Hardywood Tangerine Cream Ale

Unpopular opinion: Hardywood Tangerine Cream Ale tastes neither like dessert nor beer. After being pleasantly surprised by the last Trader Joe's Hardywood collab, the Joe-Joe's Vanilla Creme Stout, we decided to pick up a four pack of this happy summer libation, and we drank some on our most recent video review.

It's certainly not bad beer, but it's not really my thing in the end, either. Like other cream ales, there's a light crispness to the beverage, and with significant vanilla notes coming through, it does indeed taste "creamy" in the traditional sense in a way. There's a modest amount of citrus in the background, but not nearly as much as I was expecting or hoping for in a beverage that's putting out a distinct dessert vibe and gives the word "tangerine" top billing in its title.

It wasn't as sweet as I was expecting it to be. Nor was it anything like most ales I've had. Disclaimer: I haven't had many traditional cream ales or fruited wheat beers which, I'm told, is what this libation is most comparable to. Obviously, I wasn't expecting something as hoppy as an IPA or as malty as a stout or porter, but if it's not going to taste like dessert, I was expecting it to taste a bit more beer-ish.

With an ABV of 6%, this brew is slightly higher than your average ale, so a couple of the one pint cans might give you a little buzz. The price tag is a bit steep IMO at $3.75 for a single serving or $15 for the four pack. In terms of pairing with light warm weather fare, I'd point to the Josephsbrau Grapefruit Radler, in terms of overall taste and value, over this one. But that's just my opinion. I know it's like comparing apples and oranges—er, tangerines and grapefruits—as the case may be, but they're both popular fruity beers available at Trader Joe's in the summertime.

I will note this brew tastes and feels much better the colder you can get it—as is the case with most beers, to be fair. Sonia liked this beverage a bit more than I did. Ultimately, we'll both score this one a little lower than that recently-reviewed radler. Eight out of ten stars from the beautiful wifey. Six and a half stars from me for Hardywood Tangerine Cream Ale...which tastes nothing like the Tangerine Cream Bars.

Sonia's score: 8 out of 10.

Nathan's score: 6.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Fresh Cut Watermelon Chunks

I'm the first one to admit Trader Joe's isn't always the best place to buy fresh produce. But Sonia was quick to point out that we've never even tried any of their pre-cut fruit options. Hey, there's a first time for everything, so we picked up a batch of Trader Joe's Fresh Cut Watermelon Chunks.

Hot take: this batch of watermelon was pretty good. At $3.99 for a full pound of pre-cut, fully de-rinded seedless watermelon, it was a great value. They were nice uniform cubes, none too big, none too small—perfectly bite-sized.

As is the case with most watermelons, certain pieces were a darker shade of red than the others. There was a sliding scale going from pale pink or almost white to that deep rich red that you want to find. I'd seek out the reddest piece, stab it with my fork, and pop it in my mouth. So good. There's nothing like cold watermelon on a hot day.

The paler pieces were, unfortunately, far less sweet and far less scrumptious than their deep red counterparts. They weren't awful—far from inedible. They were simply, predictably, not as good. Just a tad bland.

I'm pretty picky when it comes to fresh fruit in general, but especially with watermelon. I'd say about 2/3 of the plastic tub was up to my standards. I ate a few of the paler specimens just to convince myself that they weren't really up to snuff, and the beautiful wifey took one for the team and finished them off after dressing them up a bit with lime juice and Trader Joe's Chile Lime Seasoning.

All things considered, I think we'd buy this product again. It was at least as good as other batches of pre-cut watermelon I've had from other grocery stores. Product of the USA. Let's go with seven and a half from me for Trader Joe's Fresh Cut Watermelon Chunks. Sonia will go with eight out of ten.

Bottom line: 7.75 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwich

If you've ever been standing in front of TJ's refrigerated grab-and-go section wondering whether Trader Joe's Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwich is the lunch hero you deserve, I've done the dirty work for you.

At first glance, this sandwich makes a pretty solid first impression. The croissant is buttery, flaky, and exactly the sort of bread that convinces you you're making a classy life decision. Unfortunately, you'll quickly find that the parts of the croissant touching the filling are noticeably soggy, creating a texture that feels less like a French bakery and more like yesterday's leftovers.

