New2NY: TJ's or Bust!

If there’s one store I relied most upon in college for food, it was Trader Joe’s. There was one only a 15 minute walk away from my senior year apartment and I would make almost weekly treks there to pickup my cherished frozen garlic naan bread, the cheapest milk around, and of course, the chocolate chip meringue cookies.

Since moving to New York, I’ve had to recover from a minor heart attack caused by the exceedingly high cost of groceries. (I’m only kidding about the heart attack part for all of my readers who truly care). I generally pay $2.59 for a dozen eggs, $1.63 for a quart of non-fat milk, and cold cuts only start at about $6.99/lb for the cheap stuff. It’s a tad depressing especially for a closet/kitchen chef like myself.

Despite the high prices, I am at least blessed with the convenience of having three large grocery stores within a two block radius of my apartment. Unfortunately, none of them are anything like Trader Joe’s with it’s chalked up walls and free samples of vegetarian chili and cubes of gruyere cheese.

This past weekend, my significant other and I decided to venture to Union Square to the ONLY Trader Joe’s in the city via the free NYU shuttle bus. Of course we went on Saturday, one of the most miserable rainy days of October, but backpacks and raincoats in tow, we trekked.

Once inside, I was whisked away to the magical land of blueberry scones and mochi ice cream where a quart of milk is only 99 cents and bananas are actually yellow. Despite the rain, it was actually a good day for us to go, because the line, which usually wraps around the entire store at a minimum 30 minute wait, only wound down one aisle. Of course we also had to deal with the fact the frozen food section was nearly empty because of a warehouse fire. (They still had my frozen naan!).

Among my favorites, I stockpiled mini pitas, lobster ravioli (only $2.99 a package), chicken sausage, a bag of Clementine’s, bananas, and my favorite, tomato soup in a carton. The long bus trip back to the UES made it so that I could not buy and carry eggs, milk or OJ, but the dollars and taste buds I saved by going to TJ’s were much appreciative. I was greeted my someone who actually smiled at me and asked me how I was at checkout and as a bonus for bringing my own bag, I got a raffle ticket to win $25 worth of free groceries (that could go a long way at this store).

I know you can hit up Zabar’s or Gourmet Garage for all of your eclectic food needs, but really, Trader Joe’s has almost anything unique you could possibly want at non-NYC prices. My question is: why is there only one?