Trader Joe's Soft Pretzel Twists

Everybody in the US is familiar with soft pretzels, but those of us who grew up in Pennsylvania know them just a bit better than the rest. With a high percentage of German-Americans and a huge Pennsylvania Dutch community, PA produces 80% of the nation's pretzels. I even went to college with a guy whose aunt...is actually Auntie Anne, founder of the famous pretzel chain.

All that to say, my standards are pretty high. So how do Trader Joe's Soft Pretzel Twists hold up? Considering they're pre-packaged and shelf stable for a few days at least, they're not terrible. If you're just snacking on them straight out of the bag, you might not be blown away. But if you take great care to moisten them, heat them per the instructions, and apply the big, coarse granules of salt with precision, they're certainly passable.

Once again, we used our air fryer to heat the pretzels instead of the conventional oven. I just can't justify preheating the real oven just to stick a couple of pretzels in it for three minutes. At any rate, it worked. I was fine snacking on the pretzel by itself with maybe a dab or two of mustard. Sonia wasn't into the plain twists by themselves very much. She made pretzel dogs and quite enjoyed them that way, though. I did, too. If we'd had some pub cheddar on hand, they'd have been great dunked in it.

$3.49 for six soft pretzels. Kosher. Put this on the might​ repurchase list. Seven and a half out of ten stars from Sonia, who wishes the pretzels were bigger and came with regular salt rather than the oversized granules. Eight out of ten stars from me for Trader Joe's Soft Pretzel Twists.

Bottom line: 7.75 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Organic Coconut Smoothie

I wasn't expecting much from this product, but it's surprisingly sweet and chuggable. It's not boring like plain coconut water and it's not quite as thick as your typical coconut milk. It's actually coconut water blended with tiny bits of coconut meat. I was bracing myself for something terribly chalky consistency-wise, but it actually comes off as creamy and smooth despite the pieces of coconut.

At $2.69 for just 8 oz, it's on the pricey side. But as usual, you get what you pay for. This product is imported from Thailand and is made from Nam Hom coconuts—apparently a highly sought after variety—and it shows.

Many specimens I've seen online are pink. Even the ones on TJ's own website show a very pink liquid in the bottle. The description on the packaging says the product "may take on a rosy hue." Ours stayed decidedly white for some reason. I'm fine with that. Sonia is too. Eight out of ten stars a piece for Trader Joe's Organic Coconut Smoothie.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Shrimp Noodle Rolls

Alrighty then. That's another unscripted video review down at the bottom of this post, so I'm just throwing out some bullet points about the product for you folks that enjoy my demented written ramblings or don't do YouTube for whatever reason...

The noodle rolls were very delicate by my estimation. They really wanted to stick to my pan and the shrimp even fell out of the rolls in a couple instances. There were plenty of shrimp and veggies, but there wasn't enough flavor. The bag even says to serve them with soy sauce or dipping sauce (not included). It was Trader Joe San Soyaki to the rescue. They were quite bland on their own.

$3.99 in the frozen section. Product of Vietnam. Listed as "Limited Time" on traderjoes.com. This item isn't awful, but we would not buy it again. Six and a half stars from me. Five and a half stars from Sonia for Trader Joe's Shrimp Noodle Rolls.

Bottom line: 6 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Covered Speculoos Cookie Butter Filled Elephant Dung Espresso Beans 10th Anniversary Edition

I guess it wasn't such a crappy idea after all. Trader Joe's Chocolate Covered Elephant Dung Espresso Beans are BACK for a limited time only. They're boasting beautiful new 10th Anniversary Edition artwork and the same rich, earthy essences they did back in 2015. Even though we weren't exactly fixated on the funky flavors of the first edition, we did pick up this repackaging just for a trip down memory lane.

The pachyderm poopoo packs a potent punch and underneath, the coffee and cookie butter blend to provide sweetness and stimulation. I don't think the precise caffeine content of this product has ever been determined or published, but this Limited Edition release has me buzzing right now.

The collectible, reusable box and 20 servings of espresso beans featuring 100% certified organic elephant feces is yours for just $4.99, found in the candy aisle. Yes, it's gone up a buck, but hey, a decade of inflation will do that. Again, we gave the original a "not bad" score. It's really not our favorite snack in the world, but we've made it our duty...ahem, our doody to purchase and review all things TJ's just for you, our loyal readers.

