Trader Joe's Stollen Crisps

Since I haven't spotted any other beloved German holiday treats such as Lebkuchen or Pfeffernüsse at my local Trader Joe's lately, today we're looking at the Stollen Crisps, which were available last year but eluded our sights in terms of a review.

Always busy this time of year trying to get around to all the seasonal products TJ's has to offer and we never manage to cover everything. But isn't that how life in general goes around the holidays? So much to do and a few things inevitably slip through the cracks. I don't know how you folks with big families do it. Anyhoo, let's get started with the review before we're staring down the barrel of 500 words for a simple looksee at what is essentially a box of fancy crackers.

My biggest problem with this line of "crisps" from TJ's is never the taste.

See: Trader Joe's Strawberry Jalapeño Crisps

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps

and Trader Joe's Fig & Olive Crisps.

They've always been unique and interesting flavors. My problem is the texture—they tend to be overly hard, to the point that they hurt my teeth after just a few bites. This problem can be mitigated by soft spreads, cheeses, and/or dips. Let's see if the stollen are any different.

Honestly, this product seems slightly less rigid than the previous selections mentioned above. Is it just my imagination? Have my teeth been strengthened by that enamel repair toothpaste I've been using? Your guess is as good as mine. They're still crunchy and crispy to a fault, but not quite as extreme by my reckoning.

There's a lovely grape and citrus smell that wafts from the bag after opening. They taste like fruitcake dusted with powdered sugar—like orange and lemon zest underneath raisins and sweet buttermilk bread. It's a very nice flavor indeed. There's a surprising amount of fruit in the crackers. Each piece contains at least four or five cross sections of raisin. That might be one of the reasons this offering seems a tad softer than its predecessors.

They recommend eating these with Brie or Gouda but I'm not really a highbrow cheese guy. If we had some kind of chevre on hand, I'd grab that, but unfortunately it's going to be Philadelphia to the rescue once again. But hey, it works. It's a delicious combination in my humble opinion.

The citrus element really makes this product memorable. Some might say it's too sweet with visible amounts of sugar on the crisps, but hey, it's the holiday season and it's time to celebrate.

$4.29 for the box. Product of Canada. There's something delightfully festive and Christmassy about this item, and I'd definitely buy it again. Sonia and I will go with 8 out of 10 stars for Trader Joe's Stollen Crisps.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Kimbap

Good morning, folks! It's time to look at Trader Joe's Kimbap. Neither Sonia nor I had ever tried this dish before, but we both like sushi so we decided to give it a whirl. This one's primarily a video review in stunning 4K resolution but for those of you who just want to relax and read, here's a few paragraphs on our findings...

This Asian dish comes frozen and it thaws in 2-3 minutes in the microwave. The packaging recommends serving it hot or cold while Koreans who know the dish say it should be served at room temperature. I found hot or room temperature worked great while chilling the kimbap in the fridge made the mouthfeel a little funky.

Still, the taste and texture are remarkable considering it comes frozen solid. There's an unexpected sweetness to the dish—akin to sesame sauce—plus all the rich veggie flavors you get from tofu, burdock root, carrot, radish, spinach, and seaweed. It's filling, satisfying, convenient, and reasonably priced at $3.99 for nine big sushi roll discs.

Product of Korea. The packaging and traderjoes.com only specify that it's vegetarian, but there's nothing in the ingredients that wouldn't be vegan, and other actual vegans out in cyberspace have declared that it is, in fact, vegan. I give Trader Joe's Kimbap eight out of ten stars while the beautiful wifey will go with nine out of ten.

Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Chile Crackers

Aside from some aesthetically-pleasing packaging and the fact that I generally enjoy spicy foods, these crackers don't seem particularly alluring to me. They're being prominently displayed at TJ's stores and on traderjoes.com right now, but I'm still a bit skeptical. Can a cracker flaunt a nice crunchy texture while simultaneously delivering wheaty goodness and peppery heat?

Meh. Sorta. They're oddly dense. They're not like super light wafery crackers. They remind me a bit of the recently-reviewed Savory Squares in terms of density and overall texture, but those were made with tapioca and almond flour primarily and these are wheat-based.

Upon first bite, they don't seem very spicy. I must admit the pepper builds up on the tongue after munching on a full cracker or two but I wouldn't have minded a good bit more chile pepper flavor. 

There's also tomato powder listed in the ingredients, but I wouldn't say they taste tomatoey either. It's just a dull, dry, salty wheat flavor with a modest amount of heat.

