Friday, January 27, 2017

Tzatziki Creamy Garlic Cucumber Dip

Trader Joe's Tzatziki Creamy Garlic Cucumber Dip
Price: $3.49
Rating: 9/10

If your read the last post about TJ's Gyro Slices, you'll know that I'm a pretty huge fan of gyros. In New York, most street vendors sell them with "white sauce" which is a vinegar-y type sauce that a lot of people incorrectly call "tzatziki". I've read dozens of articles of NYers trying to crack the secret of what's in the "white sauce" every vendor has huge bottles of, but no one seems to know for sure (other than the guys who make it, and they're not talking). So since I can't duplicate the flavor of a Middle Eastern style gyro like we have on the streets here without a good "white sauce" recipe, I usually use this Tzatziki sauce to try to get a good Greek style gyro when I'm making them at home.

Trader Joe's Tzatziki Creamy Garlic Cucumber Dip
I've tried several types of tzatziki, from homemade, to kinds made at Greek stores in the city. Out of all of them, I think I'd rank this as the best. It's got a nice consistency that's not too thin or too thick, and has a creamy, tangy flavor. You can taste the garlic in it, which goes nice with gyro meat or falafels. But the really great part are the thin slices of cucumber in the sauce. It adds a nice texture to whatever you put it on and tastes fantastic. My only complaint about this sauce is that I can't think of more things to put it on!

Gyro Slices

Trader Joe's Gyro Slices
Price: $3.99 (makes about 3–4 sandwiches/wraps)
Rating: 9/10

I've always been a fan of gyros. Any kind of gyros. Greek gyros, North African style gyros, Middle Eastern style gyros. If it's a gyro, I will eat it, and I will eat it with great excitement. The first year that I lived in New York I would eat gyros eat least 4–5 meals per week from my favorite street card in Herald Square (we mostly have the Middle-Eastern inspired kind here). So when I saw a photo of these hit the Frequent Flyer last summer I almost lost my mind with excitement. I went to Trader Joe's multiple times before I finally scored two glorious packages of Gyro Slices after probably 3 weeks of searching every TJ's in all of New York City.

Trader Joe's Gyro Slices
Did they live up to the hype I'd created in my mind? Oh my god, yes! These gyros are a mix of beef and lamb, and taste exactly like what you'd get at any good Greek place. If you're skeptical about the beef part, and thinking "aren't gyros usually lamb?", most places in the US seem to mix the two since lamb in the US can have a gamey flavor due to the breed of lamb raised here (they use a different breed in North Africa and the Middle East that doesn't have that gamey flavor). I made mine with some pita bread, three gyro slices, red onion, tomato, and some Trader Joe's Tzatziki Creamy Garlic Cucumber Dip. Tip: Be careful not too cook them too long so they don't get hard and burnt since they're super thin slices.

I bought two boxes of these when I first found them, and ate them both in less than two weeks. I actually would sit at work and think about how excited I was about going home and making one for dinner. I've since starting keeping them stocked in the freezer for whenever the mood strikes.

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

100% Pure Maple Syrup

Trader Joe's 100% Pure Maple Syrup
Price: $4.99
Rating: 9/10 

I’d always grown up eating that fake maple syrup that you buy for only a few dollars at the store, and thought it was great–right up until I went to visit my aunt and uncle in Virginia when I was 10 and my aunt gave me real maple syrup with my pancakes. That was the moment that my pancake-eating life was forever changed. I still spent quite a few years eating fake maple syrup until I eventually reached adulthood and could shell out the big bucks for the real stuff.

Unfortunately, the real stuff is pretty expensive to buy regularly, so I was excited when I realized I could buy it pretty cheaply at Trader Joe’s. This syrup, like most real syrup, is pretty great! It’s got a nice sweet (but not too sweet), earthy, maple-y flavor. It’s got a nice warm flavor, and is amazing on the standard breakfast staples like pancakes, french toast, and waffles. It’s also great in oatmeal or on ice cream. But my favorite thing to put it on is coconut pancakes from TJ’s Coconut Pancake mix.

Monday, January 2, 2017

Chili Chocolate Collection

Trader Joe's Chili Chocolate Collection
Price: $4.99
Rating: 7/10

Sweet and spicy has become one of my favorite flavor combos over the past few years, so I knew I had to pick up this box of chili chocolates when I spotted them. The box consists of 16 chocolates, with 4 of each flavor. The Milk Chocolate Guajillo is allegedly the least spicy of the four, but my boyfriend and I both agreed it was actually one of the spiciest. It starts off with a sweet milk chocolate flavor and then gets super hot starting at the front of your mouth and moving towards the back. It actually became painfully spicy toward the end. The (supposedly) second spiciest is the JalapeƱo Ganache, with starts with a rich chocolate flavor and then gets super hot. I’d say it’s as hot as the Milk Chocolate Guajillo. 

Trader Joe's Chili Chocolate Collection After trying these two I was a little terrified of what kind of pain I’d be in for with the two hotter chocolates, but somehow the two “spicier” chocolates (according to TJ’s, at least) were the least spicy in our opinion. The Chili Lime is supposed to be the third spiciest, which we found to be the smokiest and most mild. It has a light spiciness with a sweet caramel flavor. And lastly, the spiciest of them all (again, according to TJ’s), is the Habanero Milk Chocolate. We found this to be the second least spicy, with a gooey, almost jelly like filling in the middle, and a warmth that balances the sweetness without overpowering it like the first two. 

Trader Joe's Chili Chocolate Collection

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Raspberry Chipotle Sauce

Trader Joe's Raspberry Chipotle Sauce
Price: $3.49
Rating: 9/10

Apparently I’ve been on a winning streak with TJ’s products recently, because almost everything I’ve reviewed has gotten either an 8 or a 9. This Raspberry Chipotle Sauce is no exception. It starts off with a sweet, fruity flavor, followed by a spicy and smoky kick from the chipotle. When I first saw this in the Frequent Flyer, I wasn’t sure how it was meant to be used, but when I saw that it could be used as a barbecue sauce, I knew I had to get it. I tried it on TJ’s Cocktail Pups, and will also probably try it on meatballs eventually. It would also probably go great as a salad dressing. It does have a very strong flavor though, so depending on how you’re using it, it might drown out most other flavors, which is the only possible downside I could see to this. However, I did find that if you mix it with a bit of Trader Joe’s Roasted Garlic Onion Jam, it does bring the heat level down a bit, which is helpful if you’re not a big fan of big spice.

Trader Joe's Raspberry Chipotle Sauce