I'm writing this review about halfway thru a family vacation. And by family I don't mean just me, my wife and our kids...I mean my parents, my siblings, their spouses, and all their kids. there's eighteen of us. It's what we do every other year. It's crazy. It's frustrating. It's fun. It's draining. And ultimately pretty awesome. Really hope to be building some memories here by continuing family traditions.
And of course we're bringing in our own. As is our own individual family tradition, while on vacation, we seek out the local Trader Joe's (Burlington, VT this occasion). And for our designated night to make dinner we brought in our own tradition which I think I mentioned before, to have a "snacky dinner." Cheese, chips, fruits, veggies, hummus, salsa, etc.
So that's a long way of saying yup, we got Trader Joe's Bloody Mary Salsa to experiment on my entire family on vacation. Wasn't sure how else to start. Sorry, couple beers in. Surely, you understand.
For the first hit, the salsa is fairly mild, even somewhat sweet. Some in my clan here said there's almost a certain "fake tomato" taste here - perhaps it's a bit too cloying. Or maybe it's even else that happens afterwards - the bitterness of horseradish creeping in, the peppery bite beginning to hit, the pickling spices beginning to tickle in, the spice whacking you from the back end. Still, for an overall taste and feel, it's decent yet lacks a certain oomph. Maybe this is something inherent in bloody Marys, hence the need to pile on with all those crazy...I don't even know what you'd call it all. But you know what I mean.
For a jarred store brand salsa, not fresh made, and all that, it'll do. Not great, not bad. The salsa is definitely a plausible rebuy for the middling $2ish bucks it cost. And middling scores is about all it got from everyone here.
Bottom line: Trader Joe's Bloddy Mary Salsa: 6 out of 10 Golden Spoons
Good old Joe let me try the Bloody Mary Salsa in the store, ending with a purchase. Your review was a shocker. I would never buy any product with 6 out of 10 Golden Spoons. Thank goodness for TJ's "try anything" policy. Perhaps it's like the movie that gets panned, yet is the viewer's all-time favorite.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love this stuff. I'm already on my second jar.
ReplyDeleteI bought a jar the other day, but have not opened it yet. Then today they were sampling it in store. They had it combined with the vegan refried beans and heated in a crock pot as a dip. (2 cans beans to 1 jar salsa ratio). it made a good bean dip. I also tried just a bit of the salsa on its own on a chip. it is very heated and that heat hangs on for a bit! Not painful, but quite a kick and if someone is not a spicy fan, I don't recommend it. I think another good way to sample this would be with celery sticks to dip into the salsa.
ReplyDeleteThis is going with me to a 4th of July party....firecrackers for the taste buds!