Roundup

This is my weekly compilation of news and other links about Trader Joe's.


Trader Joe's announces recall of two products containing hard-boiled eggs

Best Trader Joe's items for a New Year's party

A last-minute Trader Joe's holiday shopping list

70 Trader Joe's frozen foods ranked by a seasonally depressed person



Best tweets of the week:

If I don't make at least one friend while I'm at #TraderJoes then it was a really unsuccessful trip.

— Kristen Montgomery (@KristenM42_) December 24, 2019

There are 3 types of people in the world.

1. People who love Trader Joe's

2. People who have never been to Trader Joe's.

3. People who have been to Trader Joes once & think people #1 are insane yuppie wanna-bees. #TraderJoes#Overrated

— should bat leadoff (@Squatchman05) December 24, 2019

When your husband is extra and knows you love #BabyYoda, Merry Christmas to me! #TheMandalorian #traderjoes pic.twitter.com/8MLKKoai51

— T.Reed (@tandanlogfel) December 25, 2019

My daughter and I sat and ate 24 days of chocolate. I don’t think that’s how this game goes. 🤣 #TraderJoes pic.twitter.com/PjuESQLpRe

— ✨ simplykatricia ✨ (@simplykatricia) December 25, 2019

I think I’m gonna ditch the dating apps and spend my time swiping the aisles at #TraderJoes pic.twitter.com/o7Ji0S64rm

— xoxo, Saneeta Renee (@ChicInspector) December 26, 2019

And finally, here's this week's cute cat with her Trader Joe's advent calendar for cats:

It's #Caturday and my sidekick found her #TraderJoes #AdventCalendar She's such a good #reader love my #literacy cat pic.twitter.com/75gylS8BbI

— Mrs. P (@MrsPstorytime) November 30, 2019

Trader Joe's Savory Corn Pie

I liked this a lot. It's peppery, cheesy corn. I fail to see how anybody could not like it.


Will I buy it again? 

Yes. It's not obviously seasonal, but it came out just before Thanksgiving, and many TJ's side dishes with that timing are gone after Christmas. So I may not get another chance at it anytime soon, but if I do, I'll pick up another one.

Roundup

This is my weekly compilation of news and other links about Trader Joe's.


11 Trader Joe's frozen meal hacks to liven up your quick dinner

Trader Joe's items for a holiday party spread

I tried 7 frozen meals from Trader Joe's; 2 were disappointing

Don't leave Trader Joe's without trying at least one of these products

15 holiday appetizers from Trader Joe's

New Trader Joe's items will help you hibernate this winter

8 of the strangest products at Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's employees dance for customers



Best tweets of the week:

Shopping at Giant: Where can I find scallions?
Associate: Sorry dunno what those are...
Me shopping at #TraderJoes: Do you have Prosecco:
Associate: Do you prefer Spumante or Frizzante? Whats your regional preference? *proceeds analysis of regional Italian grape harvest methods*

— Claudia B (@shrillandchill) December 18, 2019

I don't know who needs to hear this, but when you're at Trader Joe's in the checkout, you could maybe do your checker & the 20 ppl in line behind u a solid & pack your own groceries instead of surfing Facebook, because really? #selfbag #TraderJoes #whereareyourreusablesyoumonster

— 🏳️‍🌈 🌔❄️MrsAllChestnutsRoasting ❄️🌖🏳️‍🌈 (@mrsallnut) December 20, 2019

Our family (and Dori) get the eye patch treatment.#TraderJoes #FearlessFlyer pic.twitter.com/gJcL2F603j

— Michael Blaustein (@m8qlaff) December 20, 2019

Today, I was just not willing to pay $5 or more for wrapping paper. So Trader Joe’s paper bags it is🎄#klontherun #traderjoes #recyclepeople #imnotpayingthat #nyclife #nyc #nopewrappingpaper #yeahchristmas pic.twitter.com/a7rOrHojUj

— KL Thomas (@KLThomasnyc123) December 21, 2019

#Recycled my #traderjoes shopping bag for wrapping paper! pic.twitter.com/NFCRualxFU

— Sriracha (@sarahnomiddle) December 21, 2019

And finally, here's this week's cute cat with its Trader Joe's advent calendar:

Gma got us the #traderjoes advent calendar!! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/ifagJDvpB8

— 🐾🔥cozy paws Dean🧤 (@ItsMeDeaner) November 23, 2019

Rosemary tree

It's pretty, it's cute, and it has a lovely fragrance. What more could you possibly need to know?


Will I buy it again? 

Probably not, because I try to buy a different holiday decoration thing every year. Besides, there's, like, a 1% chance I could manage to keep this alive until this time next year.

Dujardin Root Vegetable Fries

I found these veggie fries at Trader Joe's while Thanksgiving shopping. They seem like a very Trader Joe's sort of thing, though not branded as such. Perhaps they're on "audition," and will come back with a TJ's label if they sell well.

