Daylight Savings Time is soon to end for most of us, which some consider the official start of the fall to winter transition and the ushering in of the wonderful Holiday Season. I'm sure TJ's will have a bounty of holiday products, both new and old to highlight the season.
What items have you tried recently and would you rate them a YAY, MEH or NAY?
NAY-Riced broccoli, way too "stemmy," a little too fibrous and some sharp bits that were unpleasant to eat
Ooh, just bought this, but have not tried it yet. Hmmm!
Sounds like they just can't get any broccoli stem products right since that description could be used word for world to describe the broccoli slaw as well.
I gave up on any/all broccoli slaw from TJs a long time ago-i swear it's half the outer layer of stem! Even sauteed or cooked through it's still really noticeable. NAY that they can't get this simple prep right! Who ever buys it more than once or twice??
Wish I had kept the bag to return. Seriously regretted tossing it in that soup, tough to get through (pun intended).
Me, too. That was nasty stuff and not worth risking a perforated intestine from the sharp sticks in it.
I haven't tried the riced broccoli or regular broccoli slaw, but I love TJs kale & broccoli slaw with chicken single-serve salad. I like the crunchy fibrousness of the slaw in it...it makes the salad feel more filling.
The turkey and stuffing kettle cooked potato chips are in. I had never tried them so I picked a bag up. YAY from me! Very different but tasty. They confused the heck out of my husband.
Tried those last year. They were very interesting. I guess one good thing is that I could only eat a few at a time as the taste got a bit overwhelming.
These have been on my "TJ's List" since I heard the What's Good At Trader Joe's guys rave about them on their podcast. Per your post, ran by today and got some. YAY - these are fantastic!
YAY-Meyer Lemons. I go through a lot of lemons, and these are very tasty; they are almost sweet or at least more neutral than regular lemons. They had very few bags.. so I am not sure if there are an 'opportunity buy' or not.
MEH: Harvest Spice Trek Mix. Agree with Whats' Good TJ blog that this has too much candied ginger. At first I thought it was fine, but then the second time I had it, I was over it. The candied pecans are almost worth it alone because they are gigantic, but $6.99 just buy some plain pecans.
New holiday chocolate collections, boxed cookies, and advent calendars are out. I took two pictures of some of the new products because two of the cashiers said the fancy $9.99 calendars will be sold-out in the next week (and who knows what else). (There are new buttercreams, the "Portfolio," and covered shortbreads on the top shelf in one photo and three kinds of new cookies in the other.)
The new butter creams are good, as is the portfolio. I'd give both a Yay. The millionaire shortbread truffles are also pretty good.
The advent calendars (the cheap version and the expensive version are must buys for me).
The Meyer lemons are seasonal. They work well for making preserved lemons for cooking.
Most all of the seasonal stuff goes fast at my store and is often not restocked. I have learned to buy it the first time I see it.
Purchased the milk chocolate portfolio. Never recalled seeing it before. Product of England. It's late, so I will try these in the morning and report back. I prefer much darker chocolate, but I haven't seen flavored chocolate with such straightforward ingredients for a while, so I had to try it. The butterscotch flavor has glucose syrup, which I'm not a fan of, but there's five other flavors.
I haven't seen the other two cookies in my TJ's yet, but sampled the Double Chocolate Wreaths (made in Scotland). I like them at first, but it had an odd aftertaste afterward. Check the ingredients and sure enough there was the mystery "Natural Flavors". Not sure why manufacturer feel the need to add these in. Second ingredient is butter and you can really taste it. They have chocolate chips and cocoa if I recall correctly. That's enough flavor for me. Okay, I'll end my rant now.
Yay - Milk chocolate portfolio. The one with Cocoa Nibs was really good, I could even taste some fruitiness from the chocolate. Coffee flavored one was fine, maybe overpowered the chocolate somewhat. Smooth mouthfeel. $8 for 12 small bars. (6 flavors x 2 bars each flavor)
Thanks for reporting back- I'm not a milk chocolate fan myself but this sounds perfect for my milk chocolate loving mom
The other day I saw something new at TJ, a four-pound chocolate bar. Did not read the fine print but if it's made by the same outfit that does the 1-pound-plus Belgian chocolate bar, that would be something your mother would love.......
YAY spinach and kale bites. These were SO GOOD! Baked them in the oven a little longer than directed (as recommended by someone in the October thread). They tasted very similar to the filling of the spanapokita triangles that are frozen.
YAY- new panko breaded calamari. They were sampling this and we were surprised with how crunchy the calamari got and had a really nice flavor. They served it with marinara sauce.
YAY- pumpkin cream cheese muffins. Besides being a tad dry, they had much better pumpkin flavor than a lot of their other pumpkin goods in the bakery. Wish there was more cream cheese filling though.
MEH- pumpkin babka. This had hardly any pumpkin flavor and was somewhat disappointing. It was also on the dry side, but the cinnamon topping was delicious.
How is their bottled thai red curry sauce?
Please forgive me if this has been reviewed to death. Fig butter. Huge hit w/my friends and the price point is amazing compared to the Dalamatia fig spread. I used to have a fig tree and find a lot of fig jams repulsive, yet I love this one. This is great for all of the holiday cheese plates.
The fig butter is a big YAY! and I always have a jar on hand. It goes well with cheese, and especially those made with goat or sheep milk.
Really good very sparingly spread inside turkey sandwich or panini (I add it between a random couple meat slices). Especially if tomatoes are in there (giving the sweetness something to meld to)
European Style Whole Grain Bread is very thinly sliced, dense but reasonably soft and moist, seeded. It's made with rye as well as wheat flour, but doesn't taste overwhelmingly of rye. I like it, works well with peanut butter.
The Organic Mint Melange tea is fine as an herbal peppermint-spearmint combo goes, but it's a meh for me because the lemongrass is undetectable, and its inclusion was the reason I tried it.
Seen on the new product shelf:
Trio of Bitters: Three 5-ounce bottles, "classic", grapefruit, and "spicy"; $15.99. Not much info on the box, just a cocktail recipe featuring each.
Also, blanched almond flour, $7.99 for a pound. (The unblanched almond meal is $6.99 for a pound.)
Yay - the new Autumn Apple Rooibos Tea is quite good. Let it steep for a long time.
OK - the little chocolate mousse filled pumpkin shaped cakes. Not awful, but not something I'd want to eat regularly.
My Thanksgiving run to TJ's is happening early this year as in Thursday we have an appointment in Albany NY, our closest TJ's, so I'm taking notes! I'm hoping to find chestnuts, not whole but peeled. Some years they have them but not always. Whole Foods price for them is high way robbery so if anyone sees them at TJ's please post and thanks in advance. Also will be looking at IPAs. New York allows beer sales in grocery stores. Wine is a different story. Go figure.
I always buy those shrink wrapped ones in the produce section. I want to say I saw them already, but I may be imagining it. I will look in a few days and report back.
