Roundup

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


Trader Joe's top 5

5 ways to use Trader Joe's "Everything But the Bagel" seasoning

How a brief Trader Joe's interaction turned into Gary Gulman's magnum opus

The 50 essential Trader Joe's foods

Toddler snacks from Trader Joe's

30 favorite vegan Trader Joe's products

Trader Joe's employee does a Reddit "Ask Me Anything"

Healthy new items from Trader Joe's



Best tweets of the week:

All these trips to #traderjoes and I still haven’t met my future husband when we both reach for the last box of gluten free waffles... 😏

— Sydney Dowson (@Sydieee) March 25, 2019

I live by the rule that *everything* purchased at #TraderJoes is healthy.

— Linda Thackeray (@LindaThackeray) March 25, 2019

I just don't get it - what's the difference between this and cold- brew tea? Oh yeah, it tastes like stale water that sat outside in the sun, next to a pitcher of herbal tea. Then someone washed their socks in it. #TraderJoes I expected better from you! pic.twitter.com/69m7ah0Jth

— Ivana (@ivancicas) March 27, 2019

anytime im sad i remember that i have #TraderJoes in my life and suddenly im not sad anymore

— elizabeth winchell (@lizzlockett89) March 27, 2019

#TraderJoes is ridiculous. it should be by appt only. #NoParking #HungerGames

— stephen shepherd (@SSVideoBoy) March 27, 2019

Walked into #TraderJoes, sampled their Mixed Berry Scone Mix with a scoop of crème fraîche and immediately purchased both items. Came home, incorrectly measured the water. Somehow thought 2/3 was the same as 1 2/3. So instead of scones, I made muffins and they were still yummy.

— Cup of Jo (@brokemedstudent) March 27, 2019

Why the hell are you discontinuing the products people love? #traderjoes do you have a department that picks the best products to be taken off the shelf???

— Muge Seker (@seker_muge) March 29, 2019

And finally, here's this week's cute cat baby in a Trader Joe's grocery bag:

Trader Joe's Organic Dark Chocolate PB&J Minis

I had a weird experience with these candies. I first tried them after dinner with Nina, and felt thoroughly meh about them. A week passed, and I ate the last three as part of a late-night snack alone, and quite liked them. I have some theories about these two different reactions, but they're all about my internal state of mind and have nothing to do with the product, so I'll spare you.

I've never cared for anything combining chocolate and peanut butter. And on first tasting, I thought, "Yep, more of that wrongness." But on second trial, I instead got a stronger sense of the raspberry filling, which oddly seemed to sort of buffer the clash between the chocolate and peanut butter--like The Dude's rug tying the room together in "The Big Lebowski." This completely surprised me.

Nina didn't like these. She thought the components weren't well-balanced, and the chocolate tasted cheap. She also noticed the strange portion numbers in the labeling: 3 pieces to a portion, 8 in the bag, contents "about 2 1/2" servings. So why not put 9 in the bag to make a whole number of servings? Well, Trader Joe's, what have you got to say for yourself on this excellent question?


Will I buy it again? 

No. Even on my more favorable second impression, they don't rise anywhere close to the level of favorite chocolates.

Trader Joe's Creamy Polenta With Spinach & Carrots

This had been languishing in my freezer for a long, long time before I rediscovered it recently and cooked it up as a side dish for a dinner with Nina. (Nothing but the best for my honey!) How long? I looked for a "best by" date on the package, but couldn't find one. However, the metadata on this photo says August 6, 2017, so about 19 months. This undoubtedly explains why it came out of the bag in a big block of ice. It was...not ideal.

It was still decent, but I just didn't love the heavy spinach component. And the carrot portion of the program seemed nearly missing in action. It created a weird imbalance, at least compared to the expectations I had in mind from the product name and package photo.


Will I buy it again? 

No.

Trader Joe's Rainbow Pears

These are ordinary pears, distinguished only by having a variety of colors. As far as I could tell, the color of the skin was unconnected with any distinguishing flavor of the underlying fruit.

