It’s August…already? The last days of summer are in the near future and kids will be headed back to school soon. Never fear, there’s still plenty of time for plenty of summer fun and relaxation.
What products have you tried recently? Would you rate them a YAY, MEH or NAY?
I'll start it off with a NAY for the chocolate yogurt and mocha yogurt. I tried it based on the many yays here but, for me, this was disgusting. It had a sour tartness that I just didn't like...not unexpected with chocolate/mocha flavored yogurt but I guess I had convinced myself this would be a good sub for chocolate pudding.
Sorry you don't love them, I like that they are not sweet but I find a lot of American foods very sweet (I'm English).
I agree there is a lot of sweet food in this country. I'll take a dill pickle or piece of cheese any day over something sweet. I do love chocolate, though, and I just thought this was nasty. In the same vein, I bought the 3-pack of milk chocolate and it's a big old NAY for me too. It leaves that horrible "OMG this is all sugar" burn in the back of my throat.
I felt the same way at first, but here is what I do with the Mocha one. I empty the container and stir it well in a small bowl. There is a layer of dark mocha at the bottom of each container and unless I mix it, it tastes sour.
Now, I love it!
YAY/NAY: Wild King Salmon Jerky. YAY for the excellent salmon flavor. NAY for the bones I found in one piece. Which, since I have a morbid terror of choking to death on a fish bone, was not an altogether pleasurable experience.
YAY/MEH: Brownie Brittle. Okay, I never liked the original, but this is gf.. so I decided to make it my treat of the week. Dunked in coffee it gets softer--which makes it a YAY. Plus 3 pieces=100 calories.. so that's about 33 calories per piece which isn't bad if you stick to one. However, I doubt I'd buy it again.. especially because I took them out and counted, and while the bag says five servings, there were only four in my bag which makes the price per piece pretty steep. Regardless, it is probably still easier to buy this whenever you need your brownie fix than to buy the two-pack of gf brownies because those (after 8 seconds in the microwave) are chocolate-death in a MEGA tasty (albeit high-calorie) way.
If you think that you would like dill pickle popcorn, then TJ's pickle popcorn is exactly the sort of thing that you would like. (It rates a "meh" from me, but a "YAY!" from the pickle fans in the household.)
My first reaction was teeth-screeching, but if it similar to a vinegar potato chip, I might like it.
Pickle popcorn?! Is this a new item?
This isn't specifically relevant to TJs but....Since I have returned to work, I'm finding a lot of "oh this is to old to eat" in my refrigerator. I seem to be on a packaged fresh pasta (ravioli) kick but being single is a distinct disadvantage. I can usually plow through a package of TJs ravioli in three days but, on impulse, I picked up some organic udon noodles and an enormous package of organic spinach ravioli from Costco yesterday. After I got home I realized I had to have been absolutely nuts to have tossed these in my cart. I would have to quit my new job and eat three big carb-laden meals every day to get through this stuff before it spoils.
Can I freeze it without destroying it?
I freeze ravioli all the time. It won't suffer at all. Just toss into boiling water straight from the freezer, and add an extra 30 seconds or minute to the cooking time. Been doing it for years, and nobody's the wiser.
Yay for the baconesque popcorn. I asked my husband to guess the flavor and he said "ham and cheese". He wasn't far off, and we (and last night's cocktail guests) really enjoy this variety!
Meh for the asparagus risotto. My local store was sampling this, and it struck me as bland and mushy.
Meh to the bacon-ganache chocolate bars. Very little bacon flavor, although the dark chocolate part was good. I didn't like to gooey filling.
not a huge dill pickle fan but saw this in the "new" section, pretty good. Baconesque is still my favorite!
Not new but YAY for the burrata, pretty sure it's BelGioioso brand but much less expensive than other stores. Goes great with all my home grown tomatos and also spicy turkey meatball recipe!
YAY watermelon juice, tastes fresh and delicous, I ignored the calorie count/ sugar
Big YAY for the partially popped popcorn. I was never a huge popcorn fan but I've always liked the old maids and love Corn-Nuts. This product is perfect.
Great, I've been wanting to try this. Always my favorite part of the popcorn. I just hope I don't break any of my very expensive dental work on it!
Chew slowly and you should be fine. They're not nearly as hard as real old maids! Very tasty.
My thoughtss exactly!
I've been wanting to try it so bad but I'm with you. For what I paid for dental work, I should have a prancing horse emblem on my forehead. Thanks to all who have allowed me to enjoy it vicariously.
I just finished my second bag of the partially popped popcorn. I love it and it's still a YAY for me, but I give a NAY to the floury/greasy coating left behind on my fingers while eating it. I wish they'd sell it without the added fat.
I love it too. Good flavor... VERY satisfying. :DD
NAY for Pizza Greco-Roman. I cooked up the first of the two pizza's that come in a box according to package directions, and it was an atrocity against all pizza kind. Floppy, soggy and mushy, with partially melted cheese. I couple minutes under the broiler solved that last, but I was still left with a soggy crust with mushy toppings that tasted predominantly of salt.
The second pizza I cooked in my big toaster oven, 25 degrees (F) hotter than instructed, for 20% longer. This firmed up the crust, but still left the toppings an undesirable, mushy, salty mess.
Would never purchase again.
I like those little pizzas but you have discovered the problem with them: the edges start to burn from underneath while the top is still not ready.
The answer is to put them under the broiler once the underside starts to brown. Ridiculous to have to do that, yes, but it works.
Most of the pizzas are finicky.
I just had that pizza for dinner last night. I have bought it before, and I think it's a good size and I like the kalamata olives and feta, but yeah...the top never seems to get "done". The instructions say take it out after 10 minutes when the cheese bubbles, but I have never seen the cheese bubble. I left it in for about 4 extra minutes, and it got nice and crispy, but isn't really "pizza" like. More like a bready-cracker with a hot greek cheese dip topping. I REALLY miss their "fresh" i.e. refrigerated pizzas. Those were so good!
So excited to see these here in the US. I used to eat something similar when I studied in the UK and became addicted.
I tried one tonight and it was very good.
Another YAY for the Chicken Balti Pies. Filling was moist and tasty and there is a good ratio of crust to filling.
I defrosted them in the microwave and then finished them off in the oven with some Trader Potato Tots.
I bought some 21 Seasoning Salute a while ago and while I thought it was fine, didn't understand what the fuss was about and moved it to the back of the cupboard. Well I decided to try again and now am addicted and using it like crazy. I love it on eggs and just sprinkled some on popcorn and it was amazing. Big YAY.
Try it on grilled chicken, too!
It does wonderful things to fish as well.
I tried the 21 Seasoning Salute at a friend's house recently and didn't notice much difference with Ms. Dash, but I wasn't directly comparing them. I will be buying it when I run out of the Ms. Dash.
I have been using the lemon pepper grinder for a couple of months and don't know how I did without it before. I was a heavy black pepper user, but now use that instead. Thanks to this board for that or I may never have tried it!
Anyone who hasn't tried the spice blends, I would definitely recommend that they do so.
I like using it when there's time to let the dried veg refresh. Last night, I sliced up some cukes and added yogurt and some 21 seasoning salute. Mmmmmmm.
Random, but I sprinkled it on some homemade croutons before baking the first week I had it, and that's still my favorite way I've had it so far.
YAY for the return of the canned Grecian tomato eggplant thing. I know it's not liked by many but I really only eat it with the whipped feta spread. I love this combo! On its own I do agree it could use more flavor.
YAY for the new seed and grain blend. I love the nutty crunch it adds to whatever I'm sprinkling it on :)
MEH to the dark chocolate ganache bacon bar. Everything about it would normally be up my alley but for some reason the end result isn't that great to me. I was bummed (my thighs weren't though).
I didn't like the new seed and grain blend at all. Too much like bird food. However, last night I was cooking rice and threw some in and it worked really well there. Added healthfulness and a slight crunch without the grittyness of the raw blend.
I'm a YAY for the seed and grain blend too. I've added it to overnight oats (softened some while sitting overnight), sprinkled on a thick smoothie i ate with a spoon, salads, and yogurt. Adds a great crunchy nutty whole grain kind of flavor
Yay for the Muhammara dip. I was worried this would have tahini in it. My chickpea and sesame allergies keep me from enjoying hummus and baba and other middle eastern dips. But the main ingredients are roasted red pepps, walnuts, pomegranate juice, and breadcrumbs. Good heat, good texture. I'm scooping it up on TJs pita bite crackers.
YAY, 3 oz. bags of dark chocolate-covered almonds for 99¢. The almonds themselves are a Yay- for me—rather than a thinner chocolate shell, they've got a thicker, softer coating that's nicely bittersweet but overwhelms the nut—but I like that they're available in the smaller size. I don't buy TJ's tubs of candy, because having a tub of chocolate-covered something around isn't a safe thing in my house.
On that note, YAY for the year-round availability of dark chocolate peanut butter cups in 99¢ bags, though I usually avoid buying the bags because I can't keep my hands off them. I like that TJ's prices both these at pretty much the same per-ounce cost as the larger tubs.
