Rant

Trader Joe’s VEGETABLE MASALA BURGERS

25 Jul 2022 7 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, Asian, General, Indian, Meh, Products, Rant, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian Tags: Indian, Meh, no preservatives, product, Products, review, Trader Joes, vegetarian

Ingredients include: potatoes, canola oil, carrots, green beans, bread crumbs, peppers, corn…..

I’m not vegetarian but I like to try out vegetarian foods occasionally and see if they are any good. I would say Indian cuisine may have the greatest, most flavorful vegetarian food. Its one of the great world cuisines.

Trader Joe’ sells a number of very tasty Indian foods. Some are quite good, so I’ve given a number of them raves, like the CHANNA MASALA and PALAK PANEER, both good finds you can get at TJ’s. Which bring me to: Trader Joe’s VEGETABLE MASALA BURGERS.

The picture on the package looks enticing. Plus they are are called “Masala Burgers with Authentic Indian Spices“.” (“Masala” refers to mixed spices). To be honest when I tasted this, all I could think of was where are these “Authentic Indian Spices”? Personally I find this quite plain tasting, and for my tastes, lacking in tasty spices. Sure, I agree Indian food is not always highly spiced, but generally, it is very flavorful. Especially potato dishes. Thinking of for example a potato masala dosa. So my short review. Just OK. Pretty Meh. That’s just my opinion as I gather from quite a bit of Feedback here that these Masala Burgers are actually quite popular.

Vegetarians especially seem to appreciate these vegetarian / vegetable burgers. I just find them a bit too bland.

Comparing these for example to a dish like a potato Masala Dosa, in that dish the the potato filling will have a ton of flavor plus quite a bit of all kinds of “masala spices”. So I just wish these tasted a bit more like a potato filling you would find inside a potato masala dosa. Trader Joe’s Vegetable Masala Burgers are made primarily with potatoes. I think of this basically as a mashed potato burger with a few veggies.

The concept is not bad, I just find the execution not as good as some of TJ’s other Indian foods. Again, many which are excellent. When I see Indian people buying things at Trader Joe’s I figure that a sign of being tasty.

So this is one of those items which you will just have to try and decide for yourself. At least be sure to pair these with the great MANGO CHUTNEY and some good sauce(s) you like.

One burger has 140 calories.

Trader Joe’s does sell quite a few tasty Indian foods which I find quite good in the frozen section. For example, the super tasty CHANNA MASALA (chickpea curry) which I love as well as the BHAINGAN BHARTA (eggplant) and superb PALAK PANEER (spinach) entrees. All three of these I find excellent. Some people really like the Samosas too. Perhaps you could pair these Masala Vegetable Burgers with the Palak Paneer spinach dish, or Channa Masala for a good combo?

HOW TO COOK : These are already fully cooked however you still need to brown them up before eating them. Cook them in a skillet for 3-4 minutes per side in a little butter and oil until they look golden brown and delicious. They should get nice and crispy looking on the outside. The crispy texture makes these.

TIP: Do not microwave these as they will not get crispy!

If you have curry powder I would suggest a sprinkle. At the very least I would add a little crushed garlic or even garlic powder if you make them.

Be sure to enjoy them with something full of flavor like the excellent MANGO CHUTNEY

I think they needed a little something to them to jazz them up. Maybe Sriracha or Peri-peri sauce. Zhough. Bomba. Magnifisauce. The thing that perked this up a little bit for me was putting on a little TJ’s TAMARIND SAUCE, basically a tamarind chutney sauce. Perhaps some CHILE CRISP would be good for these?

I think these may really benefit matching with either Trader Joe’s GARLIC ACHAAR or Mango Chutney

My wife told me “just one is enough” for her – that is not a good review from her, as she likes most anything I make. So personally we didn’t find these as good as some other Trader Joe’s Indian frozen items. But again, these do seem popular and a few readers have written in that they really like these Masala Burgers, especially if they do something to it to jazz it up. I have two good friends who are vegetarian who told me she loves these TJ’s Vegetable Burgers and buys them all the time.

As they say, to each his own.These might be worth checking out to see what you think, especially if you need vegetarian options.