It's one of the rare frozen-to-oven items from TJ's that requires less time than the label says (28-30 minutes). Unfortunately, because of my previous experiences, I had just set the timer for the full 30 minutes, and didn't check along the way. I also missed, until it was too late, the last sentence in the cooking directions about flipping them over halfway through. Oops. The net result was that maybe 10% were burned past usability, another 20% were edible but more charred than one would really want, and nearly all of them showed signs of being cooked much more on one side than the other. My bad.

In spite of that, they were surprisingly good, though very bland--needed salt. (Or so I thought. Nina ate hers without, and never reached for the shaker.) But tasty. My hunch is that if you have kids who love to eat French fries, but won't eat standard veggies, this presentation would change their minds. You wouldn't even have to tell them they're not potatoes.


Will I buy it again? 

Yes. I want to try it again at least once to get the preparation right. After that, who knows? But since I liked them even overdone, why wouldn't I like them done correctly?

Roundup

This is my weekly compilation of news and other links about Trader Joe's.


10 Trader Joe's gifts for the foodie in your life

Cute Trader Joe's products will make your holidays merry and bright

Trader Joe's finds you need to try ASAP

8 Trader Joe's products for under $7 for holiday cooking

Taste test of 11 store brands of hummus

14 vegan essentials at Trader Joe's

36 holiday arrivals at Trader Joe's



Best tweets of the week:

Dear Santa, for Christmas I would really like #TraderJoes to have self checkout lanes so I don't have to hear reviews of everything I'm buying and suggestions from cashier's. I'd like to be in and out in 5. That is all. Thank you.

Oh yeah, and impeach him and world peace.

— J. (@bostonjay22201) December 8, 2019

#LittleE: Mummy, do you know that you are very loved?
Me: Oh, sweetie. Thank you!
E: Did that fill your bucket?
Me: To the top. What fills your bucket?
E: Trader Joes. The sample station at #TraderJoes fills my bucket#SimplePleasures #ThisIs3 #pragmatist #fullBucket

— Off-balanceMum (@Off_balance_mum) December 9, 2019

Lady tried to claim her duck was a service animal. Trader Joe’s disagreed and kicked her out. #vegas pic.twitter.com/pk9WR1QwuM

— Mick Akers (@mickakers) December 11, 2019

MURPHY THE BUNS ARE YOURS. STAND YOUR GROUND. THIS WILL NEVER HOLD UP IN A COURT OF LAW. pic.twitter.com/V4himlyyl8

— Zara Rahim (@ZaraRahim) December 12, 2019

reminds me of that time when I was working at #traderjoes and the perfect version of your fav church lady walked up with her teenage granddaughter, stage whispered "watch this," and drew a penis instead of her signature on the credit card swiper #legend #grandmaandpenisstories

— Hope Montgomery (@Real_Ededdneddy) December 13, 2019

And finally, here's this week's cute cat with its Trader Joe's advent calendar:

View this post on Instagram

Yes, I just bought an #adventcalendar for #mycat #spoiledkittie #itainteventhanksgivingyet #traderjoes #traderjoesfinds #cat @matt_the_viking

A post shared by Meranie (@meranieroni) on Nov 15, 2019 at 6:15pm PST

Trader Joe's Orange Cardamom Muffins

These were just so-so. A little too dry. Orange flavor was present, but muted rather than prominent. After eating two, I couldn't detect anything that I thought might be the cardamom. But I had never tasted cardamom in isolation, so I didn't really know what to expect. So I sampled some from Nina's spice rack. Even with that experience freshly in mind, I was unable to taste any cardamom in the last two muffins.


Will I buy it again? 



via GIPHY

Trader Joe's Cornbread Bites

Loved these. Loved both the flavor and texture. Loved each component: cornbread, cheese, peppers.


Will I buy it again? 

Enthusiastically. They might even be a Top Ten candidate, but I'm going to try another round of them before I decide.

Regular readers might notice that this is three reviews in a row with a strong thumbs-up. How often has that happened?

Trader Joe's Rose Fingerling Potato Chips

Nina spotted these at Trader Joe's yesterday, and we had some before dinner at her house last night.

If you've never heard of "Grey Guerande Sea Salt," I'm with you. Here's a bit of the history.

These chips are fabulous. They're flavorful. They might possess the most perfect crunch I've ever found in potato chips. They're pretty, with rings of pink. They're salted just right. Of course, being made from fingerling potatoes, there aren't any huge chips. On the other hand, we found relatively few sad, broken pieces. They were maybe a tad too oily. But other than that, they're extraordinarily good.

They were so good, in fact, that I eschewed the hummus Nina offered as part of the appetizer, and just kept digging into the bag for more chips; I didn't want to change the experience by adding in another factor. They're even better than the Dark Russets from my last review. I'm tempted to slap them directly onto my Top Ten list--but I think it would be better to wait until I can buy a bag of my own and try them a few more times.


Will I buy it again? 



via GIPHY

Roundup

This is my weekly compilation of news and other links about Trader Joe's.