The chicken salad itself is nice. It's creamy without drowning in mayonnaise and there are plenty of respectable-sized chunks of chicken throughout. Our only complaint? We wanted more of it. The filling-to-bread ratio leaves the croissant doing a little too much of the heavy lifting.

Then there are the greens. The sheets of lettuce don't really contribute much besides a few stringy bites that make you wonder why they were invited to the party in the first place. They don't add freshness, crunch, or much flavor—just a minor obstacle between you and the chicken salad.

Overall, the flavor is genuinely enjoyable. The ingredients work well together, and it's tasty enough. The problem is the texture. Between the soggy croissant and the stringy greens, every few bites feel like a bit of a gamble. It's also quite messy, as the chicken salad wants to flee the croissant at the first sign of movement.

At $4.49, this chicken salad sandwich is an okay value, but it doesn't quite rise above the crowded field of convenient lunches. We'd happily eat it again if it magically appeared in front of us, but we probably wouldn't go out of our way to buy another one.

In summary, there's a good flavor, questionable texture, and a decent but not spectacular value. Sonia and I will both give Trader Joe's Chicken Salad Croissant Sandwich a perfectly respectable seven out of ten stars. Watch our video review of this sandwich by clicking this link.

Bottom line: 7 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Pickled Red Onions

Trader Joe's Pickled Red Onions are all about the convenience factor. For $3.29, you get 12 oz of the tangy, crunchy condiment. Sure, you could make your own. But will you? For some folks the answer is yes, and they're already in the habit of chopping and pickling their own onions right in the kitchen. For others, the answer is "I could, but I know I won't."

Both answers are valid. Sonia and I sometimes buy a jar of pickles and then when we've finished the product within, we save the juice and pickle whatever else needs pickling: onions, cucumbers, jalapeños...you name it. I just don't trust myself to get the vinegar to salt to sugar ratio quite as perfectly as a company that's been pickling stuff professionally for decades.

Trader Joe's Pickled Red Onions are quite vinegary—more so than other pickled onions I've tried. That's certainly not a bad thing, especially if you like the acidic taste of vinegar. There's plenty of onion flavor and the garlic, salt, and black peppercorn adds a faint but noticeable background essence. I think I prefer the Lime Pickled Onions from Broken Taco when it comes right down to it, but they tend to be a bit more expensive.

These pickled onions add a nice tang to tacos, burgers, and salads. We're especially fond of putting them in beef tacos—see pic. They're also legit on hotdogs and avocado toast. I threw some on top of an omelette as a garnish and it worked just fine. The sky's the limit. The only question is: how will we use the leftover pickle juice once the onions are gone? If we throw little cucumber slices in the jar will we get oniony pickles?

Sonia and I would both buy this one again. Just as good as Trader Joe's Pickled Jalapeño Slices. The beautiful wifey will go with eight out of ten stars on Trader Joe's Pickled Red Onions. I'll throw out seven and a half.

Bottom line: 7.75 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Coconut Cashew Candy Clusters

During our initial taste test, Sonia likened Trader Joe's Coconut Cashew Candy Clusters to the Girl Scout classic: Samoas. I guess it's a fairly obvious comparison. Both have coconut, caramel, and chocolate. The most obvious differences are that these have cashew nuts like another recently-reviewed candy offering from TJ's and these come in a "cluster" format rather than neat, uniform circular cookies.

It's been a hot minute since I've had a box of Girl Scout Cookies, but I'd say these are significantly sweeter than Samoas. Honestly, they're a little too sweet for me. I'm glad Trader Joe's went with milk chocolate rather than dark chocolate for once, but the presence of several different types of sugar and caramel pushes these happy morsels way past the mark in my opinion. I mean, the nuts themselves are "coconut cashews" that already contain cane sugar. It's sugar on sugar on sugar with a whisper of nuttiness.

Also, Samoas have an actual cookie element that adds structural stability. These candies are much gooier. There is a slight crunchy element in the mix which I assume is the coconut cashews. It almost feels and tastes like little pieces of toffee, but I don't see mention of toffee in the ingredients. Not my favorite texture in the world, either.

Still, most folks will find these palatable if not downright delicious. I would have gone absolutely mad for these in my younger years. These days, I'm looking for something a little more balanced, a little more restrained. I would have liked significantly more coconut flavor and cashew flavor. Furthermore, this summer heat makes candy like this a sticky mess. The chocolate and caramel melt instantly upon contact with fingers and hands. Makes me want to put on latex gloves before reaching into the bag.