My favorite Trader Joe's brand crackers in recent memory are definitely the Green Olive Flats, which provided us with a pleasant surprise. Despite both Sonia and I loving spicy, peppery foods, I don't know if we'd pick these up again. 

I love the concept here but I don't love the execution. I guess you could say I have a love-hate relationship with these crackers.

$2.99 for the 5 ounce box. Product of the United Kingdom. Sonia gives Trader Joe's Chile Crackers seven out of ten stars. I guess that's about right.

Bottom line: 7 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Hot Smoked Salmon Fillet

Sonia and I grabbed this product from the fridge at TJ's in haste, neither of us remembering that it had already been reviewed on this blog. In our defense, it's been over five years since the post went up, and we weren't the ones that reviewed it.

I thought about simply bumping that old post and plopping a short video at the bottom, but I think I'll just let that one stand on its own since we've got a significantly divergent take on this item. If you care to read the review from my esteemed former colleague just click here:

Trader Joe's Hot Smoked Salmon Fillet Take One

It's quite possible suppliers have changed in the past five years or that the quality of the fish has improved or simply that my erstwhile Pittsburghian counterpart "got a bad batch," but we found a much smaller layer of dark gray salmon next to the skin on our specimen. Also, we found our salmon to taste pretty good overall.

My biggest gripe would be that the smokey flavor was just a little overbearing. Some folks love that smokey flavor, but I can only tolerate it in moderation. Sonia was fine with the smokiness here.

We found a salmon spread recipe on thekitchn.com involving this salmon, mayo, onions, and lemon/lime juice. That combo was absolutely superb. The acidity of the lime juice and the creaminess of the mayo counterbalanced the smoke flavor nicely, and it made an extremely satisfying appetizer that actually wound up being our dinner.

We finished the product in a single sitting that way, serving the salmon spread on both water crackers and white rice. Get a look at the actual product by checking out the YouTube Short below.

$8.99 for the 6 ounce ready-to-serve package. In the end, I'd prefer unsmoked salmon for most situations, but this product is convenient and has plenty of potential when mixed with other ingredients. Would buy again. Seven and a half out of ten stars from me. Eight and a half out of ten stars from Sonia.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Tarte au Brie et aux Tomates

This classic thin crust "tarte" begs comparison to another longstanding Trader Joe's mainstay: Trader Giotto's Pizza Margherita. Both have thin crusts, though the one on this offering might be even thinner than the margherita's. Both are fairly stripped down and simple in terms of presentation and toppings, and both are sourced internationally, this one from France and the margherita from Italy.

Cheese-wise, we've got Brie and creme fraiche on this product, which combine for a unique, rich, and creamy quality. I'm not even that big a fan of Brie, and I'm quite sensitive to all moldy cheeses thanks to some odd allergies, but this combo didn't bother me at all in terms of a reaction, and it did provide the dish with a very interesting gourmet essence.

Instead of marinara sauce, we're looking at flattened cherry tomatoes. Again, I'm not fond of tomatoes in their purest form, but since they emerge from the oven fully cooked, I was willing to give them a chance. We were both happy with their flavor. 

The main problem that Sonia and I both perceived is that tomato sauce can be spread quite evenly over an entire pizza whereas actual tomatoes are less consistent. That is, one bite will contain an entire cherry tomato and the next bite might not have any tomato at all. Sonia, in particular, wanted a lot more tomatoes.

The braided crust was excellent. It's thinner than I'd usually prefer, but it was flaky, crispy, and very flavorful. The dough seemed to be of exceptional quality. We both almost wished Trader Joe's would sell the crust by itself to be customized and topped at home before baking.

At $4.49, this one's 30 cents cheaper than its Italian counterpart. This style of tarte is apparently very common in Alsace-Lorraine, but to a typical American consumer it might seem a bit fancy or even pretentious. 

In the end, both Sonia and I liked Trader Giotto's Pizza Margherita a little more than this dish but for slightly different reasons. It might not be number one on our shopping list, but a repeat purchase is definitely not out of the question. Sonia and I will both throw out seven and a half stars for Trader Joe's Tarte au Brie et aux Tomates.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Savory Squash Pastry Bites

Let's see...apple and pumpkin spice have had their days in the sun, so now it's time for a third party candidate to take a turn. Savory squash. Heck yes. A quick glance at the ingredients lets us know we're talking about butternut squash in particular. Love it.

