Trader Joe's French Apple Tart

I was at TJ's doing my Thanksgiving shopping, planning to pick up a more ordinary pie, when I spotted this--and that was all it took to settle on it as our dessert.

The apples are nice--a variety I had never heard of before, Northern Spy. The list of ingredients says that there are also sliced apricots here. I couldn't physically locate any for sure, but I could definitely taste them as a complement to the apples. You've also got a generous helping of cinnamon and vanilla.

The result was nice, though not wonderful. I thought it was a little too sweet, with not enough tartness from the apples. Nina thought the texture was a tad "gummy."


Will I buy it again? 

No.

Trader Joe's Ciabatta Demi-Baguette

Loved it. Nice contrast between a dense, chewy crust and soft, light center. Works well either cold or toasted.


Will I buy it again? 

Yes.

Chimay Autumn Limited Edition Washed Rind Cheese

So there I was, at the Asheville Trader Joe's cheese display, two days before Thanksgiving, trying to find a couple of new kinds of cheese to try with Nina. One of them was the Beemster Royaal Grand Cru discussed yesterday. The other one was this. I had a vague recollection of trying a Chimay cheese before, so I found an out-of-the-way spot to stand and check this blog on my phone to see if I had reviewed it before.

I pulled up this review, and noticed that it was the "Spring" variety, and now the store was offering the "Autumn" version. They're different! Great! That was all the excuse I needed to buy it. But I was feeling pressured by the crush of shoppers, so I didn't scroll down to read what I had written about it.

So I was surprised when I took my first bite of it and almost gagged at the awfulness. (Nina had wisely chosen the other one for our T-day appetizer; this one was left for me to try alone a few days later.) I grabbed my Kindle tablet and looked up my review of the other Chimay. I read it, then remembered: I hated it. Just like I hate this one.

I'm not sure which one is worse, because of course I'm not trying them simultaneously (and never will), but my reaction to this one is ever more intensely negative than what I wrote before. After one chunk on a cracker, I was done--and it even ruined my appetite for any further snacking that evening. (Maybe I've discovered a revolutionary new weight-loss scheme.) The rest will go back to the store for a refund.

Well, at least I'm consistent in my hatred.



Will I buy it again? 

Good lord, I hope not. I can be a slow learner sometimes, but I'm optimistic that in the future I will remember not to make the same purchasing mistake a third time.

Beemster Royaal Grand Cru Cheese

I had never heard of, much less tasted, Grand Cru cheese, so I was happy to find such an unusual new cheese adventure waiting for me at Trader Joe's.

Here's the producer's description: https://www.beemstercheese.com/assortment/royaal-grand-cru/

I was not disappointed. This is an incredibly flavorful cheese: strong but not at all harsh, a little earthy. It's quite hard and takes some force to cut. But it takes only a very thin slice to deliver its wallop. It was nice on my usual Triscuits, but outstanding when paired with TJ's seasonal Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps.


Will I buy it again? 

Eagerly. It will likely be available at TJ's for only a short time (they do this thing of bringing in interesting cheeses for a while, then whisking them away; my guess is that they're buying surpluses  cheap when they occur), so don't delay.

Trader Joe's Gluten Free Blueberry Bagels

Is it possible that I've never had Trader Joe's bagels before? Apparently so. I can't remember any, and a text search of this blog's archives finds none.

Too bad, then, that my first venture into the field is so disappointing. These taste reasonably like the many other conventional blueberry bagels I've had from bakeries, but the texture is all wrong. There's no chew; they just kind of fall apart in your mouth, as if made of dust. Why, it's almost as if they contained no long-chain proteins holding them together!


Will I buy it again? 

No. I ate one, but the rest will go back to the store for a refund.

Roundup

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


Trader Joe's best Thanksgiving foods for lazy people

Comparison test of cookie butters

Your Trader Joe's Thanksgiving shopping list

11 Trader Joe's buys for the best vegan Thanksgiving feast

We aged Two Buck Chuck; here's how it tasted




Best tweets of the week:

You ever taste and experience something so delicious that you feel like you don’t deserve such goodness? That’s how I feel about Everything but the Bagel Seasoning from #TraderJoes 🤩😍 #everythingbutthebagel #bagels #lowcarb #seriously!!!

— Steph (@sexcessfully) November 17, 2018

Shame on #TraderJoes selling <1lb of beef in a 1.2 lb package this little insert weighs nearly 1/4 pound - like $2 of BS @TraderJoesRants #keto pic.twitter.com/FoVFJfSgUF

— Derek Johnson (@derekPjohnson62) November 18, 2018

Went to Trader Joe’s and didn’t buy any cookie butter. Who am I? #TraderJoes #cookiebutter #itsamiracle pic.twitter.com/tg49CdYxCm

— seanna-na (@seanna_na) November 20, 2018

The credit card machine at #TraderJoes gobbles at you when it’s time to take out your card. My exact face when it happened: pic.twitter.com/Hf5ZKagh5v

— Jaena (@JaenaStaAna) November 21, 2018

Waiting for #TraderJoes to open like it’s #TheHungerGames. 🤣 #thanksgiving pic.twitter.com/jjAMGDmV73

— Ty Alston (@Ty4Lyfe) November 21, 2018

May all your holiday turkey be Gingerbread Turkey. #traderjoes #🦃 https://t.co/kE48JuPZzZ #instagram pic.twitter.com/emIqlJRXol

— Troy Foster (@troy_d_foster) November 23, 2018

And finally, there's no cute Trader Joe's cat this week. Social media has failed us all.

Trader Joe's Alfredo Pasta Sauce

When I saw this among the pasta sauces on a recent TJ's run, I thought it must be a new product, because I surely would have noticed it before now. But no--a little Googling reveals that it's been around at least since 2011. I don't know how I overlooked it for so long.

For coming in a jar, it's a very good Alfredo sauce. Nice, mild flavor. Perhaps a tad thicker than would be optimal, but that's not a fatal flaw. Not quite up to what one can get in a good restaurant, but how could it be? Though I admit that I haven't tried a lot of them, I'd venture a guess that this is about as good as heat-and-serve Alfredo sauce can be.


Will I buy it again? 

Yes. It won't replace marinaras as my go-to pasta sauces, but I think it will be nice as an occasional change of pace.