Trying this for the first time, left me impressed. It is quite good. A very tasty English cheese. Here I find the addition of the onion/chives enhance the cheese, they don’t overpower it.
This is the kind of cheese you might find at an English pub. A semi soft cheese. Neither hard nor soft, its a bit softer than regular cheddar. Speaking of which this is fairly different than regular Cheddar cheese; as a “Gloucester cheese” is its own thing.
I first tasted it on its own, then on some plain crackers and found the flavor really lovely in both cases. Just very tasty. I think this would be great on a cheese plate or cheese board.
Equally nice is the way this cheese melted, which was very easily, as its not very hard to begin with. So this will be great to melt on things and cook with. I put it on a taco and it melted easily and was delicious especially when I let it get little brown. It would be great of course mixed into scrambled eggs. Would this make a great Welsh Rarebit? I think yes, so I intend to try that sometime.
This cheese is going for $10.99/lb, my hunk coming out to about $5. It is an Imported premium cheese, so that is not bad.
“A strong dark Belgian beer. Try to let it age upright. However if you can’t wait, this brew is still sure to please.”
I didn’t try the 2023 version but I’ve bought their Vintage Ale’s a number of times in the past and have enjoyed it. I just found I still have one from 2018 I kept to age as they suggest! Maybe will drink that one this New Years Eve!
(UPDATE: Reported to be Discontinued but they have a lot of similar items to check out)
“A FIERY snack that you may not be able to stop eating”
These snacks are Made in Japan, a place they are very serious about snacks.
Trader Joe’s CRISPY CRUNCHY SPICY RICE MOCHI snacks are (really) crunchy bite sized nuggets made from rice powder and coated with spices. A lot of spices! Now one never quite knows when Trader Joe’s calls something “spicy” exactly how spicy they mean. In this case I assure you TJ’s is Not Kidding with the spicy! These are SERIOUSLY spicy as in mouth on fire spicy (or “head on fire” spicy if you look at the the package) The cute pictures on the package are not by accident, they are warning that this Bag Contains Really Spicy Stuff! So yes while these – actually yummy – snacks are super hot, they are more than just “spicy”, they are really tasty (as long as you can handle heat). I actually liked these and I give them a thumbs up, if you like spicy stuff. They are super duper CRUNCHY bites liberally coated with spices including : Black pepper, white pepper, chipotle powder, habanero powder, red chili powder... If you read that list I’m sure you get the picture. Again these are not just fiery, they’re quite tasty with a bunch of other interesting flavors as well such as citrus peel, paprika, cumin, cardamon, ginger, cinnamon….. So we are talking fiery flavorful and yummy all at the same time. Even addictive as they say? I can eat one or two and then kind of take a break for moment before eating another one then drink something to cool down the tongue. You should have some drink near you eating these. They would probably be great with an ice cold beer. I liked them on their own. I also found I especially liked them and they were even better with a little something else to kind of balance and mellow out the heat a bit. They were good with some cheese and even with a little cream cheese and probably great with some kind of dip, especially yogurt based? Anyway, these are really something. If you like heat you will enjoy these, they are more than just hot, they’re super tasty. Oh and wash your fingers after you are done eating these, lest you accidentally touch your eyes or something.
Trader Joe’s sells this beer which they call “Simpler Times”. It may be one of the most inexpensive beers one can buy, anywhere. $10 bucks for a 12 pack…$5 for a six pack! It tastes like more. This beer is actually quite good.
This Lager choice is surprisingly decent, very easy to drink, crisp and well-balanced and it pairs well with food. Not over hopped. Its more than fine just drunk on its own. Also surprising is it’s ABV of 6.2% alcohol.
It’s brewed by a “family-owned craft beer brewing company in Wisconsin, which has been brewing beer for 150 years”. We found it quite refreshing chilled, tasty and a super bargain for under a buck each even with tax and deposit.
There is also another version of Simpler Times which is a Pilsner which is crisp and light, maybe a bit less flavorful than the Lager but still pretty good. That one may been MIA though.
If you are looking for a decent beer at real bargain, TJ’s SIMPLER TIMES beers are worth trying.
One reader said this: “A very pleasant and enjoyable beer! A welcome relief from most over-hopped American beers. If you like Belgian/Octoberfest malt forward brews, try this one.” Another said, “For the price and quality, this frosty beer can’t be beat!”
They sell a 12 pack for $9.99 (meaning $5 for a six pack) and the price has stayed there – Will tariffs affect this? (aluminum cans). Stay tuned!