But even grumpy old men can appreciate super sweet chocolatey candy once in a while. As long as I only eat one or two pieces at a time and wash them down with a swig of milk, I'll easily put a dent in the bag. With a little help from the beautiful wifey, we'll polish off the 6.3 oz package in a few days. Thankfully, it's resealable so we don't have to eat the whole thing at once.

$4.99 for the five serving bag. Kosher. Probably wouldn't buy this one again, personally, but there are plenty of people out there who rave about it. Sonia gives Trader Joe's Coconut Cashew Candy Clusters seven and a half stars. Once again, I'll go with seven out of ten.

Bottom line: 7.25 out of 10.

Trader Joe's French Galettes Butter Cookies

Sonia and I first tried these galettes during a multi-cookie showcase we did on video a couple weeks ago. Truth be told, I wasn't exactly enamored with these confections from square one. But of all the cookies we tasted that day, these grew on me the most and actually turned out to be my favorites over time.

Trader Joe's French Galettes Cookies remind me a bit of Royal Dansk Danish butter cookies. You know the big blue tin that Grandma would get for the family at Christmas time..? Yeah, kinda like that, but these are tad more dense and firm, not as crumbly, and I'd say these are saltier than their Danish counterparts.

They're perfect for dunking in hot coffee or your beverage of choice. They're plenty sweet, but more than that, there's that cultured butter vibe. It really grew on me. It's rich and complex. Sonia mentioned she'd eat them with jelly or jam, while other folks suggest they pair well with fresh fruit or ice cream. For the most part, we just enjoyed them straight from the pack with a spot of tea or java.

There are three separately packaged sets of four cookies each, so you only have to open a third of the box at a time. That helps keep the majority of the cookies fresher, longer. It might be an excessive amount of packaging, but the beautiful wifey and I both think it's worth it.

$3.99 for twelve galette cookies imported from France—apparently from some fancy schmancy bakery in Nantes. Might buy again. Seven and a half stars from Sonia for Trader Joe's French Galettes Butter Cookies. I'll go with seven out of ten—which is actually a very high score for me for crunchy cookies of any kind.

Bottom line: 7.25 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Ranch Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips

After trying Trader Joe's Original Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips—the ones with chili lime flavor, we knew we had to check out this latest addition to the lineup: Trader Joe's Ranch Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips.

Right up front, the taste is ranchtastic. And if you've ever enjoyed a certain blue-bagged ranch tortilla chip from a certain major snack company, you'll immediately recognize where TJ's is going here. These taste very similar to Cool Ranch Doritos. There's that familiar tangy, savory, slightly cheesy ranch seasoning that coats your mouth and makes it really hard to stop reaching back into the bag.

But here, there's a little something extra going on. The seasoning blend is superb. There's onion, garlic, black pepper, and parsley all hanging out together, giving these chips a little more depth than just your standard ranch powder. The garlic and onion give them that savory punch, while the black pepper adds a tiny bit of bite. The parsley is a nice touch too, giving the flavor a little bit of freshness in the middle of all that salty snack goodness. These definitely aren't bland ranch chips.

We're aware that Takis has a ranch flavored offering, too, but neither of us have tried Buckin' Ranch Takis. I've heard mixed reviews about that product. Seems like Takis' wheelhouse is spicy stuff, but some folks say they do ranch pretty well, too.

To be quite honest, Sonia and I usually prefer our tortilla chips in the classic flat triangle shape. There's something about the regular tortilla chip that just works. It's lighter, easier to eat, and most importantly: it makes a much better vehicle for dipping.

The rolled shape is fun, but it also makes them feel a little denser and crunchier than a typical tortilla chip. There's a lot of chip packed into every bite. If you're eating handful after handful, that extra density starts to become noticeable. I thought it was my imagination at first, but I kinda feel like these are a tad thicker and harder than their chili lime counterparts.

