Trader Joe's, 16 Area Locations

[bookluvingbabe]

No more chocolate-covered caramels with sea salt anywhere. Can't be ordered, so the item is sold out for the holidays already in this region.

No pecans in any TJ either.

Lots of boxes of the sea salt caramels at Bethesda today.

(Okay, 2 fewer than before.)

[Sundae in the Park]

Lots of boxes of the sea salt caramels at Bethesda today.

(Okay, 2 fewer than before.)

I trudged down through the snow to my store (Fairfax) to see if there were any caramels (the dark chocolate sea salt and the unenrobed fleur de sels in the round box) left. I didn't see any so I asked an associate. He laughed at me, saying that they had sold out of both products weeks ago. Why, TJ's why? Limited production runs are so not cool.

[sacrilicious]

Has anyone spotted vanilla beans in Trader Joe's recently? I have bought them at TJs before (convenient and the price was right), but the last couple of times in the Foggy Bottom and Bethesda stores I couldn't find any.

Rodman's was out, no time for mail order, and I want to make vanilla ice cream for dessert on Christmas.... I suppose Whole Foods might have them for $150 or something.

[Anna Blume]

I trudged down through the snow to my store (Fairfax) to see if there were any caramels (the dark chocolate sea salt and the unenrobed fleur de sels in the round box) left. I didn't see any so I asked an associate. He laughed at me, saying that they had sold out of both products weeks ago. Why, TJ's why? Limited production runs are so not cool.

1) Plain fleur de sel caramels? Cowgirl Creamery has the real thing in a glass jar: 3 for $1, so it may carry boxes, too.

For the chocolate-sea salt craving, something better if you'd care to bake: Dark Chocolate cupcakes w fleur de sel and butterscotch icing

[thistle]

I like so many things from TJ's, that I almost hate to post this-dug some stuff out of the pantry (during the great winter snowstorm pantry cleaning)-& had mixed reviews. I tried the TJ instant miso soup today & thought it was gross-have at least 2 other instant miso soups that are better. I also found some white chocolate chips & tried to make chocolate covered pretzels-my daughter will eat them, but my son says they smell like fish-they are a little funky, the nestle white chips are better, for me. Not that I would stop shopping at TJ's, I'll just pick other items....

[lperry]

Dark chocolate covered Powerberries. Yum. A little tart, a little sweet, a little bitter.

[lperry]

Another chocolate post: If you are missing the sea salt caramels from Christmas, buy a box of the dark chocolate caramels, cut them in half, then press the exposed caramel into a little pool of coarse salt that you have made on the cutting board. Grey salt from Normandy works well, but kosher will do in a salted caramel emergency. I'm not a fan of the ones they put out at Christmas, but these makeshift ones are dangerously good. I made Mr. lperry hide the box.

[Anna Blume]

Tarroco oranges from Italy are back!!!

Find them in clear plastic bags for $3 in the suburbs. Firm, if small, and delicious. So much better than the Moro blood oranges (CA), not only as a variety but they are in far better shape.

* * *

Prices on quite a few items are rising. I wonder if the war on WFM was a bit too much. (New, inexpensive ground and whole-bean coffees are pretty dreadful.)

[lperry]

If you haven't tried them, the big artichokes that TJ's is selling loose at the checkout (at least in Old Town) are fabulous. Great flavor.

[Mark Slater]

I can no longer remain silent. They look innocuous enough on the shelf, but, Trader Joe's Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cookie Bites have become my cookie of the year. Small, crispy, almost biscotti-like, mellow and addictive. You were warned.

[goodeats]

My taste buds claim that their chocolate chip cookies recipe has changed and are holding a protest. Does anyone else feel this way?

[Mark Slater]

Wild Japanese scallops - incredibly good. Thawed, lightly dredged in flour, egg-washed, bread-crumbed, they sauteed perfectly and were absolutely delicious.

[goldenticket]

Trader Joe's owner, Theo Albrecht, died over the weekend. He was #31 on Forbes 2010 list of richest people.

There's a link to an interesting article, embedded in the linked story, about secrecy surrounding sources of Trader Joe's products.

[zoramargolis]

Found large-sized, fresh artichokes with long stems for 99 cents each at Foggy Bottom TJ's this morning. Also NY State sour cherries for $4 a quart.

[Anna Blume]

Found large-sized, fresh artichokes with long stems for 99 cents each at Foggy Bottom TJ's this morning. Also NY State sour cherries for $4 a quart.

same cherries at giant this past week!

[astrid]

I love TJ's new tiramisu cake. It manages to moist and rich AND light as air.

[The Hersch]

Found large-sized, fresh artichokes with long stems for 99 cents each at Foggy Bottom TJ's this morning. Also NY State sour cherries for $4 a quart.