It's ALSO talking about pumpkin. That's right, we've got pumpkin puree in these people-pleasing pastry puffs. Don't worry, there's nothing pumpkin spice about them. Just pumpkin in its most squash-ish sense...

The breading is pretty standard for Trader Joe's appetizer fare. Those feta and onion doodads come to mind. It's pretty yummy—flaky, buttery, and crispy—especially when heated in the air fryer, and it holds the squash and cheese right where they're supposed to be. Speaking of cheese, I guess I should have said "cheeses," because we're looking at mascarpone, ricotta, feta, and parmesan. That's quite a quartet.

And the only thing Sonia and I don't like about this product is that...it's a little too sweet for something that is so boldly deemed "savory." There's brown sugar in there. And I mean, you can get away with ricotta in something like this, even though it can also be dessert-ish. But mascarpone? That's a thing you put in tiramisu or cheesecake. Along with molasses and caramelized sugar syrup, there's a moment where you forget you're eating squash and think you might be snacking on sweet potato instead.

But still, the effect isn't unpleasant in any way. I just think the product would be stronger if it were less sweet and they'd boosted the garlic and onion essences to the foreground a little more. But I'm being picky...

$5.49 for a dozen decent hors d'oeuvres, found in the frozen section. It's another nice fall flavor. Sonia would buy it again. I don't dislike it, so I wouldn't fight her on a repurchase. She'll throw out eight out of ten stars. I'll go with seven out of ten on Trader Joe's Savory Squash Pastry Bites.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Grilled Chimichurri Chicken Thigh Skewers

I really liked those chimichurri chicken empanadas, so I figured I'd give these a try. Word on the street is that these are already discontinued, so...this review is largely moot. But there's always a possibility they'll be reinstated at some point in the future.

Conventional oven, microwave, and grill heating options are specified on the box. I was tempted to wing it with the air fryer but then I wondered if the little wooden sticks would burst into flames or something. I mean, logically, if they don't catch fire at 400° in the oven, they'd be fine in the air fryer at the same temp, but there's all that air whooshing around so...I just played it safe and used the regular oven. It took about 15 minutes to go from frozen solid to fully heated.

In terms of appearance and texture, these reminded me a lot of the jerk chicken skewers, which reminded me a lot of wild-caught gophers on sticks. Yum. Not appetizing if you ask me. Sonia and I both found the chicken to be a little chewy and fatty, which we're not fans of. There was even a bit of gristle here and there. I would have preferred breast meat over thigh, but I know some folks like that dark meat.

Flavor-wise, these had a nice spice blend. It's obviously a chimichurri type flavor, similar to the chimichurri sauce we looked at a couple years back but with less cilantro and parsley. In the end, I think I prefer the taste of the jerk seasoning since it had a slight bit more of a kick, and those other skewers actually came with a mango chutney dipping sauce.

$7.49 for six seasoned chicken thigh skewers. Don't think we'd purchase this product again though we had no problem finishing the box in a single sitting. Six out of ten stars from Sonia and me for Trader Joe's Grilled Chimichurri Chicken Thigh Skewers.

Bottom line: 6 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Crispy Battered Calamari

I'm well aware all squid can be a bit chewy, but this one was borderline rubbery IMO. Sonia agrees. I've had calamari a handful of times at Italian restaurants, and I don't think this selection was quite up to par in the texture department.

I wish it came with a sauce, too. We made our own with peri peri sauce, mayonnaise, and lemon juice, and it worked great. The flavor of these morsels is very good and isn't the problem, but sauce helps almost any fried appetizer.

Our second batch we left in the air fryer a good bit longer than what was called for, and it came out a little better than the first. The batter was even crunchier...and the squid? Really just about the same. It was difficult to cut even with a very sharp knife.

$5.49 isn't a bad price for how much you get here. Product of Italy. We still can't completely get over the excessive chewiness and lack of dipping sauce.

The beautiful wifey and I are both torn between six and seven stars, so we'll go with one of each for Trader Joe's Crispy Battered Calamari.

Bottom line: 6.5 out of 10.

Trader Giotto's Spizzico di Pizza

Alrighty then, it's another quickie today. Spizzico di Pizza. Apparently, "spizzico" means "bit by bit." That makes sense. Although, Google Translate comes back with "sketchy" when "spizzico" is input. Hmmm...?

These mini pizzas beg comparison to Bagel Bites for obvious reasons. I'd say these are a tad higher-quality in almost every respect. Granted, I haven't had Bagel Bites for a hot minute, and I don't think I've ever tried them in the air fryer.