If you like cream of mushroom soup, the little boxes TJ's has had in past holiday seasons is very good, a definite Yay!
till have a few in the pantry...it is portobello mushroom soup and I use them for gravy and stews and ?? I agree!
RE soup, here is a Fusion Food suggestion in that it combines a TJ and a chain supermarket product. A carton of TJ's Latin Style Black Bean Soup has a nice flavor but no texture for us black bean soup purists. Add a can of Bush's Cocina Latina Frijoles Negros Machacados. This works out wonderfully. Put a little pitcher of sherry on the table for people to add to their soup bowl. This really is as good as homemade black bean soup that takes half a day to make and messes up the whole kitchen.
They had two kinds of chestnuts on order but neither had arrived. Thanksgiving Yays we have bought before are boxes of turkey stock, turkey gravy in little cryovac boxes for extra gravy on sandwiches and turkey croquettes, and boxes of cream of mushroom soup. A new purchase is a jar of cranberry sauce. Hope it is a Yay. Always a Yay is cheddar gruyere melange for the best cheese sauce ever and Beef Bolognese Ravioli. Gluten Free Corn bread, a surprise Yay, was back in stock too, And a terrific craft beer stock in the ten dollar range. Good prices for this area, We passed on the free sample of parsnip potato chips.
If you don't have luck, I find peeled chestnuts at Asian markets for quite cheap and World Market for a bit more.
Purchased another brioche loaf today, big mistake for the waistline, but a huge YAY!
Just found out today that the fig/honey/ walnut cream cheese that "was" seasonal is not coming back. Discontinued! I am devastated, it was sooooo delicious. Pumpkin cream cheese was on the dairy shelf, but did not call to me.
Saw a few new products that appealed...anyone try any of these?
Giant Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce
Roasted Garlic and Onion Jam
French Roast Coffee
ARGH! I went to TJ's today, but didn't get to browse for any new products! Wish I had seen these - that Roasted Garlic and Onion Jam sounds amazing. Mr. PennyG and I are "staycation-ing" this week and were out running errands, early voting, etc. earlier today. I wanted to run by TJ's to get the Turkey & Stuffing Seasoned Kettle Chips (YAY, per above post!) and he insisted on driving me by while we were out. He's not the "browsing TJ's" type so I felt all rushed! HA HA. Next time ...
The French Roast coffee is my daily coffee. It's affordable, smooth, and has a good body. That said, I am no coffee connoisseur. I know many folks don't like pre-ground, but for me it saves an extra step when I'm fumbling around in the morning pre-caffeine fix.
One of the TJ's employees highly recommended the Roasted Garlic and Onion Jam, so I purchased it (she has yet to steer me wrong!). Will try soon and report back!
Those beans would be worth trying.
The French roast coffee is just a larger bag of the usual French roast, it may be cheaper per ounce.
Will definitely be picking the beans up this week. As for the coffee, not my usual suspect, so did not know. Just saw a bunch of posts about coffee on the October thread.
Please report back on the beans- looks like something i would love and a great quick lunch ingredient
Okay, was getting an emissions test just around the corner from TJ's, so decided to stop by and take one for the team. Picked up the beans and the garlic onion jam. Will report back.
BTW: Bought the naan bread, regular one, usually buy the whole wheat....but, I needed non wheat to eat with the Sriracha carrot hummus (with sunflower seeds and apricot topping) I bought by Eat Well, Embrace Life. Am I allowed to YAY a non-TJ product this one time here, since I ate it with a TJ product? Back to the naan, it is soft/ fresh and flavorful, while serving as a great vessel for dips and such, or pizzas.
I second the YAY on that hummus- it's one of our favorites out of any brand and flavor
The plain frozen TJs naan is a huge YAY for any number of uses, individual pizzas, as is with soup, scooping up dal, or topped with sandwich stuff. I love that i can just rewarm what i want from frozen and it's delicious Hot Carbs (aka instant comfort food because Hot Carbs=comfort food for me)
I have a few of those in my freezer, as well. The Naan I was referring to is in the fresh section. So soft and fluffy. ;-) Been eating it with various hummus' for lunch. So yummy!
I love the garlic naan that is frozen. Sometimes I put a schmear of butter on it like they do in restaurants and that really makes it wonderful. I have found the best way to warm it is in a covered cast iron pan on medium heat as it makes the bottom slightly crispy and leaves the top still relatively soft.
We are not fans of the French roast at all. Very bitter.
HUGE YAY for the Natalie's brand Blood Orange Juice (quart size - fresh juice section). I went through half a quart in one sitting. The best blood orange juice I have tasted.
MEH for the Guava/Black Tea juice...just wasn't my "cup of tea". :-)
Oooh. That Blood Orange Juice just went directly on my buy list. Thanks for the post littleflower! I can't wait to reduce it to make dressing, glaze, and coulis for the holidays!
You are welcome, NuMystic...it tastes freshly squeezed. Really refreshing and delicious.
I'll have to get it again. We must have had an off batch. Being used to fresh squeezed, even the "gourmet" pasteurization gave it a Tropicana-ish taste for me. I can get past that, but there wasn't enough blood orange flavor in ours. Contrasting with the Honeycrisp Apple Cider, I was pleasantly surprised that, although being pasteurized to the point of being shelf stable, the Honeycrisp flavor comes through. It's possible I made up that if you pasteurize apple cider more, then it can be shelf stable. Not sure why the "regular" TJ's apple cider (also pasteurized) is refrigerated while the Honeycrisp one is not.
Yesterday was very sad. They said they have discontinued the dark chocolate almond bark. I was addicted to it as my dessert treat. Oh please let this not be true.
Yay - Dark Pumpernickel Tuscan Pane. Toasting brings out the dark rye flavor.
YAY! The Tasting area had sweet potato pie. Never had it before. So much better than pumpkin! Bought one and it's in the freezer. Not sure how long it will last.
YAY - Puff Pastry. This one is new, not the same as last couple years. This year, TJ's decided on one with simple ingredients and added vinegar to make the dough easy to work with. $4 is a steal compared to "all butter" puff pastries at other stores. If any of you remember the all butter puff pastry at TJ's many years ago, this one is not as buttery, but I can't complain for the price. Product of France.
YAY - Phyllo Dough. Same look, but I'm almost certain this is also a different product than previous years. Even at Whole Foods I haven't seen phyllo with just 5 ingredients. I thought it would be hard to work with, but it wasn't. (Maybe the nutritional yeast helps with that.) Made in Greece. I'm not a phyllo expert by any means, so I'm not as confident recommending this as with the Puff Pastry.
wow, I was just eyeing the all butter puff pastry at the local fancy market...$11 a package! So definitely adding a TJ run to my list of errands!
I will have to try the puff pastry again, now that it is different product. I still have one in my freezer (the previous one) but never use it, it was hard to work with. I end up using the one from the supermarket, I just like it better.
