Food, drinks, style, and humor
The pros: Trader Joe’s Party Size Mini Meatballs are perfect as an appetizer or a smaller bite sized version of Trader Joe’s Italian Style Meatballs.
The cons: Won’t ever live up to Nonna’s, but for something that comes out of the freezer these are pretty good. Depending on how many you take out of the bag, you should consider adjusting the cook time.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Sliced Prosciutto is salty and full of ham flavor.
The cons: This product seems fattier than other brands of prosciutto.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Pork Buns Cha Siu Bao have pork filling that is very flavorful. These heat quickly and seem on par with what I’ve purchased in many Asian grocery stores in their freezer sections.
The cons: These were a bit on the doughy side.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Pork Shu Mai is a tasty freezer item.
The cons: Trader Joe’s Chicken Shu Mai has a packet of sauce, but for these you’ll have to supply your own dipping sauce.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Family Style Meat Lasagna is an adequate meal for about 4 people in the freezer section.
The cons: There was absolutely nothing that made me say, “wow” about this product.
The verdict:…
The pros: Trader Joe’s Carnitas with Salsa Verde Burrito is one of the more recent additions to an otherwise lackluster section of Trader Joe’s.
The cons: Calorie count. I’m not sure why one burrito is considered two servings. I’m pretty sure this meant as a meal for one.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Pizza Parlanno is a pretty tasty pizza ready in about 10 minutes. If you your pizza with lots of toppings, this is the best one to reach for in the Trader Joe’s refrigerated case.
The cons: Crust could have used a bit more salt.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Bacon Ends and Pieces is absolutely worth a try as it’s very tasty.
The cons: Some pieces are very fatty and uneven pieces and that means uneven cooking time. Unfortunately, some people might not reach for this because it isn’t as “pretty” as regular bacon.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Pepperoni Pizza was crispy and and had lots of pepperoni.
The cons: More sauce than was necessary and my pepperoni wasn’t evenly placed. I know that seems a bit petty, but when cut into 4 slices there was actually one plain slice.
The verdict: …
The pros: Trader Joe’s Fully Cooked Baby Back Ribs are tasty, tender and ready in under 20 minutes.
The cons: If you are hoping for championship level BBQ, this isn’t it. Doesn’t mean that it’s bad either. It’s just not the best BBQ I’ve ever had. You’ll also want a very sharp knife in order to separate the ribs. Some were no problem, some were a bit of a challenge with a very sharp knife….
