(multiple area locations; traderjoes.com). The frozen-food aisle offers lots of options for quick and easy dinners: The wild-halibut filets ($12.49 a pound) and seasoned rack of lamb ($12.99 a pound) are go-to main dishes, and sides such as the mushroom ($3.29) or asparagus ($2.69) risotto, penne with eggplant and zucchini ($3.49), and chicken pot stickers ($3.29) are well worth the five or six minutes in a skillet that it takes to bring them to life. Plats du Chef–brand French onion soup and TJ’s own organic-vegetable lasagna with whole-wheat pasta are microwavable frozen items that have become staples; other house-brand prepared frozen meals, such as mojito salmon ($7.49), aren’t as good as they look. For kids, the Trader Joe’s cod sticks, frozen mac ’n’ cheese, and individual quiches—we like the spinach—make for ready-in-minutes dinners.

The refrigerated-food section has been less reliable. The moist and peppery rotisserie chicken ($6.49) is, if small, one of the tastiest around, but other items have been disappointing: The cooked and seasoned organic top sirloin roast ($7.99) was tough, the cranberry-apple-stuffed chicken breast ($5.99 a pound) was dry, and the curry chicken tenders ($3.99), while filling the house with a wonderful aroma, were too salty.

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