Trader Joe's: The Good, The Bad, And The Dearly Departed
Nathan, Sonia, Russ, and Sandy, the team behind What's Good at Trader Joe's? have been reviewing and rating the store's best and worst products since August of 2010. Twice this year, they ranked some of the 130 products they reviewed in different categories from Top 5 Vegetarian to "Worst. Stuff. Ever."
The rankings set off alot of comments from fans and haters alike who weighed in with their own picks. Favorites include nut mixes, dips and chips, chocolate nut candies, soups, smoked fish, olives, precooked grains, and frozen food. Things that didn't fare so well? Asian food, cheese, and fish. They've all been noted below, as well as a list of products that readers with the store would bring back. For more reviews of Trader Joe's check out the following articles.
The Best and Worst Products at Trader Joe's
Readers' Favorite Trader Joe's Products
-Thai curries except yellow, red in particular
-chicken with wild rice
-Australian licorice
-frozen fruit
-Trader Joe's Organic Lowfat Yogurt Wildberry Probiotic Smoothie
-best broths
-frozen teriyaki chicken and asian vegetables
-olives, several ppl
-3 cheese pasta sauce
-marinara in a can
-wine selection
-bohemian ber
-spicey hummus
-Gorgonzola wheel with cranberries
-flowers and herbs
-euro breads (?)
-cooked beets
-prosciutto
-whole grain items
-frozen chocolate croissants
-lime and chile mixed nuts
-frozen Tom Yam soup
-Green shrimp curry
-Mochi coconut milk frozen desserts
-gluten-free cranberry maple granola with a bird on the label
-turkey bolognese sauce
-New Zealand rack of lamb
-curried chicken tenders
-pollo asada
-almonds flavored with hot pepper and lemon
-precooked wild rice, several ppl
-frozen french green beans
-flax seed chips
-Simpler Times beer in San Diego
-Habanero Lime tortillas
-milk chocolate-covered pretzels
-English toffee
-TJ coffee 100% Arabica
-organic tomato bisque soup
-red smoked salmon, several people, smoked fish products in general)
-cheese puffs
-several people miss chocolate covered frozen bananas
-dark chocolate pistachio toffee
-tomato and roasted red pepper soup
-gluten free brownie mix
-eggless salad
-egg white salad, several ppl
-veggie strip crisps
-red box Chinese noodles
-chocolate rainbow ice cream (another likes Double Rainbow ice cream)
-Mississippi Mud beer
-nacho cheese tortilla chips
-spicy mustard with ale spreadable cheese
-3 mango butter
-bacon-wrapped scallops
-panna cotta
-creme brulée
-marinated beef roast
-Peach salsa
-cranberry and white chocolate scones
-grain blends, couscous/quinoa
-soaps
-sweet potato fries
-dark chocolate almonds with sea salt
-dark chocolate almond bark
-red pepper dip
-olive tapenade
-white bean hummus
-snowman butter cookies
-garlic fries
-vegetable samosas
-carrot cake
-olive oil selection
-crunchy organic peanut butter
-blister peanuts
-slab apricots
-raisin medley
-English cheddar, Australian cheddar, goat cheese
-Niman bacon
-canned Yellowfin tuna
-Greek yogurt
-Kerrygold butter
-frozen mac and cheese
BAD
-yellow Thai curry
-shu mai is greasy
-Japanese food has too much rice vinegar
-dried pistachio pieces too hard (another likes shelled pistachios)
-all Trader Joe cheese molds after a week (other ppl like them, say they're cheap)
-produce tastes like science
-Hold the Cones, a mini ice cream cone
-seaweed snacks (some controversy, some liked)
-smoked pink boneless salmon
BRING BACK!
-creme fraiche raspberry ladyfinger frozen cake
-honey wine/mead
-chocolate covered frozen bananas, several ppl
-lemon pound cake
-Marsala sauce
-tri tip steak
-peach and blueberry panna cotta (on East coast)
-cocoa almonds
-honey mustard