547 replies to this topic

[nolnacs]

I am deeply, terribly addicted to the Just Dried Mangos that Trader Joe's has - they have a shelf life of about 2-3 days in my kitchen.

All the other dried mangos that they have are too cloyingly sweet for my tastes, but the unsweetened ones hit the right balance of sweet and tart with a nice chewiness to boot.

[Pierogi]

Octaveman, could not agree more on the garlic naan. It's seriously fabulous.

And JAZ, I also totally agree about the "handmade" tortillas. I bought them because of that same article, and had the same reaction. I'll take a decent commercial brand any day over those. I'm not a huge fan of TJ's regular corn tortillas, either, for that matter.

A couple of new finds that I was very pleased with. TJ's house brand refrigerated whack-a-can crescent rolls. They had none of that "artifical" taste that all of the Pilsbury canned rolls have. TJ's also has biscuits and cinnamon rolls in the fridge case as well, but I haven't tried those. The crescents, however were excellent.

And their refrigerated pomegranite juice is about 1/2 the price of the same size of POM Wonderful, and just as good.

[Toliver]

I enjoy their Belgian Dark Chocolate pudding. It's not an actual Trader Joe's product but they carry it in their dairy section.
I made a "Death by Chocolate" trifle for a Superbowl party using the pudding and it was a huge success. People were fighting over the leftovers.

[DanM]

They are now carrying dairy free coconut milk ice cream mochi from Thailand. I tried one last night and it was pretty good. The mochi is not as soft and chewy as other brands though.

[6ppc]

The TJ's house brand diced salt free orhanic tomatoes are great.

Their organic italian pasta is also excellent.

[chappie]

Today while making a speed-dash through TJ's I noticed some new (at least to the one we go to) premade, heat-em-up cheese fondues. Has anyone tried these? Looked like they had quality ingredients (even kirsch in one of them) and could be fun.

I never pass a TJs without loading up on their uncured applewood smoked bacon. Just phenomenal.

[Katie Meadow]

On a peanut specific thread somewhere TJ's blister peanuts were recommended. I tried them and they are great. They were all out of salted, so I bought unsalted and added gray sea salt as desired. Excellent. Since I've cut back on salt I am guessing the salted blister peanuts may be saltier than I require, so this works perfectly; my husband and I can customize our own bowls. Really addictive peanuts.

I've also lately been buying the house brand vegetable root chips and like them far better than any of the Terra products. And somewhere upthread someone mentioned the Pomegranate juice. Not quite as good as Pom Wonderful I think, but a close second and definitely good value.

[DanM]

I found julienned sun-dried tomatoes at Trader Joes on the new product shelf. They are incredibly moist and tasty. I highly recommend them.

Dan

[Big Joe the Pro]

'Scuse me if it's been mentioned but I believe that I read in the 'New York Times' today that Trader Joe's is owned by the Aldi company. I don't know why I was surprised by that but I was. I always liked Aldi, not many around (or at least there didn't used to be) but a decent store. I've only been to Trader's a few times, it's not my kind of place but I respect them.

This is the Aldi article, I believe you can click thru for free?
http://www.nytimes.c...&sq=aldi&st=cse

Edited by Big Joe the Pro, 30 March 2011 - 06:11 AM.

[Special K]

Just read this morning that Trader Joe's (and Whole Foods) refuse to sell foods with artificial coloring: http://www.nytimes.c...licy/30fda.html (last paragraph).

[rickster]

'Scuse me if it's been mentioned but I believe that I read in the 'New York Times' today that Trader Joe's is owned by the Aldi company. I don't know why I was surprised by that but I was. I always liked Aldi, not many around (or at least there didn't used to be) but a decent store. I've only been to Trader's a few times, it's not my kind of place but I respect them.

This is the Aldi article, I believe you can click thru for free?
http://www.nytimes.c...&sq=aldi&st=cse

I think it's maybe a technicality, but they're not owned by Aldi company, they're seperately owned by the German family that owns Aldi. It's come up before, but as you said, Aldi until very recently didn't have much visibility in the US outside of a few markets like Chicago, so it didn't mean much to most people who shop TJs

[DanM]

I found an interesting new coffee at Trader Joes. It is a blend of Arabica, cocoa powder, and natural fudge flavors. The chocolate adds a nice richness to the coffee.