Gee, I'm glad you posted that. I little imagined I would have any more sour cherries this year, but having read your bulletin I stopped at the West End TJ's and picked up a quart. Some of the cherries are, well, past it, but at $4 that's okay. While I was at it, I bought one of their very nice dollar artichokes.

[zoramargolis]

Two new and interesting products found at Foggy Bottom TJ's yesterday:

Thomcord grapes, in the fresh produce section. A seedless concord, obviously crossed with Thompson seedless. Look and taste like concords. No seeds. Never seen these before, and they are GOOD.

Gorditas (frozen). Griddled double masa cake with vegetarian refried beans inside. Two separately wrapped packs of two in a box. They were sampling these yesterday, and I bought some after tasting. You could even serve these with vinegar-y cabbage slaw and call them pupusas. We had them for lunch with melted pepper jack on top and some homemade pico de gallo and guacamole. Very satisfying.

[zoramargolis]

this morning at TJ's Foggy Bottom store: Zico coconut water, on the new products shelves. $1.49 each.

[ktmoomau]

Arlnow.com reports here that Trader Joes may be coming to Clarendon. I personally would like that, and some dedicated garage space might be good considering how the Whole Foods parking lot gets, but I don't think the garage just needs to be for Clarendon Center.

[slarochelle]

TJ's frozen pie crust is back in the case, at least in the Silver Spring store. This is by far the best prepared pie crust I have ever used. I bought two boxes, only because I had other bulky items.

Picked up a couple frozen pie doughs at Rockville TJs. Easily better then any other frozen we've picked up at other major grocery chains (note, those crusts with lard were never sampled). The ingredient list is pretty close to how one would make it at home.....flour, butter, salt, water and TJs adds palm kernel oil I believe. You could see the quality in the baked crust.

[MsDiPesto]

I was glad to find the frozen puff pastry back at the Falls Church TJs, this happening about a month after I asked a clerk if they still had it to which he replied "Aw, we haven't had that in ages !"

[zoramargolis]

well, the sea salt chocolate-covered caramels are back, at the Foggy Bottom store, anyway. I haven't been at any other stores to look for them.

they seem to have gotten a new supplier for pie crusts

the damn things are folded again. the product was much improved for a while there, packed as flat circles, and they returned to the original design, which breaks at the folds, no matter how carefully you unfold them. the recipe is different , too. kind of crumbly. it was a perfectly good pie crust, almost as good as homemade, and they f....ed it up bigtime. <grrr>

[Anna Blume]

well, the sea salt chocolate-covered caramels are back, at the Foggy Bottom store, anyway. I haven't been at any other stores to look for them.

I logged in JUST to say, Zora, Heather, they're baaaack!

Heather, you like the peppermint-stick Joe-Joe's right?

Wish the first ingredient in plain fds caramels wasn't corn syrup--I would have gotten them if list was butter, sugar, salt, but there's always Cowgirl Creamery or my own kitchen if I had the energy.

Picked up a huge bar of Belgian chocolate and the Cranberry shortbreads--the former taxed, latter, not.

[PollyG]

Does anyone have experience with the TJ's pre-brined natural turkeys? I'm thinking of getting my brining the easy way this year, if my read of the ingredients list finds it free of junk. Otherwise, I'm going for a TJ's Empire turkey--the Koshering process is pretty much a brining anyway.

[Sundae in the Park]

I logged in JUST to say, Zora, Heather, they're baaaack!

Heather, you like the peppermint-stick Joe-Joe's right?

Wish the first ingredient in plain fds caramels wasn't corn syrup--I would have gotten them if list was butter, sugar, salt, but there's always Cowgirl Creamery or my own kitchen if I had the energy.

I'm getting a box of the sea salt dark chocolate caramels and a round of the plain fds caramels (yes corn syrup but they keep well and taste great for a packaged caramel) every week when I go into TJ's. This way, I'll still have a few of each around when they run out weeks before Xmas. That's the plan, anyway.

[bookluvingbabe]

I'm getting a box of the sea salt dark chocolate caramels and a round of the plain fds caramels (yes corn syrup but they keep well and taste great for a packaged caramel) every week when I go into TJ's. This way, I'll still have a few of each around when they run out weeks before Xmas. That's the plan, anyway.

Gaithersburg is already out. And I didn't buy a box.

Sometimes I'm an idiot.

[susanmab]

I think I cured myself of the candy cane Joe-Joes. It wasn't intentional, but I had them for dinner a few nights ago. I might not need them ever again.

I tried some of the sea salt caramels last year, I forget which variety - but they were the gooey kind. Are any of the current offerings a more solid chewy caramel does anyone know?