Vegetable Masala Burger $3.49 (4 burgers, 10 oz)

(NOTE: Contains Wheat, bread crumbs)

INGREDIENTS: POTATOES, CANOLA OIL, CARROTS, GREEN BEANS, BREAD CRUMBS (WHEAT FLOUR, SUGAR, YEAST, SALT), BELL PEPPERS, ONIONS, CORN, WATER, SALT, SUGAR, SPICES, GINGER, CELLULOSE GUM, GREEN PEPPER, CITRIC ACID, TURMERIC

Trader Joe’s PEANUT & CRISPY NOODLE SALAD KIT

23 Jul 2022 2 Comments

by promacnyc in Asian, condiments, fresh, Products, Rant, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, vegetarian Tags: dinner, Fail, lunch, rant, review, salads, Trader Joes, vegan, vegetarian

“CRISPY NOODLE SALAD KIT: The crispy part of the kit includes a package of tiny fried rice “CRISPY NOODLES”. The problem? After you put on dressing? These become “Not Crispy” Noodle bits.

Pros: The Asian style Peanut Dressing they give you is tasty. It’s a bit similar to TJ’s Organic Sesame Dressing (so you could make something like this yourself using that dressing)

Cons: Cabbage as the first ingredient in the salad. I thought it was cut way too big so the salad is a bit tough and too chewy. The softer Romaine lettuce, not cabbage, should have been the first ingredient IMO, plus this cabbage should be sliced thinner. However the main problem with this whole idea for a “Crispy Noodle salad kit” is obvious. The moment you mix in those “crispy noodles” (which are tiny, see pic) with the dressing and mix it all in, the “crispy noodles” become not crispy, of course. Maybe if they used some larger kind of crispy noodles, maybe like the kind you get in a Chinese restaurant? For me, these little fried rice noodles are a Fail. We both though this salad just wasn’t good. I won’t buy it again. Its goes for $3.99. You want crispy? What might work is add some lightly crushed PLANTAIN CHIPS to this. Or croutons.

update: a fan of this reported in the Comments they’ve reduced the amount of noodles for one thing. Shrinkflation!

CedarLane “Authentic Mexican Style” PULLED PORK TAMALES

17 Jul 2022 3 Comments

by promacnyc in fresh, General, Mexican, News, Products, Rant, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update Tags: Products, Trader Joes

“Cedarlane Authentic Mexican Style Pulled Pork Tamales”

I was in the mood for tamales, and I saw these at Trader Joe’s (Refrigerated). These tamales are sold under their own brand (CedarLane) quoting what the package says: “Authentic, Mexican Style Pulled Pork Tamales.” Ha! Authentic? Mexican? This is absolutely neither of those. Labeling this Authentic Mexican is completely stretching truth in advertising. My bar for “authentic Mexican” is fairly high. In NYC we have a quite a large Mexican population, of course no where near as large as California but we NY’ers are lucky as we can get good Authentic Mexican food easily. have eaten homemade tamales made by women selling them on street corners out of a cooler. Most were all terrific. I’ve also gotten tamales from street trucks, ditto as well as Mexican restaurants here. Not to mention in Mexico itself. I know a good tamale when I see it and these Cedar Lane tamales are not good.

These are Blancos factory versions of tamales and get a “Meh”! Edible maybe but nothing to write about. I found them barely seasoned, though they list three kinds of chiles I couldn’t really taste them. These are dumbed down tamales. The filling inside here is a mush of meat and sauce, no chunks of pulled pork as I was expecting. The masa layer is a bit too thin for my tastes. Tamales are all about the corn and the Masa layer as much as the filling. Finally of course these CederLane tamales are made with canola oil – not lard which is “authentic”. OK I know the word lard doesn’t sound appetizing to you but lard is authentic Mexican and it makes for good masa. So while we didn’t hate these, and we ate them and kind of enjoyed them with adding some good salsa, we just didnt find them at all authentic Mexican. So I might not buy these again. I may search out other Trader Joe’s frozen tamales I’ve seen there and check if those are any better.

These are $6.99 (1.75 per tamale)

Send Trader Joe’s A Message: Discontinued Items – What can you do to TAKE ACTION?

13 Jul 2022 1 Comment

by promacnyc in Discontinued, Products, Rant, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update Tags: company, complaints, corporate, discontinued, petitions

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/contact-us/product-feedback

Upset about a discontinued product? Why don’t you let Trader Joe’s know how you feel? I found the area on the TRADER JOES website that seems to let one do that (see link) Give them your feedback and who knows? Just maybe if enough people complain about something. Would they reconsider about a discontinued item IF they see there is enough potential demand? Now of course I have no idea if these will have any affect. Maybe it’s a waste of time. Still I wonder if there’s some number which might get someone at Corporate’s attention….. If they see 25 message probably nothing, but if they saw hundreds and hundred of complaints I wonder ….?