Bottom line: 7 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Nocciolini Tiny Hazelnut Meringues

Cuteness is not generally the first thing I look for in a snack. If it's there, I guess it's a bonus. I won't not eat something because it's cute. It's just not very high on my list of priorities in terms of acquiring, preparing, and eating food.

And despite the fact that cuteness might be the first quality of these little nocciolini that jumps out at you, it's certainly not the only thing they've got going on for them. They've got simple ingredients: sugar, hazelnuts, and egg white. They're not super indulgent, containing only 10% of your RDA for fat, 3% for saturated fat, and 6% for carbs, respectively. And at $2.69 for an Italian import, they won't break the bank either.

But most of you are probably wondering how Trader Joe's Nocciolini Tiny Hazelnut Meringues taste. Well, if you like hazelnuts, you're probably not gonna hate these. They're about the same size as hazelnuts, they're crunchy like hazelnuts, and they taste a heck of a lot like hazelnuts.

So why not just eat some hazelnuts instead, you ask? If you've got a sweet tooth, these are a shade sweeter than your typical hazelnut. If you're someone who's gotta have dessert after a meal, these would certainly fit the bill with their crunchy cookie texture and fun round drop shape. And I don't know if I'd say they're more versatile than hazelnuts, but you could do interesting things with them like decorating cakes or cupcakes or even tossing them on top of yogurt, ice cream, or gelato.

I must admit, I was unimpressed at first, but these tiny hazelnut meringues are growing on me pretty quickly. They stick to my teeth a little, but the flavor is quite pleasant and there's virtually no aftertaste. Sonia likes 'em a lot. She'd buy again for sure, but once again, she wishes they were sold in a larger pack. Let's go with seven and a half stars from me on Trader Joe's Nocciolini. The beautiful wifey will throw out nine out of ten.

Nathan's score: 7.5 out of 10.

Sonia's score: 9 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Amarena Cherry Goat's Milk Cheese

Growing up, there were a bunch of food allergies in my family so we avoided many common foods like cow's milk dairy products. We'd frequently buy goat's milk and goat's milk cheeses from local farmers as alternatives.

Oddly, it seemed we only ever bought savory goat cheeses. It wasn't until after I tried a few varieties of Trader Joe's chevre cheeses many years later that I learned to appreciate goat cheese as a sweeter dessert-style cheese. Even unusual combos like jalapeño and honey chevre became fast favorites of mine, garnering some of the highest scores we've ever bestowed upon TJ's products in the entire 15 year history of this blog.

If anything, this amarena cherry goat cheese tops them all. It's absolutely delicious. Somewhere between a cherry flavored cream cheese and cherry cheesecake, this spread is rich, creamy, yet not over-the-top sugary. It's got a great balance of the goat cheese and sweet-tart cherry flavors.

It's perfect on crackers or sourdough just by itself. We also tried adding some real fruit preserves, and it worked great that way, too. It's a seasonal product that will disappear pretty soon if it hasn't already, but it will reappear next year around early February if history repeats itself. It IS still available at our nearest Trader Joe's location as of the writing of this post.

$2.99 for the four serving package. Product of Canada. Sonia just wishes they sold a larger package of the stuff. This one will be gone in no time flat, and we'll have to wait almost a year to buy some more. The nutrition info is pretty reasonable, too, considering how scrumptious the product is. Nine and a half out of ten stars from Sonia for Trader Joe's Double Cream Amarena Cherry Goat's Milk Cheese. I'll throw out an exceptionally rare perfect ten out of ten on this one.

Bottom line: 9.75 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Sourdough Boules

Apparently "boule" is (one of) the French word(s) for "ball." Some places say it's pronounced "bool" and other say "bool-eh," so I don't even know. I say "bool" in the video. If that's wrong, I'm sure someone will call me out on it.

These are big roundish loaves of crusty sourdough and we turned ours into bread bowls. They were pretty good taste and texture-wise, and they retained the soup quite well. We just wish you could taste that tart sourdough flavor a bit more. We particularly enjoyed the crusty outer portion of this bread.

I've had my share of bread bowls with soup and I'd say this one is better than average. I'm glad Sonia cut the indentations for the soup because I'd have probably mangled the things beyond recognition. And the "lid" makes the perfect dunkable for the soup.

