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

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).

the pretzel bites with peanutbutter are my new jam

sourcing for the "right" country is some jerk-off, what made this economical shit imo

if it is some magical olive that only grows on mount vesuvius, sure. if it's a full pizza, they lyin or there are some weird kickbacks/writeoffs in play

WmC has ruined pistachios and cat litter for me

Wasabi peas were discontinued in August 😢

Wasabi peas belong to the world. TJs had no monopoly on them. Knock and the door shall open. Seek and ye shall find.

Chicken-Less Mandarin Orange Morsels are good if you make some vegetable fried rice

dont know why they have a McDonald's boot nugget shape, though

any thoughts on their _canned_ indian food? the frozen stuff is good imo, but they have daal in cans that i have never tried. i make that at home (e.g. http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1014369-makhani-dal-butter-dal-mogul-style). it's idiot proof but it's a big time investment.

My roommate said it was appalling.

Yeah I saw those cans of matar paneer yesterday and first was like "hey!" and then was like "actually probably no." my kids like the frozen chicken tikka masala.

i had a can of daal makhani for lunch. it looks like diarrhea (which it's supposed to) but actually tastes really good. maybe a bit salty.

http://www.sfgate.com/food/article/These-are-the-best-items-at-Trader-Joe-s-10867350.php

I moved to a less bougie neighborhood and now there's no tj's within a reasonable distance of me or even where I work, so I went to tj's for the first time in ages yesterday...and apparently the truffle mac n cheese was seasonal???? I'm devastated