[heidih]

I picked up some roasted seaweed strips yesterday. The packet was 99 cents. I can get all sorts of similar products from local Asian markets, but this was a nice small size at a reasonable price. The flavoring was sesame oil.

[Big Mike]

I live for the frozen langostinos. Thawed and tossed into a seafood salad or risotto they are fantastic. Also love the big honkin bar of dark chocolate to cook with. Makes a great souffle.

[ScoopKW]

I live for the frozen langostinos. Thawed and tossed into a seafood salad or risotto they are fantastic. Also love the big honkin bar of dark chocolate to cook with. Makes a great souffle.

I haven't seen langostinos in ages. I have a dip recipe that is wonderful. I'm going there tomorrow.

[LizD518]

I just finished off a pack of their char siu bao for breakfast. They come frozen, four to a package. Heat up in about 5 minutes or so in a steamer basket. I've never had the real thing, but these were pretty tasty - filled with tablespoon or so of chopped bbq pork, and surrounded by a soft white bread bun that is a little sticky and chewy when it comes out of the steamer. I'm thinking they would be good it I let them come down closer to room temp before eating them, but I was hungry!

Has anyone had them? How do they compare to the "real" thing?

[jmolinari]

Has anyone had them? How do they compare to the "real" thing?

Not very well.....

[Katie Meadow]

My latest discovery: TJ's chocolate hazelnut biscotti. They are crumbly, not too sweet, addictive. They have completely replaced Famous chocolate wafer cookies in my arsenal. And they make a delicious crumb crust. I made a lemon cheesecake using about half and half graham crackers and these biscotti (I didn't have enough of either without combining them) and it was excellent.

[Kouign Aman]

TJ's low sodium soysauce is a good flavor for a good price, and saves a separate trip to the asian market, or paying 2x as much for the slightly better San-J tamari.

Pomegranate Kefir:

[heidih]

I live for the frozen langostinos. Thawed and tossed into a seafood salad or risotto they are fantastic.

Is this the product you are referring to? I picked some up today $10.99 for the 12 oz. bag.

[heidih]

Pain Pascal - Oraganic Demi Miche: I needed some bread to make croutons and this new product caught my eye. It made some lovely flavorful XL croutons, tossed with a bit of olive oil and seasoning and baked at 350. I made a big batch for a function and went back today to get another demi loaf to make more - great tossed into the seasonal tomato and other fresh salads. The ingredient list is organic whole wheat flour and sea salt. It is $2.99 for the half loaf - only way they sell it. The sign says you can bake it further to crisp it up. I must admit to being so enamored of using it for croutons that I have not explored it in other uses. Anyone else try this?

[Special K]

New (to me, anyway) product: smoked sea salt - a little goes a very long way! These are going to make great stocking-stuffers this year. Umm! And as I've mentioned before, the containers (grinders) are re-useable.

[DanM]

There is an awesome new product at Trader Joe's... at least the one in Orange, CT. They have mystery beer 6 packs in brown paper bags. They can be a single type or a mixed pack. If I wasn't a beer snob, I might give it a try.

[heidih]

I was pleased and surprised with the frozen Argentinian wild raw red shrimp - large size - that I picked up recently at $8.99/lb. They are deceptive because they are indeed red like a cooked shrimp, but are raw. They come peeled and de-veined with no tail shell left on.

[Shel_B]

Pain Pascal - Oraganic Demi Miche: I needed some bread to make croutons and this new product caught my eye. It made some lovely flavorful XL croutons, tossed with a bit of olive oil and seasoning and baked at 350. I made a big batch for a function and went back today to get another demi loaf to make more - great tossed into the seasonal tomato and other fresh salads. The ingredient list is organic whole wheat flour and sea salt. It is $2.99 for the half loaf - only way they sell it. The sign says you can bake it further to crisp it up. I must admit to being so enamored of using it for croutons that I have not explored it in other uses. Anyone else try this?

