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Trader Joe's, 16 Area Locations


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I think you meant to say Muir Glen. Trader Joe's used to have their own house brand fire-roasted tomatoes, but stopped carrying it. Not enough people bought it. Mystifying, since the Muir Glen product is so popular, and the TJ's was every bit as good, and cheaper.
Yes, you're right. How's the TJ house-brand of other canned tomatoes? I don't recall if they carry Italian plum tomatoes...
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Gorgonzola Torta crowned with cranberries and roasted hazelnuts from Rising Sun Farms in Phoenix, Oregon.

Sala X (pronounced "eeks!") is all the way at the top, to your right.

At the entrance, you flash your little gray card and the woman behind the desk exchanges it for a key. The number on the bright metal disc is in the triple digits and you could swear she is peering at you over the top of her glasses as you head to the room across the hall to leave your bag in one of the last remaining lockers.

She buzzes you in through the tall glass doors.

You mount stairs of cold silvery stone, the same pietra serena Michelangelo stacked in rippled tiers that climb into the Medici library across town. Past the old wooden catalogues, heads bent in transcription, the idle, bored, but well-dressed. Spines of red, blue and green cloth rise to the ceiling and converge with the cream and chestnut leather bindings of texts desperately and venerably old. Ladders glide from row to row on high brass bars.

The vestibule leading to the upper floor is at the end. You're alone now.

You rifle through your notes, looking for the call number, then pull your strap back over your shoulder before taking the final flight of stairs.

The door closes behind you, quietly.

There, before the Ripa, he waits.

Slender Box of Tuna in Yellow Curry Sauce with Potatoes and Onions.

Bool Kogi – Boneless beef slices in Korean Brand Sesame Sauce. Made in USA with up to 20% of a Solution. Served with Baby Bella "Cremini" mushrooms and Mélange à Trois—red, yellow and green pepper strips—California grown. [GET THIS WITH THE CHARLES SHAW MERLOT. THEY HAVE IT UP FRONT.]

Precooked Jasmine Rice with Beluga Lentils and Red Quinoa invigorated with zest of Meyer lemons, four to a package.

Belgian Profiteroles with Chili Spiced Mango. Bite-size nuggets of pâte à choux filled with vanilla pastry cream. Chocolate sauce sealed in its own separate pack to drizzle warm on top before adding garnish.

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Giant had a sale a couple of weeks ago on all its frozen produce. So, in the spirit of listening to Marian Nestle (vs. Michael Pollan), for a change, I decided to save a little money and buy a package of snap peas and another of Brussel Sprouts all for $2 total.

Covered with freezer burn, they were. Puny. Thawed and refrozen in bits. Tasteless, virtually.

Therefore, I've got to give TJ props for the quality of some of its frozen produce at least. The haricots verts are not mourir for, but at least they look fresh and perky and the artichoke hearts are great.

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Heads up: Tarocco oranges from Italy!!!!!

Caveat emptor: lots are squishy and I haven't tasted them yet. I actually felt up several bags at the Foggy Bottom store and did a little redistribution to bring home my fair share of firm ones.

The Washington Post, I believe, did an article on this variety. Moro are the most common type of blood orange available in this country; that's what you'll find in the bags of tiny ones from California unless they're a hybrid. In this country, moro oranges tend to be slightly bitter if not downright sour, and often an unmitigated garnet in color which reminds folk like Waitman sadly of beets.

Tarroco, on the other hand, are sweet and more subtle in chromatic signs that they belong to the family of blood oranges, the latter trait, somewhat ironic since it lends greater drama to eating the fruit. Slice one in half and you'll see that fuchsia collects around the rim, clinging to the membrane and bleeding in thin threads into the plump capsules of bright orange.

The Safeway in Tenleytown purchased a big shipment of Tarroco oranges about five years ago and was selling them at ridiculously ordinary prices. I am not sure I've seen them around town since except maybe at Balducci's. In Italy, they arrive from Sicily wrapped individually in crinkly paper around Christmas time, their season peaking at the beginning of the new year.

