go too far out of my way to shop there. Forgot to mention earlier that my kids used to love Nutrigrain bars, and TJ's has their own brand that are basically the same and so much cheaper. That's one of the items I've stocked up on there.

Most home brine recipes are an overnight or 24hour total event. A bit of sugar, sometimes vinegar, tamari, and aromatics like bay leaf, peppercorns, herbs and spices. Enhanced brines are usually frowned upon in chicken and turkey as it adds weight to the final price per pound. Such a long brine can make meat tender on the verge of mushy if too long in a brine. Why pre-brining gets a bum rap for the most part and called 'enhanced'. TJ's does do a play with words making some things seem better than an actual natural processing un-inhanced. So not sure if that applies. My limited experience with TJ's is close to excellent in meats and fish. Just not convenient to my location. I think its been a couple years now. I do get the appeal for families needing quick packaged frozen foods better than most groceries. It should be listed on the packaging if you have easy access to your local store. Probably just a salt brine. Maybe a google search will come up with some reviews. Not sure many here have the experience your seek. Mine will be warm, fresh kill/plucked, while I wait and watch if I want, lol.