YAY, Pastures of Eden feta. I bought this based on a personal recommendation from someone who told me it's the closest she's found to the creamy feta she has had in the Middle East, and it's very good. (I noticed the shelf tag proclaims it the best feta TJ's sells).
YAY to the Ancient Grains pizza (multigrain crust, three cheeses, asparagus, roasted tomatoes) and kale, butternut squash, sweet potato pizza. Both are pretty good as frozen pizza goes, and bake up with a crisp crust in little time. I find that with a salad, one makes a reasonable emergency (i.e., fast, little effort) dinner for two. I like that the kale, etc. one has a good amount of greens. With only parmesan, it's light on protein, so I just grate some cheese over it before sticking it in the oven.
Super YAY!!! for the Green Dragon Hot Sauce that was on the new item shelf. 18 oz. and $2.99 Can't find a photograph or ingredient list anywhere.
Nice fruity jalapeño flavor with notes of cilantro, garlic, and lime. It's not too salty. It has tomatillos but I don't really taste them. Medium heat.
How pronounced is the Cilantro?
The cilantro is just a contributing flavor along with the garlic and lime to the main flavor of the peppers. I notice it, but it doesn't at all dominate.
I specifically mention it as an ingredient when I post about products here because it tastes soapy to so many people.
I'm in the soapy camp. I keep hoping I can feed the problem away but so far it hasn't worked. I'll try this though. I seem to be on a quest of "what can I squirt on this." I'll let you know how my taste buds react to the level of cilantro in it.
The cilantro / soap connection is a genetic one. May not be much comfort but for what it's worth Julia Child shared that same gene with you Harts. :)
Supposedly cilantro pesto is one of the few applications that can help some cilantrophobes get over their hard wired aversion.
Aww....that makes me feel GREAT that I share a connection with JC. We also share the same initials and I hadn't made that connection so I'm having a happy Julia day (Harts is a mnemonic of my children's/grand's inits).
Thanks so much for the link to a cure. You are the king (queen?) of links here :-) and it is much appreciated.
you can't really taste it actually
How would you rate the heat factor Russ?
Seconding the green dragon hot sauce! The cashier in the store let me try some in the line and I bought it on the spot!
Added it to my shopping list - sounds yummy.
I also like the TJ's Habanero Hot Sauce. Really nice habanero flavor. Very hot, but not insane for those who have fairly high heat tolerances.
Here it is:
http://www.traderjoes.com/digin/post/...
Water, Organic Jalapeño Pepper Puree, Tomatillo Puree, White Distilled Vinegar, Cane Sugar, Cilantro Puree (Cilantro, Vegetable Oil [Canola Oil and/or Olive Oil], Citric Acid [for Freshness]), Salt, Garlic Puree (Garlic, Water), Garlic, Spinach Powder, Lime Juice Concentrate, Habanero Pepper Powder, Xanthan Gum.
I stumbled on this yesterday and the staff saw me eyeing it and raved, so I took it home. I put it on pork chops and grilled them -- delicious. It's well balanced between the chiles, cilantro, and tomatillos. Cooking knocked down the heat a bit, but it isn't very hot "as is." A definite keeper for us.
I can't wait to try this. I just LOVE the way TJ's staff is so good about giving Yays and Nays. I recently asked to try the mayo. I remembered I had tried one and hated it and couldn't remember which one I had tried. The woman helping me said "let's have you taste them both!" and then she said "you aren't going to like either if you like Hellman's." I really appreciated her honesty and she was right, they were both bleh, one moreso than the other. I bet if I ask to try the Dragon on a piece of turkey, I won't have any reaction other than a happy smile.
Bought the green bottle yesterday, and made an all-TJ's entree: grilled Mahi Mahi burgers with Green Dragon sauce, on ciabatta baguette. (Toasted the bread on the grill, and cut the MM burgers in half to fit the sandwich.)
Terrific flavor combination.
The Green Dragon earned its way to our every-time shopping list.
That sounds fantastic!
Alas, out of the Green Dragon in Wilmington DE.
The folks there raved about the watermelon juice. I found it Meh. Made my won that was much better and slightly more sweet/lemony (added Ziegler Lemonade)
Same thing with their low-cal lemonade, just a Meh. Ok for mixers (4 parts Coke to one part lemonade or less. I much prefer Zeiglers from my local Giant
This is how salsa verde was supposed to taste! Its usually just a bland kind of generic sauce and the hot version is just that, hot and overpowering to any food without adding real flavour. This stuff is not just spicy/hot but actually flavourful... like how chipotle pepper actually has a depth compared to other chili peppers, this actually has a facetted, roasted, smoky sweet, a bit garlicky and spicy/hot flavour. It enhances the food. I can't really taste the cilantro or habanjero, but I'm sure they all add to the mix in their own way. Amazing! Its seriously the best sauce I've had in recent memory. What have you been putting it on? I just got it home and have just been tossing it back from the bottle!
What's up with TJ's eggs? Out of the last dozen I bought, I've cracked 10 so far, and 8 of them have been double yolks. Freaky!
And to whoever asked last month, the awesome canned whipped cream is Rock View here in Los Angeles.
Wow that is quite odd about the double-yolk eggs. I had bad luck with the eggs there.. so I am glad they are working out somewhere. :)
What kind of bad luck? I've just started buying them there.
Eggs that had a non-fresh smell even though they were not expired. And broken ones--the kind where it doesn't look broken, but it is stuck in the carton... and you can't get it out without breaking it. (I don't know if anyone has experienced this.)
Oh gotcha. I check for broken ones by twisting them in the carton before I take them home. Haven't had any issues with smelly eggs yet.
Wow--you would think that I would have tried twisting them... never thought of that, but whenever I pick out eggs people give me odd stares for even opening the carton (?).. I usually just look for broken ones and then assume I am fine. But mostly everyone else just grabs a carton and goes on shopping. I guess they don't miss an egg here and there, but I prefer to get all that I paid for.
I think it's worth doing, or what Scirocco recommended. My mom taught me that when I was a kid, helping her grocery shop. Seems like whenever I start skipping it, I always end up with broken eggs.
Does your TJs not check your eggs for you? Many of the grocery stores here check them at checkout--I very often have cashiers open the carton and touch every egg (with their dirty cash-handling fingers :/ ) to make sure none are broken. Last time I bought them at TJs, the cashier did it there too.
Yeah. When I bought eggs in the store I'd always run a finger along the tops. If any were stuck I'd move on. Now I get my eggs from my back yard.
I do pretty much the same thing, I prod each egg to make sure it moves freely in its depression in the carton. I poke two at a time and run right down the rows, only takes 2 seconds.
I always check my eggs in the store for cracks but if they smelled bad I would take them back, not that they are likely report it for quality control.
On occasion I have found a broken egg that I broke on the way home that is glued into the carton. I won't eat those unless it has only been a day or two.
I usually do the spin check on eggs, and at the TJ I go to, there is a box in the corner of the egg fridge for broken enggs. Some of the cashiers at my TJ actually check the eggs while checking out.
Having said that, my brother used to find double yolk eggs all the time when he gets eggs from TJ (in Manhattan).
I've heard double yolk eggs come from very young hens. I really like the Costco organic eggs.
Funny you should mention that because it reminded me of this:
www.seriouseats.com/2009/04/one-dozen...
Young or old chickens produce the double yolks. I don't know if the cartons with mostly double yolks are because of that or because they are separated and gathered together during during grading.
Huh. What kind of eggs are you buying? I really like the Golden Hill Farms dark-yolked eggs (mostly for the aesthetics, though I like to think they're better for me) and no double yolks there. (No smelly eggs either, and I tend to buy them in bulk and they stay fresh for a reasonably long time.)
What's wrong with double yolks? I've always thought it was cool to get twins.
YAY: Pastrami lox--After not being able to find this for the last three visits to TJ... I have finally found this again! (I think I probably YAYed this for the last three threads: sorry it is so hard for me to get.. and I've been in and out of town so I didn't want to ask them to pull some aside for me.) I snagged the one package that was left.. someone hid it under the other packs, but I could see the light-blue corner sticking out.
NAY: the new chocolate covered cherries, strawberries, etc... way too much chocolate. My teeth were vibrating, and yep, they still are.
YAY: Zucchini for $1.99--I am on a zucchini kick and these tasted as good as home-grown ones.
YAY: Crunchy salted peanut butter with chia seeds ON TOP OF the Popcorn Chia chip-things... it's a whole lot of chia seeds, but I like the combo.
YAY: Toblerone--These are easy birthday-treats along with a card/giftcard. I used to bake; now I just attach a Toblerone.
TJs really does have an excellent chocolate selection. I never buy Toblerone for myself, but am always ecstatic to get it as a gift. I remember when I was a kid, my dad would bring us home a bar when he traveled overseas and it seemed so special. Probably why I still love it so much to this day.
