Trader Joe's Products (2017–)

[blue_dolphin]

5 minutes ago, rotuts said:

i had that last year orso

 

I thought it looked familiar! 

[Maison Rustique]

Yes, I am a huge fan of the Fromage Pave, too! I bought some when I went recently. Might just need to have some for lunch today.

[rotuts]

I enjoyed scrolling through this list :

 

https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahloewentheil/trader-joes-holiday-products-items-2020

 

' next year , after a few Vacc's '

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

I enjoyed scrolling through this list :

 

https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahloewentheil/trader-joes-holiday-products-items-2020

 

' next year , after a few Vacc's '

 

Thanks.  I learned from that (and verified elsewhere) that the Italian Nocellara olives that TJ's been selling are the same olive variety sold as Castelvetranos

[rotuts]

i love threads like these ;

 

https://www.insider.com/trying-fan-favorite-trader-joes-food-review

 

 

[lemniscate]

25 minutes ago, rotuts said:

i love threads like these ;

 

https://www.insider.com/trying-fan-favorite-trader-joes-food-review

 

 

 

My consistent TJ's stalwarts are not on that list.  Green chile cheese frozen tamales, jarred salsa verde, 4% small curd cottage cheese, TJ rebranded Unibroue corked beers, Boatswain Dbl IPA 6 pack, TJ's Pound Plus chocolate bars.  These items haven't disappeared at TJ's for decades, which says something.

 

Edited January 15, 2021 by lemniscate
A (log)

[rotuts]

I agree.

 

these lists are never complete.

 

but they offer new ideas from time to time.

[rotuts]

another TJ's fan page

 

for fun:

 

https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahloewentheil/easy-trader-joes-three-ingredient-meals

[blue_dolphin]

I've been drinking this 2019 Ténèbres from TJ's for little while.  It's a French GSM but instead of being from the Rhône valley, this one is from farther south in the Languedoc.  Only $5.99.  Very drinkable and worth a try if you like Rhône varietals.  They had cases of it on an end cap for a while but it's now moved to a spot on the shelves with the other French reds.  

 

I should pick up a few more bottles. 

 

Something I will not be picking up again is the TJ's frozen pie crust.  I'd sworn these off before but in the interest of limiting shopping trips, I picked up a package of them the other day.

Still as broken as my previous experiences. 

I let this one thaw 24 hrs in the fridge and 1 hr at room temp.  Frozen pie crust is supposed to be a time saver, not a craft project!

Too bad as it's a tender, buttery crust with a reasonable list of ingredients.  I'll go back to the doughboy 🙃

 

 

[Maison Rustique]

I have sworn off their frozen pie crust, too. I bought it a second time because it had been so long since I bought it that I'd forgotten. I won't forget again. What a mess. I hope that wine is in our store here!

[Toliver]

"Everyone's Excited About This New Trader Joe's Snack on Shelves"

Quote

Trader Joe's Salted Peanut Butter Filled Pretzel Nuggets have already won the top spot in the awards for the beloved grocery chain's best snack  year-after-year, but now, the salted and salt-free nuggets have some competition thanks to a brand-new flavor that was just released: Almond Butter Filled Pretzel Nuggets!

The bolding of typeface is from the article. 

 

If anyone tries them, please report back.

[Kim Shook]

On 4/15/2021 at 11:41 AM, blue_dolphin said:

I've been drinking this 2019 Ténèbres from TJ's for little while.  It's a French GSM but instead of being from the Rhône valley, this one is from farther south in the Languedoc.  Only $5.99.  Very drinkable and worth a try if you like Rhône varietals.  They had cases of it on an end cap for a while but it's now moved to a spot on the shelves with the other French reds.  

 

I should pick up a few more bottles. 

 

Something I will not be picking up again is the TJ's frozen pie crust.  I'd sworn these off before but in the interest of limiting shopping trips, I picked up a package of them the other day.

Still as broken as my previous experiences. 