UPDATE: AUG 2023 – FYI Some folks have reported that TJ’s might have stopped selling this however I did check recently and saw the Simpler Times Lager was still being carried at my local TJ’s (NYC UWS 72St); I only saw the Lager, didn’t see any of the Pilsner version. These were however placed all the way on the bottom shelf, where they were even a bit hard to see. Price still was $9.99. Less than a buck a beer.
The combination of TJ’s Uncured Bratwurst with their natural Sauerkraut is pretty much a no-brainer.
Maybe the only question is whether you warm up the sauerkraut with your bratwurst – or just serve it on the side, cool, so its crunchier. You can make an easy and terrific lunch or dinner if you team up these made for each other items with a few more TJ items…. put the Bratwurst on some bread (BRIOCHE?) or TJ’s Brioche Hot Dog Buns. The mustard of your choice (Dijon with mustard seeds or Spicy Brown?).
Here I went with sautéed potatoes cooked up with the Bratwurst and sauerkraut on the side. These all made for a super dinner combo.
RECIPE: Sauteed Pan fried Potatoes – Cut up a few Yukon Golds into cubes and par-boil them 5 minutes or so in salted water. Add the drained potatoes to a nonstick pan with oil and butter and toss in a sliced onion. Cook for 15-20 minutes on medium heat stirring occasionally until the potatoes are done and golden brown. Make room in the pan, and add your bratwurst around the 10 minute mark and cook on both sides until browned. You can put shallow slashes to score them before cooking which will open up as they cook. Garnish with chopped parsley or arugula for color. Serve with sauerkraut and mustard. Serving Options: beer and bread (brioche hot dog buns or chewy sourdough)
Trader Joe’s Pain De Campagne (French Country Bread) – Minimalist packaging huh? But trust me, if you see this bread, grab it. It’s delicious. In a bakery I’m thinking this would sell for about 6 or 7 bucks? Trader Joe’s had it for about $2.80 for just over a 1 lb. piece.
Ingredients include: Water, Unbleached Unbromated Wheat Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Rye Flour, Whole Wheat Flour, Dark Beer…. We are talking serious bread folks, good bakery bread. Naturally this will greatly benefit from being refreshed with a baking or toasting in the oven for 10 minutes to get it crusty again.
I do find it pretty funny they write on the package: “Contains Wheat. May Also Contain Gluten”.
The can says Wild Little Thing is a “slightly sour ale”. I think that is a brewing method more than a description of it’s taste. I didn’t find it terribly sour at all but perfectly balanced. I was a little surprised I liked it so much as I found it way better than the package design (& crazy font) lead me to believe. Tasting it, I thought this is really good, even delicious, a bit fruity, neither too bitter nor too sweet, but with a nice balanced taste. It has a lovely rosé color, with a small pale head and tiny bubbles. A highly refreshing and “easy drinking” ale. It was delicious with food, it went very well with our tacos that night.
“This slightly sour Wild Little Thing has just the right smack of tartness for serious refreshment, while guava, hibiscus and strawberry lend fruity-sweet depth and a bright pop of color.”
Trader Joe’s “British Mustard and Ale Cheddar”? Hmmm…Sounds a bit intriguing, no? Comes in a small package, only 5 ounces and kind of cheap, it was well under two bucks. Now I have to say I’m not usually one who is too into cheeses with added “flavors”. Still on rare occasion you do come across a quite decent cheese with something added to the cheese that works quite well. An example are some Dutch Gouda’s that have cumin or caraway seeds in them. I’ve tried some that are really delicious. I didn’t know what to expect from a Mustard and Ale Cheddar. I love mustard with cheese of course especially cheddar. So I got some of this mustard and ale cheese to taste, and frankly thought well it’s OK, its got a lot of whole mustard seeds in there which are a little strong, maybe over-shadowing the cheddar. I couldn’t put my finger on the “ale” part really. So I think, it’s OK but would I buy more, no, not really, I’d rather buy a jar of TJ’s excellent Whole Grain Dijon Mustard and some Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar or New Zealand Extra Sharp Cheddar and use some mustard as I see fit. But here’s the funny part. During this evaluation, I tasted a piece, then tasted another. Just one more bite…. ok one more… and soon I realized during this tasting I had eaten about half the package. It was hard for me to stop tasting this cheese! Maybe I liked it more than I though? So if the combination sounds appealing to you, you may want to give this a try and see what you think.
TIP While we are at it, if you want a great melted cheese sandwich, try spreading that TJ whole grain Dijon on some nice bread before you add your cheese. Grill it up with butter. When all the elements melt together its pretty great. So I figure this cheese might make a very good melted cheese sandwich too. If anyone tries that let us know if its any good like that. So its a bit odd, but this cheese may be worth trying. If you put it out on a cheese plate, folks might even ask where you got this stuff.
Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants) 
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