[lperry]

I'm going to confess that I don't understand the fuss over these. The last ones I tried had a hard, waxy shell that tasted like oil, although the caramel was OK. I think their regular dark chocolate caramels are better.

[sandynva]

Their frozen chocolate chip cookie dough is pretty good, way better than any others i've tried. the cookies are delicious--you can distinctly taste butter and brown sugar, and they're crisp at the edges and soft in the middle. and of course the dough straight from the box is delicious, i'd say we ate at least a third of it raw.

[Bob Loblaw]

well, the sea salt chocolate-covered caramels are back, at the Foggy Bottom store, anyway. I haven't been at any other stores to look for them.

They had a bunch over the weekend at the Rockville store.

I don't know if it's me or if the coconut oil they use is that strong. But I've been getting a hint of coconut when I've been trying these, which is fine by me. Just wondering if anyone noticed the same thing.

I missed out on them last year, so this is my first time trying them. I'm also detecting a bit of a coconut in the caramel. I'm not a huge fan of coconut, but these are still delicious...

[wisehands]

Their frozen chocolate chip cookie dough is pretty good, way better than any others i've tried. the cookies are delicious--you can distinctly taste butter and brown sugar, and they're crisp at the edges and soft in the middle ...

Thumbs up on the choco chip cookie dough! The choco croissants are good too.

[goldenticket]

In searching for a discontinued TJ's product, I found this site,which offers a limited selection of (non-perishable) TJ's products for home delivery. Has anyone heard of it or used it?

I'm debating whether my desire for the product is great enough to pay shipping and take my chances with an unknown internet vendor.

[zoramargolis]

In searching for a discontinued TJ's product, I found this site,which offers a limited selection of (non-perishable) TJ's products for home delivery. Has anyone heard of it or used it?

I'm debating whether my desire for the product is great enough to pay shipping and take my chances with an unknown internet vendor.

It looks like Trader Joe's online. Great for people who don't live near a TJ's store. But what's the advantage when stores are nearby?

[Pat]

It looks like Trader Joe's online. Great for people who don't live near a TJ's store. But what's the advantage when stores are nearby?

It's not affiliated with Trader Joe's. http://tjsdeliveryservice.com/aboutus.aspx

The only reason I can see to use it if there are stores nearby is for the reason goldenticket is considering it: they list something in stock there that's been discontinued in the stores. Maybe it's still available from stores they have access to and just not around here.

[goldenticket]

Pat is right - I was hoping to score some Roasted Piquillo Peppers, which were discontinued a few months back. (Why does that always happen to my favorite products....)

I decided to inquire before sending off my credit card info. Based on the reply I received, it appears that the folks who run the site just purchase products at their local Trader Joe's and ship it. As Zora said, it is intended for those who don't have a Trader Joe's in their area. Unfortunately for me, they don't have an inventory of products on hand - oh well!

[zoramargolis]

I was hoping to score some Roasted Piquillo Peppers, which were discontinued a few months back. (Why does that always happen to my favorite products....)

It's a given if you come to love one of their products and rely on it, that for one reason or another, it will be discontinued. Recently--I've gotten hooked on the sunflower seed butter. Last time I was there, it was gone. Maybe it'll just be a supply chain problem and it'll be back. More often than not, though, the problem was that not enough other shoppers liked the product as much as I did and it didn't sell well. Like the fire-roasted tomatoes, that were as good as and so much cheaper than the brand sold at Whole Foods.

[monavano]

It's a given if you come to love one of their products and rely on it, that for one reason or another, it will be discontinued. Recently--I've gotten hooked on the sunflower seed butter. Last time I was there, it was gone. Maybe it'll just be a supply chain problem and it'll be back. More often than not, though, the problem was that not enough other shoppers liked the product as much as I did and it didn't sell well. Like the fire-roasted tomatoes, that were as good as and so much cheaper than the brand sold at Whole Foods.

Have you tried Muir Glen? I order their diced fire roasted tomatoes from Amazon. I *think* the price is competitive in bulk.

[hungry prof]

It's a given if you come to love one of their products and rely on it, that for one reason or another, it will be discontinued. Recently--I've gotten hooked on the sunflower seed butter. Last time I was there, it was gone. Maybe it'll just be a supply chain problem and it'll be back.

I'll be stunned if they get rid of the sunflower seed butter. Best I can tell, it's become a staple in daycare centers everywhere that don't allow nuts (i.e., all of them these days).

[bookluvingbabe]

I'll be stunned if they get rid of the sunflower seed butter. Best I can tell, it's become a staple in daycare centers everywhere that don't allow nuts (i.e., all of them these days).