My TJ just got in the Baci chocolates and those red boxes of Truffles, which I have never tried. But last year, those Baci sold out WAY before Christmas and I think they are perfect in every way. I bought 5 boxes to give as gifts .. maybe I'll get more next trip.
This is the second trip there was no sliced brioche on the shelf .. I asked and a clerk said he'd check in the back. He brought out a frozen loaf (they come that way) and told me to just thaw it. How nice of him to check for me! He also gave me a sample of the new, small, Dragon apples that come in a bag. Yay and it's a perfect size for kids or small appetites.
My store hasn't had the brioche the last two times I've been. When I asked this past week, the guy said they only get 2 or 3 loaves at a time. So I may never get to try it.
I think the brioche is a huge hit for them. I am trying not to power through he entire loaf by myself. ;-)
I don't want to make French Toast with it .. now do you eat it? Just toasted? I ate a piece plain yesterday. I'm scared to read the label and see how many calories.
170 per slice. It makes fabulous grilled cheese with Brie and muenster. A decadent YAY!
I haven't made it as french toast yet, though I heard that was fabulous. I eat it plain or with chicken salad as lunch. It is too sweet for an actual sandwich, but can see i being terrific as Christina mentions below. Slathered n butter sound good, too!
Do the dragon apples have a special flavor or are they just smaller? I'm so excited by all of the delicious apple varieties now available in my stores but dragon is new to me.
The red boxes of truffles are freaking fantastic! Big YAY , i keep some in the freezer, great with fruity red wine or coffee. Really quite dark and rich, a little messy from the cocoa powder covering. A crazy bargain for the $3-4 they are
All holiday (Christmas) sweets and treats were out. Thanksgiving sides were out as well. Go get it while you can.
I only purchased the chocolate drizzled kettlecorn because it's my one favorite thing (and much cheaper than Angie's Holidrizzle); it was definitely more melty and messy than past years, but at least I had my fix until the day of Christmas.
Has anyone tried the Danish Kringle things they are selling in the paper bags? Look semi-interesting but I'm not really sure what to expect.
Oh and has anyone seen if they have the white chocolate peppermint pretzel thins this year? Love them!
The Kringles are VERY popular around here. Definitely recommend picking one up. Or two, one for now and one for the freezer :)
Tons of folks here absolutely love the Kringles, though we're not a fan at all finding them to be nothing more than a ridiculously sweet wet danish. (and we've tried multiple flavors)
I'll take the proof and bake yourself Almond or Chocolate Croissants over the kringles any day.
The Kringles are a Yay! if you like sweet pastries. There are some iffy ingredients. They are shipped to TJ's frozen and refreeze well. The price at TJ's is very good.
Re the Kringle, this is what I posted last May:
Minority opinion here: MEH for the raspberry kringle. Got one to serve at breakfast to a couple of houseguests (she's from Wisconsin!), but it didn't meet expectations.
Very sweet, with flat, heavy pastry and a very thick layer of powdered sugar frosting. Good, fresh-tasting raspberry filling - but not a lot of that.
Overall, thought it somewhat better than generic supermarket pastry only because of the flavorful filling and the extra butter in the dense pastry. Our guests did eat it politely......but offered no compliments on it.
Just picked up the pretzels in Shoreview, MN. Along with the white chocolate iced ginger snowman cookies, they are something I look forward to every year.
The Kringle here has margarine in it, which should be a crime.
Lol Sandylc, I agree! My husband actually brought one home yesterday (almond) and we broke into it last night. It isn't bad, but the pastry has the unfortunate "margarine" texture of all grocery store baked goods. I'll eat it this time but if I'm going to eat 1000 calories of something, it has to taste pretty amazing. Maybe I'll try my hand at making one of my own someday. Interestingly it wasn't too sweet for me even with the thick layer of glaze on it.
Yep. That and the wet factor keep me from buying Kringle. In general, I wish TJs would eliminate palm oil from so many of their products. I'll happily admit that they still have a pretty decent range of all butter products and at a good price.
I forgot to mention that you can heat the kringle up in the microwave (very briefly, maybe 10 or 15 seconds) and it is so much better warm. I picked up one of the almond ones Friday. I like it better than the raspberry version.
HUGE NAY for the Bruce Cost Ginger Ale. It made me and my dinner guests gag. Kudos to all of you who try this and like it. It is made with cane sugar and fresh ginger. Just not my, nor my guests, cup of tea.
I will stick with Boylan's natural Ginger Ale in the glass bottle for my ginger ale go-to.
Yay! for the new version of the Tuscan Pane, Dark Pumpernickel. It is not overly coarse or chewy and is great for sandwiches, but I would prefer that the wheat flour were whole-grain.
The Ginger Gold apples are another Yay!, crisp but not overly dense and hard and with a good flavor.
The umami and ginger paste tubes had been moved to the spice section on a lower shelf, my guess is those won't be around too long.
Some Christmas stuff was in but not in large quantities. There were perhaps a couple of dozen boxes of Chocolate-covered Peppermint Joe Joes. Those are a huge YAY!!!, especially when frozen.
Big YAY for the sticky pumpkin cake with hard sauce. This is basically sticky toffee pudding with pumpkin replacing the dates, I think. Very soft, moist cake with a delicious caramelly sauce. Quite sweet but not heavily spiced - and addictive!
NAY - Dark Chocolate Collection (in the gift bag)
All of the chocolates have too thick a bottom and the flavors are hit and miss. We love salted caramel in general but the salted caramel in this one has WAY too much salt for example. Some are better (the cookie crunch ones are good) but this is way to expensive for a literal mixed bag.
NAY - Giant White Beans in Tomato Sauce (canned)
Nice flavor but way too oily.
I'd much prefer my Fasolia Gigantes to be bright and fresh like the picture attached rather than the muted reddish brown slicked with oil I found in this can.
I loved the beans. I thought the flavor was lovely.
Glad to hear you liked them REC. As noted I actually did the flavor as well but there was just way too much oil for me to ever consider buying them again. My wife wouldn't even finish her half of the can because it had such a greasy mouthfeel.
After turning the can over to dump the full contents into a bowl this is the 1/4 inch oil slick left in the bottom and that's even after spooning off what oil I could before emptying it.
There are 380 calories in this little 9.6 oz can which is entirely due to the excessive oil. These are 190 calories per half cup serving. By comparison a home made recipe of Fasolia Gigantes is only 108 calories per half cup:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calo...
YAY-Ambrosia Apples. I know that's kind of odd to post about an apple, but this tasted as sweet as a caramel apple. I wish I bought a second one for tomorrow.
YAY-Cranberries (fresh) are here.
(They were already out of the cocoa drizzle popcorn. I'm glad I bought my 1 bag until Christmas. They had two of the red canisters of chocolate popcorn and nuts and caramel corn.. but that sounds way too decedent for me.)
If anyone tries the collection of bitters, let me know how they are. And if they are worth $15.99....