I let this one thaw 24 hrs in the fridge and 1 hr at room temp.  Frozen pie crust is supposed to be a time saver, not a craft project!

Too bad as it's a tender, buttery crust with a reasonable list of ingredients.  I'll go back to the doughboy 🙃

 

 

I had that exact same thing happen to me.  I've never had it happen with the refrigerated Pillsbury one, so I'm sticking with those or with frozen ones.  I just wish that they made the frozen ones the same size as a standard pie pan, so I could successfully pretend I'd made the crust.  🙃

 

Bought these for the first time this weekend:

They are delicious.  Dehydrated, but still soft and moist.  And a nice, citrus punch.

 

[Toliver]

1 hour ago, Kim Shook said:

They are delicious.  Dehydrated, but still soft and moist.  And a nice, citrus punch.

 

They're one of my favorite TJ's product. A lot of dried fruits are just too sweet for me but these have a little tartness to them. A nice contrast...

[blue_dolphin]

TJ's is offering one of my favorite cheeses, Mobay, in 7 oz wedges for $6.99. The name is a play on the French Morbier although this stuff has separate layers of semi-soft sheep and goat cheeses separated by a layer of ash while Morbier is generally from one type of milk, most often cow. 

The TJ's label doesn't name the maker.  I have only had the stuff made by Carr Valley Cheese in Wisconsin and they have a trademark on the name Mobay so I'd guess it's theirs unless they are leasing out the name to other makers. 

[dtremit]

Some TJ's products I've been impressed with recently:

 

• These Sprinkles Walk Into a Sandwich Cookie: pricey (about $0.50 each) but really hit the spot — very similar to some cookies my aunt used to make. I think they are on hiatus for a strawberry version for the summer, right now; we got some but haven't tried them yet.
• Hold the Cone mini ice cream cones: we tried the coffee version. The cone is actually crunchy like a real ice cream cone -- not chewy like the one on a Drumstick. I got a taste for that at convenience stores in Japan and this is the only thing that's ever come close here. Also, they're a lovely tiny bite for when you want something sweet but not much.
• Bomba Hot Pepper Sauce: a nice spicy calabrian chile in a jar that fits well in my fridge.
• Soy chorizo: this is a staple for us. Stays fresh for a long time, and we like the flavor profile; we don't get a ton of great mexican chorizo around here, so it's about the best option we have. It *really* needs more fat, though -- I add a lot of olive oil when I deploy it.

 

Misses:

• Fruity Chewy Candy: they look like Starburst but taste like disappointment.
• Tarte au Brie et Tomates: was hoping this would match its close sibling the Tarte D'Alsace (which is a perennial favorite) but the amount of liquid in the brie and tomatoes made it soggy.

[blue_dolphin]

From the LA Times:  Trader Joe wrote a memoir, and it’s just as much fun as you’d expect

 

About founder Joe Coulombe's posthumously published memoir, Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys (eG-friendly Amazon.com link).

 

Excerpt from the LAT article:

Quote

In the early 2000s, decades after he had sold it to the German family that also owns Aldi’s, Coulombe wrote a “how I did it” history of Trader Joe’s, a chronicle of the clever end-runs, deep research and influences that powered the now-national chain. The tone is conversational, one man’s view of the world through the wine, spirit and grocery business, filled with the type of puns, literary references and bold-faced pronouncements that mark the store’s signage and its legendary promotional leaflet, the Fearless Flyer.

According to Patty Civalleri, who shepherded the book to publication, Coulombe did not imagine the book would ever be published; he wrote it simply to ensure there would be a record. In 2007, he gave it to original Trader Joe’s employee and longtime friend Leroy Watson, with instructions to do whatever he wanted with it.

Watson knew the Trader Joe’s story almost as well as Coulombe, but he had no idea what to do with a book. Eleven years later, he approached Civalleri, a friend who has published several travel guides, and asked her advice. “I read the book and fell in love,” Civalleri says. “Joe’s voice was in every sentence.”

