Welcome Trader Joe's!

What? No wine? Only beer? After many months of anticipation, Trader Joe’s finally opened in my hood.

Not that I care for their “Two Buck Chuck,” but I was hoping to partake in some of their other great wine deals. (I guess I’ll still have to make the trip to Union Square. Oh darn, someone has to do it.) I learned that due to a New York state law dating back to Prohibition, large chain stores can only have ONE of their stores within the entire state of New York selling wine. Someone really needs to change that!

However, for the first time, I walked out of a “grocery” store feeling like I’d received value for my money. Let me break it down for you.

Water Crackers – $.99 (I usually pay $2.00 to $3.00 for a box depending on the store)
Microwave Popcorn – $1.99 (yes, often my dinner and how can you go wrong with a 50 cent meal?)
5 Clif Bars Mojo Peanut Butter – $4.95 (the same I paid in my hometown in Virginia with a coupon!)
4 nonfat mixed berry yogurt – $3.16 (a bargain when I usually spend $2.00 for one!)
2 boxes of Altoids – $4.98 (I rarely find the chocolate covered peppermint kind, so it didn’t matter the cost)
Celery hearts and carrots – $1.99 each (bargain!)
Cauliflower florets – $2.29 (Not sure if there’s savings here, but if I don’t have to cut up a cauliflower, it suits me!)
4 Bananas – $.76 (Better deal than Allum, my fruit guy on the corner, can give me and I thought he was cheap! But I’ll still buy from him, he’s adorable.)

So for $23.54 I skipped all the home with a big bag of groceries. Welcome to the hood, Trader Joe’s!