Today the Pecan Pie in a Jar is back--however same as last year, at 270 calories per serving.. I won't be trying it even though I love pecans. Also the gluten free cranberry cake was back in the bakery section; it was "okay" last year--however, it's one of the very few pre-made GF seasonal bakery items.. so I guess if you're a super desperate Celiac (I've been there) headed to a potluck, then it won't be the worst thing you've ever had. But if you gave me the choice of an apple or a slice of this cake, I'd probably take an apple.
Thanks for the apple intel! I'm always indecisive and then end up buying honeycrisps again (at least while they're in season i need a steady supply!)
The pecan pie filling in a jar is exactly that- filling to make a pie, certainly not a tasty treat you would eat as is (although apparently some people use it as a topping for ice cream)
Just want to interject a note that the oft-discussed Gingerbread Cookie Sticks are, actually, pretty damn good. I feel they've been under-praised.
I agree. They are delicious!!!
I also love them. I like the way there's some crunch with the sugar on top. And there's plenty of ginger in them.
Yeah. The crunch.
These are nearly elevated, in my mind, to the very high level where they're no longer welcome in my home. Thank god the chocolate chip/salt ones are supposed to be too salty.
They are so good that yesterday, after a day down in NYC watching eldest H run the marathon, the whole way back north I was thinking "I'd really like one of those gingerbread sticks when I get home!" It was all I could do to stop at one.
Yay! Candy Cane Green Tea
I love this mint/vanilla/cinnamon green tea before bedtime; I was happy to see it back on shelves.
Sorry to pull a Lady Crawley, but "What is a Costco?" .. I only know about TJ's. At least at one point there was a Costco thread.
Has anyone tried the Beer Bread? Bought it the other day. Just as beer and butter, it says. Looks good, may get around to it this week.
On impulse i bought the shelf stable chocolate almond milk on my last trip- it's a huge YAY!! Nice chocolate flavor, not too sweet
I like it best hot with a few of their marshmallows as dessert lately. The only thing is i only bought one container , will definitely be a repeat purchase this winter
For the Dried Baby Bananas lovers out there, they are done for the "season". (Sorry, Baltimore. I grabbed whatever was left on the shelves last week.)
YAY feta cheese spread- one of our new favorite items. Great as a dip, hamburger and potato topping, but our favorite way was stuffing chicken with this spread, spinach, and sundried tomatoes.
YAY frozen tilapia. We had never tried TJ's frozen fish before but were pleasantly surprised. The fish tasted so fresh, and actually much better than the tilapia fresh at our grocery store.
YAY harvest salsa. Repeat buy from last year and we will be stocking up on this before they stop selling it for the season.
YAY tuscan cantaloupe. So much more flavor than normal cantelope!
Did I dream that TJs had a new harissa? Not mixed with anything like humus, but a straight-up jar of harissa? Google shows a result from the new product posts from September but doesn't show in search. Local TJ employees say they don't have harissa as a separate product. I want to make a scallops with harissa and ras-el-hanout butter recipe from epicurious. The harissa at WF is $6. Maybe I'll just try making it though not sure what kind of pepper - red or red bell - to use.
They do! I have some in my fridge, it's a great product. It's pretty new.
It was a new product. It's probably out of stock. Here's a link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/theimpu...
Just be firm, ask them to check the computer and see if it's just out of stock at the warehouse or discontinued. "Seasonal" can mean lots of things. I don't know what's going on, but I've noticed newer employees this year aren't as on top of things like employees in previous years. Overall the service is still very good, but I hope the trend doesn't continue.
I've seen a North African use a combination of both bell and hot pepper. The way I understood it was that the pepper traditionally used isn't as hot so the combination sort of approximates that pepper. Not sure if it was her own thing or something commonly practiced.
Yes, it should be in the condiment area.
I bought a jar of the TJ's but haven't used it yet.
Thanks, everyone. Indeed it is not on the shelves at my location. Two employees told my husband that they did not carry it. With your kind reminders, I do recall seeing it on the new shelf but it must be sold out now. I ended up buying some from Whole Foods for 5.69 since I don't exactly know the flavor profile and the recipes are so varied.
For what it's worth I'm not in love with the Harissa so you're better off with the WF you have imo. It's good enough that I'll finish the jar but if you do anything with it that puts the Harissa front and center it's got a bitter/soapy note absent in other recipes.
I enjoyed it stirred into hummus but didn't care for it at all as a dipping or spreading condiment.
What I found today was TJ's "Harissa Salsa." (Not exactly the same as shown in RussTheRaccoon's photo.)
The description says, "Chunky red salsa with sweet red pepper, earthy heat and spices" and "Use as a topping to spice up grilled meats, seafood, vegetables, tacos or eggs. Great alone with tortilla chips, or with hummus and pita chips."
Twelve-ounce jar for $2.99.
Not sure if these were gone or I just forgot about them. After getting some allergy test results back I was rooting around for what TJ items I could still eat. I love these, wish I had bought more.
In years past the cut beets were seasonal, but this year they stayed all year. My store still has them.
I love these sooo much! They were introduced maybe a year or so ago..? They're like a two for one since i use the vinegrette to dress my salad greens!
Not sure what your allergies are but TJs website has some comprehensive lists for gluten free, kosher and vegan if those are helpful
http://www.traderjoes.com/dietary-lis...
NAY - Italian Bigonda Cheese with Herbs (Spotlight Cheese of the Month.) There's cheese somewhere in there under all the herbs.
Observation: I'm seeing microbial rennet being used in European cheeses with increasing frequency the past couple years. Before, it was a given that a cheese from Europe would be made with animal rennet.
YAY-Seasonal Mexican hot chocolate Clif Bar. I enjoyed this. It was a good balance of spicy and sweet. (There is also a gingerbread flavored one right now.)
FYI: Rumor has it that there is a Jingle Jangle Ice cream... I haven't seen it (nor can I eat it due to pretzels), but way to go TJ's--let's just jam something really addictive into something already pretty decedent. If you find it, make sure you melt some cookie butter and drizzle it on top. Then you're really living the TJ's life.
They're getting ready for the holidays! All new products that we spotted today:
Frozen section: pear and persimmon tart, cranberry tart, gelato stuffed panettone, brie filled bites, olive galette, chocolate chip waffles, feta and olive tart, new crab cakes
Bakery: kentucky bourbon cake (sampled and it was delicious)
Has anyone tried the "smoked olive oil" they just started selling? is the smokey flavor noticeable? How have you used it that turned out well? Thx
YAY/MEH - Buffalo milk butter. It's definitely a different flavor than I'm used to, a little tang. The texture is a little less smooth than regular butter. I gave it a mixed review because I liked it but think it's one of those things that'll grow on me.
TJ's grass fed buffalo milk butter is very similar to butter in Pakistan. The texture is a bit crumbly even when fresh, and freezing it during transportation (from India) probably doesn't help, either. I wouldn't describe it as tangy. Rather a slightly gamier version of grass fed cow milk butter. I love it, but even grass fed cow milk butter isn't for everyone. Some of my family are always saying they want GMO-fed butter with natural flavors, their way of making fun of my fancy butters.
