Favorites at Trader Joe's?

now that it’s cool enough in LA to regain the use of my oven I heated up a Tarte aux Champignons for dinner tonite. I’m a big fan of the Alsace (ham) version so I thought I would give this one a shot. Mushrooms are one of my favorite foods so I had high hopes. I liked it, but not as much as the “original” Alsace/ham one. Maybe I should have put some slices of procuitto on top of this to pump up the flavor a bit.

Yum!.. I’ll add it to my list to check out. I’ll prob add some toppings to it.

Another great thing about Trade Joes. I always get these humongous eggs with double yolks.

1 Like

Seasonal sides are back in the fridge case.

I picked up some frenched pork chops and was feeling too tired and lazy to make my own sides. So I grabbed a couple of the seasonal sides to go along: cauliflower gratin and apple sausage cornbread stuffing. I thought the cauliflower was pretty good although the veg could have had a bit more snap/chew (a little soft for me). The stuffing was a bit over salted and I got tired of the taste too quickly (and this is a person who LOVES stuffing). They also have scalloped potatoes and possibly mashed as well. It’s starting to feel like the holidays over there!

I love stuffing too… I tried their stuffing-flavored potato chips and ate about half a bag over the weekend (oops). The TJ’s cashier told me that they had just eaten their Thanksgiving dinner at the store – they apparently eat/try all their new/seasonal items – and he said that he dipped the stuffing-flavored chips in the mashed potatoes and gravy. lol

Also tried their Sweet, Hot, and Savory trail mix…honey roasted cocoa, chili peanuts, and almonds with roasted salted pecans. Pretty good.

I was eying those while I was there, but I still have some of the “simply the best” trail mix (cranberries, cherries, pineapple, cashews) left so need to finish those off first.

I don’t even know what to say about stuffing-flavored potato chips. did they taste good? like actual stuffing?

I liked em… the spice mix will remind you of stuffing.

Pub Cheese with jalapenos
Lemon Pappardelle
EVO
Organic Dog Chicken treats
Marguerite Pizza from Italy for $3.99
Veggie Spring Rolls
Pesto
Coconut Milk Light
Sesame Crackers
Ginger Chews
Butter Salted
Triple Cream Brie
Port Salut Cheese
Flowers
Tejava
Organic Cranberry Juice
Altoids, little box
Tamales Cheese and Chile
Meatballs
Non-Meat Meatballs…delicious

New to me, but probably, not exactly new—clam chowder in the refrig case. The flavor/consistancy was actually pretty good although a little heavy on the black pepper and the amount of clams was pretty skimpy. I would get this again, but add in a can of clams (juice drained). TJs used to have canned clams that were good—I haven’t bought them in a while, so I’m not sure if they still have them.

My favorites are the good cheese selection and their wide selection of wines.

I like the frozen section of Mexican food and pizza . I haven’t been there for around six months . I just don’t want to deal with the small parking lot , chatty baggers , and the long lines . Other than that I like the store .

Red Boat Fish Sauce – not sure how long they’ll carry it, but I only bought one bottle for now.

1 Like

Their parking spaces are the smallest ever. .and every TJ I’ve gone to has the same small parking dimension…
Whereas Costco has nice big ass parking spots!

1 Like

I’ve just gone through a couple of weeks involving a new Mac and software (replacing stuff that was at least nine years old!) along with putting out a big newsletter on deadline … so for our evening meals I’ve been hitting the frozen stuff pretty hard, and I have had only good results with TJ’s frozen pastas. The ricotta ravioli, linguini w/clam sauce, fettuccine w/mushrooms, and both gorgonzola and tomato-sauce gnocchi have all been quite satisfactory; last night I was going to be tight in the evening so I cooked the penne all’ arrabbiata late afternoon, put it into a gratin pan and covered it, then later spread on grated cheese and gave it ten minutes in the oven. That was good too.

My biggest faves among the frozen goods, though, are the best scallion pancakes I have ever tasted – fry one, put on hot plate, two eggs on top and it’s breakfast – and the mani-mahi burgers, which I love for lunch. Also sometimes when we do a burger night I’ll fry both Mrs. O’s Morningstar Farms Griller and a fish burger for me in the same pan.

One disappointment: the Hatch Green Chile Mac’n’Cheese is okay, but not as interesting as I expected. I like to add chopped poblanos to my homemade stuff, and was looking for that intensity of flavor. Still, it’s good enough to keep in the freezer for lunch.

The Pizza Margherita is pretty damn good and made in Italy…
I always gussy mine up with olives, garlic, jalapenos and extra mozza…

def. pretty good for frozen pizza. I usually put some of the TJ meatballs (sliced) and onions or mushrooms on mine. (actually one of my clients makes many of TJs pizzas. he has a pizza factory in Italy that does primarily private label pizzas. he also makes their yummy frozen mac n cheese, but @ his factory here in LA).

1 Like

Wow LAgirl…knowing someone who makes pizza in Italy…that is SO solid!!
Love all your post!!

1 Like

Anchovies . Agostino Recca brand . I do like those marg pizzas

1 Like

Kalamata olive oil
Ak-Mak
stoneground wheat crackers
organic crunchy Valencia peanut butter
Dijon mustard
Greek-style yogurt
Sauvignon Republic Sauvignon Blanc
nuts
Teva bone-in Angus ribeye steak
coffee filters
laundry detergent
lavender dish soap (can’t stand the orange version)

avoid:
tortilla chips

1 Like