Roundup

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


Best frozen Trader Joe's appetizers for New Year's Eve

Trader Joe's is a living hellscape

The 6 best things to buy at Trader Joe's for your New Year's Eve party



If you have Netflix streaming, find the Gary Gulman stand-up comedy special called "It's About Time." He has a roughly 23-minute funny riff on Trader Joe's that's well worth hearing.


Best tweets of the week:

1.

2.

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

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Orange

Nina bought this. I'm glad she did. I had passed it by several times, thinking it probably wouldn't be very good. I was wrong. It's excellent. They balanced the dark chocolate and orange flavors just right. And the thing really does break apart cleanly, as promised--which I wouldn't have believed without seeing it for myself.


Will I buy it again? 

I'd be happy to get one in my stocking every Christmas.

Trader Joe's Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies

These are pretty ordinary grocery-store chocolate cookies with some crushed candy cane bits sprinkled on top. Edible, but nothing special.


Will I buy it again? 

No.

Trader Joe's Sliced Smoked Gouda Cheese

My friend Dan suggested that I try this. So I did.

Remember that awful 1979 vampire comedy movie with George Hamilton, "Love at First Bite"? Well, that's what we've got here, even though I'm not a vampire.

I like plain Gouda just fine, but this smoked variation somehow lights up my taste buds like few things do. I finished the 8-ounce package in just two evenings, with quartered slices on Triscuit crackers. That's more cheese than I really should be eating, but I couldn't stop.

To the Top Ten list you go, Smoked Gouda!


Will I buy it again? 

Gleefully.

Trader Joe's Fondue Au Chocolat

This is a brand-new product, probably seasonal, though nothing I found says so explicitly.

Frankly, I expected disappointment. How good could inexpensive microwavable fondue chocolate in a plastic tub be, after all?

As it happens, pretty darn good. I brought home some strawberries to dip in it, and the results were, well, scrumptious. The chocolate tastes and feels like high-quality stuff, whereas I had expected cheap, gloppy dreck.

You zap the chocolate right in the tub it comes in, then dip whatever you're using right into that same tub, so there's virtually no mess to clean up. This is surely the most convenient fondue in the history of the world. The texture is lovely--smooth and creamy, thin enough to make even coating easy, but thick enough to stick rather than drip off.

No question, this is a solid winner. Highly recommended.


Will I buy it again? 

Definitely.

Trader Joe's Double Wide Cat Scratcher

I noticed that Nina had one of these, and that Loki seemed to be using it frequently when he came in from his outdoor roaming.

I bought one for Lucy, rubbed into its surface a tiny bit of the catnip that comes with it, and put it out for her.

Let's see how she reacts:





Lemme tell you, that is one seriously happy kitty.

She scratches on it, she licks it, she chews it, she rolls on it, she rubs on it. She's even taken naps on it.

This is the first cat item from Trader Joe's that both Lucy and Loki have loved. On that basis, I'm going to take the unusual step of putting this in my Top Ten list.


Will I buy it again? 

If you're not clear on the answer to that, maybe you need to watch the video again.

Trader Joe's Organic Holiday Fruit Spread

I could tell from the description--"plums, apples, cranberries, cinnamon & cloves"--that I would like this. However, whether it turned out to be a modest "like" or a big one would turn on whether they avoided two obvious traps: (1) Making it too sweet. (2) Dumping in too much cinnamon and cloves.

I'm pleased to report that they passed both tests. It's excellent stuff.

Now I'm just disappointed that they called it "holiday," and will presumably sell it for just a month or two per year. There's no reason this shouldn't be on the shelves all the time.


Will I buy it again? 

Yes.