In the end, the ranch flavor is spot on, the seasoning blend is delicious, and they absolutely hit the spot if you're craving Cool Ranch Doritos while cruising the aisles at Trader Joe's. Sonia and I both prefer crispy, wispy tortilla chips over something this dense, and we'd probably grab the chili lime offering again before this one—but if you're a ranch chip fan, these are absolutely worth a try. Trader Joe's Ranch Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips are fun, flavorful, and a decent addition to Trader Joe's snack aisle. $2.99. Kosher. Gluten free. Seven and a half stars a piece from Sonia and me.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's 12 Mini Blueberry Scones

Sonia and I both have the same introductory reference point for scones: Starbucks circa the early-mid 2000s. She was partial to the maple oat nut scone while blueberry has always been my go-to. All things considered, I'd have to say these bake 'em yourself petite pastries are comparable to the classic Starbucks offering if perhaps a tad less sweet and less dense. Also TJ's are "miniature" scones, so these are much smaller.

Trader Joe's 12 Mini Blueberry Scones will run you $5.49. They come frozen, and you bake from frozen: 375° for 14-16 minutes. We had ours in for about 17 minutes before it was all said and done.

They came out nice and hot, soft, crumbly, and reasonably sweet. You can both see and taste that there's no sugar glaze on these scones. That's just fine with Sonia and me.

Each specimen had between one and four visible blueberries on the outside of the pastry. On the inside, there were none. The couple of berries you see poking out of the dough are just about all you're gonna get, unfortunately. Each bite with a blueberry is well-balanced, juicy, fruity, and sweet. Each bite without a blueberry is doughy and comparatively bland—not awful. But these bready breakfast bites would be bounds better with beaucoup blueberries.

Have them with tea or coffee. Slather them with blueberry preserves. Serve them with clotted cream. Whip up some powdered sugar frosting. There are plenty of ways to dress up these scones. And honestly, they're quite noshable as is. Trader Joe was just predictably stingy with the fruit—and that's really our only complaint. I guess a resealable freezer bag might be nice, too, in case you don't want to eat all 12 scones at once.

We'd still buy 'em again. Look for Trader Joe's 12 Mini Pumpkin Ginger Scones with the same style packaging come fall. Eight out of ten stars from Sonia. Seven and a half stars from me for Trader Joe's Blueberry Scones.

Bottom line: 7.75 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Greek Style Chicken Salad

Now before we get started looking at Trader Joe's Greek Style Chicken Salad, we have to remember the ghosts of chicken salads past and put this all in perspective. Trader Joe's was once home to the two best chicken salads I've ever had: Trader Joe's Curried White Chicken Deli Salad and Trader Joe's Wine Country Chicken Salad, neither of which I've seen in quite a while. At some point, the curried chicken salad underwent a repackaging and renaming and became a slightly different product called simply Trader Joe's Curry Chicken Salad. I'm told it wasn't even close to that aforementioned Curried White Chicken Deli Salad, though I did not sample that version of it and can not provide confirmation of those allegations.

Likewise, at least one report came in years after the fact that the Wine Country Chicken Salad underwent a similar disappointing change near the end of its life cycle at Trader Joe's. Basically what I'm saying is that I've never had chicken salad that good before or since. I'm not saying those selections were healthy in any way. On the contrary, they packed a surprising amount of fat and calories for a food that's often thought of as light and reasonably healthy—particularly the curried offering. But my goodness, if they weren't delicious...

Anyhoo, this is one of the few chicken salad offerings that's caught our eye in recent years and we're here to tell you it's tasty, but it's not exactly the Homer's Odyssey of the chicken salad world. There's plenty of good and plenty of meh and if you want the nitty gritty, please read on.

What's working? There's a fair amount of quality white meat chicken, though the chunks could be bigger. They're more like wispy shreds of chicken as it stands. There's a nice salty vibe throughout the mix, though it's not over-the-top briny or thirst inducing. The spice blend including onions, garlic, parsley, black pepper, and dill provides a nice Greek undertone. The olives and artichoke hearts add a pleasant touch providing some hearty veggies and tender, meaty earthiness.

The sundried tomatoes are about the only element Sonia and I are split on. I found them to be too big, too intrusive, and a tad too chewy, while Sonia thought they worked just fine. She's far more into tomato than I am, although I can throw down with sundried tomatoes in some contexts.

Still, we both found the product lacking that WOW factor. We both wanted feta cheese. Who makes a Greek chicken salad without feta? A few crumbles of the delectable Mediterranean brined curd cheese might have pushed this product over the top into greatness. As it stands, it's worth a try but not legendary.

