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

Just happened to look at this thread and FYI to drinkers of Bundaberg ginger beer and alcohol: highly recommend their Pineapple & Coconut with white rum, as you guys are heading into summer

so...mango

Yeah I somehow ended up getting five different mango-flavored or -infused products last night.

mango caramel popcorn is amazing.
mango babka is amazing in the opposite direction.

Just happened to look at this thread and FYI to drinkers of Bundaberg ginger beer and alcohol: highly recommend their Pineapple & Coconut with white rum, as you guys are heading into summer

― glandular lansbury (sic), Sunday, June 5, 2016 10:32 AM (2 days ago)

Bundaberg ginger beer seems to be everywhere right now, even stocked at bars, but the pineapple/coconut remains elusive.

why is there mango everything right now?

according to mango.org mango seasons peaks in june

supply/demand i guess

just had the salsa especial and it tasted like some sort of marinara/salsa hybrid that i never knew i craved

i am so hooked

That's exactly why I didn't care for it, it tastes like spaghetti sauce. Maybe it'd be better on tacos or something.

And time for my annual lament: I wish they'd bring back the vegan mochi.

their 'salsa autentica' has become my go-to store bought salsa. tasty, and seems to keep longer than most

I have the hot salsa especial on my breakfast tacos. It's great. It's not a good dipping salsa.

sounds about right. places that serve marinara-like salsa for dipping are bad

or in the rare case, events like the time a friend and I ordered nachos and they accidentally brought the cheese stick dipping sauce, which was a chunky marinara

the corn salsa & double roasted salsa are pretty good

i am down w the cowboy caviar

much love to the tamales
it actually kind of smelled like a mexican restaurant by the time those babies were done in the microwave

microwave salmon and orzo dinner - didn't expect good but I thought it might be a reasonable lunch option... nope, absolutely vile.

king salmon on a cedar plate is excellent

the coconut salted caramel cookies are fine.

Cookie butter ice cream is pretty delish but wears out its welcome on the palate rather quickly

Yooooooo the tamales in the refrige section, NOT the freezer ones, are so good!!! Both red pork and green chicken--equally tamaletastic.

Roger that

oh yes seconding the refrigerator tamales. The price is higher but you get way more tamales so I think the price per tamale is roughly the same? and they're very, very excellent.

I was surprised at their habanero hot sauce. It's the only item they have right now that's legit hot. (Although back in Spring I bought their ltd. "Triple Threat" 3-pack of Ghost, Trinidad Scorpion, and Carolina Reaper chili flakes, but they were very all smoky and kind of tasted the same as a result.)

The green tahini (with the two-pronged crown) is pretty good on a sandwich their dry-ass falafel that I keep buying for some reason.

Tamale update - I didn't notice any significant difference between fridge / frozen. Still good though

I see it was noted in 2010 that TJ's packaged sushi is not just meh, but utterly revolting

i need a chicago popcorn mix intervention

Is that just the caramel cheese mix?

yeeeesssss

they have something called salmon bacon that i refused to buy on principle, but i really have no principles so i'm sure i'll be back

Did I mention that the Bollywood Popcorn is like kinda good at first and then a little too much and then nauseating? Puts it on par with most bagged, flavored popcorn, really.

so I decided to buy the frozen microwavable shrimp tacos...they were surprisingly decent. the texture was a bit strange at times but i'd definitely take it to work w me once in a while. the issue is that since the tacos are already assembled the filling cooks and soaks the bottom of the tortillas so they fall apart. if you can stick something under it and cook it on an incline that would probably fix it.

also...their hot dog buns are not pre-sliced! i didn't even realize that was possible!

are they amenable to being top sliced (new england style)?

i think they are designed to be sliced side to side; there's a very distinct division/crease around it that makes you think it's already sliced, i guess you are supposed to slice it along that line?

also they are the densest hot dog buns i've ever had, they are not the light and airy ones you usually get at the grocery store, these are substantial. if someone told me they were sourdough-based i'd believe it.

(this is officially the most i've even discussed hot dog buns)

These pies are 99c for some reason
http://www.traderjoes.com/images/fearless-flyer/uploads/article-3020/56858-mini-mango-pies.jpg

That's like 17c a pie!

Some of their stuff is bizarrely cheap. LIke the 27c bottles of water. There is now a stick of mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto for 1.29 that would be 3.99 at whole foods

p.sure all mango stuff is summer seasonal, so they're probably trying to unload it

Trail mixes:

Pistachios, cherries, chocolate, cashews, almonds A+
combine with peanuts for peanut butter and jelly vibes + bang for buck

Peanut Butter Cups B-
The cups themselves are ok but the cherries in this are not the same as the cherries above, they are actually giant salty pigs balls.

They must have ordered a shitload too many mango pies because they have been marked down to 99c for months. They are quite tasty though so it's money well spent if you're looking for a sweet snack.

Yum: frozen truffle mac & cheese

Not yum: rosemary and cheese biscuits (weird texture, kinda bitter)

unsurprisingly the instant coffee is total dreck

i would seriously consider eating a truffled phone book, so "hell yeah!!" to tha mac'n'chee
xpost

how can they ship these from france and still have them be cheaper than the domestic brioche rolls they also sell?
http://www.traderjoesreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/sliced-french-brioche-250x300.jpg

You know what I really respect about Trader Joe's? Their stuff is so often sourced from where it should be from. So the frozen naan is made in India. The paella is made in Spain. The Thai food is made in Thailand. The harissa is a legit product of Tunisia. That's just cool.

And some of the frozen pizzas are from Italy. I'm now starting to see Italian made pizzas in other stores too. I like them, but I can't help think how they could be even better if made locally in the right way, because shipping a frozen food item halfway around the world has got to have a quality cost.

Well, frozen food, period, has a quality cost.

True, but you don't want to pay double. The convenience is worth some cost.

the cinnamon rolls in a can are vegan fwiw

When I was in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago I fought the traffic and got some of the Dark Chocolate Roasted Pistachio Toffee (aka toffee that looks like it's been rolled in cat litter).