Posts Tagged ‘review’

Trader Joe’s – Farmhouse English Cheddar with Italian Truffles – Food Review

03/16/2017

trader joe, review, price, calories, English cheddar, Italian truffles, nutrition, cheeseMarch 16, 2017

This is another one where it would be way too easy to eat the whole package in one sitting.  A very little bit of a smokey peppery earthy taste mixed in with creamy, but not soft, English cheddar is the best description I could come up with.  That description doesn’t do it taste justice.  It may not be to everyone’s liking, but this is very good.

Of particular note are a couple of the lesser ingredients, anchovy and bamboo fiber.  What’s This For?  Well I sure don’t know, but whatever the reason the whole seems to work just fine.

At $9.99 per pound, this is in line with similar cheeses at Trader Joe’s.  The calories, at 110 per ounce (28g), are also similar to other cheeses.

ALDI – Peanut Delight Creamy Peanut Butter – Food Review

03/16/2017

ALDI, review, calories, price, nutrition, creamy, peanut butter, peanut delightALDI, review, calories, price, nutrition, creamy, peanut butter, peanut delightMarch 16, 2017

This is another staple at home here.  It may not be the creamiest peanut butter, but like many everyday items at ALDI it’s reasonably priced, good quality and similar in nutritional value to many major brands.  It also tastes good and goes well with jelly. Calories  180/2 Tbsp (32g)     Price $2.99 per 40 ounce plastic jar

ALDI – Sea Queen Crab Cakes – Food Review

03/16/2017

ALDI, Sea Queen, Crab Cakes, price, review, calories, nutritionALDI, Sea Queen, Crab Cakes, price, review, calories, nutritionMarch 16, 2017

My expectations weren’t high and they were met. These are crabby and mushy.  That description is not uncommon when it comes to crab cakes. A really good crab cake consists of chunks of crab meat with a little bit of mayonnaise based filler to bind everything together and maybe a thin layer of breading to give it some crunch when it’s pan fried. Outside of one or two restaurants I’ve been to a long time ago, it’s hard to find anything like that. Most crab cakes in stores, and even restaurants, tend to be like this, with indistinguishable pieces of crab mixed with breading to form a crab mush which is then fried, or in this case baked at home. There was a good bit of crab flavor which was satisfying for those looking for a crab fix. But overall, like Diogenes, I’ll continue to look for the honest crab cake.  Calories  170 per crab cake   Price $5.49 – package of 4 cakes, plus cocktail sauce

ALDI – Millville Simple Nut Bar – Almond, Cashew & Sea Salt – Food Review

03/11/2017

ALDI, Millville, Simple Nut Bar, price, calories, review, snackMarch 11, 2017

That’s exactly what this is, a simple nut bar. It’s almost nuttin’ but nuts held together with just enough gooey stuff to make a bar.  There’s a little bit of sea salt added in, but not enough to be very salty.  There’s no chocolate coating or drizzle.  Some dark chocolate would’ve been nice in my opinion.  But it’s still good without.

The nuts are large and identifiable by species, just in case you’re into matching up the ingredients to the label.  Oooh, there’s a cashew!

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Borelli Nero D’Avola IGT NV – Wine Review – ALDI

03/11/2017

March 11, 2017

A medium red color yields a slight earthy aroma in the glass.  After that, there’s not much else.  In the mouth there’s a little alcohol burn and a hint of cherry.  There may be a stray tannin or two which accounts for the earthy taste and mouth feel.   There’s nothing bad or offensive in the taste.  This is a simple $5 wine.  The price sets the expectation for what’s in the bottle.   It’s entirely drinkable, but probably best with food as there’s not much to savor by itself.  While there’s nothing special about this wine, at the same time it’s still equal or better than some $10 wines at mass merchandisers.   Price $4.99

 

 

Trader Joe’s – Falafel (Heat & Eat) – Food Review

03/11/2017

March 11, 2017

Now I’m not the world’s most prolific falafel eater.  But I have had them in restaurants.  And for no other reason then to attempt to pronounce the name, you should give them a try sometime when you’re around Mediterranean food.  If you do want to give them a try, DON’T (do not) try these.

A falafel is one of those foods that’s a blank canvas to which the chef has to add the splashes of color (metaphorically).  These have few splashes of color.