$2.99 for two big bread boules, found with the breads and baked goods. The best by date on our bag was just two days after we purchased it, so we had to eat them fast. Would buy again. We'll both go with seven and a half stars out of ten for Trader Joe's Sourdough Boules.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Shishito Crisps

Okay, this calls for an historical Trader Joe's dried, crispy, snackified veggies recap. The first ones I ever recall seeing were Trader Joe's Contemplates Inner Peas. I liked those pretty well. Sonia and I both enjoyed Trader Joe's Kale Chips. We thought the Broccoli Florets were okay. And I was a fan of the Crispy Crunchy Okra while Sonia was not. Most recently, we looked at the Oven Dried Bell Peppers. Bell peppers are among our favorite veggies in existence but strangely, we were not enamored with the dry version very much.

Enter: Trader Joe's Shishito Crisps. Once again, the ingredients are simple: just the titular veggies, rice bran oil, and salt. While I've heard of shishito peppers, I don't believe I've ever had them, and I'm not familiar with their flavor at all. Hey, there's a first time for everything.

First thoughts? They remind me of zombie fingers. They're brittle, crunchy, salty, and lightly oily. There seem to be three different colors in the bag: green, brown, and yellowish—with the green color being by far the most common. The taste? Maybe somewhere in between a bell pepper and a poblano pepper. I'd say the spice level is in between a bell and poblano as well—that is to say: not very spicy but not completely devoid of spice. After eating a few, there's an interesting residual warmth that's very pleasant.

They're not as flavorful as I was hoping they'd be, but the faint peppery taste combined with the rice bran oil produces enough sapidity to keep me interested. They'd go great with soup. Or a salad. Or soup and salad. I'd say these rank just above the aforementioned dried bell peppers and just below the crunchy okra in the annals of Trader Joe's crispy veggies.

So let's say I give these seven out of ten stars. Sonia is on board for the same. That's a "not bad" score for Trader Joe's Shishito Crisps from both the beautiful wifey and me. Product of Thailand. I think we paid about three bucks for the bag. Wait. Two hundred calories for the whole thing? Shoot. If I could learn to cultivate an eight out of ten star appreciation for this product, I'd drop the pounds like nobody's business.

Bottom line: 7 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Lemon Mini Sheet Cake

Ah, lemon desserts! Lemon desserts are another one of those categories of food that we're quite passionate about. Lemon, in general, is a magical thing. It's good for the skin, heart, kidneys, and digestive system—not to mention it can be used as a natural household cleaning product—plus, it's absolutely delicious.

We've seen too many lemon-flavored products from Trader Joe's throughout the years to recount every one, so we'll focus on just a few highlights: Trader Joe's When Life Gives You Lemons Make Ice Cream was insanely tart and lemony, and I loved it, personally. Trader Joe's Lemon Zest Madeleine Cookies might have been Sonia's favorite lemon product from TJ's of all time. And we both enjoyed Trader Jacques' Lemon Meringue Tarte, although we haven't seen it around in quite a few years.

How does Trader Joe's Lemon Sheet Cake compare? Sonia's certainly more fond of it than I am, but I can't say too many bad things about it. The cake part is oddly dry to me, and it could use more lemon flavor in my estimation. However, the icing saves the day. The cream cheese-based frosting for all of these Trader Joe's sheet cakes is rich, sweet, and flavorful, and this product is no exception.

There are little bright yellow zest bits on the icing and lemon juice throughout the product, which I did enjoy, although I wouldn't have minded even more of both. The icing seems a tad more lemony than the cake to me, but it's also sweeter, richer, and more flavorful in every way. I do tend to be an icing guy when it comes to cake, though.

Despite my affinity for sweet lemony things, I think I like both the pumpkin and vanilla sheet cakes just a wee bit more than this one, although it's nothing to complain about. I don't know if any product will ever compare to Sonia's love for that pumpkin spice sheet cake, but she definitely enjoyed this one more than the vanilla bean variety. We still have yet to look at the yellow and chocolate ones.

$5.49 for the six serving dessert, found with the baked goods. Sonia will go with eight and a half stars. I'll throw out seven and a half for Trader Joe's Lemon Flavored Mini Sheet Cake.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Cheesy Bagels

Growing up in South Central Pennsylvania, I didn't really eat bagels much. I mean, you could buy them at the grocery store, but my family generally didn't. Furthermore, they weren't an intrinsic part of the food culture out there in cow country.

When I went to college, I was excited to see bagels in the dining commons, where I could eat them every day. I thought they were great. The kids from North Jersey, Connecticut, and New York City were less enthused, frequently proclaiming that "Pennsylvania bagels aren't good." Except the language they used was much more colorful than that and involved words that have no place on a family-friendly blog such as this one.