The bread gets crispy and the sauce and cheese come out soft and melty. There's some tomato, onion, and garlic flavors, and the overall vibe is quite pleasant.

$3.49 gets you 12 of these little snackalicious bites. If they're serving as appetizers, they'll do fine for a family of four, and I must say they were plenty filling as a standalone dinner for just the beautiful wifey and me. Would buy again. Sonia and I will both give Trader Giotto's Spizzico di Pizza eight out of ten stars.

The video is under a minute. There's about 40 seconds of food review and then a mini music video at the end. Enjoy. Or not.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Green Olive Flats

When I first found out Latinos eat "lengua," I was like, "Oh, is it a beef patty shaped like a tongue or something..?" Then I found out it's, you know, like actual cow tongue. So when I saw that these were "lingue crackers," I was like, "Oh no! Please tell me the Italians don't eat crackers made of dried cow tongue!" And sure enough, they don't. These crackers are named after the Italian word for "tongue" simply because of their shape. Phew.

And they're pretty good, you know? They're nothing to write home about in and of themselves, but by that same token, these are the first crackers I've ever tried with olives baked into them. No, wait. Scratch that. These are the second crackers I've tried with olives baked into them. But these are significantly better in my honest opinion.

They're salty and savory with just enough briny olive flavor to keep it interesting. Fancy folks might pair them with expensive creamy cheeses like Brie and exotic charcuterie stuff, but I can confirm they pair well with lowbrow toppings like cheddar or cream cheese. 

We also experimented with Swiss, havarti, and feta, and there's really no wrong answer when it comes to what cheese you should pair these crispy crackers with. They also go great with olives, surprise, surprise—Trader Joe's Garlic & Jalapeño Stuffed Olives worked pretty well.

There's a pleasant crunchiness to these crackers. They might be slightly brittle, but I'd say they're neither too soft nor too hard. They don't shatter the way some other crackers do, and they're thinner than other comparable wheat flats.

$2.99 for 5 servings, which come in a resealable plastic box. Imported from Italy. We would buy Trader Joe's Green Olive Flats Italian Lingue Crackers again. Sonia gives them nine out of ten stars, stating "These are some of the best crackers TJ's has ever put out." I don't disagree. I'll go with eight out of ten.

Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Shrimp Scampi

Confession time: despite my love of shrimp, I've only had scampi once or twice in my life prior to this Trader Joe's dish. The carbivore in me generally chooses breaded, fried shrimp over shrimp cocktail or garlic butter shrimp. Still, I've enjoyed shrimp scampi each time I've sampled it, and this instance was no different.

The frozen shrimp all come in a big plastic bag. I neglected to count them, but I'd say the total tally was somewhere in the ballpark of 20-22 shrimp. They're surprisingly large, and they're coated in what appears to be a batter of some sort. At first, I thought TJ's stuck the wrong bag inside my shrimp scampi box. Appearance-wise, they looked very similar to the frozen Shrimp Boom Bah we tried a couple months ago.

Alas, the "batter" was nothing but frozen garlic and lemon butter sauce, which melts off the shrimp and into the skillet as you heat them. These shrimp specimens are indeed unbattered, and the garlic butter and lemon essences give them all the flavor they need. We heated them on the stovetop for about ten minutes, all said and done.

They went great with the Barilla fettuccine we paired them with. I didn't even add any extra seasonings or toppings—not even salt and pepper. The shrimp were flavorful but not fishy—just garlicky and buttery, with a hint of citrus and Romano cheese.

Texture-wise, they were near perfect. Neither rubbery, chewy, or hard, these shrimp were prepared properly, and they had exactly the right mouthfeel. I'd say they were restaurant-quality in almost every way.

$8.99 for the three serving package found in the frozen aisle. Would buy again. Eight out of ten stars from the beautiful wifey. Nine out of ten stars from me for Trader Joe's Shrimp Scampi.

Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Taiwanese Green Onion Pancakes

Below, you'll find another video review featuring both the beautiful wifey and me.

I'm not sure if I put the nutrition info anywhere in the video, so I'll drop it right here.

$2.49 for 5 green onion pancakes actually imported from Taiwan. Vegan. We would definitely buy Trader Joe's Taiwanese Green Onion Pancakes again.

