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Tag: Trader Joe’s (Page 2 of 6)

Trader Joe’s Taiwanese Green Onion Pancakes Review

September 20, 2024 / / 1 Comment

An unexpected treat

I have had green onion pancakes at Chinese restaurants over the years, and I have never been overly impressed. Still, when I saw these Taiwanese Green Onion Pancakes ($2.50) at Trader Joe’s I still had to get them – don’t ask me why.

My first impression was that they were just OK. They didn’t much in the way of flavor – they were slightly salty. I did like the chewy consistency, which reminded me of Thai roti. While they are quite oily, they still felt pretty dry and screamed for something to dip them into. I tried chimichurri – but it didn’t work very well. They were delicious with honey mustard dressing, of all things. I thought they would be even better with Thai yellow curry, and they might be. But I got some Trader Joe’s yellow curry to try them with, and the curry was horrible.

You heat up these pancakes on a pan, but it only takes a couple of minutes per side and it leaves you with a clean pan that you can reuse without having to wash. I already bought more.

Trader Joe’s Cacio e Pepe Gnocchi Review

August 29, 2024 / / 0 Comments

A solid – but not too solid – dish

I’m a fond of Trader Joe’s frozen gnocchi dishes and this Cacio e Pepe Gnocchi is no exception. The gnocchi were large, pillowy but with some weight in them – they really just that the perfect density. They come in a mild creamy cheesy sauce that is brightened by what you would swear is freshly ground pepper. If you like the flavor of black pepper, you’ll enjoy these.

The package should serve two if you add a salad. I cooked them according to instructions in the microwave, and that worked very well. It sells for $3.50

Trader Joe’s Mini Cheeseburgers Review

August 28, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Microwave burgers suck, these are no better.

I don’t know that I need to say anything more about these Mini Cheeseburgers than what I wrote on the title: they suck. They don’t suck any more or less than any other microwaved burgers out there. Microwave is just awful for burgers, it makes them taste boiled. These ones taste exactly like the White Castle frozen burger you can get at the supermarket. At $4.50 for 3 burgers, they’re actually more expensive than the White Castle ones. Needless to say, I wouldn’t get them again.

Trader Joe’s Bambino Pizza Formaggio

August 27, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Convenient but unremarkable

I found these Trader Giotto’s Bambino Pizza Formaggio – single-serve cheese pizzas – to be extremely generic as far as frozen pizzas go. They are fine, but there is nothing remarkable about it. My daughter liked them because she can easily cook them in the air fryer. And they’re the right size when you want a light meal. But otherwise, they’re unremarkable.

The package of four sells for $4.

Trader Joe’s Tortilla Española Review

August 27, 2024 / / 2 Comments

A complete failure

The first trip Mike and I took after we were married was to Spain, and decades later I still hold fond memories of those amazing tortillas. They were cheap, filling and so delicious. I was thus pretty excited when I found this Tortilla Española at Trader Joe’s – only to become immediately disappointed after trying it.

The tortilla was too eggy and too dry – despite the fact that it did feel oily. The onions, if they were there, managed to provide no flavor whatsoever. It was just a dense, unappealing, flavorless mess. It may very well be that this is not a dish that freezes well and that its appeal is on it being freshly cooked. In any case, this should be avoided at all costs.

I threw out most of it. TJ’s sells this for $5.50.

Trader Joe’s Organic Cheese & Tomato Pizza Review

August 27, 2024 / / 0 Comments

As generic as they come

Trader Joe’s Organic Cheese & Tomato Pizza is as generic a frozen pizza as you can imagine. It tastes just like every other frozen cheese pizza out there. The dough is on the thin side, so it was crispy even though I cooked it on a baking sheet. The sauce was inoffensive, the cheese a bit on the scant side. There was just nothing remarkable about it. My daughter liked it because she thought it tasted like cheeetos, but I definitely did not get that.

It’s made in Italy, which in this case is a minus – because if you’re going to ship something in an energy-guzzing frozen container all the way from Europe to California, it should be better than average. At $6, it was equivalent in price to supermarket pizzas when on sale.

In all, I wouldn’t get it again for myself, but my daughter might for herself.

Trader Joe’s Caesar Salad Review

August 23, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Better than Safeway’s

My daughter is a huge fan of Caesar salads, she’s gone through periods where that’s all she had for lunch. This was her first time trying Trader Giotto’s Caesar Salad with Caesar dressing and she became a fan.

The lettuce felt fresher and she thought the dressing was tastier. In addition, it had croutons, a big plus for her. At 8.5 oz, TJ’s salad is also considerably larger than the Caesar salad at Safeway, which is 6.25 oz and includes chicken, which my daughter doesn’t like. It’s also cheaper – $3.50 for this salad vs. $4.50’s for Safeway’s. On the other hand, the TJ salad had an expiration only three days after we bought it, which means we couldn’t stock up on them.

In all, I think we’ll pick up a couple every time we go to TJ’s

Trader Joe’s Roasted Garlic Hummus Review

August 22, 2024 / / 0 Comments

This hummus was very creamy. It had a mild roasted garlic flavor which wasn’t too overwhelming – always a danger with roasted garlic. It had the right amount of acidity. I’m not sure that I’d buy it over plain hummus, but it was pretty good.

The 8oz tub is $2.30, a great price vis a vis supermarket hummus.

Trader Joe’s Pancake Bread Review

August 22, 2024 / / 0 Comments

A somewhat strange coffee cake

My daughter picked this pancake bread at Trader Joe’s and I was intrigued enough to give it a try. It’s very much like a coffeecake, only neither the cake nor the topping are as sweet. It’s supposed to taste like buttermilk pancake with syrup, and I really don’t get that. It is pretty good, however, and if I wasn’t limiting carbs I’d buy it again. It costs $4.50 for the loaf.

Trader Joe’s Mandarin Orange Chicken Review

August 21, 2024 / / 1 Comment

My daughter is a huge fan of orange chicken with rice, and thus she had this frozen mandaron orange chicken when she saw it at Trader Joe’s. I’d gotten it in the past, though I tend to skew prepared food I can’t warm up in the microwave or the air fryer. You need to cook this in the oven or sautee it on the stovetop.

She wasn’t super fond of this, though I did overcook it. She thought it was fine, but not as good as what you can get in a restaurant. She wasn’t too sure she’d get it again.

The 22 oz package costs $5 and is enough for two meals. Rice is not included.

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