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Ignore the preceding post. At least, the first two oranges tried are plain ol' ordinary pieces of fruit. No fuchsia. Just orange. Not especially sweet. One bears a sticker from Palagonia, Sicily, but in English, so maybe the peak of the season has passed or the best oranges are not imported either to the US or Trader Joe's.

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Totally agree! I have had two bags rip and spewed their contents to the street. One time was just outside their store, which they did swap out the broken Butter milk and damaged items. The second was at my house where I cursed the TJ name when the contents went rolling down my driveway. No bruises, but still the bags suck. I use reusable cloth bags now.

Trader Joe's, the handles on your bags SUCK!!!!!
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Totally agree! I have had two bags rip and spewed their contents to the street. One time was just outside their store, which they did swap out the broken Butter milk and damaged items. The second was at my house where I cursed the TJ name when the contents went rolling down my driveway. No bruises, but still the bags suck. I use reusable cloth bags now.

I wonder if they just changed them this year. My past bags from the year before did not have such wimpy handles. Maybe it's better if you bring your own totes? I saw several handles break on my way out two weekends ago, with the employees cleaning up right outside the store.

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I think the change is even in the last 6 months or so. Their paper bags used to be the best. I reused them constantly or took them to New Morning Farm's market for them to use. You used to be able to stuff a whole lot of heavy veggies in there. Now the bag breaks with a box of pancake mix, a box of crackers and a hunk of cheese.

I understand their promoting the reusable bags they sell, but having WEAK, PATHETIC paper bags just means that they are more wasteful because they can't be reused and barely make it out of the store.

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I understand their promoting the reusable bags they sell, but having WEAK, PATHETIC paper bags just means that they are more wasteful because they can't be reused and barely make it out of the store.

WFs reusable bags ($.99) are super bright and shiny, but work like a charm. Seriously, unless I jinx myself by posting about them here, I don't think it's possible to put too much weight in them. I highly recommend them if you can handle their bold color scheme.

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The crew at the Gaithersburg store seem to know that the bag handles suck--they routinely mention it while checking out and I have seen them rip while they were being bagged.

I too have had the bags rip on the way too the car.

HV--if I can remember to take the reusable bags 75 percent of the time, along with the baby, the diaper bag and a credit card, anyone can!!!

(Note that the colorful new WF bags also suck-- I had a clerk rip the seam in half the second time I used it. They replaced it for no charge.)

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HV--if I can remember to take the reusable bags 75 percent of the time, along with the baby, the diaper bag and a credit card, anyone can!!!

(Note that the colorful new WF bags also suck-- I had a clerk rip the seam in half the second time I used it. They replaced it for no charge.)

Well, I guess I need a baby and a diaper bag to help me remember.

I think the non-shiny ones are much stronger.

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For what it is worth, I empty the reusable bags and then put them on the front door handle, so i remember to bring them to the car. YMMV

I wish I lived a life where I was organized enough to keep empty reusable shopping bags in my car for unplanned shopping trips but I don't. So when I need to use the free bags provided by the store it would be nice if they worked :mellow:
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Ignore the preceding post. At least, the first two oranges tried are plain ol' ordinary pieces of fruit. No fuchsia. Just orange. Not especially sweet. One bears a sticker from Palagonia, Sicily, but in English, so maybe the peak of the season has passed or the best oranges are not imported either to the US or Trader Joe's.
I've just come from the West End/Foggy Bottom Trader Joe's (which is actually closer to Georgetown than the Glover Park Whole Foods is), and decided to try the Tarocco oranges. They come in a bag of five for $2.99, which isn't bad for citrus fruit these days. I've just eaten one and it was WONDERFUL, with streaks of red verging on magenta through the orange flesh, with a vibrant, intense flavor at once sweet and tart that reminded me of the blood oranges of my long, long-ago youth in Bavaria, where blood oranges came from both Italy and Morocco and were as incomparably splendid as the things of one's youth so often are. I think you might give them another try. These are so much better than those blood oranges from California, which seem to have been aggressively bred to have flesh as dark-colored as possible with no care given to either flavor or juiciness (and they're generally weak in both).
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I've just come from the West End/Foggy Bottom Trader Joe's (which is actually closer to Georgetown than the Glover Park Whole Foods is), and decided to try the Tarocco oranges. They come in a bag of five for $2.99, which isn't bad for citrus fruit these days. I've just eaten one and it was WONDERFUL, with streaks of red verging on magenta through the orange flesh, with a vibrant, intense flavor...
Of course, I rooted through all the bags until I found one with six instead of five oranges. Half, it turns out, were streaked as you describe, half, just plain old ordinary orange. Flavor was sweeter than the tiny, sometimes sour Moro specimens from California, yes, though I think the year the Tenleytown Safeway sold them, they were either more seasonal or simply a better crop.
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Of course, I rooted through all the bags until I found one with six instead of five oranges. Half, it turns out, were streaked as you describe, half, just plain old ordinary orange.
I won't say, then, that my bag of five was a better deal than your bag of six until I've eaten all of them. I'm only two down, with three more to go. It may be surprising to some that Cassie, the sweet old Irish terrier who lives with me, loves oranges (and strawberries and peaches, for that matter). She too approves of the tarocco oranges so far.
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I won't say, then, that my bag of five was a better deal than your bag of six until I've eaten all of them. I'm only two down, with three more to go. It may be surprising to some that Cassie, the sweet old Irish terrier who lives with me, loves oranges (and strawberries and peaches, for that matter). She too approves of the tarocco oranges so far.

