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

the amaro person

less paper plane and more budget airline.

Going to try out their porchetta tonight...

Porchetta worked out great. Had it out of the fridge most of the afternoon, had it in the oven a bit longer than instructed. Tasty!

Damn do I love their pastrami-style smoked salmon.

Enjoying snacking on the spicy tempura seaweed and the rosemary nuts

Did they discontinue their jalapeno cheesy bread?!

I’m bummed out over their decision to stop carrying the “Simply Eggless” egg substitute. It was way better and cheaper (by a few dollars) than the Just Egg. It was so easy to work with and never stuck to my cast-iron pan.

The Trader Joe's Soyaki sauce is quite nice. However I've been informed by those in the know (i.e. my wife and her friends) that labelling it as a 'Trader Joe san' product is inaccurate, as you can't use the '-san' suffix for yourself in Japanese culture. Instead, it translates as "Dear Trader Joe, from Soyaki" or possibly "Dear Trader Joe, here is Soyaki from Japan".

Perhaps they meant that?

The proof

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/31L0m5W1imL.jpg

The fact that they still do this kind of "ethnic" "marketing" (or mockery, as I would call it) is truly insane afaic.

That said, had a few people over about two weeks ago and the "everything but the bagel" dip literally disappeared in about five minutes.

there's also the whole "dismantle the administrative capacity of the federal govt" thing :(

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/mar/10/starbucks-trader-joes-spacex-challenge-labor-board

well if you choose to boycott TJ's for their stance on the NLRB you can always buy the name brand version of that product. I have been marinating salmon in it for years (and it has its own ethnic marketing spin that as a Jew I have never decided how I feel about)

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71AeHdXtmiL._SX679_.jpg

As a child, i was forced to attend las vegas for an extended family vacation with cousins. Our parents also made us wear hawaiian shirts like the griswolds for a day. Nobody should be forced to wear a hawaiian shirt at their job.

Doesn't teriyaki sauce always have soy sauce? A bit like making your own ketchup mix and naming it "Tomatchup"

yeah you can make it with soy sauce, mirin, and sugar

I think the TJ's one and others throw in garlic and ginger, but you can do lots of variations

thought the revive might be for this

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/madness-trader-joes-mini-tote-bags-reselling-for-up-to-500-amid-social-media-craze/ar-BB1jI1r3

people are insane

The Ube Joe-Joes might be too sweet for some tastes but are also rich AF: https://www.traderjoesreviews.com/product/trader-joes-ube-jo-joes-cookies-reviews/

Definitely too sweet for my palette, but the Ube Tea Cookies are the best. Hard not to snack on them, honestly.

Ube pancake mix = win

Impressed at the number of folk showing up at Issaquah's Trader Joe's at opening hrs (though sad it's now 9 instead of 8). It's now a biweekly destination for the black forest ham, carne asada burritos, jalapeno sauce, hashbrowns, chocolate croissants, plus the kimbap and strawberry/banana/orange juice. Was also pleased the other week that eggplants were $1.50 each vs. Safeway's $2.

Went by the local PCC on the same trip and the Boulder Canyon avocado oil chips are a new non-TJ's destination-worthy item.

black forest bacon, oops

The chocolate croissants are so so awesome

Don't sleep on the garlic olive oil and canned dolmas too

I love the canned dolmas, but haven't seen the quinoa dolmas in a while now (just the ones with rice). The quinoa ones seemed so much lighter, and I wish they would bring them back

I think their prepared sauces and condiments are mostly too sweet, but I recently discovered their fresh 'guacasalsa', which is great, a simple combination of tomatillo salsa, garlic, and guacamole

Just discovered the Chunky Garlic & Jalapeno Hot Sauce, which is pretty kickass... acceptable in any kind of cuisine, though it's not really 'chunky'

Yeah all their salsas seem to have sugar and that's a no go for me. Haven't found one I've liked.

However their Mediterranean style hummus is killer. As is their tzatziki. Great place to gather the goods for a levantine feast

i recently tried the frozen chicken spring rolls and thought they were good. i put them on bún. if you want to make this, just slice them up and also:

boil thin rice noodles, then run under cold water, drain
add chopped veggies of your choice (cukes, tomatoes, shaved carrot, bean sprouts, cilantro)
add crushed peanuts to taste
add nước chấm:

3T water
1T sugar
1T fish sauce
juice of 1 lime
garlic clove, minced
chopped chili pepper, chili paste, or hot sauce to taste

(also works with the veggie version)

The vegan kale, cashew and basil pesto goes really well with the plain fresh goat cheese (I think it's Silver Goat)?

Yeah all their salsas seem to have sugar and that's a no go for me. Haven't found one I've liked.

i used to buy the green or red salsa in the tall-ish jars and blend with cilantro and habaneros ::chef's kiss::
have not been to a trader's in over a year, but hope those salsa they've had those for ages still exist. no sugar
xp

Passion fruit granola is all you wish it could be

Well, now that I have no reason to go downtown since the school where I worked closed down, I also have no reason to go to Trader Joes ever. I only really miss the little fruit leather things as quick pick me ups.

Stracciatella (aka Burrata middles in a tub) is excellent.

The frozen chocolate croissants are such a delight - leave in a cold oven overnight, bake briefly in the morning, and you have super flaky delicious breakfast. As good or better than any I’ve had from an actual bakery outside France.

has the sliced french brioche bread from france ever come back, or do they seem to have permanently shifted to the domestic version?

The frozen cacio e pepe pastas are actually really good

this guy agrees

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OYMta0NAQQ

The Norwegian Sourdough Rye Chips are really good.

Mocha Latte Pretzels are pretty good, not too sweet, and with a small punch of saltiness.

And 3/4 of a bag later, yes, pretty good.

i'm a fan of the crispbread seeds & grains norwegian crackers. they look like cardboard but taste very good and are a nice "filling snack" option.

same! the gluten-free ones are tasty (and i am not remotely GF myself)

i really like the TJs chili onion crunch but why does it require superhuman strength to open that little jar??

Recommended: Mango Sticky Rice Crisps. Excellent sweet snack.

I love those w smashed avocado and a lil salt

Oops xp meant the Norwegian crispbreads

Yeah, I like those too. The chips look similar but are small pieces, and I thought I tasted garlic but it's not on the ingredient list. There's a kind of "spiciness" from somewhere.

I liked that video caek posted. Of the frozen pasta products I've only bought the meat lasagna and the various mac and cheeses, which are passable but not particularly good. I will try the Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe and the Gnocchi alla Romana.

I must dissent on cacio e pepe! Glompy discordant salty mulch! if that's what proper cacio e pepe is supposed to taste like I'll stick to grinding pepper on top of 99cent mac & cheese, or dumping mac & cheese + year old parm packets from leftover pizza on ramen.

Speaking of ramen, The TJ squirelly noodles are apparently re-badged or re-sourced momofuku noodles (momofuku apparently gets them from a taiwanese company)

I had a suspicion that was the case!! They’re not that great. Imo they require a lot of dressing up to be legit tasty.