Subsequent trips to the city would indeed prove that New York knows how to do bagels in the same way that Philly knows how to do cheesesteaks and Chicago knows how to do deep-dish pizza. All that to say, I'm far from an expert, but I love me a good bagel once in a while.

That said, store bought bagels rarely compare with anything fresh from a bakery or deli, but once in a while a decent product comes along. And while these aren't the best bagels I've ever had, they're pretty tasty if you like asiago cheese. That funky asiago essence really starts wafting through the kitchen once you fire up the toaster, and there's no turning back from there.

They are indeed soft and doughy on the inside and chewy on the outside. The asiago flavor is fairly dominant but not overpowering. There's a subtle wheat and barley taste as well. I enjoyed them with cream cheese the most, but they were fine with just butter in my opinion. Sonia liked them quite a bit, too, trying them with cream cheese, butter, and some seasoned chicken cold cuts for protein.

$3.49 for four pre-sliced bagels. Kosher. Would buy again. We'll go with eight out of ten stars from both Sonia and me for Trader Joe's Cheesy Bagels.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Crispy Potato & Poblano Pepper Tacos

Visually, these remind me of tacos dorados or fried tacos, although it's been many years since I've had them—the size, the crispy and slightly oily outer tortilla, and the way they're folded tightly so you can barely see what's going on in the middle. If you want a fast food reference, the two for a buck Jack in the Box tacos are similar.

Obviously, the filling is significantly different here. Instead of your typical beef and cheese taco with lettuce and what have you, we've got mashed potato and shredded poblano pepper instead of meat. Sonia says it's similar to a Mexican meal called "tacos de papa," the specifics of which vary from region to region in Mexico.

To me, the execution of Trader Joe's Crispy Potato & Poblano Pepper Tacos leaves a little to be desired. The filling in our six tacos was anything but uniform. The first one I tried barely had any pepper. The second one I grabbed actually had more poblanos than potatoes. The one without many peppers was quite bland, as you might expect. The one with a bunch of poblano had a nice peppery kick to it, but it was fairly one-dimensional flavor and texture-wise.

Fried potato chunks would have worked better than mashed potatoes I think. They're "meatier" in texture and they have more flavor, too. A larger variety of veggies would be in order as well. The peppers are a good start, but a taco needs a handful of different textures. Sonia thinks the peppers and potatoes by themselves are fine in this instance. I suppose we could have added our own lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and sour cream if we wanted.

Surprisingly, the beautiful wifey also likes the flavor. I think it's okay. It's just lacking something—not necessarily meat. A corn and bean salsa would have gone a long way. Maybe some cheese, too.

In its current format, I would think this product would stand as "vegan," although it isn't labeled as such. $4.99 for six potato tacos. Product of Mexico. Sonia would buy Trader Joe's Crispy Potato & Poblano Pepper Tacos again, while I would not if it were up to me. If they wind up in our freezer again, I'll eat one or two, but I'll dress it up with something for sure.

Sonia's score: 8 out of 10.

Nathan's score: 6 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Salted Caramel Swirl Danish

They say you are what you eat. And you don't get a nice doughy physique like mine by eating a low-carb diet, that's for sure. I'm a certified breadhead. A carbivore. A lover of pastries and baked goods. It's a good thing I'm not skilled at baking or I'd weigh like 400 pounds.

That said, I might go easy on a product just because it's a sweet, bready Danish. But I also might be harsh on it because my standards are unusually high. It's a double-edged sword.

If you're in it for a typical sticky bun Danish pastry type thing, then I think you'll like this product. If you're in it for the salted caramel custard, then you might be a bit disappointed. There's not like a glob of actual custard in the middle of the bread or anything like that. There's just a thin glaze of it in between layers of the pastry. I might not be up-to-date with my Danish bun lingo, but when I see the words "custard style filling" I think there's a giant cache of yummy pudding somewhere in the breading that you could eat with a spoon. That's not the case here.

Trader Joe's Salted Caramel Swirl Danish does indeed have a caramel-esque flavor, which is nice. It's not particularly salty in our opinions, but that's just fine by us. Our specimen was never dry, not even after heating in the air fryer. They give optional heating instructions for the conventional oven only on the packaging. Who pre-heats their oven to 350° to put something in it for two minutes??

At any rate, the air fryer worked pretty well and the product remained soft and fresh-tasting. It's honestly almost as good just straight out of the package. So if you're on your way home from TJ's and you need that pick-me-up, this product is totally fair game at room temperature. It's a little sticky and messy, so have some wet naps nearby.