$5.49 for the 10 oz tub, found near the refrigerated salads, cheeses, and hummus type things. Might buy again. Seven and a half stars from the beautiful wifey for Trader Joe's Greek Style Chicken Salad. I think I'll follow suit.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Root Beer Float Pieces

There's just something about a root beer float that screams summertime. You've got the earthy bite of the root beer, the sweet vanilla cream, and the fizz of the soda. They all come together for such a great flavor that's cold and refreshing. And why root beer? I mean, cola floats work just fine. I think it's the way the root beer and ice cream interact to create such a fluffy head of foam. Can a solid piece of candy possibly capture the magic of a real root beer float?

Trader Joe's Root Beer Float Pieces will run you $3.79, and I must admit they're fun and unique. They've got a vanilla cream sandwich cookie for a base which is covered in a root beer flavored confectionery coating. Plot twist: there are Pop Rocks to add fizz, just like actual root beer. Okay, it's "popping candy." But we all know who made popping candy famous.

The vanilla cream in the center is cloyingly sweet. And it's topped with cookie which is topped with more sweet candy. It's a bit over the top in terms of sugary sweetness if you ask me. Part of the brilliance of a root beer float is the balance of flavors. There's definitely some root beer taste in these candies, but the cookie part of the equation overshadows it by a good margin.

Sonia and I like Trader Joe's Root Beer Float Bars popsicles significantly better than these dry candies. Their flavor is much closer to that of a traditional root beer float and the refreshment factor is head and shoulders higher than these sticky sweet candy pieces. These root beer bites definitely have their fanbase—plenty of rave reviews out there if you go looking for them. We'll put 'em solidly in "not bad" territory. The beautiful wifey gives Trader Joe's Root Beer Float Pieces seven and a half out of ten stars. I'll throw out seven out of ten.

Bottom line: 7.25 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Red, White & Blue Cookie Bites

Decades ago, my father was a tour guide at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. He often remembered the bicentennial year—just a few years before I was born—in 1976. He recalled it as a year-long celebration that saw a huge rise in tourism in Philly. People seemed more interested in US history and the birth of our nation. There were reenactments, parties, fireworks displays, and festivities of all kinds. A few times he'd remarked to me as a child: "Well, you'll be around for the 250th anniversary of our country." And here I am.

We won't be attending any major Fourth of July events this year, but 7/4/26 has been a date planted in my psyche for a very long time now. As far as festivities go, Sonia and I will keep things simple but fun. I mean, we have napkins and plates with red, white, and blue stars. And thanks to Trader Joe's, we have these super duper patriotic cookie bites.

Those of you who've been reading for a while now understand it takes a really special cookie to get a glowing review on this blog. That's not what's going to happen here, unfortunately, but hey I'm down with the fun red, white, and blue theme and there's at least some uniqueness going on here, so let's get down to brass tacks, shall we?

Trader Joe's Red, White & Blue Cookie Bites are tiny balls of crunchy vanilla cookie surrounded by fruit-flavored candy coatings. The red flavor tastes like cherry and the tub is mostly that red flavor for some reason. I think it represents courage, valor, and sacrifice. Or maybe it just stands for cherry. I like the flavor okay, but there is a bit of that cough syrup vibe.

The blue flavor is blueberry-esque. I like it a tad better than its crimson counterpart. Also justice, vigilance, and perseverance are admirable qualities. Go USA.

The white flavor tastes like lemon to me. It's the best of all and there were like five in the entire gigantic tub. Apparently Trader Joe doesn't believe in purity and innocence. I'm kidding. Or am I?

It's going to be hot this Fourth of July, and the candy coating on these cookie bites is going to melt if you take them to a barbecue or outdoor party or something. So...I wish we had like some Trader Joe's Bomb Pops or some other frozen America-themed treat to review today, but I guess you can always do something indoors...in the air conditioning...and hope these vaguely snackable cookies stay solid long enough to try one of each flavor before you say "meh" and hand the tub to the kids.

Should I even score this one? I mean they're not bad. It's just...they're not great either. Someone commented on our YouTube channel "This guy should not be allowed to review cookies." Maybe that's true. I am terribly jaded when it comes to cookies. We've literally reviewed over a hundred types of Trader Joe's brand cookies. Maybe I should refrain from posting negative cookie reviews because normal folks seem to be fond of every cookie that TJ's puts out. Leave your own personal score for these cookies in the comments. Let's just do it that way.

Five bucks for the ten ounce tub. Kosher. Personally, I wouldn't buy Trader Joe's Red, White & Blue Cookie Bites again. Have a great Fourth of July weekend, everybody. Stay safe out there.

