“we pet the cow before we milk it”

I had my first experience with Trader Joes. No this is not going to be a blog about grocery shopping, well not exactly anyway. There is one thing about all arty grocery stores that really bothers me – you can’t get diet coke and Lean Cuisines and therefore I end up having to go to a second grocery store and frankly that really irritates me.

Today was my first day in Los Angeles. Last night I had dinner with a friend and got unpacked. Today I went and saw the new set and had a walk through of the show and all it’s new nuances. Afterwards what was left to do but to hit the grocery store. My apartment here is fully loaded so that I cook. I tried to call my friend Karl who lives here to see about the nearest Whole Foods, but there was no answer. I knew where there was a Vons and a Ralph’s (we call the grocery store H.E.B. in Austin), but I decided to ask the teller in the bank if she knew where the Whole Foods was. Well apparently there is not one in Burbank, so she sent me to Trader Joes instead.

Trader Joes was smaller than I thought it would be. I have heard about this store and it’s awesomeness forever now so it had a lot to live up to. There was some nice sounding store brand soups and entrées that I loaded up on and the prices were way cheaper than other arty grocery stores. However, there was pretty much only hippie organic brands or Trader Joe brands just like at Whole Foods or Central Market. Sure I know this is their stick, but why can’t you carry diet coke? And in the case of Trader Joes a decent beer selection. I was also hoping for some Lean Cuisines which at least Central Market has, along with enough beer brands that I could try a new one every week for the rest of my life I might add.

What I am getting at is that I am always annoyed with grocery stores that specialize in being organic “we pet the cow before we milk it” type stores. They never seem as complete and well rounded as a normal grocery store. I don’t know about the “normal” grocery stores in Los Angeles but in Austin most normal grocery stores also have a large organic and vegetarian section. The thing is I can also get my TV dinners and diet coke at the same time.