Codpieces!!! That has to be the best TJ product name ever! :-)
And @ $3.99 lb., an excellent value.
Many uses, regardless of your personal predilections......
YAY for the boxed Cornbread Stuffing and the boxed Turkey Gravy. I bought both after sampling the stuffing with the gravy spooned over it. I rarely go back for second sampling and this one I did! I am going to buy more before they pull them off of the shelves.
Just picked up "new to me" Tzatziki from the refrigerator section.. It looks good, thinking about a grilled or shredded chicken on their naan bread for a dinner this week. Anybody tried it?
It's tasty but you can certainly tell it's low fat if you're just having as a dip-i like to add a dribble of olive oil and a little salt to perk it up or i scoop it up with something salty like pita chips. Just whatever you do avoid TJs frozen falafel which are a huge NAY and epic fail across the board (too bad since falafel with tzatziki is delicious)
I will doctor it up, thanks! BTW: My son actually picked them up and wanted to try the falalel a few months ago. I agree, big NAY!
Thanks for the feedback on these! Been wanting to try them, but will pass on them now
Not sold at TJs but I've bought the falafel mix from Fantastic foods for years, (whole foods and lots of other groceries) stupid easy add water and done. I don't fry and bake at like 400 with a well oiled pan and flip after ten min which gets a crisp outside. waaaay better than TJs but not the same level as nyc street falafel fried on the spot
http://www.fantasticfoods.com/product...
YAY-Bone broth-In comparison to homemade, this is probably not that grand, but I've never had bone broth and haven't been feeling "well" (since Nov. 8th...), so I do appreciate that this is now available and lasts for five days once you open it.
FYI: New products in freezer case: Cranberry pie, pear galette or tarte or something (I think pear and persimmon), gelato filled panettone, and aforementioned jingle jangle ice cream.
I just purchased the organic Turkey Cooking Stock. Haven't used it yet - waiting for Thanksgiving. What's the difference? Mine was in a carton on the shelf.
I have to admit that I am not an expert--this site seems to explain it. I've just heard about the "magical properties" of bone broth and figured (given the state of the world) I better try that out, among other tactics ..of self-care, maintaining-sanity, etc. Let us know how the stock is!
http://www.epicurious.com/ingredients...
They had the turkey stock last year, it's similar to chicken, only a little lighter if I recall. I guess the idea is for stuffing or soup, you don't have to mix species, and it can substitute for drippings.
(Woops, I was talking about regular stick, didn't catch they sell a bone broth now too)
where is the bone broth! Do you have a photo of the labels you can share by chance?
Have not seen the bone broth yet at tjs Grace will probably kill me but I bought some at the big box member only joint that starts with a C. /ducks fast!
Givemecarbs, I do not wish you any ill. My parents love that place, and after consulting the guide to ethical purchasing, it sounds like a good place to shop.
Here is a picture of the bone broth for anyone interested. I was going to purchase regular low sodium broth, but the box for bone broth is much smaller so that also makes it easier to transport if you're walking a few miles home with your groceries. Yay: bones!
If they have the Roli Roti concentrated bone broth at C**** in the refrigerated section- get it (this may be local to SF given Roli Roti is based here). Stuff is magical and $4.99 for 32oz, all organic :)
Meh on the Jingle Jangle ice cream. It's not bad - but it needs more stuff mixed in. I expected it to be loaded with the mixture, and it wasn't.
Yay on the Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps. Nice flavor that isn't too pumpkiny and a good crisp that's not too hard (gotta protect the teeth). I'm really enjoying them with a spread of goat cheese.
Yay for the Sponge Candy. The only caution is that it is covered with milk rather than dark chocolate, so it is very sweet. It is on the thin side so it is easy to eat. $3.49 for 8 oz.
YAY- new frozen Truffle Mac and Cheese. I saw this Monday night while perusing and hidden in a corner, without a "new" label or anything- there it was. I was skeptical when looking at it baking up in the oven (a few pieces of pasta weren't covered by cheese/ sauce and looked like they would be rock hard/ dry but once mixed together after 20 minutes baking it was outstanding. The "dry looking" pieces actually turned out to be a little crunchy which was welcome.
Actual shaved black truffles are plentiful. I planned on adding some special truffle oil I brought back from Italy and it didn't even need sprucing. I had bacon cooked up from the night before and scattered some pieces in there.
Phenom!
The Truffle Mac and Cheese was a Nay for us. We LOVE truffle but found the flavor of this one to be particularly artificial with an unpleasant aftertaste.
Much prefer their regular mac n cheese with a drizzle of their truffle oil and some of their frozen mushroom medley to this.
Those plentiful black mushrooms aren't truffles by the way, it would cost a fortune if they were! :) If you read the ingredients you'll see the only truffle found there is flavoring. (which is to be expected given the price of real black truffle)
On a related note the amazing Himalayan Truffle Salt which actually did have a bit of real truffle in it along with the flavoring will not be returning this season. Discontinued. :(
Oh no! I just used up the last of my TJs Truffle Salt. I was anticipating its return this season :(
I saw a new white truffle oil at TJs today, although i forgot the price already...
that truffle salt was fantastic, I'm really not a fan of the oil (unless it's the really fancy stuff from italy with actual pcs of truffle!)
Any idea when the chocolate passport comes out? I love the chocolate passport.
Also, thank god (in a way), I haven't seen the Baci di Dama cookies in ages. Did they disappear?
Finally, looks like beer bread mix is a west coast thing. My local guy had never heard of it.
I bought the beer bread in ATL.
The chocolate passport has come and gone at my nearest TJ's (St. Louis Park, MN). I saw them and didn't buy one. Am now kicking myself.
After tomorrows snow melts I will wend my way to the largest TJ's in my area (Minnetonka, MN) to see if they still have them in stock.
The chocolate passport (I've never tried it) and Baci (chocolate with hazelnuts, right? Blue box?) are in the San Francisco stores right now .. they've been around for about 2 weeks. Those Baci things are GREAT and bought several to use as gifts. I think they are PERFECT.
I bought the beer bread in MA.. Haven't tried it yet though...
I bought my chocolate passport last week. They should be stocked with the rest of the chocolates
Far as I remember Baci di Dama aren't coming back. I didn't expect the Valrhona Advent calendar, very surprised it returned after poor sales last year.
A crew member here in Central VA said the Baci di Dama cookies are discontinued.
The chocolate passport is out. Do you notice a big difference between the bars?
sugartoof there's a very big difference between the Chocolate Passport bars! We even made notes to keep track of the ones we liked most/least. Big range from very bitter to very fruity but every one was a winner with either myself or my wife.
Chocolate passport as well as similar milk chocolate package of bars was in stock today at 72nd st.
