Yesterday was the last time I had to go to Northern Virginia for work. I will miss one thing about these mostly monthly meetings- visiting Trader Joe's. I did not discover the joy of Trader Joe's until long into my stay in NOVA, when it was almost over. What I enjoyed particularly were the very helpful and not surly staff, the fresh pizza dough that made dinner super easy and the luscious treats.
NOW what I love is all the frozen food which makes dinner relatively preservative free and super easy. We drove to nova and went to TJ early, then went to our meeting. I brought a cooler (very wise move). When I got home at dinner time, I only had to pop the stuffed salmon in the oven for twenty minutes and viola a gourmet meal even though I was in the car practically all day. One could even have simmered the stuffed salmon in white wine which would have been delicious too, but that involves one more ingredient and I didnt want to have to deal with that.
I also procured some frozen naan. I love cooking Indian food but without the naan there is just something missing. The cville market sells refridgerated naan, I did not have a good experience with that. Foods of All Nations may also sell it, but I dont go to that store for a variety of reasons (parking, distance and high costs), I may reconsider.
The Trader Joe's brand of food is delicious and reasonably priced. SO my vote would be to have them come to Charlottesville, preferably downtown. I believe the store would diversify the grocery markets in town without taking away from the local stores. BTW- onthe 7 mile stretch of Rt. 7 I was on, there were two TJ's and of course multiple other grocery stores, nevermind the number of Starbucks.
So thank goodness I dont have to go there anymore, but when visiting friends, I will bring a cooler in hopes of a field trip.
1 comment:
The Quik Pik behind KFC (Angus Road) has frozen naan, but I've never tried it.
There's an Indian market on West Rio (same complex as Dirty Dogs, but the upper level, facing the road). They sometimes carry fresh naan, but usually have samosas and other fresh treats. My friends love the fresh treats--I've never tried them. I do buy tons of dal there, though, along with papadums, frozen veggies, paneer, and fresh curry leaves.
You can always call one of the local restaurants. I'm sure at least one of them offers carry out, especially if you just want a heaping bag of naan.
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