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/contact-us/product-feedback

Trader Joe’s “SPICY JOLLOF SEASONED RICE MIX”

19 Jun 2022 2 Comments

by promacnyc in General, New, News, Pantry, pescatarian, Prices, Products, Rant, Rave, recipe, Recipes, spices, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: Africa, african, controversial, controversy, cuisine, diaspora, Food, Nigeria, party, product, Products, Rave, review, Rice, Senegal, Trader Joes, vegetarian

Trader Joe’s “SPICY JOLLOF SEASONED RICE MIX” with dried tomatoes, onion and garlic

There was actually a little controversy across the internet when this product first came out, as some viewed this as a bit of cultural appropriation on Trader Joe’s part. What is JOLLOF RICE ? It’s a very famous African dish eaten widely across parts of West Africa, especially Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and The Gambia. Even in Africa the dish has a little controversy. Whose version is the best? Is it Nigerian or Ghanaian – or Senegalese where it has a different name (Tchebu Jen) ? The dish is considered the national dish of Senegal where it’s Thieboudienne or Tchebu D’jen. (The word “Jollof” is an English variation of the word “Wolof” which means both a language and a people/tribe)

In my lifetime, I’ve eaten many many plates of authentic Senegalese Tchebu D’jen in many African restaurants back in the day when there were a dozen African restaurants on 116th Street in Harlem when the street used to be known as Petit Dakar . I love this dish and variations of it. Taste a real version of this dish if you ever have the chance. An authentic “JOLLOF RICE” (aka Party Rice, aka Tchebu Djen) from Nigeria, Ghana, or Senegal is an amazing dish. It’s complicated to make with a number of ingredients, another reason that Trader Joe’s coming out with this “instant” version caused a wee bit of controversy on the internet. The mix was developed by a Nigerian family here I believe.

Here’s my take. Out of the package, this is a far, far cry from an authentic African Joloff Rice. I fixed it up when I made it. It has some potential if you fix it up to make something better, not close to what your Nigerian granny would make but something semi-OK and better than just making this package as is.

Here’s my suggestions on how to fix this up: In a large pot, put a tablespoon olive oil and butter (you probably don’t have Palm Oil which is best) Stir in a huge tablespoon of tomato paste. Cook for 30 seconds and add a chopped up tomato, 1/2 a chopped onion, 4 cloves of garlic minced. Cook 2 minutes, then add your cooking liquid (water, but chicken or veggie broth would be better). 3 cups as the package says is a lot. I reduced to about 2 3/4 cups as the veggies have water. Add a few carrots and a 1/4 cabbage. Boil for 5 minutes. THEN add the package of this “JOLOFF RICE” mix. Add some Smoked Paprika and as much as you like of some spicy mix of PERI-PERI, BOMBA, or ZHOUG . Once it boils lower to a simmer and cook covered for 20 minutes. Turn off heat. Let it sit 5 minutes covered to absorb all liquids. When you are ready, serve rice with vegetables on the side/top, and serve some of those spicy sauces on the side for people to adjust to their tastes.

Tchebu Jen is made with smoky dried stockfish in the broth and served with fresh fish. I ate it with some fish on top (smoked sardines and salmon) Other ideas are serving this with grilled chicken or maybe grilled SHAWARMA chicken.

TJ’s SPICY JOLLOF SEASONED RICE mix is $2.69 for an 8 oz package.

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/spicy-jollof-seasoned-rice-mix-070883

“Originating in West Africa as far back as the 14th century, Jollof rice is more than just an esteemed and storied dish, it’s a cultural force of its own. It’s served as the inspiration for countless recipes across the African diaspora, including jambalaya and gumbo. It’s even sparked a friendly (if not, at times, heated) rivalry between a handful of nations regarding who makes the best version. If you’ve ever had the chance to try it, you know exactly why it’s remained such a vital part of African cuisine for over 700 years.”

NEWS!! PET OWNERS: Trader Joe’s is DISCONTINUING ALL CANNED CAT & DOG FOOD!

01 May 2022 4 Comments

by promacnyc in pet, pets, Rant Tags: Trader Joes

“Dear Customers: Due to sourcing issues, we are discontinuing all of our canned cat and dog food. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

april 2022

Argh$#^!!!!

Boy, this news really really sucks for all of us cat and dog owners who have been buying canned dog and cat food for years and years at Trader Joe’s. In a few weeks or whenever they run out of existing stock, TJ’s won’t have canned pet food! Therefore you might want to stock up asap while supplies last. I have bought a number of cans of cat food while they last.