Big YAH is the Beef Bolognese Ravioli. About 10 large pieces perfect for a light dinner for 2. Took 4 minutes to al dente. Drizzled with EVOO, and balsamic glaze, a squeeze of lemon juice followed by grated Parmesan, and freshly ground pepper. $3.49 a 9oz. package. Would be YUM with broccoli rape.
MEH for the new Sponge Candy...I did not find it to be too sweet, just ridiculously hard to bite through. Think Heath Bar, but thicker not thin like a Heath Bar. Would really like it if only it was much thinner so that I could actually bite through it without hurting my teeth or jaw.
New potato snacks in shape of green trees (colored with spinach).. I was not a fan of the ghosts for Halloween so I did not buy them.
Don't miss out: the seasonal gift-sets of skin-care products are all back and usually in limited supply. I did treat myself to the trio of face masks, because I've never used something like that and now seems like a good time to de-stress between election and Thanksgiving stressors.
YAY-Cocoa drizzle popcorn-The cocoa drizzle is still my favorite GF holiday product. Like other popcorns at TJs, some bags are kind of weak and taste stale, but I still appreciate that it is a lighter, yet sweet indulgence.
Note on Lettuce: Four out of my last six bags of butter lettuce had a bug in them. I will still continue to buy them and don't have the desire to even bother with returning/refund--it's lettuce; it's just part of eating a lot of produce. But if you have an issue with bugs, just be careful and check your lettuce carefully.
Please report back on the face masks Grace.
So far I have only tried the Clay one in the blue tube, but it was refreshing. Within four minutes of putting it on, it hardened--however it wasn't uncomfortable or anything, and it was not difficult to remove. After rinsing it, my face does feel softer and refreshed, but I am not yet sure about the long term effects.. I'll try to report back if there are any major improvements in the coming weeks.
I do think, however, if you are hosting Thanksgiving, and you need a pick-me-up it's a good non-food treat to do what articles keep advocating for: self-care. Or if you are hosting a sibling/relative for the holiday, and you want to give them the spa-experience within your very own home. :)
The potato snacks in the shape of Christmas trees are WAY BETTER than the ones they put out at Halloween time. Give them a try, with a sprinkling of seasoned salt they are addictive.
YAY for the mini chicken tacos (frozen). So easy to heat up in a skillet and quite tasty, even without any additions.
Yay for the new chocolate-mint black tea. Seems odd but I liked it a lot. Subtle but the natural flavors definitely come through.
TJ's Columbia Supremo whole bean coffee -- definite meh. The price ($4.99 for 14 oz) made me give it a try, but whoever sourced this forgot to roast the beans properly and the result is a weak kneed brew.
FYI: New products:
--New kind of truffle in a tall brown container.
--Also an ugly sweater cookie decorating kit--which would be really cute with grand-kids or co-workers
--Cinnamon-roll wreath in the freezer section.
--Gigantic 'Commendation' chocolate bar that is too big to fit in a shopping basket. However, I think that it's only $4.99
YAY - Blue Cheese stuffed Chikasomethingorother Olives. Apparently they just came in Friday night. Very good. I've already finished half of the jar.
Yay - Scalloped Potatoes with Quattro Formagio. Nice and cheesy.
Nay - Unsweetened Green and White Tea with Mint. New to me but has basically no flavor.
Lots of new cheeses.
YAY - Potted Blue Stilton Cheese from England. It's in a small blue porcelain pot. When you open the lid, you have to cut off a wax seal to get to the crumbly cheese. Presentation is excellent. Cheese is very good.
YAY - Black Diamond 5-Year Aged Cheddar from Canada. Creamy, yet crumbly texture. I only eat vegetarian cheeses. One bite and I knew it was an animal rennet cheese. Very savory.
MEH - Pave Daffinois from France. It was a brie-like cheese, but "stinkier" than brie I'm used to. It actually smells a lot stinkier than it tastes. Rind was no good, though. If you like to eat the rind I would avoid it.
The $8 Cabot cheddar bricks are back, too. Also, bought this really pretty Nuts & Fruits & Honey arrangement in a glass jar. Haven't opened it yet because I love the way it looks.
Sliced my hand very badly yesterday prepping appies before the Giants game...so, Thanksgiving is going to be difficult. Thankfully, hubby is great at cooking and helping. In that vein, picked up a few short cuts today at TJ's. They had diced pancetta in the refrigerator section. I use it in my stuffing, along with diced chestnuts, also vacuum sealed - ready to go at TJ's. This will make prep a lot easier. Hope the pancetta is good. Hubby will dice the chestnuts, carrots, onions, celery, etc. Also bought their refrigerated turkey gravy and the boxed one, as well. Just need to be prepared for quick fixes, use of only one hand. Since I am the only one who likes Brussel sprouts, picked up their vacuum sealed ones... need my fix. Turkey sitting in garage fridge waiting to be prepped. Potatoes will be a chore to clean and cut for mashed...
Ugh, so sorry about your hand. That sort of thing impacts your life all day every day until it doesn't anymore.
I can report adding cream helps the box gravy which is on the darker side. It's not great but it's very usable.
Oh no! Having a hurt hand is really the worst... I've bought those roasted brussel sprouts before and they're surprisingly good! A big YAY
Although i love them so much that one package = one serving so they don't last long...!
Yes, the hand thing sucks! Have had to have my hair washed and blown due to inability to do it myself and 4 days no gym. ARGH! Hubby did all the chopping and dicing today, he was a huge help! Food turned out amazing! Ended up using the refrigerated turkey gravy I picked up, added a good amount of drippings and seasoned, turned out delicious, so a YAY! The brussel sprouts were a hit, as well. I am going to add them to my list, great to have around for salads or lunches. I have mentioned before that I love their honey chevre, served on the appie plate today with warmed naan bread, yummy! They were out of the fig chevre, holiday season only, but they put two away for me when they came in yesterday. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
This year I am going to be lazy and eat store bought frozen pies on Thanksgiving. I bought the frozen pear and persimmon tart and chocolate pecan pudding pie last night. Anyone tried ?
I also bought pumpkin salad dressing....not sure if that was a good idea but I did love their Asian peanut spicy dressing I bought last time.
I also bought two packages of pre cut butternut squash for $2.29(20oz) each...I think they were actually cheaper than the fresh whole squash.
YAY YAY YAY- french apple tart in the bakery. We heated this up in the oven and served whipped cream on top. The apples were delicious and the crust had a wonderful flavor. Want to try the butternut squash frozen pie next but a little hesitant. The pear and persimmon tart also looks nice.
YAY-ish for the Frozen Pumpkin Pie! I am not at all a pumpkin pie fan, but decided to sample it. I ended up going back for another sample...the texture was a bit off due to being thawed from frozen, but the taste was delicious. I ended up buying the pie!
YAY for the whole milk ricotta. It's fantastic - rich, sweet, creamy, and smooth. Is it Calabro repackaged?
