The Trader Joe's Product Discussion Thread (S/D)

that bar is a poor substitute for the christmastime dark chocolate covered caramels with sea salt. they are thicker! the bar is v messy and we even tried cutting w/ knife but it still broke weird and got all messy.

Jordan, rode the Red Line more and you might be able to get to try the hummus.

Since my move I only get to TJ's every few weeks or so. Do they have the holiday ale yet?

Jordan, rode the Red Line more and you might be able to get to try the hummus.

― pullapartsquirrel (Jenny), Thursday, October 20, 2011 11:06 PM (13 minutes ago) Bookmark

*furiously scribbling notes*

Lord, you are a champ for even being able to parse that sentence.

S: Truffle brownie mix. So delicious, probably because you add your own melted stick of butter at home. I've made brownies from scratch plenty and they are a huge pain in the ass and never as good as this box mix.

D: The pre-made, as in just open an envelope and pour it out brownie mix. It's pretty gross. Caveats: I put the batter in the oven directly after removing a roasted chicken and accidentally turned the oven off. I didn't realize it until the timer went off, at which point I restarted the oven and baked them until a toothpick came out cleanish. This might have impacted the texture. Also, putting them in right after the chicken made them taste vaguely like roasted chicken, which was really awful. However, the truffle brownie box mix is so easy that I haven't felt compelled to try this brownie mix again to see whether it was me or the mix.

the hybrid corn-wheat tortillas are not half-bad! they've managed to last a few days without getting the rancid-corn smell.

my favorite are the chili flour tortillas.

"spicy, smokey peach salsa" really livened up tonight's boring old grilled chicken breasts

habanero and lime salsa too salty, lime flavor doesn't keep well in the jar

potstickers are really good

their normal salsa sux

yeah I'm not wild about jarred salsa in general but the peach (w/tomato) was pleasant surprise

The potstickers are as good as any from the Asian restaurants and stores, but the gyoza sauce is terrible. Gyoza sauce is such a simple thing (soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, garlic) and I think TJ ruined it by trying to jazz it up.

most of tj's chinese/japanese sauces are terrible. just make your own; it's so easy.

the sauce for their korean chicken wings was a disgrace.

better/cheaper sauces at asian mkt, not difficult to stock up periodically
but the gyoza themselves are pretty good i think -- shrimp are my favorite, first pan fried then steamed to heat through

And for Eastern European gyoza, the pierogies are very good if you make them per instructions - boil ~ 3 minutes to heat through then pan fry (in bacon grease for that extra touch). I like the potato and cheese ones better than the chicken.

I miss living near the big pan-Asian supermarket (Pacific Sun?). I would regularly stock up on Srirachia, gyoza sauce, sweet chili sauce, and 1/2 gallon jugs of soy sauce. And peeled garlic! I wish they sold gyoza sauce in enormous jugs. Those little bottles don't last long. Or I wish my homemade sauce tasted as good. It is super simple, but it is never quite right.

get bent otm - spend money on different varieties of soy sauce instead

Golden Pacific! I like Tai Nam these days though.

Last time I was there, I tried a new cheese. I don't know if they've always had it? Or not. But it was AWESOME and also like THREE DOLLARS for a wedge! It's called Toscano, I think?? Tastes like parmesan but less dried, but still having crunchy bits in it, and the rind is soaked in red wine.
WOULD EAT ALL OF.

In fact I did eat all of. Now I have to go back for more.

more stuff that I kinda knew was not going to be good but I am dumb:
the applegate turkey baloney.
just don't
why did i
i don't know

Actually, you know what? This will be a good experiment in Sandwich Theory. Is the turloney capable of redemption through advanced application of condiments, cheese, and bread?

I'd try frying, everything is better fried.

grilled/fried turloney w/cheddar/gruyere hybrid

Good:
Nantes carrots
lavender sachets
brussel sprouts (bagged; have seen but not tried stalk)
recycled toilet paper
rice cakes
bananas
bran flakes
canned tuna
peppermint soap
Dijon mustard

Bad:
fruit flies in the summer months

I like those lavender sachets, too.

WARNING THIS IS ABOUT TAMPONS
I have to say their organic cotton tampons are like 50% cheaper than everywhere else they're for sale, or even cheaper than that. And they have applicators unlike most of the organic cotton ones I was buying. I don't even know if the organic makes a difference but it's a product where it's easy to pretend. Plus I feel posh handing them out to other ladies.

I've never understood tampons w/out applicators.

You just stuff them up there with your finger. No biggie.

i have no desire to do that.

They don't actually GO very far. Applicators ime make it seem like a bigger distance than it is because they're much longer than they probably "need" to be.

I mean allowing for human variation, obv. I just think applicator-selling companies have maximized the "ew, gross" value and made them long enough that you barely even have to touch yourself.

SORRY, TRADER JOE'S THREAD.

What I don't know about the distance in a bajingo could fill a bajingo (which I assume provides a tremendous amount of volume).

In other news I remember their
quinoa due with vegetable melange
being quite enticing as an in-store sample, but at home it's just a pile of mushy blah.

Maybe it's only awesome in tablespoon-sized servings.

At the sample station at my local TJ the other day

http://i.imgur.com/wUkoy.jpg

You can't really make out the blue text, which reads "So watery...And with just a smack of ham!"

frozen eggplant curry was extremely disgusting

Hot Ham Water! <3<3<3

omg that's amazing!

I actually thought the tuna curry was kinda gross, but whatev.

― jaymc, Sunday, March 6, 2011 10:25 PM (7 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Were you eating it cold right out of the pouch with your bare hands while sitting in a dark room alone and crying? Because you should really heat those tuna things up first.

― phantoms from a world gone by speak again the immortal tale: (Jenny), Sunday, March 6, 2011 10:53 PM (7 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

No, but I think I was eating it as-is, with no accompaniment.

So! I am happy to report that I bought it again and prepared some couscous and sauteed some fucking mushrooms and broccoli, and I had a really easy and tasty meal of which I'm now eating the leftovers.

It's good on the lemon-pepper pappardelle pasta they sell. Or on rice, of course.

ooh i love that stuff but it's so much pricier than the other pastas i can't justify buying it.

Their frigging vanilla & cinnamon black tea is BACK. It has a confused lemur on it and it's my very favorite. I think drinking it all day was the only thing that got me through six weeks of training at a call center this time last year. Then I discovered it was seasonal and my job was once again a pit of despair. How long do you guys think tea stays good/drinkable if you don't open it because my Mormon food-hoarding instincts are at five alarms.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-12REecc_JJ0/TWBni5p-qbI/AAAAAAAAAOw/pc27YoGKjJA/s1600/Tea.jpg

the box also has a chameloeona

I mean a chameloen

you know what I mean