Yes, I only first had it when I went to Europe for the big family trip. Fortunately it is milk-chocolate.. so I don't find it that tempting, and I can keep multiple bars just laying around.
I went dark for years, but am back on milk. Just absolutely hooked and can't get enough. Not sure why--for years I couldn't stand a mouthful of milk chocolate--way too sweet and almost unctuous (in a bad way).
Luckily I can afford to buy all %s of chocolate there. None have disappointed so far.
Funny, same way for me (though dark chocolate has also started to give me migraines, boo). I think there's been kind of a renaissance in milk chocolates--there's some high-quality stuff out there right now.
I never meet anyone who's into milk chocolate anymore! Back in the day I was always into dark chocolate, and people thought it was weird, now the roles have reversed. Dark chocolate gives me heartburn now, so I get the migraine thing kind of.
Agreed about the milk chocolate renaissance. Or maybe I'm just willing to search out and pay for better stuff. I had a transcendental moment recently where I stuck a square of good Belgian milk chocolate in my mouth and had to close my eyes as it melted there. Truly delicious.
nw - have you tried Green & Black's white chocolate? It is amazing - high cocoa butter with Madagascar vanilla beans. Super creamy, delicious, and surprisingly flavorful. And I thought I didn't like white chocolate (dark lover here!).
Haven't tried it CM. White chocolate was one of my absolute favorite treats as a kid. They sell it at WF too, don't they? The man is always picking up G&B's dark chocolate for his boss. I'll have him grab me a bar of white this week.
WF probably does - I got mine at Yes! Organic.
I love white chocolate when it's really good quality (i.e. not too sweet, chalky, waxy or milky). At the restaurant I was always finding ways to work it into our desserts :) Cacao Barry 34% Zephyr and Valrhona Ivoire 35% are my absolute favorites.
Trader Joe's should look into selling the Zephyr since they already carry Callebaut chocolate.
I eat all kinds of chocolate except for white "chocolate." Milk chocolate tends to make my throat gummy and it is so sweet that it almost makes my teeth hurt. I had a Hershey milk chocolate bar that melted and then reformed the other day and it was so grainy, sweet, and then gummy that I really didn't enjoy it.
Sorry but hershey's isn't worth the calories IMO
I'm a chocolate FIEND. Prefer dark in general but can still enjoy high quality milk chocolate.
Hershey's? Can't abide even a bit.
Only ten years ago I used to inhale Hershey's Kisses but after a number of years of eating nothing but better quality chocolate when I happily popped an offered Hershey's Kiss in my mouth I found it so unpleasant I had to literally spit it out.
Blew my mind and was actually quite saddened to find this to be the case, but there it is.
My favorite straight chocolate bar at TJ's is the green cardboard wrapped 72% Swiss Dark. Creamiest, smoothest, least bitter 70%+ dark chocolate I've ever tried.
Pound Plus Brown Wrapper is a close second (same as the small three packs at the register). Pleasant fruity flavor and my go to for baking and confections but less glossy and a bit chalkier than the Swiss eaten straight.
TJ's Dark Chocolate Almonds are also superb.
I had the same love for Hershey's kisses for years, but can't stand them now. Horribly waxy and blech.
I still get a hankering for Hershey's Hugs (kisses): Milk chocolate covered in white chocolate. I used to eat entire bags of those as a kid each week. I don't doubt I'd be sorely disappointed if I tried one now.
You need to source your milk choco from Western PA. We have some excellent chocolatiers. Betsy Ann is probably the best. Makes a to-die-for truffle. Rich, though. 1/4 of a truffle is enough. A delicious, beautiful, smooth enough.
Me! I love milk chocolate! Dark is too bitter and just not chocolatey enough. I love the smoothness and creaminess of milk.
I like milk too (though I won't turn down dark) - For me, it's actually the high acidity of dark that I don't love, though I think part of that is a trend towards fruitier flavor in dark chocolates these days.
I used to love the Scharffenberger milk chocolate bar with sea salted almonds. So good!
I LOVE milk chocolate. Love. Love. Love.
However anything but American chocolate. We don't even say the "H" word in the house:) Swiss or Green & Blacks is ideal.
You know, about Hershey's - was watching a program about how they make chocolates in different countries - and with American chocolate it's preserved with something called "butyric acid" (sp?) which is also a component in vomit.
So cool that your dad did that too! Whenever I see Toblerone it reminds me of my Dad - he never came home from a trip without a giant bar for us :)
The pastrami lox was just a meh for me. I'm a lox fanatic and was so excited to try this, but it was lacking something imo, I'm just not sure what. I know lots of people just love it, so it's gotta be me and not the lox :) More for you, GraceW!
Are the chocolate covered cherry, etc the ones that are multi-colored? I saw those in the "new" section the other day, but I know for a fact they've had them for years, because I have bought them in the past, and didn't like them. The consistancy of the fruit was gross and grainy and really sweet. I think with that much chocolate you need a little tartness. The chocolate covered cherries from Harry and Davids are perfect. The TJ's chcolate covered cherries (Billingsly brand? Something like that) aren't to bad. But the mixed fruit are terrible.
I was at our local Trader Joe's in the Twin Cities. Minnesota is the top sweet corn producing state in the U.S. The Trader Joe's "fresh" sweet corn is from... Ohio.
They had some produce labelled "local" the other day in NY that was from PA. . . .
well PA is closer than China or Mexico ;). I wonder what mileage falls under the definition of local. PA is probably closer than say Buffalo.
Isn't local usually considered to be within 100 miles?
Then I guess technically it could have been local, but most of PA is more than 100 miles away. There is plenty of produce grown in NY and NJ that was bypassed to bring it in from PA. Most of the eggs sold here are from PA, too.
It doesn't bother me at all, but since the greenmarkets here require produce to be from NY, NJ, or CT, calling produce from PA local doesn't meet the local definition of local. . .
I have discussed the idea of eating truly local produce grown in gardens and on rooftops in the city and everyone agrees that seems like a bad idea because of pollution.
I'm all about eating local, but with some things it's just difficult. I doubt there are many orange or banana groves in NYC.
Also NY is a pretty big state, as you say, so most of it is more than 100 miles away. And parts of NJ and CT are further than 100 miles, too.
I read about a family that ate only food grown within 100 miles for a year and it was a miserable diet. I would prefer that my food be relatively local, but I don't really care enough to do anything about it, to be honest.
I rarely even shop at the greenmarket because it's so expensive compared to TJ's and some of the other grocery stores. Tomatoes that cost $5 a pound are more of a rare treat than the heart of my diet.
The big exception would be apples, which can be had at a reasonable price at the greenmarket, but last season TJ's also had apples from the region and they were less expensive at TJ's.
This one? http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Vegetabl...
Yes, the first year was, well, maybe not miserable, but a challenge. No bananas and IIRC, no coffee (eek!). But they worked out a lot of the problems, from raising things themselves to getting to know neighbors who might supply some things. Working out things included filling several freezers with the fruits of the season. I'm not sure which is better--freezing local produce or flying it in from California.
We have a CSA here (in NC) that freezes their summer produce and delivers it in the winter when fresh isn't available. A great idea, I think.
Kingsolver's book wasn't quite a 100-mile thing, it was in-state, as I recall, which meant they could source wine and wheat flour, among other things. And they decided each family member could choose one thing not grown "locally" that they'd miss; coffee, chocolate, and dried spices were three (I don't remember the fourth).
In my local TJs, some of the produce is labeled "regional." I'm not sure exactly how they define that, but it may cover the whole northeast.
YAY: Key lime tea cookies- These are are the cookie version of Trader joe's Key lime pie,big lime flavor and just a few are enough to satisfy my key lime craving.
YAY: Cookie butter cream cheese- As a cookie butter lover,I'm usually disappointed by Trader Joe's cookie butter products for the same reason : not enough cookie butter flavor; Well, that's not a problem with this one, the flavor is there and it goes great with their pretzel slims.
NAY: Dolmas- After having Costco's huge, perfectly seasoned, healthy and huge ones, these tasted very bland. And I'm constantly irked by trader joe's tendency of putting soy in everything.
The costco ones are also fresh and more expensive so it might not be a fair comparison....
What soy?
"INGREDIENTS: RICE, GRAPE LEAVES, ONION, SUNFLOWER OIL, WATER, DRIED DILL WEED, SALT, MINT, SPICES, CITRIC ACID "
Actually it would only be an unfair comparison if I were comparing dolmas to say, cat food. But since I'm comparing dolmas to dolmas it's perfectly fair. Also if you want to talk about price, costco's are more expensive ( $10) because there are more of them ( 2 pounds), as opposed to trader joe's 9.9 oz for $ 2.49.
And my thinking there were soy in these is obviously due to Trader joe's propensity to put soy in everything ; )
The Costco is actually less expensive per bite if you compare 4 $2.50 tins of TJ's vs the $10 for 2lbs Costco which offers more than 5x the amount of edible dolma for only 4x the price. The 9.9 oz of the TJ's includes all the oil it's packed in. Even without the oil you couldn't stuff all the fresh dolmas of the Costco package in 4 of the TJ's tins.