I don't know if it'll show up in their database, but if the container has the plant code, try plugging it into www.whereismymilkfrom.com
NEW:
--Crunchy truffle trio--long blue box with three kinds of crunchy-coated truffles
--Salty Honey Toffee Milk Chocolate Crackers--If you've had Saltine Cracker Toffee, then I think that's what this is.
--Chili Chocolate Collection--"4 flavors to spice up Winter"
--Mini vegan marshmallows. Just in time for your holiday baking/snacking.
YAY-Thanksgiving-type salad. I would buy this all year if it was available, but mostly because I just really thought the brussels and sweet potatoes in this were tasty.
YAY-Luna Smores Bar-I've been very ill and today don't feel like eating, so I'm just taking a bite every few hours. You can actually taste the marshmallow-flavor. I recently tried a KIND bar, and it was very hard to bite--I appreciate that these are softer.
Ooh I'm so excited for the mini marshmallows!! (True confession: i freeze them and then they get a bit chewy like a soft taffy)
That salty honey toffee crackers sound like something i need- i never make the stuff but always look for it at holiday parties
I hope you're feeling better today! Those Kind bars are way too hard for my extensive (very expensive) dental work so i leave them alone. The lemon luna bars are a big YAY if you haven't tried those yet
Hope you feel better really soon Grace.
Is anyone else having trouble finding the Salty Honey Toffee Milk Chocolate Crackers at their store? Is it a new item??
If it helps, they are in this photo in the white box. Yes, it is a new and seasonal product.
That helped tremendously, thanks, Grace. I called my local TJ's here in Virginia, and they said they are not carrying it. The employee was extremely helpful though, and with a precise name of the item from your photo that I have to him, he was able to order it from the warehouse, to arrive here in 2 days. YAY!! Can't wait to try this one!
Yay: Organic Ginger Zinger, with the juices (shelf-stable). This is a concoction of water, sugar, ginger juice, and lemon juice. Nicely gingery, very very sweet on its own, but I've been using it 50/50–40/60 with sparkling water, and it's very refreshing.
Lots of holiday stuff, sweet and savory, with new products:
The chili chocolate discs GraceW mentioned, in milk chocolate guajillo, jalapeño ganache (dark), chili lime (dark), and habanero milk, $4.99
Billionaire shortbread truffles, $4.99
Cuor Nocciola cookies (described as "Italian biscuits with hazelnut cocoa filling, covered in milk chocolate, topped with candied hazelnuts"), $4.99
Italian Butternut Cookies with a Few Meringues (not to be confused with the separate assortment of Italian butter cookies and meringues), $7.99
Organic Italian olive oil and vinegar gift set, in shapely bottles in a wooden box, $12.99
Italian long-stemmed marinated artichokes, $5.99
Giant Greek Chalkidiki jarred olives (with pits), $2.99, and the same stuffed with blue cheese, $4.99
Jarred Tuscan antipasti mixture, didn't catch price
Also saw in cookies, Wintertide Tea Cookie Collection (gingerbread, "hot cocoa", Italian wedding), $6.99
They had the big box of crisp iced gingerbread men Ttrockwood mentioned, also packages of soft ladyfingers for you tiramisu and trifle-making needs.
Any reports on the rosemary and cheese biscuits?
Meh for the Turkey-less Breaded Stuffed Roast with Gravy, maybe a yay if you like rosemary, or perhaps a yay for the roast and a NAY! for the gravy. I have been trying to get one every holiday season for several years now, but they have either been out of stock or else my store didn't have them at all. Finally they had some on the shelf at the beginning of last week.
The roast itself is pretty good when baked in the oven as directed. The "turkey" has a good texture, a chewy breading, and a flavorful stuffing. There is not a lot of it. It is supposed to serve 6 but more reasonably 4 or even 3. If it were all "turkey" it would serve 4 easily, but it is half stuffing.
The gravy is the problem: it looks good but is watery and tastes only of rosemary, in a big way, much too much rosemary flavor. It makes everything it is served with taste like rosemary. Two packets of gravy are included, but one packet is enough for the roast plus plenty left over for potatoes. I will not use the gravy at all if I buy this again.
Price is $9.99 for 40 oz., not bad at all, especially compared to similar roasts at other stores.
I buy one every year between thanksgiving and xmas at some point, a big YAY- it freezes well too. TJs version is waaaay cheaper than other brands and at least as tasty but i agree that gravy is terrible! Last year i just tossed it out and made my own with some mushrooms but they really need to fix it. (and yes it makes for very good sandwiches with a bit of cranberry chutney and dijon:))
We got the refrigerated turkey gravy and it had the same issue...way too much of an herby taste...thyme and/or rosemary. NAY. Heinz turkey gravy in the jar was what we used on leftovers and it was way better.
Yay - Roasted Garlic and Onion Jam. Took a jar over to the family's for Thanksgiving and it was loved by all even the kids. Paired it with goat cheese which was nice.
Yay - The Italian Bigonda Cheese with Herbs. Just the right amount of herbs so it wasn't overpowering. Also a big hit with the family.
Sorry question about the bone broth--I opened it last Monday (not this Monday), it says use within 5 days, but I am very ill and would like to drink some. I dont have any other broth or soup.. do you think I can drink it or is the five day mark really REALLY imperative to follow?
Most stock says that, if it smells ok and has been refrigerated I drink it. Feel better soon!
Thank you, I ended up drinking it and feel even better. If anyone has some low calorie, gluten free soup recommendations at TJ's, let me know. I typically don't like to drink my calories but nothing (even egg whites) is appealing right now.
I don't know what you consider low calorie enough (though you might not worry too much while you're sick and only feel like having what you can sip), but the Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato is pretty tasty, definitely sippable, and on TJ's gluten free list. I think it's around 100 calories/cup.
I don't recall if TJs still sells miso paste but miso soup is my go to when i'm not well.
They also sell an instant miso that looks like it's gf, pick up a block of tofu and add in a bunch of cubes for a bland-ish source of protein. Stay away from the box of miso ginger broth! That stuff is super yucky.
Consider picking up some of the plain kefir, it's thin enough to sip and high in probiotics. I like it with either salt and pepper for savory or a little agave or honey
YAY for the Buttercream Truffles - Vanilla Cream on the inside, wrapped in milk chocolate, and dusted with cocoa on the outside. Pretty tasty.
HUGE YAY for the Raspberry Cranberry Spritzer...had this for my guests who did not want to partake in the wine. Tried it myself and loved it...not too sweet, paired nicely with the meal.
YAY-ish for the O'Tannenbaum Crispy Potato Snacks...nice crunch to them, and I enjoy them with a sprinkling of seasoned salt to give them flavor.
HUGE YAY +++ for the new Blackberry Spritzer - I like it even better than the Raspberry-Cranberry version. Not too sweet at all...just perfect! I, too, am going to pick up a few more bottles to save for the rest of the holidays!!