The sunflower seed butter is hit or miss for stocking. I can't always find it. I have come to prefer a brand I buy at My Organic Market that has a badger or some sort of critter on the cover.

(I make a sunflower seed butter and jam sandwich two to three days a week for lunch for the little guy...)

[zoramargolis]

Have you tried Muir Glen? I order their diced fire roasted tomatoes from Amazon. I *think* the price is competitive in bulk.

That's the brand I buy now, but TJ's was just as good and was much cheaper. I don't have enough pantry/storage space to buy in bulk.

[Anna Blume]

That's the brand I buy now, but TJ's was just as good and was much cheaper. I don't have enough pantry/storage space to buy in bulk.

Good news. I was at the TJ's in Silver Spring that's on the way out to White Oaks. Small store and while often out of things as a result, it had the fire-roasted tomatoes AND a few plastic jars of sunflower-seed butter!! Sorry, Jackie, none of your peppers and none of the frozen artichoke hearts I had hoped would be there.

[zoramargolis]

Good news. I was at the TJ's in Silver Spring that's on the way out to White Oaks. Small store and while often out of things as a result, it had the fire-roasted tomatoes AND a few plastic jars of sunflower-seed butter!! Sorry, Jackie, none of your peppers and none of the frozen artichoke hearts I had hoped would be there.

Gads! The fire-roasted tomatoes were discontinued years ago. I hope these are "new" products and haven't been languishing on a shelf somewhere. And here's hoping that they'll show up at the Bethesda or Foggy Bottom store. I'm not getting out to Silver Spring any time soon.

[Anna Blume]

Gads! The fire-roasted tomatoes were discontinued years ago. I hope these are "new" products and haven't been languishing on a shelf somewhere. And here's hoping that they'll show up at the Bethesda or Foggy Bottom store. I'm not getting out to Silver Spring any time soon.

It could be TJ found a new supplier. Didn't Lydia link a Wall Street Journal article fairly recently that offered as much news as a journalist possibly could get from the secretive company? Certain products are basically the same thing you'll find for a little more money under the producer's own brand, e.g. Stonyfield makes some of the TJ yogurt. Next time I make a trip out to the SS store, I'll check the label for full details and ask if other stores in the area carry the item. I assure you, Zora, shelves out here get emptied just as quickly as they do at your habitual destinations.

ETA: Presence of diced, fire-roasted tomatoes at TJ (Silver Spring) confirmed.

[goldenticket]

Looks like the Clarendon location is a go - building permits have been issued!

[PollyG]

TJ's is currently stocking toasted pine nuts from sources in Vietnam, Korea, and Russia that have inflicted a nasty case of Pine Nut Mouth syndrome upon me. I am not amused. I had to toss out a batch of pesto made from my own basil, and I'm now stuck with a nasty bitter/metallic taste in my mouth that may linger for weeks. So beware, it is not just pine nuts from China that are causing this problem.

[Sundae in the Park]

Gads! The fire-roasted tomatoes were discontinued years ago. I hope these are "new" products and haven't been languishing on a shelf somewhere. And here's hoping that they'll show up at the Bethesda or Foggy Bottom store. I'm not getting out to Silver Spring any time soon.

Are these the fire-roasted diced tomatoes in a can? They are available at the Fairfax TJ's with chiles, though not without.

[zoramargolis]

Are these the fire-roasted diced tomatoes in a can? They are available at the Fairfax TJ's with chiles, though not without.

The TJ version of Rotel, I guess. The ones I used to get were just tomatoes. I like to add my own chiles, thank you.

[Anna Blume]

The TJ version of Rotel, I guess. The ones I used to get were just tomatoes. I like to add my own chiles, thank you.

Zora, trust me as in what I report is the truth as opposed to what the wolf said to the little girl wearing a hood. Just tomatoes out here.

[goldenticket]

In searching for a discontinued TJ's product, I found this site,which offers a limited selection of (non-perishable) TJ's products for home delivery. Has anyone heard of it or used it?

I'm debating whether my desire for the product is great enough to pay shipping and take my chances with an unknown internet vendor.

I have to give a nod to the guys at "Traffic Jams Delivery Service" - the site I linked to above. I checked in with them about the vanished Piquillo Peppers. They checked their local store and came up with the same results - product discontinued. They did write to me and say they might have one jar floating around from product photography for the website that they would send to me if I wanted it. Of course I said yes, but then I didn't hear back from them.

That is, until this week, when they wrote to say they'd found the missing jar and had shipped it off to me. The package arrived last night and I have one precious jar of those peppers - all at no cost to me! So, while not a service that I will use, I commend them on their customer service and would suggest it for folks that don't have access to a Trader Joe's store!