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Trader Joe’s Simply Nutty vs. Kind Dark Chocolate, Nuts, Sea Salt Bars – Food Review

03/04/2017

trader joe, dark chocolate, nuts, sea salt, review, price, nutrition, simply nutty barskind, dark chocolate, nuts, sea salt bars, review, price, nutrition
March 4, 2017

It’s predominantly* almond (Kind) versus predominantly* peanut (Simply Nutty) in this nut-off challenge.  For those who need to know quickly, Kind has the bigger nuts. That’s important, because when you bite into them, Kind requires a little more jaw power.  However once in the mouth and chewed around some, the texture is indistinguishable between the two.

For those who like their nuts slightly salty, Kind would be your choice.  In comparison, Simply Nutty is just that – not much of a salty experience here.  Holding all the nuts together at the base, for both, is a dark dark brown chocolate.  Some of the same is drizzled on the top of the nuts.  I guess the drizzle is for decoration, but could be there for the lickers among us who might want to slowly savor the experience.  Licking from the bottom would be too messy.  So, the dark chocolate on both is very much the same, good, but nothing to write home about.

trader joe, dark chocolate, nuts, sea salt, review, price, nutrition, simply nutty barskind, dark chocolate, nuts, sea salt bars, review, price, nutritionThe products are very similar, with small individual preferences being the deciding factors between the two for most of us.  Finally, these type of comparisons usually come down to price.  The Kind bars are 4 bars for $4.99 and the Simply Nutty bars are 5 bars for $4.99.

 

 

Kind – Calories 200 per bar,   Price  $4.99  – box of 4 bars

Trader Joe’s Simply Nutty – Calories 200 per bar,   Price  $4.99  – box of 5 bars

*Based on the first ingredient listed on the ingredient label

Trader Joe’s – Parsnip Chips – Food Review

03/04/2017

trader joe, review, parsnip chips, priceMarch 4, 2017

When there’s a chip made from some previously little known vegetable (or anything in the plant kingdom), it’s a good guess that that vegetable will be the new superfood of the year.  Or is it megafood of the year this year?  And I’d guess, if I had to guess, we’ll be hearing more about parsnips pretty soon.

Now that we know how we got here, how are the chips?  Surprisingly, these are much better than one might expect, considering that most of us don’t have a clue what a parsnip is.

trader joe, review, parsnip chips, price, nutritionThe bag has a mixture of thin, moderately long and short, curly pieces of slightly orange crispy things in it.  There’s not much flavor to them.  A slight sweet flavor predominates.  That’s about it.  For a chip, there’s barely a hint of salt.

A good chip has only one real test, can a person sit and eat the whole bag in one sitting?  For these chips, the happy answer to that question is, yes.

Price   $2.99 – 5.2 ounce bag
Calories  120/ounce (28g) (about 12 chips)

Chateau Haut-Sorillon Bordeaux Superieur – 2013 – Wine Review – Trader Joe’s

02/23/2017

Trader Joe, wine, Haut-Sorillon, Bordeaux Superieur, 2013, review, priceFebruary 23, 2017

There’s not much on the cork.  In the glass there’s a deep red to purple color and not much aroma.  This is a medium-light bodied simple red wine that tastes good and is easy to drink.  There are a few tannins around to give the wine a little character, but not enough to upset very many people.  There are no negatives.

There’s little information on the bottle or the internet about the grapes or process used to make this wine.  Since it’s a Bordeaux, we can assume most of the grapes used in this wine are Cabernet and Merlot.  Most other reviews on the web give this average ratings (3.5 out of 5).  It’s a fairly mild red wine and should pair well with most foods except the most delicate.  I could sip this all night – regrets in the morning of course.  Price $8.99.

Happy Farms Shredded Mozzarella Cheese – Food Review – ALDI

02/23/2017

ALDI, happy farms, shredded mozzarella, review, calories, priceFebruary 23, 2017

We buy this all the time.  We use it mostly on salads and “Italian” dishes.  Most recently it was used on some homemade pizza.  This is a low-moisture part-skim milk (assumed cow’s milk?) shredded mozzarella cheese that’s pretty much indistinguishable from similarly priced mozzarella cheeses elsewhere.  It has a mild taste.

Although the price seems to vary with the market, it’s generally priced competitively with sale prices of similar cheeses at other stores.  The only negative about this is, my ALDI store keeps moving it around, so it’s hard to find.

Price $2.99 (16 ounce bag)    Calories 80 per 1/4 cup (28g)

ALDI, happy farms, shredded mozzarella, review, calories, price, nutrition