Trader Joe's announces recall of certain seafood products due to Listeria contamination

12 best new holiday products at Trader Joe's

18 Trader Joe's hidden gems

5 things real-estate pros always buy at Trader Joe's

9 peppermint items from Trader Joe's you need this Christmas

Trader Joe's is selling everything you need to make your house a winter wonderland

Trader Joe's stocking stuffers you should buy for yourself



Best tweets of the week:

I assume anyone who says the birth of their child was the happiest day of their lives hasn’t pulled open the tab on a new can of #TraderJoes wintry blend on a cold day

— Lindsay Smith (@Excessfreetime) November 30, 2019

Shoutout to the lady at #TraderJoes who told me she would pray for me to “get over this vegan thing”...

— Brian Hill (@thebrianhill) December 1, 2019

My toxic trait is how upset I get about living an hour and a half from #traderjoes

— Kelsey Swearengen (@kelsjallen) December 3, 2019

Trader Joe's, please do something about this. You guys are large enough to make a big difference in the world. Please stop using destructive palm oil. Thanks #TraderJoes #PalmOil #orangutan https://t.co/WAOMWUT6Ry

— Erin (@TreeRise) December 3, 2019

So there is a little story behind #BabyYoda latte. I was at #TraderJoes and I was buying #matcha powder to make this. Lady behind me asked what I was doing with the matcha.. and I casually said “making a baby yoda latte”. I’m sure she thought I was being strange, but here we are. pic.twitter.com/s9Eer3xIKk

— Jocelyn (@haveagrande) December 4, 2019

Weird #TraderJoes Holiday shopping bags look like a typical paper burn bag as used by the United States Department of Defense. A burn bag is a security bag that holds sensitive or classified documents which are to be destroyed by fire or pulping after a certain period of time. pic.twitter.com/ekylThlgW1

— Mike Baris (@MikeBaris) December 4, 2019

I don’t know about you but, I’m tired of going to #TraderJoes for a favorite item, not seeing it on the shelf, going up to customer service to have them tell me that dreaded one word. #Discontinued pic.twitter.com/IJTszUsG1J

— Kathy (@ltlmscantbwrong) December 4, 2019

Overheard last night at #TraderJoes:

Tiny human: Mom, is that poison ivy?
Mom: No, those are brussels sprouts.
Tiny human: ...
Mom: Why would they sell poison ivy? pic.twitter.com/nWltcX1QSu

— Beth Stanton (@beth_stanton) December 5, 2019

I have no idea how to interact with the free sample person at #traderjoes - it’s like the most awkward blind date ever.

— Erin Maguire (@erinmofficial) December 6, 2019

And finally, because of the sudden proliferation of such photos on social media after release of TJ's first-ever advent calendar for cats, my weekly concluding feature, "cute cat in a Trader Joe's grocery bag," will temporarily be replaced by "cute cat with its Trader Joe's advent calendar," until I run out of them:

Someone is super excited for his #AdventCalendar from #TraderJoes! 😺🐾🎄 pic.twitter.com/djHse026sg

— Lauren (@FinsUp1372) November 15, 2019

Trader Joe's Dark Russet Kettle-Cooked Potato Chips

This is now the fourth variety of kettle-cooked potato chips in the Trader Joe's lineup. See here for reviews of the other three.

I liked these a lot. The appearance is a bit weird at first, because, well, everyone knows that potato chips are supposed to be yellowish-white, and these are as brown as can be. But get past that (or eat them with your eyes closed, if you must), and they taste great. Excellent crunch. Neither too thick nor too thin, neither too dry nor too oily. Salted just right. They're pure, in the sense that the bag lists just three ingredients: potatoes, peanut oil, and salt. What else do you need?

My main complaint was that the bag I bought had way too many small, broken chips, and not enough large ones. They taste just as good, but they're not as satisfying to eat, and they're no good for scooping up hummus, which is how I was using them last night.

Of TJ's "Organic Potato Chips Kettle Style," I wrote, "I think they're the best potato chips TJ's sells, and among the very best I've ever had from any manufacturer." With that, I put them on my Top Ten list. I stand by my assessment. I think these russets are not quite that good--but they're only a notch behind.


Will I buy it again? 

Yes. They deserve a place in the regular chip rotation.

Trader Joe's Organic Savory Vegan Gravy

What do you get when you combine water, onions, tamari soy sauce, coconut milk, and starch? If you ask Trader Joe's, the answer is "Savory Vegan Gravy." If you ask me, the answer is "Weird glop that looks like gravy but doesn't taste like it."

Of course, there's a lot more in there than those five ingredients, but they head the list. I suspect the it was something in the combination of onions and tamari that threw the whole thing off for me. I found it actually unpleasant to eat. Nina thought it was unexciting, but fine.


Will I buy it again? 


via GIPHY

Trader Joe's Focaccia Bread

Pardon the photo; I forgot to take a picture of this until it was half eaten.

This was acceptable but not great. I liked the cheese and tomato toppings, but the bread itself was pretty bland and lifeless. It would be better with more tomatoes and if the cheese were more evenly distributed, instead of being clumped all in the middle.


Will I buy it again? 

No.