My Australian Shepherd, Penny, loves oranges and clementines, too. And most other fruits, except tomatoes. My wirehair fox terrier, Janis Joplin, who lived with me from 1969-1985, would eat just about anything except oranges. She would go out to the garden and sit up and beg near the tomato plants, she loved ripe tomatoes so much. I have a photo of her gnawing on a zucchini as if it were a meaty bone. Come to think of it, she wasn't crazy about lettuce unless it had vinaigrette on it.

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My Australian Shepherd, Penny, loves oranges and clementines, too. And most other fruits, except tomatoes. My wirehair fox terrier, Janis Joplin, who lived with me from 1969-1985, would eat just about anything except oranges. She would go out to the garden and sit up and beg near the tomato plants, she loved ripe tomatoes so much. I have a photo of her gnawing on a zucchini as if it were a meaty bone. Come to think of it, she wasn't crazy about lettuce unless it had vinaigrette on it.
Cassie loves tomatoes, and especially tomato sauce. I don't think I've ever offered her anything like zucchini or lettuce (with or without a vinaigrette). She also loves pears. In a different sort of way, she loves wire fox terriers, of whom she has had several friends, mostly now sadly deceased. I'm trying to think of a way to make this on-topic, like mentioning that sometimes I drive to Trader Joe's with Cassie in the back seat, and she waits there while I go inside to do a little shopping. Does anyone besides me find the "Villa Italia" lemon soda brilliant?
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For the past several weeks, the Foggy Bottom Joe's has not been carrying bananas. Does anyone happen to know why?
I ate one on my way home from the store yesterday. Perhaps you overlooked their new location in the store, close to the counter where they mix various prepared and frozen foods together to show young adults how easy it is to cook?

If the store has been under-supplied, it may be due to the shortage of the type of banana favored for import to N. America and Europe. Can't find the article that I thought I read in the W. Post concerning the disease that has been devastating crops, however, other factors are severe weather in regions that grow bananas and a shortage of labor in certain nations. Thus, climbing prices.

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I ate one on my way home from the store yesterday. Perhaps you overlooked their new location in the store, close to the counter where they mix various prepared and frozen foods together to show young adults how easy it is to cook?

Thanks for directing me. The bananas used to be in two places, a bin near the door as you entered and went straight and further down the same aisle with the rest fruit.

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Alright. I admit it. I got lazy. I was shopping at TJ's, saw a container of BBQ pork for like, $4 or something. I figured it would certainly be worth the money and would make an easy dinner go-to item for the weekend. I was horribly, horribly wrong.

DO NOT get this stuff. It's dry, flavorless and is the consistency of baby food. It says "shredded" on the label, but this stuff has either seen the inside of a blender at some point or it's been "shredded" by means of being placed in a small box with 200 angry, muzzled squirrels. It's paste. (ETA: Picture a way-overcooked pork loin going in the blender with a little liquid smoke, a splash of cheap ketchup and water. Done.)