Most were good; none were excellent. Only one was mealy in texture. A couple ended up going overripe and mushy before I could get around to eating them. (A man can eat only so many pears.)


Will I buy it again? 

No. It's just too many for me. A few at a time is better than a big bag.

Roundup

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


11 chefs share the one thing they always buy at Trader Joe's

10 Trader Joe's vegetarian dinners

Taste test of frozen chicken nuggets

Vegan shopping at Trader Joe's on a budget

Price comparison: Aldi, Trader Joe's, and Whole Foods



Best tweets of the week:

When you have to stop shopping at #TraderJoes because you're tired of them constantly discontinuing items you like. pic.twitter.com/9XqBnfFsRq

— David G (@DavidG87) March 21, 2019

My phone gets me. #traderjoes #dayoff pic.twitter.com/sZnqhSdz4w

— keegan❄️ (@keegancherry) March 21, 2019

I live purely for the bliss of getting the tiny cup of coffee at #TraderJoes

— jessica (@jessicalikescow) March 22, 2019

And finally, here's this week's cute cat with a Trader Joe's grocery bag:

#traderjoes new mascot. pic.twitter.com/BhCuDYKuse

— Denise Lindgren (@SpriteWrite) March 17, 2019

Trader Joe's Organic Elote Corn Chip Dippers

When I saw these bags on the new-products display at Trader Joe's, I couldn't understand why they were promoting one of their most stalwart old items as new. I had to look more closely to notice that these were not the usual Dippers.

I loves me my Dippers. You could send a SWAT team to break in and do a random surprise inspection of my kitchen any day, any time, and you'll always find at least one bag of them in my cupboard, and usually two or three so that I'm never at risk of running out of them. So of course it was an instant "yes" to try this new version. Heck, I love the original so much that I would have bought any new variation on them that TJ's cared to offer, short of "Super Onion Flavored Onion Corn Chip Dippers, Now With Extra Onion."

I confess that I had never heard of "elote" before. Relying on the first result in a Google search, I learn: "Elote corn is Mexican street corn roasted over an open grill and coated with salt, chile powder, butter, cotija, lime juice, and mayonnaise or crema fresca." That sounds delicious!

Compare that with the seasonings added to these new TJ's chips: maltodextrin, sugar, salt, chipotle peppers, nonfat dry milk, lowfat buttermilk, "spice," corn flour, "natural flavor," citric acid, sunflower oil, habanero pepper powder, "natural smoke flavor," turmeric extract, and "trace of lime."

I'd say those lists are only vaguely similar.

So how do they taste? Not so great, if you ask me--and nothing like what my brain conjures up from the quoted description of elote. There's definitely some mild heat from the peppers (though this is quite variable from one chip to another, I found). Then there's a fairly complex mix of other tastes that I can't put my finger on--presumably the sum of the turmeric, "smoke" and other unspecified "flavors."

This is one of those times when I can't explain exactly what I don't like--but I don't like. Maybe it's the turmeric, which I haven't liked in any of the TJ's products in which it has appeared.

Nina and I were eating them with the last of my stockpiled jars of Fall Harvest Salsa. I objected to the chips clashing with and even dominating the lovely flavors of the mild salsa. Nina, conversely, thought it was a fabulous combo. In fact, after a dozen or so salsa-laden chips, she declared these to be her favorite corn chips of all time. This is not the kind of announcement she drops casually or thoughtlessly.

So you've got a very, very mixed review here.


Will I buy it again? 

No. Well, not unless I accidentally grab the wrong bag, once these migrate to the regular snack shelf of the store.

Trader Joe's Vegan Jackfruit Cakes

Nina bought and served these recently. They're supposed to resemble crabcakes. I wouldn't know, since I've never eaten crabcakes. But I got no sense of anything seafoodish about them.

We each had two. I finished one, started on the second, but just couldn't. For some reason, the second one gave me a much bigger jolt of onion than the first one had. I don't think Nina even finished her first one.


Will I buy it again? 

No. Complete fail.