Are the Costco ones truly fresh? Usually delis that sell them take them out of a can or tub. There's not some little old Greek woman in the back room with a stack of grape leaves and a tub of rice filling. . . well, maybe in Greece or Turkey.
Fresh in that they are perishable and absolutely not coming from a can packed in oil. If those are all you've ever had these are an entirely different beast. Noot just about delis but also 95% of what is served in restaurants comes from a can. Fresh are much firmer than any canned variety since they're not packed in oil, and these also have a very different flavor thanks to tomato, bell pepper and herbs that are included in the rice mixture not found in the canned varieties. For those used to the canned and wanting them softer, steaming for a few minutes (which is also a traditional way of serving them) makes them fragrant, tender, and ups the flavor even further.
Okay, I'll bite. What does TJ's put soy in that isn't a product that exists because it has soy in it, like fake meat or frozen soy milk desserts?
The only one I can think of is the chocolate babka and that's because it's a pre-existing item that is non-dairy kosher, not because TJ's decided to sneak some soy into it. I do read labels but I don't buy everything in the store.
I also didn't realize how prevalent soy was, (even though I'm an avid label reader), until I decided to cut down on it.
So, just off the top of my head: the frozen gluten free pancakes have soy flour, the organic silver dollar pancakes have soybean oil and soy lecithin, the grecian style eggplant have soy oil, the fiberful granola bars have soy protein and soy lecithin listed three times, the peanut butter and oat bars also have soy lecithin listed three times. And that's just what I remember right now.
Are the costco one's gmo-free? As much as I would love to find a dolma reminiscent of my friend's mother's, I would rather not eat it if it isn't organic or, at least, gmo-free.
Sorry Harts, I've never seen or even heard of packaged Dolmas that are either.
That said, rice is not on the EWG Dirty 30 list nor is it on any of the top GMO foods to avoid lists I've checked out so compared to things like corn and soy it's generally considered a fairly low exposure/risk crop even by those who are pretty diligent about such things.
But TJs dolmas are gmo-free, right? Because they have told me directly that EVERYTHING is gmo-free with the exception of meat, dairy & eggs since they cannot guarantee that the animals have not been raised on gmo-free feed. Correct me if I'm wrong.
First, that "everything" only applies to TJ's branded products. They make no claims about other brands they carry.
As for the TJ's Dolmas (which are under their own label) you need to remember that the TJ's GMO free claim is currently just that, a claim.
They have never substantiated this to any third party watchdog group. They have been challenged for years to back up this claim and never offered a single piece of evidence in support of it. They state "We have yet to take the approach of labeling products as non-GMO because there are no clear guidelines from the US governmental agencies covering food and beverage labeling."
Except there are third party organizations certifying products as GMO-Free with very strict guidelines which is how you see all those other certified GMO-free products on shelves. TJ's simply will not submit their products to those organizations for certification, or willing to label them GMO-Free themselves because they know that it would make them extremely vulnerable to legal action since they rely on affidavits from their third party suppliers and only do spot checks if at all.
So they are relying on a "to the best of their knowledge" position with limited oversight as made clear in their own FAQ with this very telling statement:
"Given our position on GMO ingredients in Trader Joe's label products, and the work done in support of that position, it is our expectation that our products test as non-GMO"
The key phrase there is "it is our expectation" which is far from the guarantee other companies offer with actual third party certification.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that TJ's is in any way purposefully misleading the public. As a rebranding company it would be extremely complicated and cost prohibitive to secure actual certification for their products which are sourced from companies from all over the world. But do keep that in mind. If you honestly believe that a company in the US, let alone Japan, China, or Russia can be trusted to be GMO free without any third party certification or oversight then you're far less skeptical than most.
I still admire TJ's even taking a position against GMO products even if they are unwilling to allow any oversight.
The good news? One third party organization that randomly tested a bag of TJ's corn chips found it to be 99% GMO free:
http://www.gmofreeusa.org/food-testin...
Not enough to pass the Non-GMO Project standard, but only by .1% which is certainly good enough for me and most others concerned with this.
All of this is a non-issue when it comes to Dolmas though. As of today virtually all Dolmas are GMO free since there is no large scale production of genetically modified rice taking place yet. That may not be the case for much longer though:
You're right, I forgot it was the TJ brands only. I don't care if they paid anyone to test, I tend to take them at their word. Don't ask me why. It isn't rational. TJs is the only place that ranks blinder-status for me and I'm not really sure why. Maybe because only about 10% of my take there is non-organic. Could also be because I love TJs and love is blind :-)
Are you referring to the refrigerated ones at Costco? If so, those are actually made by Cederlane, which IMO are the best grape leaves, hands down. But I do like the TJ's ones.
Just tried TJ's canned Dolmas for the first time. 10 pieces for $2.49 is a big bargain. They taste great and the ideal bite for a quick lunch or snack, hot or cold. I hope to return and stock up a bit.
YAY!!
I've not tried them hot --- never had any dolma hot! So I'll try that sometime soon. I have a love/hate with these. Love that they are so quick to grab but I think the filling is too packed/dense and too blah. I'm spoiled. I keep searching for that "Mrs. Szugye's dolma" - the recipe is here in my house somewhere. If I ever lay my hands on it, I'll post it.
Agree and I even cooked it longer like I do the other ones. If you haven't already try the ham and gruyere or the mushroom and emmental ones. So much better. Just make sure to cook them a few minutes longer than it says. I usually do 13 minutes.
I love those particular pizzas and had one for lunch to day. It's similar to the mushroom tarte but the contrast between the relatively mild cheese and the acidic tomatoes is nice. I did slice some fresh mushrooms onto it.
However, it is hard to get it to come out right because the crust is thin and the cheese can be soupy while the edge of the crust is burnt and the middle of the crust is barely done.
Here's the trick:
Preheat the oven 50 degrees higher than it says on the box with the baking sheet in the oven. Really let it get hot, the oven and the baking sheet both.
Then take the tarte out of the freezer and put it in the oven on one end of the sheet.
Wait a few minutes and take a fork and sort of spin or twist the tarte onto the other end of the sheet. Then wait a few minutes and do it again, two or maybe three more times.
This repeatedly exposes the underside to a hot surface and makes it brown about as fast as the cheese and crust on top do. It also ensures that the top and edges brown evenly.
It will come out moist but not soupy, with a nice crisp crust even in the center.
Absolutely ridiculous to have to do all of that spinning and moving, but it works!
Wow that's a lot of work. I think I'd rather make my own tomato and brie flatbread than go through that.
You can just a bit of aluminum foil under it while it's baking. I recounted my exploits using parchment in last month's discussion. It was suggested that I use a preheated stone on the bottom shelf of the oven, and I was going to take one for the team and try it, but my store was out of the Brie-tomato version.
MEH/NAY - Brownie Crisps. Picked these up on a whim over the weekend. Wasn't sure what to think of the first one. The new few I tried a day later and it was okay. Today I'm back leaning towards the Nay side. There something strange about the consistency. It's almost a chalky type flavor.
YAY- the new cookie butter cream cheese. This has a wonderful cookie butter taste without being too sweet. And I was able to stop myself at just a couple of spoonfuls, unlike the real kind :P
YAY- the new green dragon sauce. I tried a bit this morning and it's like a fresher sriracha, if that makes sense. I thought the spice level was nice (my spice tolerance is a little higher than average I'd say). I can't wait to put it on everything!
NAY- the (new to me) reduced guilt chicken salad. I saw it recommended on a low-cal snacks thread but it's kind of gross actually! I don't know what it is, maybe too much celery? It's just off to me. Normally I like chicken salad made with greek yogurt.
Their "reduced guilt" stuff is really hit or miss.
Surprisingly i love the "reduced guilt" guacamole yogurt stuff- although i'm fairly certain that consuming half the container in one sitting negates that.... ;)
I've been happy with the reduced guilt fish sticks but the big caveat is that you have to be craving the school cafeteria fish sticks of the 50s and 60s. It is one of the few processed foods I will buy and I just love them. I'd rather sit down with a plate of those than a bowl of ice cream :-P
I love that stuff! Except I found it getting brownish fairly quickly. That's what I get for trying to stick to the serving size!!
I like the reduced guilt potato chips better than any other potato chips, anywhere! They are nice and crunchy.
The reduced guilt popcorn is pretty good.
BIG NAY on the Popcorn in a Pickle! Holy cow - my dog wouldn't even eat it and she eats her own poop! So strong and pickle-y, nasty sour with an aftertaste. When I poured it into the compost bag it smelled up the whole house - had to take it out to the bin.
YAY on the Green Dragon Sauce - spicy with a touch of sweetness, can't decide if it's more Asian or Mexican. Will most likely go well with both.
The canned, stewed eggplant and tomato in oil was a quick fix lunch with some precooked spiral pasta. I heated the two together in some foil over the campfire coals and had a tasty lunch. Another YAY for taste good/great value!