This is really one of the first major busts I've tried at TJ's ...and it was a doozy.

ETA: Not wanting to throw food away, I made some rigatoni and tossed it with the pork to give to my almost-3 year old daughter for dinner. Knowing that she eats absolutely anything (her latest favorite foods are ramps and pickled ginger), I figured this was a lock. She tasted it and refused to eat the meat after the first bite--I had to rinse off her pasta before she would continue with dinner. Maybe she actually has a discerning palate! I thought she just liked everything.

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Alright. I admit it. I got lazy. I was shopping at TJ's, saw a container of BBQ pork for like, $4 or something. I figured it would certainly be worth the money and would make an easy dinner go-to item for the weekend. I was horribly, horribly wrong.

DO NOT get this stuff. It's dry, flavorless and is the consistency of baby food. It says "shredded" on the label, but this stuff has either seen the inside of a blender at some point or it's been "shredded" by means of being placed in a small box with 200 angry, muzzled squirrels. It's paste. (ETA: Picture a way-overcooked pork loin going in the blender with a little liquid smoke, a splash of cheap ketchup and water. Done.)

This is really one of the first major busts I've tried at TJ's ...and it was a doozy.

ETA: Not wanting to throw food away, I made some rigatoni and tossed it with the pork to give to my almost-3 year old daughter for dinner. Knowing that she eats absolutely anything (her latest favorite foods are ramps and pickled ginger), I figured this was a lock. She tasted it and refused to eat the meat after the first bite--I had to rinse off her pasta before she would continue with dinner. Maybe she actually has a discerning palate! I thought she just liked everything.

Take it back and tell them you hated it. They'll give you your money back, even if you've partly consumed it.

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The freeze-dried mango is instantly addictive. I like their other mango products too, but this stuff is like crack, addictive on the first hit. The chowpup offered me her gameboy in exchange for the remainder of the bag, so it's not just me. This is Thai mango, freeze dried with nothing else, in a foil bag.

There is a freeze dried pineapple, also from Thailand, and the tubs of freeze dried strawberries, both of which are very good, but not even close to the pure mango goodness. My local store is out of them now but says they will have a fresh batch on the shelves Wednesday morning. I'll be stocking up for our upcoming trips.

These are f*%^ amazing.
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The freeze-dried mango is instantly addictive. I like their other mango products too, but this stuff is like crack, addictive on the first hit. The chowpup offered me her gameboy in exchange for the remainder of the bag, so it's not just me. This is Thai mango, freeze dried with nothing else, in a foil bag.
These are f*%^ amazing.
I'm going to be in the minority and state that it has the appeal and fun of eating astronaut/dehydrated food, but with the taste and texture of flavored Tums. Maybe it's just the bag I got. :lol:
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I'm going to be in the minority and state that it has the appeal and fun of eating astronaut/dehydrated food, but with the taste and texture of flavored Tums. Maybe it's just the bag I got. :lol:
I gotta agree with you. But I think this one is cloyingly sweet, and lacks the slight tartness that I usually find I like.
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Anyone have any experience with the pate tubs at TJ's? They have a few available right now (pork, non pork, non meat, and salmon), and I wouldn't mind finding out about another easy indulgence to go with the adorably wee mini toasts.

Go get some of the fleur de sel caramels now before they are gone! I got one of the round boxes last year and was profoundly disappointed to later learn that they are a limited availability item. They are very good and a great deal at this price point ($8). This year there are also dark chocolate caramels to try...

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Go get some of the fleur de sel caramels now before they are gone! I got one of the round boxes last year and was profoundly disappointed to later learn that they are a limited availability item. They are very good and a great deal at this price point ($8). This year there are also dark chocolate caramels to try...

I have to say that the dark chocolate-covered fleur de sel caramels, which I think they introduced last year, are one of those insanely good treats that when I am in their vicinity, I have to exert huge amounts of self-control. Really good dark chocolate with a nice snap, filled with gooey caramel and each piece topped with several crunchy bits of salt. I was bereft last year, when they no longer had them for sale. I just bought two boxes and immediately mailed one to my daughter at school. The box I kept, even though I "hid" it out on the back porch, was empty within a day. Jonathan likes them, too, and he figured out where they were.