The issue?! Trader Joe’s sourcing problem reflects the whole pet food industry now.

https://funkstownvet.com/blog/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-pet-food-shortage/

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/announcements?category=customer-updates&id=1165614645

So I get there’s a pet food sourcing problem now, but why doesn’t TJ’s not just give up on finding a another source? Anyone want to start a petition? – start a petition on change.org

“To Our Valued Customers:

We understand that maintaining a consistent food routine is of the utmost importance for our pets. Due to inconsistent availability and ongoing sourcing issues, we are in the process of discontinuing and selling through all remaining inventory of the following products:

Ocean Fish, Salmon & Rice Dinner Premium Cat Food
Turkey & Giblets Dinner Premium Cat Food
Grain Free Salmon Recipe Cat Food
Grain Free Turkey Recipe Cat Food
Grain Free Beef Recipe Dog Food
Grain Free Chicken Recipe Dog Food

Given the time and care involved in introducing our furry, four-legged friends to new foods, we hope this notice enables you to prepare for the transition accordingly. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.”

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN/ DIY PET FOOD. You can make your own pet food; I make my own wet cat food and have done this for years. It can be as simple as tossing 3-4 chicken legs in a pot with a carrot, a potato and a some whole grains (brown rice). Add enough water so an inch or two covers everything. Simmer covered on low heat for 2-3 hours until the meat falls off the bones. Add an egg or two and stir. Let cool a bit. Remove bones. Remove meat and chop up (including fat and cartilege), or use a potato masher. Get it to consistency of what pet food looks like. I let it cool then put in saved used TJ yogurt containers. Freeze and take out as needed. Pets should eat some commercial food too which has some needed nutrients (like taurine). I mix my wet food with some dry cat food too which it seems that Trader Joe’s will still (hopefully) continue to carry. They only mentioned dropping canned food. I still see Bench and Field Cat Food (and Dog Food) on the shelves and they are just a reseller of this product so hopefully it will remain stocked.

UPDATE June 2022 : 2 months later, I still see small pricier cans of the $1.19 cat food left in stock.

Trader Joe’s BUTTERMILK BRINED HALF CHICKEN

19 Apr 2022 1 Comment

by promacnyc in All Natural, New, News, Products, Rant, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update Tags: chicken, dinner, Products, review, Trader Joes

Trader Joe’s BUTTERMILK BRINED HALF CHICKEN

Gave this new product addition a try as it sounded a bit interesting. I grilled the chicken in a cast iron pan. Was it really “exceptionally moist and juicy” as advertised? Frankly it was OK however I found the taste and texture really nothing special. My main question was given the premium price ($5/lb) is it worth it – Versus – my just buying bone in chicken at Trader Joe’s (which is around 1/2 the price) then fixing that up myself. Marinating it in buttermilk or yogurt takes minutes to make, though it does need time to marinate). Now TJ’s sells a whole chicken for $1.99 a lb. or about $10-11 for a 5 lb bird which will feed 4 (or you can buy parts for $2-4/lb.)

The 1/2 chicken I got was 1.5 lbs. Clearly from a very small chicken (around 3 lbs) The leg here only had about 3 bites worth of meat on it, though the breast was fairly meaty. It came with the neck too, something that most people might just throw away (me, I gave it to the cats!) So cooked, there was not a ton of meat on this 1/2 chicken. I doubt this 1/2 chicken will “serve two people?” as they suggest. In sum, I didn’t find this a very good value. It would be cost way less to just buy chicken and just marinate it myself. Personally I would more likely marinate it in Greek YOGURT (yogurt makes for very tender chicken). For a better flavor than this bland marinade I would use a lot of spices, for an Indian or Middle Eastern flavor. Tumeric, Cumin, Garlic, Ajika. Now that would be make a way more interesting grilled chicken dish than how this pretty meh chicken turned out. Also, it may not be a fair comparison yet still I could not help thinking for I paid for this 1/2 chicken ($7.50) I could have picked up a whole rotisserie chicken for less (BJs or Costco) and they are very tasty. So personally I probably will not buy this buttermilk brined chicken again. If I wanted “easy and ready to cook” I would rather pick up something right next to this that I know is actually worth it : TJ’s SHAWARMA CHICKEN which sells for a dollar more a pound than this, and as its boneless, has zero waste so more bang for the buck.

Now since writing this review, I have learned a TikTok video recipe about this Trader Joe’s brined half chicken went viral and sparked a lot of interest in this chicken. I watched the video. The cooking techniques she does look sound to me (salting to bring moisture to the surface, wiping off moisture, grilling the skin, and then roasting) however this should produce as good results with any marinated or brined chicken.