Bottom line: 9 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Mini Shrimp Bao

Sometimes I'll rack my brain for a few minutes trying to think of some little anecdote or clever story to serve as a segue into my review but all I can think about is how freaking amazing and delicious the product at hand really is. This is one such occasion. These shrimp bao are scrumptious, convenient, and very reasonable, cost-wise.

Just 45 seconds in the microwave had each pair of bao buns piping hot, soft, and nearly perfect in the texture department. The serving suggestion on the box recommended putting cucumber slices and julienned carrots on the buns. We just so happened to have both already chopped up and ready to rock and roll right in our fridge the day we ate these. The box also wanted cilantro, but it's rare we have that on hand. Still, the crisp veggies added the perfect complement to the shrimp meat and soft, fluffy wheat-based bao buns.

There's just a mild to moderate amount of spice in both the shrimp patties and the included lemongrass lime chili sauce—which is excellent just in and of itself. Sonia and I agree that we'd buy the sauce by the bottle for sure. It's like a good sweet Thai chili sauce but with an unexpected citrusy element and perhaps not quite as thick in terms of consistency.

The shrimp flavor, the array of spices and seasonings, and the subtle savoriness of the steamed buns was one of the best combos I've tasted in a while. Sonia and I plowed through the entire box in one sitting for dinner one evening. I've seldom had appetizers this good even at sit-down Asian restaurants.

$4.99 for eight spicy shrimp bao. Product of Vietnam. Don't confuse this item with Trader Joe's 6 Spicy Shrimp Bao from a dozen years back or so. That one wasn't very good. This one will go in the Pantheon. Perfect ten stars from the beautiful wifey. Nine out of ten from me for Trader Joe's Mini Shrimp Bao.

Bottom line: 9.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Dill Pickle Mini Falafel

In case you're new here, I should mention that I really love chickpeas and chickpea derivative products like hummus and falafel. Neither Sonia nor I are vegan or vegetarian, but we both enjoy Mediterranean dishes and we've reviewed numerous other falafel products from Trader Joe's right here on this very blog. See: Trader Joe's Heat & Eat Falafel, Trader Joe's Falafel Chips, and Trader Joe's Falafel Mix. And we've reviewed a bunch of pickle-flavored stuff, too.

Evidently, this pickle falafel has been around for at least two years. Not sure how it evaded my sights all this time, but we're finally getting around to buying and trying it now. Better late than never, I always say.

Only conventional oven and microwave heating instructions are listed on the bag, but a quick internet search revealed that 390° for 7 minutes in an air fryer works just fine too. The product smells faintly of dill pickle and other falafel spices like garlic and onion. They're called "mini falafel" because they're about half the size of your typical falafel ball. They're still a bit too big to be considered "bite-sized" but they're headed in that direction.

The pickle taste is faint but there. It compliments the flavor of the garbanzo bean base. Anything you'd pair with traditional falafel would work with this product—tzatziki, hummus, tabouli, tahini, or zhoug. You could serve it with rice, pita, or a salad. Or you could do like we did and make falafel soft tacos with tzatziki, shredded cheese, and arugula in a flour tortilla. Yum.

They're crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and quite dense. They're not too dry, not too oily, and plenty versatile.

They contain canola oil, as many TJ's products do, which we're not thrilled about, but all things considered they're tasty and convenient and we'll each throw out a score of 8/10. $4.29 for the 12 ounce bag, found in the frozen section. Vegan. We would buy Trader Joe's Dill Pickle Mini Falafel again.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Chicken Karaage

Sonia and I are both fascinated with Japanese culture. We often watch travel videos from the Land of the Rising Sun and we just finished Tokyo Vice season 2. Good show. Needless to say, Japan is on our bucket list for travel destinations. We both even took a stab at learning a bit of Japanese via the Duolingo app. I've since given up. I can barely learn Spanish.

For the most part, we really enjoy Japanese cuisine, too. We're both fond of good sushi. Sonia is big into authentic ramen dishes, and I love tempura anything. So I figured breaded chicken with some alluring Japanese dipping sauce would be absolutely scrumptious.

And I'm sure this dish has its fan base, but I wound up kinda wishing I just had a box full of Chick-fil-A nuggets and some honey mustard instead of this karaage. It's not terrible, it's just a bit oily and not super flavorful. The sauce, made of canola oil, egg yolk, vinegar, and garlic powder, along with a few other things, isn't too far a cry from plain mayonnaise if you ask me.