I wish I had checked this thread this morning. I went to their wine shop here in NY today but I never buy groceries at TJ's anymore so I didn't even go into that side. Now I want that Green Dragon hot sauce you're all yay-ing...
Seriously! I've been looking for any excuse to use it. I made eggs for dinner and topped them with it. I made a cucumber salsa to go on top of a zucchini avocado soup and I added a little bit into the salsa. Heck, I even just put some on some lunch meat and ate it as a snack!
Haha, first you have to drink the wine from the wine shop before dealing with that union square store...!!
I'll take your word for it :) I can't imagine the USQ store being any worse than Brooklyn. Hell on Earth, that place. I haven't put myself through the misery since that non-blizzard back in January. I do need to go back & stock up on Pound Plus bars and their awesome Dijon mustard soon.
It's a very close tie for awfulness between the W72nd St store and the one on Court St. Somewhat oddly, and for no obvious reason I can think of, I find the employees at the Brooklyn store to be the least pleasant, though stopping short of being actually objectionable, of all their city stores.
The only one I've been to in the city that doesn't drive me nuts is the one on 6th Ave, presumably because it's so much larger and so much less cramped than their other stores.
I've actually encountered some nice employees at Court St. - friendly cashiers, and the people stocking the shelves are always apologetic when they're out of something I want. But the customers? Forget it. So freaking rude & self-absorbed, and I can't even count the number of times I've had my heels slammed by someone's cart with no acknowledgment or apology. Court St. also somehow has the worst produce of all TJs locations, and they have a fly problem to boot, which really bothers me.
I went there yesterday for the first time in months because I was headed to Sahadi's anyway, and encountered all the same issues. It's not worth the headache.
It's not that all the employees are "bad," just that there are a few less than wonderful people-skills, in stark contrast to every other of their stores I've shopped at. Nothing I would even taken real notice of at another store, but it just kind of stood out from the general TJ's background...
As for the customers, I can believe it. I lived in Brooklyn Heights back when I was in law school (a long time ago) and things have only gotten worse insofar as self-absorption and the general populace's sense of entitlement is concerned. But they can't be much, if any, worse than the W72nd St customers. An extreme example is the physical altercation (between a physician and, iirc, an opera singer!<lol>) that turned into a fairly well-publicized criminal court case a while back... (eyes rolling) (Basically, one of the women objected to the behavior of the other's kid, said something to the (teenaged) kid and the mother (the MD) apparently flew into something of a rage, got a little too up-close-and-personal with the singer, and got slapped for her trouble. Then insisted on calling the cops, blah, blah, blah...)
As an aside, I must say I really wasn't unhappy to move out of that neighborhood (W72nd St) last year. As the above vignette illustrates all too well, it had changed dramatically (for the worse, imho) over the 2 decades I'd lived there...
Mike, agree the layout is terrible. Shop there regularly in the morning, and with the tight quarters and long checkout lines, people are very polite towards each other. Don't get your other comment. How does a slapping incident in a TJ's illustrate that a neighborhood has changed dramatically for the worse?
I go to the Brooklyn TJ's about once a week and most of the time I'm there, it's no more crowded than the other stores in the neighborhood. But then, I don't go there during the weekend.
The 6th AVE store is so much better than the Union SQ one. Much wider aisles and just more pleasant all around. Probably more customers but doesn't seem so crowded. The line moves fast even when it goes all the way around the store.
Yep. Stopped in there yesterday to pick up a few things since I was in the 'hood for a visit to NY Cake on 22nd. What a pleasure - it was practically empty. When I was checking out with several items the cashier made a point of telling me how awesome the Green Dragon sauce is. He said that everyone has been talking about it, and they sold out of their first shipment in less than 48 hours. I told him that I was there to buy it specifically because of all the raves here on CH. I'll have to dip into it tonight...
Yup. That's the location i prefer too, best layout and odds of someone clipping my heels with their cart are lower.
Today at Westlake, Daly City, CA, I found the Thomcord grapes and grabbed some. Still haven't seen the Keitt mangoes.
I picked up a bottle of that new green hot sauce .. too bad it's in a plastic bottle instead of glass. I haven't tried it yet but the checker said he loves it.
Yay--Mixed medley cherry tomatoes (organic)--These are very tasty: especially the yellow ones.
Yay--Sliced mushrooms--We didn't have these bagged mushrooms in the Midwest but they are super convenient because they are already cleaned.
Yay in general for west coast TJ'- There are more options in the produce section. There's even three kinds of figs! The bakery section has a few more cakes and better looking cinnamon rolls than the Midwestern TJ that I am used to but the only additional gf baked item that I noticed was par-baked flatbread in the refridgerated section (and I'm not up for turning on my oven in this heat) but if someone has tried it let me know.
Are you a visitor to the west coast? I'm traveling to San Diego/Carlsbad in the next week and looking forward to checking out a west coast TJs so your post is timely :-) I would love to pick up some of those figs to bring back to some friends.
The west coast TJ's I visited a couple of weeks ago had more produce and some was less expensive (spinach $1.99 for 12 oz. vs $2.29 for 6 oz. here!) but the baked goods selection was very inferior to my east coast store's, especially for the fresh brown-bagged breads, cookies, and desserts.
The other strange thing is that all of the brown bags were taped shut! Here they are open. I never buy baguettes because they are right next to the checkout line and thousands of people come within a foot or two of them every day and many must touch or brush up against them. Yuk.
Don't know if that is general or particular to the stores. Selection can definitely vary store to store depending on what sells.
IME the 6 or so TJs I've frequented here (SoCal) always have subpar fresh-baked goods. I never bother with them at all. I don't doubt it's because you East coasters have much more of a bakery culture than we do in L.A.
As to the uncovered baguettes--all stores used to sell them like that here. Some still do, but I've noticed a huge change in recent years to completely covering baguettes or other fresh-baked loaves in the grocery stores.
I know it's par for the course in Europe, but I absolutely cringe when I see baguettes or boules in open air baskets or shelves. I remember watching Anthony Bourdain in a Paris bakery where people just grabbed baguettes with bare hands and no wrappers, tucked them under their arms and headed home. L.A. has pretty stringent food safety laws--that wouldn't fly here.
Hey All - can anyone YAY/NAY the frozen organic pizza crusts? Would like to have a speedy go-to for weeknight pizza other than the refrigerated pizza dough for the crust.
Littleflower-
Don't know how those are,but we've been using the pocketless pita breads (from most any market) for awhile now and they work very well in a pinch. Usually just use whatever jarred pasta sauce is open and both mozzarella and grated parmesan and whatever toppings you like .
It was a YAY for me when I bought it. I crisped it up a bit before adding sauce/cheese and it came out lovely (cripsy - which I love).
And of course always cook longer and higher than TJ recommends.
Mmmm, I might make that myself tonite...
I didn't care for the frozen organic crusts.
We use the frozen TJ Naan for weeknight pizza bases. Makes a perfect individual sized pizza. :)
They also have soft flatbreads (round in bags) that would probably do very well as a pizza bottom (we usually use pocketless pitas and they do work very well)
+1 for TJs naan for pizzas
I originally yay'd this then I made one this weekend and was not impressed. Had it in the freezer forever mind but it was very gummy.
Littleflower - How did it turn out for you?
Toopie I'm withholding too much judgment until I try the crusts one more time.
Preliminary opinion - Small Yay. One thing is for sure for anyone wanting to try these out is DO NOT FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ! The crusts, although the label sats that they are par cooked, absolutely need to be baked in the oven for a few minutes prior to topping them!
My first attempt yielded a barely cooked through crust that only crisped up on the edge. The crust TASTED great however, and I can see myself repurchasing if I can adjust the preparation.
Lower-case yay for the Gazpacho. Yesterday was sweltering in San Franciso (in the HIGH 70S!!!) so we had a cold dinner, gazpacho & salad, and it hit the spot. Not quite YAY because it is vegan, but you can always cure that with some sour cream or crumbled bacon.
Gazpacho is always vegan. Not sure why that would detract from this gazpacho in particular. . .
Not unless you add some shrimp or sprinkle some crab meat on top... ;D
That had me scratching my head as well. Would be like taking away points for a fruit salad or salsa review "because it is vegan". :)
I'm not vegan myself but am not somehow offended just because a dish doesn't typically meat or dairy.
I was being just a little bit tongue in cheek there. That said, I think it maybe could use a little more olive oil.
The flats of beautiful nectarines from California are back.
Mine aren't quite ripe yet, but I ate one anyway, and it was already sweet.
Big YAY! on these.
Small Yay- Salted Caramel Bread Pudding (frozen)
Not as awesome as the Pumpkin Bread Pudding, and would never have guessed it was "Salted Caramel" flavored if not for the labeling but am still pleased to see a bread pudding on offer that is non-seasonal.
No need to make the whole thing at once either. Even straight from the freezer a chefs knife and firm hand are enough to slice off an individual portion for heating.