Bottom line: America turns 250 years old this weekend and these are red, white, and blue cookie bites.

Trader Joe's Whipped Strawberry Cream Cheese

We've already reviewed this product on video, so I guess it's time to get a written review up here on the blog. It's a whipped cream cheese with strawberry flavor, found in the refrigerated section of TJ's, and it'll run you $2.79. Most name brand cream cheese costs significantly more than that, so we're already looking at a pretty decent value.

The texture is fairly standard as far as whipped cream cheeses tend to go. Trader Joe's Whipped Strawberry Cream Cheese is light and fluffy and super easy to spread. We had ours with Trader Joe's Strawberry Brioche Style Liège Waffles. I kind of expected both products to be tasty but not necessarily bursting with strawberry flavor.

Lo and behold, I was right. That's really my only complaint about this product. It could be more strawberry-ish. If it's too difficult to load the product up with strawberry bits or strawberry puree, one would think freeze-dried strawberry would do the trick. Far from strawberry overload, the strawberry waffle/strawberry cream cheese combo yielded a perfectly adequate level of strawberry scrumptiousness.

Of course, we did try the cream cheese with plain sourdough toast. It's nice. It gets a thumbs up. But there's only a whisper of the fruit flavor.

The sweetness level is pleasant and restrained. Some fruit-flavored cream cheeses lean heavily into the dessert category, but this one manages to stay firmly in breakfast-spread territory. It's creamy, mildly tangy, and just sweet enough to keep things interesting without tasting artificial or candy-like. In that sense, Trader Joe's got the balance right. I just wish they'd turned the strawberry dial up a notch or two.

As it stands, the texture is on point and the flavor is there, but you'll probably find yourself searching for strawberry more than savoring it. Still, for less than three bucks, it's an easy way to add a little something extra to your morning toast, bagel, waffle, or whatever carb delivery system happens to be on the menu. Kosher. Found in the refrigerated section. Eight out of ten stars from Sonia on Trader Joe's Whipped Strawberry Cream Cheese Spread. I'll go with seven out of ten.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Hot Honey Popcorn

Hot honey. So hot right now. Sometimes Trader Joe calls it Spicy Honey. Whatever butters your biscuit—or in this case, popcorn.

And this popcorn is indeed buttery. It's almost reminiscent of movie theater popcorn. It's bright yellow like butter. Yet it's sweet like kettle corn. Plus, there's a whisper of spicy heat.

Those of you who know Sonia and me probably know we're looking for more than a whisper when it comes to spice. We don't want masochistic mouth-searing heat just for heat's sake. We want a flavorful peppery punch. There is some cayenne listed in the ingredients, but it's pretty low. Too low by our standards. If the name of your product puts "hot" in the headline, then you gotta at least clear our sinuses a bit. Them's the rules.

We thought about adding some of the aforementioned Trader Joe's Spicy Honey but decided against it due to the obvious mess it would create. We could always sprinkle the popcorn with sriracha powder or extra cayenne pepper, but we just decided to enjoy it as is despite us pining for more picante piquancy.

If you're looking for sweet, buttery kettle corn with a hint of heat, look no further. Although, I must say I wish the popcorn tasted a bit more like actual honey. It does contain some "honey powder" but sugar is much higher on the list. Again, maybe actual honey might have rendered such a sticky snack that no amount of Wet Ones could ever sate the sappy syrup from your skin. Maybe if honey powder were higher on the list..?

In the end it's a decent snack even if it doesn't taste just like spicy honey. We've already polished off the majority of the bag. Three bucks. Kosher. Kind of addictive but could be more so if it truly lived up to its name. Eight out of ten stars from the beautiful wifey. Seven and a half stars from me. Would buy again.

Bottom line: 7.75 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Almond Flour Tortillas

Trader Joe's Almond Flour Tortillas will run you $3.69 for 6 gluten free, vegan, and kosher tortillas. Of course, Trader Joe's Corn Tortillas are also gluten free, vegan, and kosher, and they're the way to go if you're looking for an old-school experience that's probably more authentic in terms of Mexican cuisine. Watch out for the mold on those corn tortillas, though. They don't last long once they're opened.