I just finished a half-loaf a few days ago. The bread is very flavorful and crisps up nicely. I'll get it again ....

[Hassouni]

There are certain things I only get at TJ's....

Chocolate - the house brand 85%, or the Valrhona 86% (the TJ's one is a lot cheaper though and roughly on par)

Cheese - I love their Stilton and Gruyère, and the Vintage English Cheddar or whatever it's called is by far the best I've had in the US, on par with all but the very best in England. The fresh mozzarella is the best I can find for the price.

Corn tortillas - WAY better than WF's (which are awful) and better than most of the mass-produced brands from Hispanic grocery stores.

Nuts, especially the roasted unsalted peanuts and almonds, and the walnut halves. The husk-less pumpkins seeds are good, but the whole ones don't have the required thick layer of salt that the ones from the Lebanese store have (addictive salt bombs that they are...)

Coconut water - the best price on the litre packages of Zico, about $2 cheaper than the Whole Foods across the street (Tysons Corner, VA). I also pick up various soda waters right next to it.

Additionally, the 40% reduced fat bacon is also really, really good, and mostly meat as opposed to fat. Still has a great taste though. The organic European-style yogurt is great, much like Yeo Valley and Rachel's Organic brands in the UK. Also get evaporated cane juice and turbinado sugar, organic milk, sardines, pre-cut haricots verts, numerous canned vegetable and bean products, chicken stock, coffee....I also like their pre-marinated Carne Asada and similar things. Their hard pretzels are also good, and I'll echo what everyone has said about the Savory Thins - AWESOME.

Also, their Ice Floes are really good in summer, and the Joseph's Brau beer (or whatever it's called) is great at $6 a 6-pack. I really like the dark hefeweizen, the Vienna lager, the Bohemian-style pilsner...

I rarely buy produce there, however, preferring Super H Mart in Fairfax for all that (and all my Asian purchases), though in summer they have local corn, tomatoes, and other things that are pretty good.

I will occasionally get meat at TJ's, but I tend to go Whole Foods or the organic butcher in my town for that.

[ScoopKW]

the Joseph's Brau beer (or whatever it's called) is great at $6 a 6-pack. I really like the dark hefeweizen, the Vienna lager, the Bohemian-style pilsner...

In general, I think TJ's best products are alcohol-related. Their TJ's Blanc d'Blancs sparkling wine is easily the best $4 bottle of wine anywhere. And their beer is just craft-brews made by the larger regionals, branded for TJ's.

We have so many good markets in Las Vegas, it doesn't make sense to buy most of their other products.

[Shel_B]

Pain Pascal - Oraganic Demi Miche: I needed some bread to make croutons and this new product caught my eye. It made some lovely flavorful XL croutons, tossed with a bit of olive oil and seasoning and baked at 350. I made a big batch for a function and went back today to get another demi loaf to make more - great tossed into the seasonal tomato and other fresh salads. The ingredient list is organic whole wheat flour and sea salt. It is $2.99 for the half loaf - only way they sell it. The sign says you can bake it further to crisp it up. I must admit to being so enamored of using it for croutons that I have not explored it in other uses. Anyone else try this?

Since I read this post several months ago, I've been geting the bread regularly. It's one of my favories. As it happens, one of the local senior centers that I fraequent has a del with several bread producers and sellers to get their day old and close to expiration bread, and it's passed along to us for free. So, since I almost always end up freezing bread as I cannot eat an entire loaf before it starts to go bad, this is a great deal.

I love toasting it in the oven.

Edited by Shel_B, 17 December 2011 - 06:08 PM.

[maggiethecat]

I bought a box of TJ's Cheese Sticks this week: crispy, flaky, cheesy. Recommended.

[heidih]

Chocolate covered potato chips - skip them (too much fake tasting barely chocolate stuff and just a bit of chip)

Winter blend coffee with ground cinnamon, cloves, red & green peppercorns - I like it