$3.99 for three big Danishes. Product of Denmark. And look at that: if you eat the entire package, there's actually fewer calories than if you just eat a single Danish. 390 calories for one pastry or 117 for the whole thing. Oh wait. Part of the nutrition info is hidden behind the little flap on the wrapper. Yeah. I guess that's 1170 calories per package. Boo. Eight out of ten stars from me for Trader Joe's Salted Caramel Swirl Danish. Sonia will go with eight and a half.

Bottom line: 8.25 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Beef, Bean & Cheese Burrito

We're tough graders here in general, and we might be extra demanding when it comes to Mexican food. Sonia grew up with it, and we've both been exposed to a wide gamut of comida Mexicana from food trucks to trendy restaurants to best-kept-secrets to holes-in-the-wall to run-of-the-mill fast food joints. We may not be certified connoisseurs, but we're Mexican food enthusiasts at the very least.

Burritos? This ain't Trader Joe's first day at the burrito rodeo, that's for sure. Unfortunately, not many of their pre-made refrigerated burritos have been particularly memorable in my humble opinion. I'll throw out an honorable mention or two just so you know I'm not a hater: Trader Joe's Vegetable Samosa Burrito was interesting and tasty, and we liked the Roasted Turkey & Sweet Potato quite a bit, too.

Again, their other burritos haven't been awful, just...not memorable. Unfortunately, this burrito will fall into that category for us, as well. Sonia says Trader Joe's Beef, Bean & Cheese Burrito is basically what you'd get if you'd open a can of Hormel Chili and stick it inside a flour tortilla. I don't disagree, though I will assert that it tastes just a shade better than that.

Visually, it's unappealing. It's just a lumpy brown mush on the inside. There are very few discernible veggie chunks and what little cheese is in there gets lost in the sauce. Portions of the tortilla came out nice and crispy from the oven, but other sections were a tad leathery and hard to cut with a fork.

The spice blend is pleasant. There is a nice beefy flavor with notes of cumin, onion, and chipotle. There are plenty of pristine pinto beans with a nice taste and texture.

Still, there's nothing that would make me ever want to reach for this product again when you consider all the other myriad burritos at your fingertips. At least with a Burrito Supreme from Taco Bell, you're getting everything you get here plus fresh tomato chunks, lettuce, sour cream, and hot sauce.

$4.49 for the single serving burrito. Wouldn't buy this one again. Six out of ten stars from Sonia. Six and a half out of ten from me for Trader Joe's Beef, Bean & Cheese Burrito.

Bottom line: 6.25 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Brownie Truffle Baking Mix

In today's exciting episode, Nathan takes to the kitchen to bake brownies! What kind of unmitigated disaster will unfold in this misadventure? Click the video below to find out.

Surprisingly, Mr. Rodgers managed to make a decent batch of brownies despite his lack of culinary skills or understanding. Sonia supervised the whole operation like a helicopter parent patrolling a bratty pre-teen at a middle school make out party. 

Good thing, too. Nathan's not good at mixing, stirring, cracking eggs, or following instructions. Come to think of it, he's not good at much other than shoving sweets into his chubby face.

Alright. Enough with the self-deprecation. I get a little punchy when I have to write a few paragraphs to fill up space when the review is entirely contained in the YouTube video. I mean, this is really just placeholder text. I'm simply trying to make it a tad more interesting than your typical lorem ipsum.

Have I succeeded? Well, you've made it this far into this non-review, so I guess so. Thanks for reading this schlock. You should have just clicked the video to begin with. I digress.

Trader Joe's Brownie Truffles are easy to make, they have a nice dark chocolate flavor, and instead of edible fungi like you might have expected, they have robust chocolate chips all through them. We might buy this product again. $3.79 for the mix which produces 16 servings of brownie truffles. Wouldn't they be truffle brownies rather than brownie truffles?

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.

Aperol Aperitivo and Martellozzo Prosecco

Ever since Sonia saw Lily Collins downing multiple Aperol Spritz beverages on Emily In Paris, she's wanted to try the trendy Italian drink. So needless to say, she was excited when she spied Aperol Aperitivo on the shelves of our nearest Trader Joe's store. She also snagged an Italian Prosecco on the same shopping trip, though neither is TJ's store brand, obviously.

