I haven’t been in ages for an extremely silly reason*. Is there anything that’s a must-buy among the new seasonal items? Other than the frozen kouign amann that I hear are finally back.
(My favorite TJ’s items are the cacio e pepe puffs, the garlic dip or whatever their toum is called, and a few of the harder-to-find-elsewhere produce items like cleaned leeks, Thomcords, and baby corn. … and pretty much every gummy candy.)
*My mother, who is from New Haven for heaven’s sake and whose family is devoted to Frank Pepe’s, loves Blaze pizza, so for ages we’ve gone out to lunch at Blaze, and then I stop at Trader Joe’s which is a couple parking lots over, and get her some butternut squash soup and salsa while we’re out. But since moving into a retirement home where all her meals are provided, she’s reluctant to go out to lunch because it’s “a waste of money.” So we’ve only been once in the last six months. I work at home and I’m rarely in that part of town for any other reason, so.
Classic deceptive box photos. It’s like those fast food burgers with the meat consistently flowing out of the buns, when it’s usually just a sad looking patty. Good to know they taste decent though.
The last two trips this week in the Boston area TJ, I found the hot honey popcorn again! I wasn’t sure if they found leftover stock and was getting rid of it (it did have mid 2026 expiry dates) or if they are truly back in stores. No fancy signs, which made me suspicious. But keep an eye out, if you enjoyed these the last time.
Just got back, and I’m glad I went, because I totally forgot about the gingerbread sandwich cookies, one of my favorite TJ’s cookies/pastries/whatever, especially with coffee in the morning. (My wife makes fun of how predictably I say something sweet would be good with a cup of coffee, but you know what, it’s true. Ever had a Valomilk with a double espresso? I recommend it.)
Also got stuffing- and French-onion-flavored popcorn, which I’m curious about, and pretty much one of every gummy candy. The sour Scandinavian swimmers are the best—I really enjoy that “Swedish fish, but better” has become an easy to find product category—but I don’t know if I’ve ever been disappointed by a Trader Joe’s gummy candy. The closest would be those peas and carrots, which had a type of sourness I didn’t like, sort of like Warheads in character if not magnitude.
Oh and the Triple Ginger Brew! For some reason I thought it was a summer product, but maybe it’s just that we used to bring it up to the lake to make cocktails. Triple Ginger Brew plus Campari or cold brew concentrate is a good start to a cocktail when you’re up at the lake with a more limited than usual barrage of ingredients.
I’m protesting the Hot Honeyization of everything. There’s a new pizza joint by us that puts hot honey on nearly every pizza! And two others that seem to put it on every special.
More for us, more for us! @caractacus - I hear you though. I am anti-hot honey everything too. Reluctantly tried these and they are now my favorite snack ever from TJ.
Tried Trader Joe’s Caramel Flan product last week too. These had early positive reviews online, so this was a majpr disappointment to find it was a flabby, rubbery mess.
Checked the packaging multiple times to make sure I want missing a crucial step to make it smoother or creamier. Nope - just says to invert it onto a plate and enjoy. The burnt caramel taste wasn’t bad, but the texture was literally like jello. I picked up a piece at one point jiggling it between fingers. Was relieved it was only a pack of 2, so I didn’t have to eat more. NAY-est of NAYs!