Will be a decent stand-in for the off months, but will still be stocking up on the Pumpkin variety when it returns. Thanks to careful rationing we still have half of one left! :)
Yay for the fresh black mission figs (non organic). I almost gave up on fresh figs at TJs. Last year, they were picked too early, and were too green and hard. Today, they were reasonably all black. At $4.50 for 2 pounds, that price is hard to beat.
Another Yay! for the figs. They are very good and I have bought a couple of clamshells so far. You must be on the West Coast, though, as they are $4.99 here on the East Coast.
I may even freeze some.
I plan to get the big 2 lb box soon (after I buy some pots and pans) and make this jam--it looks good and easy!
http://www.sagelysweet.com/maple-cinn...
Yay--Organic Sugar plum Tomatoes--great flavor and super tiny.
Yay--Tom's toothpaste-TJs always has the lowest in-store price.. And now that I switched to Tom's I can't go back to nasty artificial stuff.
Yay--prices as a whole. I used to think TJ was expensive (compared to some Midwestern grocery stores), but I am finding that produce and frozen stuff are both priced well below west coast chains and independent stores. Plus I can actually find things!!
After a recent vist;
Spotlight Cheese, Brigante = big yay. A bland white color so nothing visually striking, but all sorts of flavors going on with that cheese. Great stuff. I'll let the cheese-o-philes try to describe it, but if you're a cheese lover I have a hard time imagining how someone could not like it.
Green Dragon Hot Sauce = yay. Already getting a lot of love here as a new release, and I concur. Very fresh flavor with some cilantro in there. Subjective for sure, but I don't think it's very hot at all. My girlfriend who can barely withstand a dash of Tabasco on something slathered on about 2 tsp of Green Dragon on her eggs Sunday morning and didn't wimper once.
Greek Yogurt Dip with Jalapeño & Organic Corn Chip Dippers = ongoing, proven yay items for me and I have to keep buying them because I can't resist. So good on their own......so good together.
Good to know, I've been holding off as it "looked mild" (yea, don't knwo what that means either but that was my impression) and I like cheese with a lot of flavor.
Brigante is one very bland-looking cheese. This is one of those situations which proves we often "eat with our eyes," as I was prepared to be bored.
I'll be awaiting the impressions of others. I'm often lacking in the descriptives department -- I just know what I like. That's why I ALWAYS try the Spotlight Cheese ----- to discover new goodies I would otherwise miss. Most Spotlight Cheeses are wins with me (only a few exceptions) and I feel the Brigante cheese is one of those Spotlight wins. Great flavor!
I think my visual tasting was biased by this comment on the website "Trader Joe’s Brigante Cheese is a cheese with a more subtle profile." I had mild subtle in mind then I saw white and pliable and visions of white plastic cheese floated in my head :)
I nearly always try it as well and this month has been a rare exception. It's on this week's list and if it's there, I'll be tasting and hopefully can come up with a good way to describe it though I'm also not good at describing cheese.
Okay, I'm officially a fan of the Green Dragon sauce.
P.S. It's fantastic drizzled on gazpacho.
WHERES THE VERMOUTH???!!! On these threads, I've praised the Ponti vermouths (red and white) that have long been a TJ's staple. But, they abruptly vanished a few months ago, and the promised replacement has never arrived.
So I ask you, brothers and sisters, does your TJ's carry vermouth? Do you know the brand, size and price?
The Pontis were $4.99, for a liter, and IMHO were better than substantially more expensive mass-market leaders such as Cinzano, Martini & Rossi, and Noilly Prat.
During this drought, my Manhattans and Martinis are suffering! (I know that there are excellent super-premium vermouths out there. But they're too pricey for everyday swilling.)
You're lucky your TJs even has hard liquor! Nyc = beer in store, single seperate location wine only store
Our TJ's (Virginia) can't do hard liquor, only beer and wine. Vermouth is under the wine license.
I (strongly) suspect the only reason the NY store doesn't carry liquor is that they can't really compete on price compared to our existing discount stores, so I'm not sure how great a loss it is. For that matter, TJ's prices for recognizable wines aren't much better than the (well-known) less expensive wine stores, either, though they are cheaper than the typical "corner" liquor store. And myself, I haven't found much to get excited about at all among their "house brand" wines...
Nothing to do with the competition in the NY market. Even in states with far less restrictions they only focus on Wine and Beer.
Yes, I think that in states where they can sell it all (i.e., beer, wine, and spirits alongside groceries), they always have liquor. It's a quite limited selection, and in my area different stores may have a smaller or larger assortment (presumably depending on sales patterns), but they even do include some rock-bottom TJ's branded spirits, so I don't believe they're ignoring that market. Some of their prices are pretty aligned with discount chains like BevMo, some are lower. It's the only place I buy Campari; haven't seen a better price anywhere in my area.
Campari! You struck a nerve. Fabulous stuff, in a Negroni, on the rocks, with soda or tonic, or many other ways.
In Virginia, it's available only from the state ABC stores. Current price: $32.90 for 750ml.
Caitlin, what's the price where you are? Anyone else have a local price to share? (TJ's or not.)
Interesting. I don't have any personal experience with TJ's outside NY, so I was just guessing based on their practices and comparative pricing here.
New York has funny laws about alcohol sales (among other things.) Liquor stores can't sell beer (or mixers, or even ice) at all, which is on a difference license than wine and spirits. It's sold in supermarkets and other stores on its own license, so all of TJ's grocery stores carry beer here.
But liquor and wine are on a different license, and any given licensee (individual or corporate) can only have one retail location (anywhere in the state) per license, so there's only one TJ's wine store, just as Whole Foods sells non-beer alcohol at only one of their stores here.
Since TJ's wine prices are not especially competitive here, I just assumed liquor would be an even harder sell, but I guess they just don't focus on that. It does seem a little odd that they wouldn't want a piece of that market, too, but maybe it's just too difficult for various reasons to apply their general business model to wholesale liquor purchasing and retailing.
Which Whole Foods sells wine here?
And in an attempt to keep it OT, on my recent trip to TJs 14th St. wine shop I purchased 2 whites that immediately joined my "buy again" list - the Espiral Vinho Verde, and the Pine Ridge Chenin Blac-Viognier blend. Both big Yays for me.
The Meh so far from that shopping trip is The Crossings Sauvignon Blanc, and from a previous visit, a Nay on the Sauvignon Republic. Previous years have been great and it was one of my cheap Sauv Blanc faves, but the one that's currently available is disappointingly flat and one-note.
I don't buy much wine at TJ's, but I do browse their wine store whenever I go to the 14th Street grocery store. Last week I came across, and bought several bottles of, Mulderbosch's 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé for $6.99 each. I don't know if that was their regular price or if it was discounted for end-of-summer clearance, but at that price it's a bargain.
glad you mentioned the Espiral - I have considered buying it, and now I will.
"Meh" to the Kona sauvignon blanc. This blogger loved it, but I wasn't a huge fan:
http://hedonismink.blogspot.com/2013/...
It may be fine with food, but I didn't enjoy a glass on it's own. To me, the vegetal/bell pepper flavor is a bit off-putting/reminiscent of (other) cheap wines. My husband liked it though, and he has pretty good taste in wine.
I'm a fan of a red wine TJs wine shop has called "sweet red"- it is slightly sweet and fruit forward, great chilled in the summer. Maybe $7-8? It's over by the resling selection (aka my favorite section:))
Oh, and i always always get their lambrusco! It's like $6 or so! The red one is better than the white- another slightly sweet one. I haven't been in a while but i always get several- it's my go to for bringing to parties because somehow not many people ever buy lambrusco and the fruity fizz is a great pre dinner drink
The name "Sweet Red" gives me pause becauseYellowtail wine makes a blend called "Sweet Red Roo" that pretty much made me gag - it was just too sweet & syrupy for me. But mildly sweet I can handle, and I can definitely get behind an honestly good, non wine-coolerish Lambrusco.
You should try the Espiral. It has a "frizzante" quality similar to lambrusco. The bubbles are nice coupled with the refreshing acidity and a hint of sweetness. Just a really easy drinking wine, and so cheap! ($4.99)
I have tried the Sweet Red wine that you are referring to...good wine to enjoy chilled in the summer.
Bought the Espiral based on this discussion, and opened it the other day. I'm not sure it's something I'd enjoy a lot with food, but its light, off-dry, slightly effervescent character makes it perfect for sipping during the recent weather we've had here in NorCal (heat wave).
I also bought the Pine Ridge to try, based on GHG's post, but haven't opened it yet.
YAY! New to me are the Brioche rolls in the fresh bakery area. We had a long road trip to my sons football scrimmage this weekend and heated up some breaded chicken fillets (TJ's, green and white bag), lettuce, tomato and made sandwiches for the ride. If I were home, I would have had a second one. So good. Heard from a manager today that they were not going to be around for long, changing bakeries. Too bad, I will pick up some to freeze and see how that goes.
Also a YAY!, the orange cranberry scones, yummy!
