Going on a Trader Joe’s run? Here are 10 items you should consider picking up. - The Boston Globe (2024)

Maybe you go for the vast cheese selection. Or the flowers. Or the modestly priced peppermint-scented body wash that’s (almost) as invigorating as their coffee. Perhaps you just enjoy skimming their jaunty flyer. When it comes to Trader Joe’s, everyone seems to have a pet product, or at least a soft spot.

It’s a national chain, but California-based Trader Joe’s stands out in a sea of corporate behemoths with a vast cross-cultural product inventory; chummy salespeople, or “traders,” dressed for a day at sea; very human quirks (the ringing of one bell means that a new register needs to be open; two bells mean that a customer has a question); and a pun-peppered newsletter that reads like a mashup of a Victorian comic and an Onion article.

In honor of their brand-new, 16,500-square-foot Back Bay store — which sells alcohol! — here’s a totally subjective list of their 10 essential items. Your opinions might (and will) differ, and I’d love to hear them. (Tell me in the comments.)

10. “Everything But the Bagel” products — all of ‘em. This includes smoked salmon, yogurt dip, crackers, and seasoning mix. A nutty tango of garlic, onion, poppy, and sesame, this is just the ticket if you’re too cheap to go out for brunch. Best paired with a crossword puzzle and an iced coffee.

9. Red pepper spread with eggplant and garlic. When this baby seemingly disappeared from the shelves in Arlington, there was a revolt among my friends: What would we serve at book club or guiltily devour at midnight while watching “Bridgerton”? (That is a complaint about TJ’s: Items seem to vanish as if in the witness protection program, at whim.) This smooth red party staple blends sweet red peppers with eggplant and a hint of garlic. It is salsa’s dignified party cousin.

8. Watermelon cucumber cooler. Refreshing. Spa-like. Easy to mix with your spirit of choice. This drink only appears during the warmer months; savvy shoppers know to stock up for the fall drought, as it is tropically transportive all year long.

7. Zhoug. A dinner party stunner that many people (me included) have passed off as their own, drizzled across chicken or served with medium-rare steak, this Middle Eastern cilantro-cardamom sauce is spiked with jalapeno peppers and chile flakes — and is perfectly worthy of eating plain, with a spoon.

6. Pastry bites with feta cheese and caramelized onions. Trader Joe’s truly shines in the frozen appetizer category, saving many a party host from certain ruin. These savory squares are the best of the bunch: flaky, creamy, elegant — and simple enough for any idiot to warm up and artfully arrange on a tray.

5. Ghost pepper potato chips. A beguiling blend of spicy and sweet — sweet enough to have you coming back for more, more, more, until your tongue is ready to burn off, since these are sprinkled with real ghost chili pepper (and some “natural smoke” flavors that I can’t pronounce, but we’ll overlook that). The lattice-like cut adds textural intrigue. A cookout essential.

4. Greek nonfat yogurt. Not the flashiest item on this list, but a true workhorse: I use it in smoothies, as a healthier substitute for sour cream, and dolloped with blueberries and honey when I’m in a self-care phase. No cute flavors; no M&Ms blended in. What you see is what you get.

3. Pizza margherita. A savior for many weeknight dinners. Unlike many supermarket frozen pizzas, which are either doughy or plasticky, the Trader Joe’s — ahem, Trader Giotto’s — version crisps well in the oven, has a pleasing sauce-to-cheese ratio, and even folds like a real, live pizza when you eat it. Plus, you can get creative and top it with whatever else you choose: a palette upon which to project your pizza dreams. A New York slice it is not, but it’s just the thing when baseball practice ends at 8 p.m.

2. Sublime ice cream sandwiches. They really are sublime: two chocolate chip cookies bound together with vanilla ice cream and rolled in chocolate chips, larger than your typical small ice cream cone and far cheaper at a mere $4.99 per pack. One drawback: There are only four in a box, meaning my family needs to buy about seven boxes at a time. And we do.

1. Peanut butter filled pretzel nuggets. Picking the best item at Trader Joe’s is as hard as finding a parking spot there — nearly impossible. But this pocket-sized snack somehow does it all, blending salty, sweet, crunchy, creamy, and savory in one bite. It’s the Trader Joe’s exemplar: satisfying, comforting, and a little bit unusual.

Kara Baskin can be reached at kara.baskin@globe.com. Follow her @kcbaskin.