So at Watson’s behest, and with Coulombe’s blessing, she edited the manuscript “for grammar and flow,” added some images and pitched it to her agent.

Coulombe died in the pre-pandemic days of 2020, which makes the publication of “Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way & Still Beat the Big Guys” further proof of his energy and ingenuity: A year after his death, Coulombe is still telling us how it’s done.

 

Edited to add that the book comes out on June 22

Edited June 18, 2021 by blue_dolphin (log)

[heidih]

22 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

From the LA Times:  Trader Joe wrote a memoir, and it’s just as much fun as you’d expect

 

About founder Joe Coulombe's posthumously published memoir, Becoming Trader Joe: How I Did Business My Way and Still Beat the Big Guys (eG-friendly Amazon.com link).

 

Excerpt from the LAT article:

 

Edited to add that the book comes out on June 22

Thank! As someone who has been a fan from the early days in Pasadena to present day. Went to an interview once at HQ in Monrovia and I almost got teary eyed. Unique business model. I was unaware of the release.

[rotuts]

from time to time

 

on y Google nes feed

 

there are TJ's recommendations from various sources :

 

https://www.insider.com/best-and-worst-summer-items-at-trader-joes-reviewed-photos

 

I enjoynthese , as I see things I might have missed the store.

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

This TJ's Platinum Reserve 2018 Meritage Rutherford Napa Valley is excellent.  I bought a test bottle last week and it passed with flying colors so I went back and picked up more yesterday. 

It's $14.99 here in SoCal, as is the price for all the Platinum Reserve varieties.  With 4,200 cases produced, it probably won't be in stock long. 

[BeeZee]

Picked up a clamshell of organic black figs this morning, 8-10 figs, for once they were all ripe. $4.99. Bought some wine, as well, but that won’t be opened for a couple of days so I will have to circle back to report. A NZ sauvignon blanc and an Italian rose.

[cdh]

Discovered that TJ's dropped their Stoned Wheat Thins knock-offs sometime during the pandemic... Those were great, and I miss them... hope they come back.  I wonder if the problem was the closed US/Canadian border during the pandemic? 

[weinoo]

Never thought I'd go back, but been twice in the last week or two, since things have apparently gotten safer around here. Go early and practically no one in the store.

 

Couple of the produce items will definitely be replacing stuff ordered from Fresh Direct...at least it can be touched before buying it, and it's cheaper. I can count on their avocados, and some other things. For instance, I picked up both of these this week:

 

 

 

The shallots are imported from France, and not those gigantic ones, so much more user friendly in my opinion.  I think Melissa's has always been considered kind of a quality brand, and these potatoes are as nice as any I'll get without seeing/touching them first.

 

Of course, now that the farmer's market is in full swing, most produce shopping will be done there, but the climate has not changed enough for us to grow avos or oranges here...yet 😉 .

Edited June 27, 2021 by weinoo (log)

[heidih]

Yes Melissa's is trusted. Usually for their more exotic but they have good quality control in my experience. Plus you have the TJ return w/o question policy. I do find the non gigantor shallots iAsian markets, especially Vietnamese.

[lemniscate]

If you love and hate yourself all at the same time, the Carolina Gold Bbq potato chips will satisfy.  Mustardy, vinegary, a tiny bit spicy, crunchy, ridged chip.  Whole bag, gone..............

Edited July 31, 2021 by lemniscate (log)

[blue_dolphin]

My TJ's is currently offering these little St. Albans cheeses from Vermont Creamery for $3.99.  They are reportedly VT Creamery's take on St. Marcellin.  I'm always a sucker for anything that comes in a cute little crock.  

I put the crock into the oven while I was heating the take-and-bake baguette and it was delicious when warmed up like that. 

 

 

I'll also give a shout-out to the Giardino Pinot Grigio delle Venezie Vivace Rose.  It's a very easy-drinking, slightly fizzy rosé.  $3.99.  Too lazy to take a photo but you can see it here on the importer's IG.