Picked up the Korean Short-ribs (Is that what they are called - in my garage freezer right now?) today from the freezer section. Anyone tried them?
=
YAY-99 cent Valrhona Chocolate Bar--In the bar, there are seven pieces (probably each piece is two bites), and there are seven days in the week. So if you need a late night mini-mini chocolate snack or a morning quick treat with your coffee: you get one per day. Plus, if/when you have a complete bar.. no big deal: 160 calories--which is probably less than your usual powerbar or granola bar. I now commute, but I also had an emergency one in my car in case of another snowpocolypse or absurd stress--inducing traffic.
We picked up the Green Dragon sauce--just as I suspected, it appears to be virtually the same as Fresh & Easy's Green Sriracha sauce. The ingredient list is identical, just slightly rearranged.
HUGE YAY - Pizza Sauce (Jar): My from-scratch sauce doesn't taste half as good and takes twice as long to prepare. So, no brainer - this will be a definite repurchase.
YAY + for the Quattro Formaggio shredded cheese. I added a little mixed with mozzarella which provided a great depth of flavor to the pizza that I had made. Contains shredded Parmesan, Asiago, Mild Provalone, and Fontina cheese.
We absolutely loved that sauce at children while making pizza bagels. So I would definitely recommend it for those babysitting, with children, or with grandchildren. Although you might want to bake yours--we always made them in the microwave.
Point of order here, Littleflower: Which is higher -- "HUGE YAY" or "YAY +"? This is important.
LOL - Littleflower's ranking system, in order of highest praise:
HUGE YAY, YAY +, YAY, SMALL YAY, YAY/MEH, MEH, NAY, HUGE NAY (sometimes referred to as NAY NAY NAY!!)
Hope that provides some clarity, my apologies for any confusion. :-)
Thank you. Does your taxonomy make use of the "minus" (-) inflection? Also, is there a "HUGE MEH," a "MEH +" or a "NAY +"?
The LRS (Littleflower Ranking System) chooses not to include the Minus inflection. The LRS discontinued the use of MEH+ awhile ago, in it's place is YAY/MEH. The terms HUGE MEH and NAY + never have been included in said system.
Disclaimer: The terminology in the LRS reflect those used to describe TJ's products at the present time. The LRS reserves the right to make changes in the future, and is not responsible for past use of terms currently not included.
After reading all the delicious things the past week I just made a TJs run. I guess it's a good thing and a bad thing living and working in SF and having two TJs within a mile of me...
YAY- Green Dragon hot sauce. Obviously had to try, pretty delicious! Just had a few dashes in homemade Zuppa Toscana soup to test it out. Definitely a different type of hot sauce but very tasty. Agree it could be a little hotter
YAY- toasted coconut crisps/ cookies. Not a new product but after much love received on this board I finally gave in and omg. Plan to pair with the Cookie Butter cream cheese to try it out
YAY for the riced cauliflower being back FINALLY!!! Haven't tried it yet but have been wanting to and it's been out of stock for a few months
NAY to two consecutive batches of crappy avocados (the string bag of 4). Got one batch where two of the avocados had freakishly huge pits, with maybe 1/4" of flesh around them. Then a batch where they all went directly from stone-hard to stringy and brown without ever passing through ripe. I've had generally good luck with their avocados, so I'm hoping this is either a fluke or a temporary situation.
YAY for the grapefruit seltzer. I made a lemon-lime infused simple syrup, added a little to the seltzer, and it was fabulous.
MEH/?--Canola Oil kitchen spray--I feel like this comes out faster and more comes out than PAM. I also feel like it makes everything taste buttery even though I did not buy the butter-flavored one. Do people use this? Is it any more or less "healthy" or lethal than PAM? If anyone can recommend a cooking-spray there that would be great.
First time posting in a TJ's thread. :)
YAY: Portobello Mushroom Fries. Juicy chunks of portobello in a light, crispy batter. These were really addictive and I had to try really hard not to eat the whole bag in one sitting! I had them with some gochujang aioli (gochujang mixed with garlic aioli), although it wasn't really needed because they're delicious on their own.
Online, so far, it only lists the nutrition facts.. not the ingredients. I am guessing the fries are battered with wheat flour? (I am basically asking if they're gluten-free. And supposing that they are not--which is probably good for the sake of my thighs.)
OMG! Thank you for posting the pic, I hadn't seen those. Always looking for good breaded shrooms.
Just tried the bacon and pickle popcorns, NAY to both.
I also tried these and really liked them. I made them in a toaster oven and they came out pretty crispy.
I like these but I'm not sure how best to cook them. I used a perforated pizza pan, since the instructions say either "lined with paper or perforated." The pieces varied wildly in size, and the larger ones were still pretty wet when I gave up and took them out. I didn't want to leave them in longer because mushroom juice was leaking out of the pan. :/
I made a dip with goat-milk yogurt and some spices, but they didn't really need it. Good flavor, just would like to not wind up with so many wet ones. We'll buy them again, though, I think.
Just found out that the Girasoli Ricotta and Lemon Zest Ravioli we just feel in love with is seasonal and won't be back until March. :(
Dang. But, glad it will be back.
They are most likely making room for fall inspired ravioli fillings.
We are one month away from the onslaught of pumpkin everything at TJ's. I am not a huge pumpkin fan and always wish we could fast forward from mid-September to November 1st!
That is probably correct because it doesn't seem like cheese ravioli would be seasonal. I saw yesterday that they have this new ravioli:
I tried those Mac n Cheezy Rays. I give them a Meh+. Nothing offensive about them, but I'd rather just have boxed mac n cheese. Maybe I needed a more creative sauce?
I saw those...
How many mac and cheese products does TJs need?! Between the various boxed and frozen versions there must be a dozen ...!
These are kind of tasty and at least don't suffer from the zero-flavor filling that many of TJ's raviolis do, but the ones I tried at home were not sealed well and at least half of them ruptured.
It's still at my TJ's (West Hollywood).
Has anyone tried the Sriracha Ranch? I got a bottle yesterday and tried a bit and holy heck it's a bit hot for my liking!
Ranch? As in "Ranch" dressing? (Which I don't care for. Don't like mayonnaise-oriented stuff......)
Yup. It was with all of the other dressings.
I tried it and liked it - they were sampling with GF breaded chicken tenders. Not sure how it would be on salad - probably nice on something crunchy like iceberg or Romaine. I probably won't be buying it though, as we don't need any more fattening condiments in our diet :)
It's so much hotter than I wanted. I was so excited, too. I was thinking about maybe cutting it with some regular ranch but figured the A+ TJ's Parmesan Ranch may be a weird combo. :(
good to know- mine is sitting in the freezer- waiting until my self-control breaks down- probably a few days at most- were the cooking instructions correct(?) ,not always the case w/tj's foods
Bought 3 packages today... they told me it was the last shipment and would not be available again. Not sure why... will try one tonight as an appie before dinner. If it is great, I will go pick up a few more tomorrow, football season (game day snacks) and all that. There were plenty there, just did not want to overdo it if it turned into a NAY.
Oh no! I had another for lunch today. I better stock up.
Just finished up dinner. Baked on a baking sheet (?) at the 450F noted on directions. Actually followed all directions, leaving the flatbread to sit while oven pre-heated. Was almost perfect at the 12 minute mark. Let it cook one more minute and it was perfect. Both my 8 1/2 yr old son and I loved it. Husband, not so much. But he is not a huge burrata fan and was already looking forward to the rosemary/ sea salt loaf (from Fresh Market) that was to accompany dinner. :-) Will either be picking more up tomorrow, or calling for them to hold some more for me until I can get there this week.
The same thing happened when they had a pizza with vegetarian sausage on it a few months ago. They stocked them for just a few weeks and then never again. They were even advertised on the website.
I wonder if maybe it is some sort of test run and then they can't come to an agreement with the supplier?
Yay: "12 Mini Mint Ice Cream Mouthfuls," which are small ice cream sandwiches using chocolate wafers and mint chip ice cream. Yum.
Meh: "Brownies Crisps." Has the crisp like the edges of a brownie, but all that crisp without the contrast of a chewy center was disappointing for me.
Frozen Pie Crusts,NAY!! Ever since they have changed the packaging from being flat crusts to rolled crusts, I hate them. Even though they were thawed , when I unroll them, they are all cracked and in pieces.
Any suggestions?
YES. This is so frustrating. The last package I bought I ended up just throwing them away. Such a waste. They used to be a total time/life saver.
I agree they break apart when you unroll them, but I just use a rolling pin and put it back together. I know this kinda defeats the process. But I like the flavor of them for both sweet and savory (for quiches).
NAY--Crunchy Curls--I would still love these if they were still gluten free... they used to be. I haven't had them for a few years, but I picked them up and was snacking on them on the way home.. to then realize it now says "MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF WHEAT" on the back. I flipped it over to the front and the "g" for gf is gone; I am not sure when this changed, but FYI... if you're a Celiac, stay away.
