Homestead mailing list

[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

On Jul 3, 2008, at 7:47 PM, Don Bowen wrote:

> > I see them as almost opposite.  Aldi's being the ultimate in no  
> > frills
> > grocery shopping.
> > And Trader Joes has "upscale" products and store layout, with  
> > appropriate
> > pricing.
>
> Trader Joe's is not all that expensive.  They do cost more but not  
> much
> more.

I find various items actually lower priced than lower-quality  
offerings even at WalMart, for instance my favorite fair-trade organic  
French Roast coffee, which costs less than standard brands at Wally  
World. What Joe's has is an unusual selection of items that one can  
rarely get at most grocery stores. If you like nuts, for instance, you  
can choose between raw and roasted, unsalted and salted of many  
different kinds of nuts--a really big selection. Some items, like free- 
range chicken and wild-caught salmon, are otherwise only available at  
health-food or specialty stores.

Chris is flying in to St. Louis at the end of this month. I will drive  
up early and make substantial purchases at one of the two TJoe's in  
that city, the nearest such stores there are to Heartwood. That's four  
hours away. Now making a list. Another for instance: I have found no  
other source for what I consider high-quality commercial bakery bread  
products. They have sprouted wheat and multi-grain bagels of very high  
quality that I have found nowhere else. Organic peanut butter.  
Boysenberry jam. Vanana yogurt. The list grows.