I use those to make Italian subs. I get one of those ciabatta baguettes, and their “Spicy Italian charcuterie” or whatever it’s called (it’s three different Italian deli meats packaged together). Plus a slice of provolone, and a salad of shredded lettuce, red onion, sliced banana peppers, roasted red peppers, tossed with some garlic powder, basil, oregano, salt, red wine vinegar, and olive oil. Rivals any sub from a good sandwich shop.
Oh, Trader Joe’s olive oil is both high quality and cheap.
Trader Joe’s tangerine juice is the only bottled citrus juice I drink. Most bottled orange juices are too sweet for my taste, but their tangerine juice has a tartness that I like.
These are a seasonal item only available in December, but Candy Cane Joe-Joes are awesome. They’re like Oreo style cookies with bits of candy cane in them,.
Tomorrow? We don’ need no steenkin’ tomorrow! My earlier post is about an hour old as I type.
In that hour I’ve finished my early dinner out, hit TJs, gone home, cut open the bag (9 oz FTR), and have eaten about 25% of it. On an already full stomach. They are very hard to stop eating.
They are very crunchy and toothsome, a pleasant degree of mildly hot, and very addictive. I’m not a huge “lime on everything” fan, but the lime adds a pleasant extra dimension to the whole thing. If I was designing them for myself, I’d reduce the lime maybe 20% and crank the heat maybe 20%.
But for a mainstream audience I unreservedly give them two thumbs up. Can recommend!
Wow, I’m deeply repressed impressed! You are surely a guy who gits 'er done!
They ARE absolutely hard to stop eating. When they have a bag open in the store for sampling, I usually keep circling back to the spot over and over until I start getting side glances from the help. But if I buy a bag for myself I’m doomed!
I guess I better stop by TJ’s tomorrow…
What are you drinking as an accompaniment? (For my records.)
A unique indulgence: Belgian Almond Cookies. Small, thin crispy rectangles that I swear have a whole stick of butter in each one.
And… Cocoa Dusted Chocolate Truffles (dark, but melty… decadent).
They used to be a holiday treat, but I think they have them all year round now.
These are both mainstays at our poker games, along with dark chocolate coated almonds and the aforementioned Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels (and they now have an almond butter variety).
Those are okay but there are similar ones available in Indian grocery stores, if you have those near you. But some of the frozen Indian meals are better. For example, the Baingan Bharta (a dish of roasted eggplant) is quite good, as is the vegetarian biryani and a couple of others.
I’d had my fill of wine at dinner out just before, so just water with my tortilla chip / rolls. At home, other than coffee first thing in the morning, water is nearly all I drink. Plus the occasional can of grocery-store branded fizzy water like La Croix.
Also in the chip department, I like the Organic Elote Corn Dippers and the White Truffle Potato Chips.
I make my own baba ganoush using TJ’s Greek Chickpeas with Parsley & Cumin, Grecian Style Eggplant with Tomatoes & Onions and a little tahini. Pop in a blender and you have a pretty tasty dip.
The only Trader Joe’s we patronize - and thus it’s our favorite - is the one in the Rockridge district of Oakland. It’s the only union TJ’s anywhere close to us. Because of TJ’s hostility to their employees, we won’t shop at any other TJ’s location.
With any luck, your son is getting his PhD somewhere in the Bay Area so you can shop at a union TJ’s!
?? Every Trader Joe’s I’ve been to, the one main thing I’ve noticed is that the employees all seem happy to be there. They are way more pleasant to interact with than pretty much any other store. I always took that to mean TJs was a good place to work. How are they hostile to their workers?