The chicken is all leg. I'm more of a white meat guy, to be honest. While most were soft and good quality dark meat, a few of the pieces were unpleasantly gristly and chewy. The breading was nice and crispy, but it didn't add a whole lot as far as taste is concerned.

Sonia was busy with work when I asked for her thoughts on this chicken dish.

"S'good," she blurted flatly.

I'll interpret that as something like 7 out of 10 stars.

$6.49 for the four serving bag, found in the frozen aisle. Looks like it's simply "Japanese inspired" rather than a true Japanese import. I'd love to hear your thoughts if you're familiar with authentic karaage. All I can tell you is that this wasn't my favorite, but you can't say I didn't have a go at it. I'd try the dish again but probably wouldn't purchase this TJ's offering a second time. Six out of ten stars for me for Trader Joe's Chicken Karaage.

Bottom line: 6.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Shrimp Boom Bah

The name "Shrimp Boom Bah" made complete sense to me until I started thinking about it. I couldn't even think of the phrase that it was mimicking at first. Then it dawned on me: "sis boom bah." And then I couldn't even recall what that phrase meant or in what context I'd heard it. Wiktionary says it's a phrase of encouragement synonymous with "hooray" commonly used in US cheerleading. Oh. Duh. "Rah, rah, sis boom bah." That's clever...I guess.

The spice level of Trader Joe's Shrimp Boom Bah is right in that sweet spot where there's plenty of kick but it doesn't interfere with the other flavors or your enjoyment of the meal. It has quite a bit of heat, but not to the point of pain. Both the breading on the shrimp and the bright orange boom boom sauce contain some spice but I think most of it is coming from the condiment.

There's a nice thick, high-quality breading that contains rice, corn, and wheat elements. It's like a cross between traditional American fried shrimp batter and an Asian tempura type coating. The shrimp are big enough that you can taste and feel them quite readily even despite the heavy batter. 

Both the mouthfeel and flavor of the shrimp are on point, and I'm a tough grader when it comes to shrimp. Sonia loves that the sauce is simultaneously creamy, sweet, and spicy...and that they actually give you a generous amount of it.

$8.99 for the box, which is honestly pretty inexpensive for any type of shrimp these days, let alone this restaurant-quality product that actually comes with its own delicious dipping sauce. We would absolutely buy Trader Joe's Shrimp Boom Bah again. What could possibly make it better? Make it with jumbo shrimp next time. Both Sonia and Nathan give the same score once again.

Bottom line: 9 out of 10 stars.

Trader Joe's Papas Rellenas

A reader recently reminded me of Porto's Bakery's potato balls, a legendary treat from an amazing bakery that Sonia and I would frequent when we lived in Los Angeles. We even still order them once in a while since Porto's delivers nationwide...<cough cough> unlike Trader Joe's <cough cough>. Talk about delicious, man, I swear those things are where the term "amazeballs" originated. Anyway, the same reader said she thought these might be TJ's take on the same concept and wondered if they were anywhere near as good. Good question, April. Thanks for the idea to compare the two. Porto's has set the bar exceptionally high, I must say.

There are four of Trader Joe's Papas Rellenas (stuffed potatoes) in the box with two cellophane wrapped packs of two balls each. Thankfully, they come with air fryer instructions, which were adequate, for once, erring on the side of overcooking this time if anything.

Our spud spheres came out extra crispy—perhaps a tad crispier than Porto's. I guess we can attribute that to heating them in the air fryer as opposed to the conventional oven. Something else I noticed right away is that Trader Joe's tater treats weren't as structurally sound as Porto's potato balls. You can basically eat the Porto's offering with your hands if you want to, but Trader Joe's fell apart as soon as I dug in my fork. Again, at least part of that might be attributable to our chosen heating method.

They're very similar to Porto's in terms of taste and texture. I'd say there's a little less ground beef in TJ's. Come to think of it, I'd say there's less onion and pepper, too. It's mostly just crispy crust and mashy potato in these. There's definitely some beef, but it's not quite enough IMO.

Sonia and I agree these tasty taters are worth a pick-up if you're in Trader Joe's and need a simple comfort food fix, but they're not quite as good as Porto's Bakery. Of course TJ's are a little cheaper and they're optimized for throwing in your freezer and consuming at your own convenience, so they definitely have their advantages.

$4.99 for the four round rations. While Porto's potato balls would receive a near perfect score from us, these get four stars a piece from Sonia and me. They won't take home the title, but Trader Joe's Papas Rellenas are still really darn good.

Bottom line: 8 out of 10.