TJ says: https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/buttermilk-brined-half-chicken-073854

“Are you a seeking the secret to sensationally moist and juicy Chicken? Search no further, your quest is complete—it’s Buttermilk! This cultured dairy product makes a magnificent marinade, as the acidity in the Buttermilk will tenderize the chicken, allowing it to retain more of its juices when cooking…”

Great copy-writing however the product didn’t live up to this description in my opinion. Of course try it for yourself if you are interested. However I would suggest if you do, season it up quite a bit. It’s pretty bland as-is.

Yogurt Marinated Chicken

Trader Joe’s caught red-handed SHRINKING SOME ITEMS ! (Shrinkflation / Inflation)

11 Apr 2022 3 Comments

by promacnyc in Rant, Trader Joes, update Tags: inflation, inflation update, item decrease size, Products, rant, shrinkflation, Trader Joes

I’ve been hearing a lot about how stores are shrinking items as opposed to an outright price increase to try to disguise price increases from us consumers. This is known as “ShrinkFlation”

Look carefully at the sign. The sign says the jar of this (very good!) marinara sauce contains “26 ounces”. They hadn’t gotten to fixing the sign yet because you may notice the label on the jar, says “24 oz“. Clearly this marinara use to contain 2 more oz. Trader Joe’s shrunk the amount instead of a price raise?

Shrinking packages and the amounts in them is one way vendors try to hide a price increase – by giving you less even thought they didn’t raise the price hoping you won’t notice. This is referred to as SHRINKFLATION. Someone clearly goofed up at my TJ’s and forgot to change the sign but no doubt they will soon lest you know what really happened to the missing 2 ounces of sauce!

Have your parents ever said, “I remember when you could make the kids three sandwiches from a can of tuna”? Its true. Cans of tuna are famous for shrinking and shrinking and shrinking over the years….

UPDATE: Another one – a reader reports TJ’s Orange Juice is now 52 oz, less than it used to have.

Trader Joe’s Peanut Butter Cocoa Marshmallows

11 Mar 2022 1 Comment

by promacnyc in General, New, News, Products, Rant, Trader Joes Tags: Terrifble

RANT

In the New Products section.

My neighbor bought these and when I was visiting her recently she invited me to try one. I asked her, are they good? Just try one, she said, see what you think. So I did and basically spit it out almost instantly. My neighbor said, “I love marshmallows, so I bought these thinking they could be good but I find them just horrible and wanted to see what you think.” I said I concurred with her that yes I also hated them, and found them way way too sweet and just a gross combination of flavors. Four of us tasted these and we all said the same thing, disgusting. So to me they’re a mistake Trader Joe’s, and I’m worried that you took some good product off the shelf to make room for this crap. I told my neighbor to bring ’em back and get yourself a refund, they were a waste of money. Fortunately Trader Joe’s will let you get a refund for anything you don’t like! How great is that?

Trader Joe’s HATCH VALLEY SALSA

18 Feb 2022 2 Comments

by promacnyc in jar, Mexican, New, News, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rant, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian Tags: Food, no preservatives, product, Products, review, Trader Joes, vegan gluten free, vegetarian

TJ’s HATCH GREEN AND RED CHILE FLAKES are terrific and apparently a hit and a popular Trader Joe’s item. When I saw this “Trader Jose’s Hatch Valley Salsa” with “fire roasted Hatch Chile peppers” I guess I was expecting it to have a special taste but in fact found it to be just OK, nothing special at all. Trader Joe’s has had a GREEN SALSA (Salsa Verde) for some time which is fine in this salsa verde style and but which is cheaper at $1.99. This one is $2.99, a premium price. Both have green chiles and tomatillos. On its own this Hatch Valley Salsa was again just OK when we ate it with TJ’s Corn Dipper chips, it didn’t bring a great deal of flavor plus as it is thin and not great for dipping (on the plus side of that, no thickener agents) I haven’t tried this and the regular Green Salsa together to compare them side by side but still, I probably won’t buy this again as I just don’t think the higher price is worth it against the Salsa Verde. It might however be good for cooking a dish like Green Chile Enchiladas. TJ’s has so many very good salsa’s and related products (like Cowboy Caviar which I love as well as the Chlpotle Black Bean Dip) So I am giving this HATCH SALSA a “Meh” as its $2.99. Medium spice heat level. Ingredients: Hatch Chile Pepper, Tomatillos, Lime Juice Concentrate, Garlic Salt.