We found these almond flour tortillas were quite edible past their best by date. No mold. No additional stiffness, though I must point out that they're somewhat stiff to begin with. I think that's just the nature of the almond flour. There's a slight rigidness to these tortillas that you don't really have with corn tortillas or even wheat flour tortillas. It's a tad off-putting to me.

Sonia didn't seem to mind the texture much. She happily ate them with her salsa de queso. We made a few other things with them after the salsa de queso was gone. They're perfectly adequate for any kind of taco.

Flavor-wise, there might be a hint of nuttiness, but you really wouldn't guess they were made with almonds in a blind taste test. They do approximate the flavor of traditional flour tortillas pretty well. The beautiful wifey is definitely a fan of the flavor here, and when it comes to tortillas, she knows her stuff.

I just can't envision many situations that would call for almond flour tortillas. As mentioned above, if you're avoiding gluten, I'd stick to corn tortillas, but that's just me—and these are significantly more expensive. I suppose some folks might have sensitivities to both wheat gluten and corn. I'll let the beautiful wifey score this one since she's the expert. She gives Trader Joe's Almond Flour Tortillas seven and a half out of ten stars.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Strawberry Brioche Liège Waffles

As you might have guessed, these breakfast treats are comparable to the previous Liege waffle offerings from Trader Joe's in terms of price, size, texture, and packaging. We're looking at $4.99 for six individually-wrapped Belgian waffles. And yes, they are actually imported from Belgium.

The original Brioche Style Liege Waffles are still my favorite just because they're a tad more versatile than these or their maple-flavored counterparts. We weren't able to get our hands on the pumpkin spice variety last fall, but we'll make another attempt come September, provided they return again this year.

These Liege waffles do have tiny specks of strawberry throughout their bready Belgian brioche-style bodies. It's actually "apple strawberry pieces," whatever those are. There's also some strawberry puree in the mix. And yes, many of you know exactly what's coming: a complaint. They still don't taste enough like strawberry.

I want strawberry chunks in the next one. I want just a whisper of bread with my strawberry puree. I want big berry boldness. I want the berry flavor to knock my socks off. And that's not what this does. It just whispers "strawberry" softly...like a distant melody on the wind...being played by a middle school band...in the next town over.

Maybe I exaggerate. It'll be strawberryish enough for many folks. It's certainly strawberryish enough when paired with Trader Joe's Whipped Strawberry Cream Cheese Spread although that product isn't exactly strawberry overload just on its own, either. But hey, in terms of convenience and value, we've got another winner on our hands.

Sonia and I would both purchase Trader Joe's Brioche Style Strawberry Liege Waffles again. Like their predecessors, they're perfectly edible straight out of the wrappers, but they shine even more when toasted and topped with butter and/or strawberry cream cheese. Eight out of ten stars from the beautiful wifey. Seven and a half out of ten stars from yours truly.

Bottom line: 7.75 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Corn Tortillas

Corn, water, and lime. That's it. Those are the ingredients in Trader Joe's 100% Corn Tortillas. That's this product's biggest strength and its biggest weakness.

What do I mean by that? Well, I love seeing a short ingredients list. It means there's nothing unhealthy or weird going on. Products like that usually taste clean, fresh, and pure. This product is no different. These tortillas have a great corn flavor and a great texture...provided you eat them pretty fast.

We ate a few of these tortillas shortly after getting them home from our latest Trader Joe's run. Sonia's a pro at microwaving tortillas for a few seconds between layers of damp paper towels and serving them with her Mexican meals. We had some turkey tacos with these little maize mats, black beans, shredded cheese, lettuce, and sour cream, and they were perfectly delicious.

We stored the remainder all zipped up in our cool, dry pantry. We opened them back up exactly on the best by date printed on the bag less than a week later to eat with our salsa de queso, and there was already visible greenish mold on more than half of the remaining tortillas. Even the ones untainted by mold had a stiff, nearly inedible texture by that point. We were able to resuscitate just two of them by heating them up for a spell, and even then, they weren't half as good as the ones we ate straightaway. Hear more of our thoughts by watching our video review on YouTube.

We checked online to see if others noticed how quickly this product spoils, and yes, there are plenty of other people saying the same thing. This is a decent product, but don't wait to eat them and don't trust the "best by" that's printed on them. Plus, you can get more bang for your buck buying a 30 pack of Guerrero or La Banderita, which are both good as well, for less than a dollar more than this product.

