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

So, the soyrizo TASTES amazing but it just crumbles to bits when I take it out of the plastic. Is there a way to avoid this, really? Or is the product just basically ground "meat" packaged in a plastic sausage casing?

It's great for tacos. I think the flavor might even be too intense as an actual encased sausage?

Hunh, this just popped up:

http://www.utne.com/Environment/The-EcoMyth-of-Trader-Joes.aspx

The Eco-Myth of Trader Joe’s
5/14/2010 12:40:08 PM

by Danielle Maestretti

the eco-myth? you can't buy an apple at tj's without getting 2 pounds of plastic.

when did they ever claim to be eco-conscious?

projection from their primary audience, i'd imagine

One thing that bugs me about TJs is how a lot of their frozen Mexican items contain a lot of extra ingredients that aren't covered by the product name. So you'll get like a "Black Bean and Cheese" burrito and it'll also have pieces of tofu and broccoli in it. Which isn't necessarily bad, but they should call it a Veggie Burrito or something. And sometimes I just want beans and cheese and nothing else. But I am boring.

However I had the green chili and cheese tamales for the first time last night and those are dang good and don't have a bunch of weird vegetables in them.

yeah all their tamales are solid

I used to get their Vegetable Burritos and they were delicious, but there were two burritos per package and I almost always found myself eating both and then feeling guilty about it.

(Oh, I guess I mentioned this upthread.)

you felt so guilty you mentioned it 2x

uncrystallized candied ginger is off the hook

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2408/1846858567_cebf0b7194.jpg

holy shit yes

are the trader joe's hot dogs (nitrate/nitrite-free, hormone-free, etc) just repackaged hebrew national? they're pretty good.

I just had some of that filled pasta, think it was prosciutto in little pasta bundles. It wasn't good.

i never get to go there unless someone drives me and i hate frozen food but the best thing they have is that bread with the pumpkin seeds in it!!!! nice and dense and yeasty-tasting

also yeah the retarded packaging drives me nuts. bell peppers on styrofoam trays w/ shrink wrap why? so i can't look at them or buy odd numbers of them?

everyone knows this i have just been there like 4 times in my life

its because they dont have scales. so they have to make sure theyre selling the same weight of each product

there aren't any of these in my immediate neighborhood -- there's one at Union Square, but i've never been in there.

the paneer tikka masala makes a wonderful 11 p.m. dinner. not that anyone should be eating dinner at 11 p.m.

Oh please, I rarely eat dinner before 11 pm. Do ppl actually pay attention to, like, times of the day you should and should not eat food? Is that shit even real?

i do like to sleep at night, yes.

Cosign on paneer tikka masala. Dope, imo.

paneer was my shit for a long time, now i start to feel queasy when i think about it. i think i ate it three times one week, though, so maybe that's it.

almond meal: awesome!

You guys big upping that corn bread mix, man, I totally disagree with you on "right amount of sweetness." That cornbread was as sweet as Funfetti.

http://mai-mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/pillsbury_funfetti.jpg

soy nuggets til i drop yo

I didn't like the cornbread too much either, but I'm a fan of southern style, aka not sweet at all, cornbread.

Same here. I usually make cornbread to eat with salty pinto beans & it was a terrible, terrible combination. Like Funfetti with salt pork on top.

soy nugs always and forever.

have any of you guys tried the souffle balls yet?

That sounds absolutely horrid.

YO waht are soy nuggets; i want them

Love the chilie mango slices.

white bean and basil hummus oh man

the mango-something 'gel' cups (not bone gelatin) are good

peanut butter cups put reeses to shame

have nyc ilxors been going to the new chelsea one? lots of open space, easily the most bearable nyc trader joes outside of the queens one (which is in the middle of nowhere)

possibly just cause people don't know it exists...

Normally I have a tough time eating someone else's corn b read.

the chipotle salsa has a nice kick to it

i picked up some "double rainbow" (lol rite) brand sorbet the other night -- mango/tangerine flavor. hella yum.

i can't believe they make 100% cranberry juice. i really can't. i've been waiting my whole life for someone to do that. its my dream come true. i can now die happy and fulfilled. we are talking straight up cranberries in juice form. no water no nothing. of course i'm no hero, i cut it with seltzer or ginger ale and its heaven on earth. its makes me want to buy a case of vodka and i don't even drink vodka.

Ooh how much is it? I've been getting not-from-concentrate cranberry for years but it is always $$$$$$

its not that much. i dunno, four bucks or something for a big glass juice size. someone brought it to our house and left it in the fridge and i sipped some thinking it was regular cran juice and my eyes lit up and i saw god!

i can't believe they make 100% cranberry juice. i really can't. i've been waiting my whole life for someone to do that. its my dream come true. i can now die happy and fulfilled.

ditto. the unmolested cranberry is a thing of beauty.

fascinating article on Trader Joe's history and market strategy: Inside the secret world of Trader Joe's. Includes juicy bits on where some of their food comes from (their pita chips come from Stacy's, a division of Frito-Lay) and how they choose their locations (one way is checking out an area's gourmet food magazine subscription numbers).

Store managers, "captains" in Trader Joe's parlance -- the nautical titles are a holdover from Coulombe (newly promoted captains are commanders; assistant store managers are first mates) -- can make in the low six figures, and full-time crew members can start in the $40,000 to $60,000 range. But on top of the pay, Trader Joe's annually contributes 15.4% of employees' gross income to tax-deferred retirement accounts.

Uh... That's pretty good starting pay and do I love Trader Joe's enough to consider a career change?