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The Best and Worst Products at Trader Joe's
Russ Shelly of the review site What's Good At Trader Joe's weighs in on 25 products
Wikimedia Commons/Francinegirvan
Keywords Trader Joe's, What's Good At Trader Joes, Nathan Rodgers, Russ Shelly
What's good at Trader Joe's? What's not? These are questions that fans and detractors of the store are very passionate about. Last August, Nathan Rodgers, his wife Sonia, and their friend Russ Shelly and his wife Sandy decided to systematically review every product to find out.
Click for The Best and Worst Products at Trader Joe's Slideshow.
The team reviewed 75 products on their site, What's Good at Trader Joe's?. They then rated them for The Daily Meal in five categories (drinks, desserts, sauces and soups, international entrées, and snacks), setting off a firestorm of comments from both "TJ's" fans and "Traitor Joe's" haters. "The frozen chocolate croissants from TJ's are amazing," noted one. "I hate TJ's produce," said another. "It tastes like science."
The last laugh is on haters. Several confused readers wrote requesting stores be built in Wilkes-Barre, Penn.; Memphis; Kansas City; Dallas-Fort Worth; and the Pacific Northwest. And some of these wishes may be fulfilled. According to Trader Joe's, stores are planned for Kansas City; Chicago (South Loop); Leawood, Kan. Louisville; Mt. Pleasant, S.C.; Pittsburgh; Spokane, Wash.; State College, Penn.; and Staten Island.
With 2011's midpoint nearing, it's time to check in again with the trio to get an update on the best and worst products. You have to wonder, given the time they've spent in the store and all the products they've considered, is there anything the What's Good at Trader Joe's folks are scared to try? "We don’t really have a top five list for what Nathan and I are scared to try, but I can tell you our top scary items," Russ confided.
"The Blueberry Vanilla Chèvre kinda scares me a little," Nathan admitted. "I'm down with goat cheese on salads and sandwiches, but I've never thought of it as a dessert food.”
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"We’ve had fans swear by it, though," said Russ. "For me, the thought of trying any Trader Joe-brand sushi is a kneeknocker. I’ve heard horror stories from sushi aficionados, and the one time I’ve had sushi in my life, at a pretty respectable restaurant, I wasn’t much of a fan. I can’t imagine the Trader Joe’s sushi being worthwhile or remotely enjoyable."
And with that, it's time for some best-ofs. Below are Russ Shelly's picks in five new categories with his brief reviews and ratings on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the best), including a category likely to stir things up: "Worst. Stuff. Ever."
Top 5 Vegetarian
1. Veggie Sausage Patties (9 points)
I’m a meatatarian by nature and nurture, and sausage is by far one of my favorites. These veggie patties come extremely close to matching the real thing. If meat grew on a tree this is how it would taste. (Photo courtesy convertedcarnivore.com)
2. Trader Jose’s Mildly Spiced Vegetable Burritos (8.5 points)
I was amazed at how good these were. I love meat, and I love spicy, but there’s something about these that make them surprisingly and undeniably good. The burritos definitely have more of a kick than expected, too.
3. Paneer Tikka Masala (8 points)
One of my wife’s favorites, and it’s up there for me too. The masala sauce is intoxicating, and it ties together a very good, somewhat off the beaten track microwave lunch.
4. Lentil Soup with Ancient Grains (8 points)
This stuff seems straight from another time from another part of the world. It’s thick and chunky and extremely filling. This ain’t no canned soup. We make a beeline for it when shopping.
5. Apocryphal Pita and Roasted Garlic Hummus (8 points)
Pitas and hummus make a classic vegetarian pairing, and this combo should not be missed.
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by HealthyFood, May 10, 2012 @ 4:06 PM
Each product should have a printed nutrition guide beside it. If any food item has excessive salt, fat, or/and sugar, that would be a "deal killer" as far as my wanting to add it to my grocery cart! So many supposedly good/healthy foods show small portions, but when the math is done salt, fat, and sugar are too much for one meal. Over time, customers will be too ill to shop anywhere!
by HealthyFood, May 10, 2012 @ 4:13 PM
Each product should have a printed nutrition guide beside it. If any food item has excessive salt, fat, or/and sugar, that would be a "deal killer" as far as my wanting to add it to my grocery cart! So many supposedly good/healthy foods show small portions, listed on "nutrition facts" but when the math is done salt, fat, and sugar are too much for one meal when combined with total daily intake. So many people must be careful of sodium, fat, and glucose intake, no matter how delicious the food claims to be.
by Jeanine911, May 01, 2012 @ 11:51 AM
Wow...Zero, really? I love the turkey meatloaf muffins. I really do. And the new goat cheese with kalamata olives is delish!
by SugarSmak, Apr 02, 2012 @ 4:39 PM
I'm commenting just to create my account. A Trader Joe's recently opened in Naples, Florida where my folks live. I live a few hours away and stocked up on some condiments and such when I was there (as well as some Two Buck Chuck). It was delish! Some friends and I are planning a day trip over there with cars full of coolers to stock up on more!
