For whatever reason, I've found myself watching a lot of Gordon Ramsey snippets recently, like little three or four minute blurbs from Kitchen Nightmares or whatever. Don't know why, but man, watching and listening to him rip and bleep something apart is so satisfying on some level at times.
If at a subpar Italian restaurant that was likely to be visited by good ol' Chef Ramsey, if some Italian cheese and pepper stuffed pasta was on the menu, I'd suspect it'd be a lot like Trader Joe's Cacio e Pepe Ravioli.
Is it fair to compare a frozen prepared product to a dining out dinner? No, probably not...except when other TJ's products have risen to the occasion it's been pointed out, so here's the flip side.
This...just isn't good ravioli. The noodles are limp, soggy and bland even by a noodle standard. There's nothing to them, at all. Just tasteless and there, and barely contain the namesake filling. The cheese tastes okay - mild, a touch tangy - with a nice little dose of pepper to season it up, but it's also kinda gritty and not as creamy as hoped. The end result is kinda a letdown.
Ramsey would be tearing this up, bleeping up a storm, maybe some crack about diapers, and storm back to the kitchen or have the server dump them in the trash. Good thing he wasn't at my table the other day when I served 'em up, because even when it's not that great, that's not something we do in my house. I'd have to put his butt in timeout.
But yeah...subpar, even by frozen pasta standards, Perhaps a little included sauce packet could help liven it up. As is, it's take a bite and shrug. Just meh to not quite blah. DOuble twos here.
Bottom line: Trader Joe's Cacio e Pepe Ravioli: 4 out of 10 Golden Spoons
I thought this was a refrigerated item, with all of the other filled pastas?
ReplyDeleteIt is!
ReplyDeleteYou know you're supposed to...add sauce, right?
ReplyDeleteI am really surprised by this review, as it is one of our favorite quick, easy dinners. You mention several times that this is a frozen product but it should be in the refrigerated section with the rest of the fresh pastas. Did you buy it frozen or possibly freeze it after buying it? That may have affected the taste and texture I suppose - we've only ever eaten it fresh.
ReplyDeleteWe boil it up, toss it in a little butter and olive oil, crack some more pepper on top, and shred some fresh pecorino cheese on it and really enjoy it.