They have BUCATINI!
Cool, will keep an eye out for it. It seems the Bucatini Crisis of 2020 is, happily, just a memory.
Speaking of pasta, looks like nobody’s mentioned the cascatelli yet? We ordered this from Sfoglini back in 2020, when it was relatively new and there was a months-long backorder, and when we finally got some we loved it. So we’re excited to see it at TJ’s, and looking forward to trying it out.
The chocolate-covered raisins are good too (and almonds, dark, but different grouping). I have made myself “forget” about them intentionally. Along with the mints and caramels. Yep, lots better “forgotten” 
Repeat YEA for the crunchy fried jalapeños (in a tin like the seasonal French fried onions). I don’t know what they intended them for, but I just snack through the thing (with my mouth slightly aflame).
YAY and Yay (double yay) to the Meyer Lemon loaf cake mix.
Nice lemony flavor, and a moist cake even when using a loaf pan a bit bigger than suggested. The lemony glaze was not too sweet with an extra kick of lemon flavor (I also only poured about half the amount on the cake).
Yes, I like the raisins too! I open the container, take 3-5 out, and then quickly shut it. Then try to savor them.
we ordered the cascatelli as well, have been purchasing at tjs since it was introduced. The problem we’d been having was the the little attached piece fell off during cooking, an issue they described as solved in the podcast, but the last two batches have been better in that regard.
best,
An American designer pasta shape! Who knew!
I miss the dark chocolate covered blueberries. They were a YAY. I assume they’re discontinued and not coming back, but I don’t know that for sure.
Also, NAY to Trader Joe’s for discontinuing the Cubano Wrap. My husband loved those.
I got around that by ordering perciatelli. Also bucatini on steroids (well, shaped into a corkscrew): fusilli col boco.
Yay:
TJ’s used to have an Italian sausage ravioli that I loved. Disappeared, as did their shrimp toast.
They still (i think) stock shelf stable heavy cream. It’s in little blue boxes.
Angel food cake from the bakery. When you’re feeling calorically shamed.
The shelf-stable cream is available intermittently at our TJ’s (Masonic, San Francisco). We tried whipping it once without much luck, but it’s great to have on hand for lots of other applications.
It’s on some weird seasonal schedule — they have it right now
I’ve had mixed results (which I think are correlated with how old it is) but it’s cheap enough to keep on hand. Used it just this week for a dessert, and it was perfect, so YEA when it’s fresh.
YAY for the smoky & hot chili powder. I love the combo of smoked paprika paired with a kick.
I don’t think I have ever followed the directions on the Meyer Lemon Cake mix label. I always use melted virgin coconut oil as the fat, and add a generous half cup of sweetened shredded coconut to the batter. The glaze mix makes too much for a loaf but I use it all if baking the cake in a 9x9 pan, or as cupcakes.
It whips better if you get it really cold.
Cupcakes for that mix is brilliant! I’m not much a glaze person myself, but this glaze was actually ok, in moderation. I have to follow specific directions when I’m baking, as I’m a horrible baker.
That’s helpful, thanks!
Also if you stick the bowl and the whisk in the fridge / freezer for a while.
They have the campanelle from Sfoglini as well, and I recall there were reports of uneven cooking when they first introduced them, but they’re still in stock all this while later, so it must not be an issue anymore.
Glad you mentioned this because i got the flour tortillas for the first time recently and they went bad in just a couple of days. Even my homemade tortillas lasted longer than these without getting moldy! Good to know so I either freeze them immediately next time or… just skip them.
I think they’re really tasty, but I would not buy them without a plan to use them in the following 2-3 days. Or freeze them, as you say. This might sound odd, but we went through phase a bunch of years ago where weekend breakfasts, we would lightly toast the tortillas in butter, sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar, and either roll them up empty, or maybe with some chopped fruit inside. Very popular breakfast with my kids.
That sounds like a tasty snack, not an odd one. I’d eat it!