by MarlaM, Mar 27, 2012 @ 4:15 PM
My family loves the Chili Spiced Mangos! My daughter would definitely argue with you on that one!
by Tanglewoodtr, Mar 20, 2012 @ 7:16 PM
I LOVE Trader Joe's vanilla blueberry goat cheese on salads. My favorite combo is spinach and arugula with toasted walnuts or almonds, fresh strawberries or raspberries and a simple champagne vinaigrette. Yum! It is a terrific lunch salad.
by rossarcher, Mar 13, 2012 @ 11:33 PM
On the much-despised Turkey "Meatloaf Muffins": Could the awful results be due to operator error?
A close viewing of the top front of the package reveals it is labelled "Keep Frozen". That was good advice you guys should have followed. Instead of keeping it frozen as instructed, you made the monumental mistake of taking it out of the freezer, heating and trying to eat it.
Although undoubtedly your freezer is relieved it's gone. :)
by Gargantua1, Feb 20, 2012 @ 1:39 PM
Could never respect the opinion of a food critic who has tried sushi only once. And the paneer sucks. Who is this bozo - Mr. Bland from FlyOver Land?
by thequeenbee, Feb 07, 2012 @ 10:11 AM
I shop at Whole Foods and some local organic markets as well as Trader Joes. Most are stellar but I have to say I have never found so many people so helpful and friendly as I have at my nearest Trader Joes--when I want an uplift as well as great ingredients--that is a wonderful place to go.
But...never buy the fresh peaches out of season--the ones I bought were pretty tasteless. (but that pretty much goes for anywhere)
by thequeenbee, Feb 07, 2012 @ 10:13 AM
I don't know...there is something suspect about a supposed "meatataurus" who seems to be reviewing primarily vegan items or items for vegans. I feel like the items are actually being reviewed by an undercover vegan who is trying the latest tactic to move the rest of us to the dark side. How about a review of more meat? Hmmm?
by lleighn, Jan 27, 2012 @ 8:29 PM
One of the experts panelists, Russ, has only had sushi ONCE in his life and "wasn't much of a fan." Seriously? This guy is not exactly a foodie and kind of loses credibility right there.
by thequeenbee, Feb 07, 2012 @ 9:55 AM
I did not see a person had to love raw fish or meat to be a foodie in the foodie bylaws.
by tunot, Jan 26, 2012 @ 11:21 PM
There's a new disgusting in town, and it's name is the Trader Joe's Tuna Wrap. A slimy whole wheat wrap, abundant dark green lettuce, and the creme de la crap, the tuna fish. How hard is it to make tuna fish salad? You'll wish you made your own after you eat some of this. It tastes very bad, not spoiled bad, but just like the worst tuna you ever ate. There is no mayonnaise. But what really killed it for me was the hard boiled eggs. WTF? Who puts hard boiled eggs in tuna? I had to check the ingredients to make sure it wasn't some kind of sick joke. Sure enough it was listed as an ingrediient. But why? Nothing in my experience would lead me to suspect hard boiled eggs in tuna. Why not chopped bits of salami. After finding rubbery white egg in my sandwich, all done with the worst tuna wrap ever. not cheap at 3.99. Yuck.
by thequeenbee, Feb 07, 2012 @ 9:58 AM
Tuna salad, chicken salad, ham salad--the "salad part" usually contains hard boiled eggs. Only the school cafeteria, institutional cafeterias and some hard up moms do not put hard boiled eggs in the tuna salad. Sorry, my friend but all your life--YOU have been deprived ;)
by New2NY, Jan 27, 2012 @ 12:14 AM
The tuna wrap doesn't sound very good but I have to tell you (and I really can't believe you don't know this already), but chopped hard boiled eggs are a very, very common ingredient in tuna sald. That's not to say a lot of people don't include them, but certainly many do. And while less common, I've also had tuna made with apples, as well as chopped celery. For the record I much prefer the salad with eggs than without. Agree with others who have commented on the Paneer Tikka Masala (one of my all time favorite dishes). Obviously this isn't nearly as good as you would find in India, or at a good restaurant, but for a microwave meal it is excellent. Fnally, TJ's had a wonderful Sticky Rice with Mango in their frozen dessert section, but it has apparently been discontinued. Nothing else in that department compares to this so I hope it returns at some point. I have no clue why it was discontined (info from clerk) because it sold out as soon as they put it on the shelf, at least in my local store.
by pag, Jan 24, 2012 @ 10:46 AM
I do not understand the appeal of TJs. Tried it twice and was not impressed. Frozen french raspberry tart was awful, and poorly packaged. Can't imagine buying sushi from such a place. Produce looked old. Didn't see any evidence of customer service. Will try one more time and purchase some of the listed "best" products. Wegmans & Whole Foods for me.