Thanks for the rec; I'll have to try
Oh good to know! I'm going to stop at TJ's on my way to work tomorrow to pick up a few more bottles of the raspberry-cranberry spritzer, which we loved. I'll have to try the blackberry version too and will definitely get more than one bottle of these this time.
As of Saturday my TJ's in Virginia no longer had the raspberry-cranberry spritzer. I was super disappointed.
Bought the stuffed mushrooms because, as I mentioned previously. I needed short cuts due to the hand incident. We ended up not making them Thanksgiving, but did today. A big nay for us. They released a lot of liquid, I think due to the spinach, so came out soggy and mushy - even with extending baking time. They were also pretty tasteless. We added parm and seasoning on top to try to make them enjoyable, but ended up throwing away most. I have a fabulous recipe for stuffed mushrooms (best I ever had), but was unable to do all the work (cutting and chopping, etc.) this week. I promised the family I would do them this coming weekend for football, if I am healed. Now need to get over the newly acquired scare factor of the big knife. ;-)
So, I am going to revise my previous rating...
Now, HUGE YAY for the O'Tannenbaum Crispy Potato Snacks!! NEEDS SEASONING (I chose seasoned salt sprinkled on top), but that is an easy fix. They are cute as a button, shaped like Christmas trees, with a great crunch! Insanely snack able, and a steal for $1.99/bag.
I went through an entire bag in one day. Going back for more.
So much new stuff...! Unfortunately they were out of stock of some of my basics i was counting on picking up so there may be some creative meals in my near future.
I have a weakness for olives as well as anything in brine, so next thing you know i bought both the huge jar of assorted olives as well as the antipasto- both are definitely "party sized".
I already opened the olives and a huge YAY, firm and plump stuffed with goodies.
YAY- this new blood orange persimmon juice was surprisingly good, not too sweet and some nice spices in there; a good value because i have juiced persimmons and they don't give off much.
I picked up but haven't yet tried the gingerbread cookie sticks, frozen root vegetable galette, and winter wassail (sold room temp by juices, i'll heat it up and spike it :))
Has anyone tried the Korean BBQ sauce? I was tempted but it lists spicy pepper as an ingredient and i'm a wimp ...is it really hot?
Also spotted mini pantetone, a frozen ice cream panteone thingy that looked rather fancy, a frozen cinnamon roll "wreath", and a gift pack of a "rainbow of honey" that was just $10
We like the Korean BBQ sauce a lot. Actually went and bought a few bottles after the first one and keep replenishing. Do not recall it being spicy, at all. If it had any heat, nothing I remember, and I would. It was more sweet, as we needed to mix it with a different brand that has a spicy variety in order to get a little heat. Try it, it would go with a lot of what you cook. I can imagine tofu would be a great first try.
I tried the antipasto - thought it was a definite MEH - no flavor to the olive oil or what was floating in it.
They were sampling the Korean BBQ sauce at my TJ's a couple weeks ago, and it was too sweet for me. But maybe it was because they were serving it with a sweeter meatball. My family loves Korean BBQ, and we usually buy the sauce from our Asian grocery stores. I think we usually get the CJ brand.
New on the shelves! I think it was around $18. Not sure if we want to pay that price or not.
I happened to be at a shopping center with a big TJ's this afternoon and foolishly thought I'd look for a few things. It was a zoo, and I'm unfamiliar with what's where there, so I'd have had to negotiate the whole store, never mind the check-stand lines, so I bailed. (Note to self: don't go to the El Cerrito TJ's on a weekend.)
Before I did, I walked by the new products shelf and saw a couple more new items:
Cookie mix in a jar, $4.99. For people who like a jumble of sweet stuff, it has cinnamon chips, "m&m's", graham cracker crumbs, and oats and coffee, in addition to flour and sugar.
Tasting of ten teas has glass vials of different flavored whole-leaf teas and a similarly shaped glass infuser, $12.99
Has anyone tried the tiramisu frozen torte? Not sure if it's new, but tempting. The chocolate chips remind me of cannoli.
Nay: chicken andouille sausage. Although we love spicy food, this was complete overkill. Way too hot to really enjoy even in a rice pilaf-type dish. It tastes like someone went crazy with the cayenne pepper.
Sadly, a NAY to the Salted Honey Toffee Milk Chocolate Covered Crackers. I love milk chocolate and do not find milk chocolate sweet, but I found these WAAAAY too sweet. Three was not enough salty balance to it...the Peppermint Pretzel Slims have a much better sweet/salty combo in flavor.
YAY for the Butter Cookie Wreaths...a standard good quality butter cookie.
I snagged four bottles of the Raspberry Cranberry Spritzers off the shelf. There were only a few more left, while there were a ton of the Blackberry Spritzers left. I like them both, with a slight preference for the Blackberry one.
YAY - 1. VINTJS Paso Robles Syrah 2013. This really opened up nicely the next day (stored corked in fridge). 2. Almond Butter Granola. Don't know if this is new. Not too sweet as granola can tend to be. Many large clumps. Crispy and crunchy. 3. Sea salt caramels - these are still good as ever, but I wish they would ditch the super large salt crystals. 4. Fruit Bars Ends and Pieces is baaack! Super yay!! Worth a ransom if you have young kids that plead for the individually wrapped ones at check out.
Forgot to add - YAY: Carrot Souffle. Very yummy! Not super sweet. This was part of the Thanksgiving sides refrigerated section. They sampled it at our local store. I had to look up recipes to add to our Thanksgiving line up. I am adding this to the old thread as I have no idea if this item is still available now that Thanksgiving is over.
YAY - Great Big Gouda - nice mild every day Gouda. I'm curious what cheese this actually is given the website says it's the most popular Gouda in the Netherlands. It's a great cheese to eat out of hand but also a great melty cheese.
YAY - Welsh butter - quite tasty. It's salted which adds to the flavor, wish I could taste it unsalted but loaded up to stock the freezer for the year for the times I use salted butter.
YAY/MEH - Chicago style caramel/cheddar popcorn - not new but in my haste I grabbed this instead of the Baconesque popcorn. I don't eat many sugary foods but around the holidays if Garrett's popcorn is around I will absolutely indulge. I figured I might like this as well and it was definitely worth the try but I probably won't buy it again. It was nice for some popcorn variety but too sweet for me, seemed to be mostly caramel pieces and the cheddar flavor wasn't particularly noticeable. I shared the bag with a friend and she loved it so if you're a sweets person you'll probably enjoy it more than I did.
Yay for both the Great Big Gouda Cheese and the 5 year old Black Diamond Canadian Cheddar. The price is good, too, at $5.99 and $9.99 a pound.
When the Welsh butter came in last year, that was exactly what I wrote here: I wish I could taste it unsalted. It disappeared in a flash last year, so I also stocked up this time. My freezer is now half full of all-butter puff pastry and Welsh butter. Too many butters, too little time.
I made an account just to answer your question. The TJ's gouda is Maaslander. I recognized it right away.
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