The only other things you need to make an authentic Aperol Spritz are ice cubes, some seltzer water or club soda, and an orange slice. We already had those on hand, although I'm pretty sure you could find any or all of the ingredients at just about any Trader Joe's—except the booze, of course. Did you know alcohol is only sold at TJ's in 14 states?

At this point I should also note that an Italian Spritz doesn't have to be made with Aperol. There are other brands like Campari and Pronto which are popular here in the States as well as Europe. I know Joe carries Pronto, and it's a bit cheaper than the Aperol.

I can't say what a Spritz tastes like when made with those other brands, but I can tell you that an Aperol Spritz is refreshing, citrusy, and unique. The finished product is a beautiful shade of light orange, and you can smell the fruity flavors wafting from the glass. Of course, you can make it sweeter by adding more Prosecco or more citrusy by adding a bigger orange wedge or less potent by simply adding more sparkling water. I used just a tad more wine than Aperol and a fairly large splash of Polar water because I like my drinks on the fizzy side. Of course, Prosecco has some carbonation of its own but not enough to offset the stillness of the aperitivo.

By itself, the Aperol is mildly bitter and strong. It's got an orange flavor, but there are also notes of grapefruit as well as something herbal or floral. It is considered a "bitter," but I'm told that it's actually sweeter than most other popular aperitivo brands.

$26.99 for 750 mL of Aperol Aperitivo, 11% alcohol by volume, imported from Italy. $8.99 for the Martellozzo Prosecco, 10.5% ABV, also dall'Italia. Would buy both again. Eight out of ten stars from both Sonia and me for the Aperol Spritz and its constituent ingredients.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Mini Mushroom Tartelettes

If you've been around for a while, you'll know I not only have a slight food sensitivity to mushrooms, but I really don't like their taste or texture either. And if you've been reading for a very long while, you'll remember Sonia had a very similar allergy in years past but she's mostly outgrown it. She's much more eager to take a shot at shrooms and feast on fungi these days, so she picked up this appetizer at Trader Joe's a couple months ago—which we recently rediscovered at the back of our freezer.

Considering I just straight up don't like mushrooms, I gotta say: this appetizer is oddly good. I mean, this product is case in point for why I try things that I "know" I don't like. The cheese, the buttery crust, the spice blend all help, but even the mushrooms taste nice here. There's a savory meatiness to them that I really enjoyed. Also, surprisingly, they're not very oily. Buttery? Perhaps. But not greasy or oily.

Sonia raved about this product. She inhaled 9 out of the 12 pieces in a single sitting—something quite uncharacteristic for her. It took a good half hour of her saying "Try them! You have to try them!" before I even took a single bite. She particularly enjoyed the flakiness of the breading, the creamy cheese blend, and the onion and garlic flavors underneath the mushrooms. She baked our batch in the oven, but I'm sure the air fryer would have done just as well.

$5.49 for 12 mini tarts. Sonia would buy them again in a heartbeat and I would attempt to overcome my disdain for mushrooms and eat half the package next time. Sonia gives Trader Joe's Mushroom Tartelettes nine out of ten stars. I'm still shocked at how much I liked them, so I won't contradict her on this one.

Bottom line: 9 out of 10.

Trader Joe San Soyaki

A quick internet search will reveal that Trader Joe's is just about the only place that sells "soyaki" sauce. Plenty of other folks are peddling bottles of teriyaki with sesame seeds as a primary ingredient. It seems fairly self evident that "soyaki" is a mashup of the words "soy" and "teriyaki," but if regular teriyaki has soy in it anyway, then wouldn't all teriyaki be soyaki? Seems to me that the sesame seeds are the things that make this product unique, but I guess "sesameyaki" doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.

Trader Joe's Soyaki is bursting with the umami flavor of soy sauce, but behind it there's a surprising amount of cane sugar sweetness along with garlic and ginger purees. You can taste sesame, vinegar, and tamari, and the whole thing is nice and savory. There are enough sesame seeds that they not only provide a bit of nuttiness to the flavor, but they add some texture, too.

My instincts would gravitate towards poultry or fish as the perfect pairings for this sauce, but I suppose steak wouldn't be out of the question. We used our soyaki as a marinade for salmon and it was scrumptious. We served it with rice and salad, and it was just perfect for dinner.

I hear it goes quite well with tofu as well, so if you're prepping a plant-based meal you're in luck because Trader Joe's Soyaki is certified vegan. It's also kosher. $3.99 for 21 oz. Would buy again. Eight out of ten stars from both Sonia and me for Trader Joe's Soyaki Sauce.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.