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I have to say that the dark chocolate-covered fleur de sel caramels, which I think they introduced last year, are one of those insanely good treats that when I am in their vicinity, I have to exert huge amounts of self-control. Really good dark chocolate with a nice snap, filled with gooey caramel and each piece topped with several crunchy bits of salt. I was bereft last year, when they no longer had them for sale. I just bought two boxes and immediately mailed one to my daughter at school. The box I kept, even though I "hid" it out on the back porch, was empty within a day. Jonathan likes them, too, and he figured out where they were.
So, intrigued, I went to the Bethesda TJ and found gooey sea-salt caramels from Ireland and fleur de sel caramels, sans chocolate, but made in China w corn syrup being the first ingredient. Fleur de sel caramels (the French kind) are chewy-creamy; I love them madly and epicurious has a recipe. I did buy the gooey kind without looking closely enough at the box. Based on your comments here, I should open box and keep it, yes?

* * *

Great dried fruit selection as always. Pomegranates only $1.49. Corn tortillas not refrigerated despite package that says they should be. No ginger Altoids! :P

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So, intrigued, I went to the Bethesda TJ and found gooey sea-salt caramels from Ireland and fleur de sel caramels, sans chocolate, but made in China w corn syrup being the first ingredient. Fleur de sel caramels (the French kind) are chewy-creamy; I love them madly and epicurious has a recipe. I did buy the gooey kind without looking closely enough at the box. Based on your comments here, I should open box and keep it, yes?

* * *

Great dried fruit selection as always. Pomegranates only $1.49. Corn tortillas not refrigerated despite package that says they should be. No ginger Altoids! :P

The chocolate covered caramels are worth another trip. They come in a rather small flat red and blue box. In the Bethesa store I believe that they are stacked with the other candy over the double open frozen food aisle, near the entrance. I was in the Foggy Bottom store the other day and couldn't find them so I asked an employee who led me to them. they were hidden on a shelf of holiday treats opposite the prepared food case, near the entrance. As I was checking out, the cashier gave me a knowing look and said "I'm addicted to these..."

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Anyone have any experience with the pate tubs at TJ's? They have a few available right now (pork, non pork, non meat, and salmon), and I wouldn't mind finding out about another easy indulgence to go with the adorably wee mini toasts.

Go get some of the fleur de sel caramels now before they are gone! I got one of the round boxes last year and was profoundly disappointed to later learn that they are a limited availability item. They are very good and a great deal at this price point ($8). This year there are also dark chocolate caramels to try...

I've gotten the pork and it's pretty good. For some reason it tastes not quite as good as the same product sold sliced to order at Arrowine.

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I've gotten the pork and it's pretty good. For some reason it tastes not quite as good as the same product sold sliced to order at Arrowine.

Good to know (both about the pork pate and the reminder about Arrowine - I haven't been there in ages)! I ended up grabbing a tub of the non-pork, with mushrooms. I don't really care for the aspic layer, but the pate itself was quite nice, very smooth, and went well on the mini toasts.

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I was surprised to see Burrata in the refrigerated case at TJ's recently. So I purchased a container. I'm not sure if I got a bad one, but it was grainy, and nothing like the burrata I've had from other sources. It resembled a mozzarella sack with cottage cheese inside. Once this mozzarella envelope was breached, the stuff inside just disintegrated in the whey/water that it was packaged in. Unappetiizing.

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I was surprised to see Burrata in the refrigerated case at TJ's recently. So I purchased a container. I'm not sure if I got a bad one, but it was grainy, and nothing like the burrata I've had from other sources. It resembled a mozzarella sack with cottage cheese inside. Once this mozzarella envelope was breached, the stuff inside just disintegrated in the whey/water that it was packaged in. Unappetiizing.

Same discovery, same result at Costco. :P

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Puff pastry at TJ's is a nice buy for the holidays. Take a sheet, cut into small squares with your pizza cutter, top with a bit of something, and bake for a 15 minute munchie that goes great with something fizzy. Added bonus? It's made with butter, not shortening like most store brands.

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