Proof that it used to be GF and vegan..
http://www.veega.co/2013/02/dining-in...
Nay - Uncured Sliced Corned Beef. Tastes OK, nothing special. But it isn't so much sliced as hacked into bits which are then vacuum packed so tightly that they are squeezed back together and have to be picked out with the fingers. A rethink is needed.
Anyone try the watermelon water yet?.....After the WF debacle, I am leery.but the price is lower and reasonable. Maybe I'll just make my own with some lemonade
YAY- Rainbow slaw prepared salad... I didn't even know this was new until I saw the new Fearless Flyer but YUM! I divide this into two portions to bring for lunch and added my own shredded chicken (the TJs balsamic rosemary would be delicious), avocado and cherry tomato. Could also add some extra lettuce/ kale mix but totally delicous! I added olive oil to stretch the dressing into two portions but a yummy low carb-ish lunch, the apple in here adds a delicious dimension :)
YAY! Chicken Salad - the plain one with a bit of carrot and onion (not the lowfat), 3 servings with 17g protein each. There are three other chicken salads though. The package I bought in CA was better than the one I bought in PA.
NAY! Refrigerator rice noodles. Did not overcook but traumatized by the gummy, stick-to-your-teeth texture. Still have one bag of the two left and am afraid. May just rinse in hot water? Might be too raw. Need to rinse as the water was very starchy/slimy. Wish the dry rice noodles were available.
? Has anyone tried the Cleanse Kit? Sorry, I know not appetizing. Also similar product at WF.
? Excited to try the 3-in-one shampoo-conditioner-bodywash for the short-haired people in the house. Saw a similar, higher-priced, prettier label product show up at WF, too.
NAY -- Campari tomatoes. They look like they'd be sweet and delish but they're hard and flavorless.
YAY -- Sugar snap peas, sweet and crunchy. I love them.
YAY -- Big green papaya. I made thai papaya salad for my visiting family and it was a huge hit
NAY -- Avocados. Small, rotting grey, worthless, pathetic
NAY -- Skim milk. Twice I've bought and twice it's soured in less than four days.
YANAY -- Good Saturn peaches, then bad Saturn peaches, then good Saturn peaches, then bad Saturn peaches
YAY -- Super dinky potatoes. So dinky, yet so super.
NAY -- Giant box of blueberries. They may not sell them anymore but I bought a box and the berries were small and sour.
I've never had that problem with TJ's skim milk, the kind I usually get. Indeed, I've never had any brand of skim milk go sour, unless I leave it out on the counter too long. Is your refrigerator keeping at below 40 degrees? It should.
The avocados at TJs are notoriously & continuously awful - it boggles the mind that they still sell them.
I stopped shopping there about 6 months ago, but I popped in last week because everyone was raving about the Green Dragon sauce. Now I wish I had bothered to wander because I've been wanting to get some green papaya for a Thai salad.
I've had good luck with the avocados in Texas. I buy the four-packs all the time. If they ripen before I can eat them, I put them in the fridge and they last for a few more days spot-free and still taste good to me.
That hasn't been my experience, but then we're in California (SF, to be precise). Most of the time when we get a bag of (Mexican) avocados and let them ripen 3 or 4 days they come out perfect. (As noted above, the last two times have been either an exception or a drastic change.)
That's funny, when I was in Los Angeles & San Diego I never got good avocados at TJs. They always went from rock-hard to black, and if I was fortunate enough to get one that did ripen, it was stringy. The final time I brought them back for a refund, the manager told me it was a common complaint.
Maybe it's an issue with regional suppliers. TBH it didn't bother me so much because I could usually find good, cheap avocados elsewhere. Not so much here in NYC :) But fortunately the crazy expensive gourmet market a few blocks from me has been running a 5 for $5 special on great ones from Mexico this summer.
Those "teeny tiny potatoes" are a huge YAY for me too every time! They have such great "potato-y" flavor. I often use them for pioneer woman's hot crash potatoes and have a hard time not eating all of them in one sitting!
NAY to the sun-dried tomato chicken sausage (pre-cooked, refrigerated). Was like Play-Do formed into a sausage shape. Really turned me off. Didn't have the casing that the garlic and herb ones have (which have been a staple for me for a while now). They reminded me of something, but I can't put my finger on what! They were like a weird meat-paste. No bueno.
YAY - Canned chicken breast in broth; I've never had canned chicken but I guess things find their way into your basket when you're wandering around the store distracted while talking to your mom on the phone. I'm glad I was distracted, I was quite surprised - it's good quality meat and super convenient for quick chicken salad wraps and casseroles
MEH - Brigante cheese; my random visual impression of this cheese was spot-on. It's quite mild to me, nice floral notes with a hint of lemon and a hint of the sheep's milk flavor on the finish. It reminds me of Santa Teresa, another sheep's milk cheese. I definitely finished it but wouldn't necessarily buy it again.
YAY-Organic Pink Lady apples. This is probably a YAY because I am on the west-coast now. (And/or because it was organic? Maybe.)
YAY--Giant sugar crisp (green) grapes. This is the biggest container of grapes that I have ever seen. And they are tasty--frozen or normal.
FYI--I saw they have new toffee chocolates. I love love toffee, but it does contain traces of wheat.. so somebody go dig-in for me! <3 Anyway, I think this is a sign that the holiday-craze of interesting products will be tasty this year.
Does anyone else find the Gyoza dipping sauce almost unbearably salty? I think it might be a return-I can't see myself ever making a dent in it.
I have looked at the label but never bought it, because it is so easy to make and I always have the ingredients on hand.
Just mix soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, and rice vinegar together. Proportions are about 3:1:1. Then you can add other ingredients for flavoring if you want, like chili oil, garlic, sugar, sriracha, green onions, ginger, etc. A large squirt of sriracha gives it heat and a slight sweetness, so I usually use that. If I have fresh ginger I will use that and a few red pepper flakes.
You could use a low-salt soy sauce so it won't be so salty.
YAY: Toffee Chips. There are dark and milk chocolate pieces and they are like a Heath Bar. Mind you, I won't be purchasing these again anytime soon - I've already had six pieces (one serving is three pieces :/).
YAY: Add me to the chorus of Green Dragon fans. Great heat, cilantro-ey and a nice hit of lime.
I'm the same as mushroomaffairs - I had a great pack of nectarines and then a terrible, mealy pack. I'm giving it another go and will report back.
NAY - any greens in a bag. I can sometimes find an OK pack of romaine, but otherwise they always have a slimer in there that ruins the whole thing. Blech.
Shishito peppers: yay! There were 3 in the bag that went bad quickly, so I had to use the rest well before the sell-by date. I didn't feel like dealing with cast iron and I don't have a grill, so I roasted them in a pan with oil at 425 F, then put some of that pyramid sea salt and a little sesame oil. I made a dip from sour cream, Kewpie mayo (not much), a little sriracha, and ponzu. Really tasty. Only one pepper was hot at all, and it was...mild-medium.
Frozen bread pudding: yay? But the instructions for preparing it are weird, and half of the slices didn't have any of the caramel filling. (But I had some pumpkin caramel sauce to put on top, and that worked out. Next time: peaches.)
HUGE YAY using the LRS for Steamed and Peeled Baby Beets. Geesh these things are good. I've been draining them on Sunday night and then putting thick slices into 3-4 baggies for a nice treat at lunchtime. They are perfect. PERFECT.
Frozen Vegan Tikka Masala - MEH minus
Out of curiosity and looking for a serving more filling than the Chicken TM (which I like quite a bit), I tried the Vegan version. (Or rather, I'm actually trying it as I type.)
Definitely not a fan. I haven't checked the labels, but the sauce for the vegan version definitely tastes sweeter to me than that for the chicken version. That's not a good thing, imho. The overall spicing is nice and quite similar to the chicken version, but at least seemingly sweeter than I really like. On the plus side, if the Chicken has cream or yogurt in it (as I assume it does), I will say that I don't miss it in this version however else they managed to achieve a similar creaminess.
As for the "nuggets", they stop just short of being unpleasant, but they're definitely not pleasant, either. The first couple of bites definitely tasted a bit funky in an undefinable way, but that seems to have passed quickly enough. But that aside, they just don't taste good to me. Too TVP-ish maybe, in too large pieces for TVP to be tolerable? I might find smaller pieces of this stuff made into chili more tolerable, but then again, maybe not. It's definitely stronger-flavored than plain TVP you cook yourself, whatever exactly is in it. And last but by no means least, I find the texture - like overcooked chicken or too-tough meatballs - rather off-putting. Qualitatively, it's similar to the smooth, intentionally chewy texture of Asian meat/fish/chicken balls (where I either don't mind or actually like the texture), but tougher - definitely tougher.
In short, while I ate the whole thing without making faces<g>, I see no reason to ever eat it again. Because it supplied a decent amount of protein and wasn't actually "bad", I won't be asking for a refund, though.
Next up will be the Paneer Tikka Masala which I expect to like, since I do like the Chicken TM and am generally quite fond of paneer, too.
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