$1.69 for 12 tortillas. Gluten free. Vegan. Kosher. Found near the other breads, pitas, and flatbreads. Would buy again but only to eat basically on the same day we purchase them. Seven out of ten stars from Sonia and me for Trader Joe's 100% Corn Tortillas.

Bottom line: 7 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Garlic Butter Nut Mix

Following in the fine tradition of Trader Joe's other great nut mixes in cans like Nuts About Elote, Nuts About Rosemary, and Trader Joe's Maple Spiced Nut Mix, here we have Trader Joe's Nuts About Garlic...er, Trader Joe's Garlic Butter Nut Mix. It's the same standard packaging. Same price: $6.99.

This one features "crunchy coated cashews." They're cashews...but they're extra crunchy and brittle. I kinda like the soft creaminess of cashews and I kinda miss it here, to be honest. The crunchy thing works for other nuts, but super dry, crunchy cashews is a bit weird to me.

There are way too many "bread chips" in this mix, too. Seems like a way to cheap-out a bit to put a bunch of crunchy, crusty wheat crisps in a premium nut mix. Sonia seemed to be more fond of them than I was, however. She calls them "Lego breads" meaning they're just about the right size for a Lego minifig. So true.

The almonds are fine. The pecans are fine, as well, but in our can at least, they're tragically underrepresented. The garlic butter essence is fairly evenly distributed across all of the elements.

The overall flavor is salty and savory like you might expect. It's buttery, sure. There's a "butter and garlic seasoning" mentioned on the ingredients, but it's not half as garlicky as I would have liked. They could ratchet that garlic flavor way up. After all, Trader Joe is shining the spotlight on garlic in the title of the product.

That said, it's a very decent flavor overall. I've got plenty of complaints and suggestions, but I'll easily plow through the can with a bit of help from the beautiful wifey. It's really not a bad taste nor a bad value. Kosher. Seven bucks for a can of nuts this size is pretty standard these days. I'd even consider buying it again. I just really wish there were more garlic. Sonia agrees.

Bottom line: 7 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Strawberry Mini Sheet Cake

We haven't tried the Yellow Mini Sheet Cake with Chocolate Buttercream yet. Nor have we managed to get our hands on the Cookies n' Cream Mini Sheet Cake. But we have reviewed the following:

Trader Joe's Chantilly Cream Vanilla Bean Mini Sheet Cake

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice Mini Sheet Cake

Trader Joe's Lemon Mini Sheet Cake

Trader Joe's Toasted Coconut Mini Sheet Cake

They're all more or less the same in terms of texture. Each one flaunts moist-ish cake topped with thick, luscious buttercream or cream cheese frosting. In every case—at least in my humble opinion—the frosting has outshined the cake itself by a good margin. Some flavors are slightly better than others.

My main complaint about most of these offerings is that they don't have enough of the headlined flavor, particularly the lemon one wasn't over-the-top lemony, as I'd have preferred it to be. And that was our main gripe about the coconut one, too. If I'm buying a coconut dessert, I want it to be absolutely bursting with real coconut flavor and real coconut pieces.

It seems we've found ourselves in the same situation here with Trader Joe's Strawberry Mini Sheet Cake. There's simply not enough strawberry flavor in the dessert. The cake is fine, though I'd still argue it's nothing to write home about. The frosting is pretty delicious and indulgent, but still...not enough strawberry to make it truly memorable and set this treat head and shoulders above any other grocery store's bakery fare—let alone stuff from a dedicated bakery.

If they wanted to make this one super special, they could have included larger strawberry chunks, freeze dried strawberry pieces all through the frosting, or an actual cache of strawberry jam or jelly or filling right in the cake. I see "strawberry preserves" in the ingredients, but it just doesn't come through in the final flavor as much as I'd like it to. You can even tell in the picture, there are only one or two minuscule flecks of red and pink actual strawberry in that whole piece of cake. To be sure, it tastes like strawberry, but it tastes more like wheaty cake and sweet cream cheese.

In the end, it's nothing to complain about really. It's a perfectly delicious, creamy, decadent dessert, but I'd probably reach for some traditional strawberry shortcake over this offering if given the choice. Seven out of ten stars from me on Trader Joe's Strawberry Mini Sheet Cake. Seven and a half stars from the beautiful wifey. Six bucks for the 18 oz cake, found with the baked goods.

Bottom line: 7.25 out of 10.