Beer Bread Mix AND Charlottesville, VA Trader Joe's

We went on a road trip recently, and if you know me, you know what that means:  EXPLORING NEW TRADER JOE’S LOCATIONS!  This time we went to the TJ’s on Bond Street in Charlottesville, Virginia. I believe it was the 31^st Trader Joe’s location (in 14 states) that I have set foot in since I began this project.  😊

Wheee - Trader Joe's in Charlottesville, Virginia
(and me in a new scarf I bought earlier on the road trip)

The Charlottesville store is a little hard to get to because of its placement in a chichi outdoor mall.  Once you make all the necessary twists and turns to arrive, it fits right in with the upscale environment.  There is free parking, always a plus.  We were there on a Friday afternoon and it was a bit crowded.  The signage (each store has their own sign artists) was alright, not my favorite.  One thing that was really good (that I haven’t seen in other stores) was that right in the foyer they had a sign telling you what they were sampling today.  That meant you could start dreaming about what you would get a nibble of as you meandered the aisles doing your shopping!

Sign right when you enter the store telling you what is being sampled, cool!

Some of the store artwork.  As always, very appropriate subject matter for the location.

Every time I visit a new store I ask if they have a local item that is not sold nationwide at other TJ’s locations.  Some stores have no idea what I am talking about (and explain that all TJ’s stores carry identical items, which you know is not true if you have followed this blog as I have discovered cool regional items).  This store did not have any local things, though they did mention that they carry the big tin of Virginia Peanuts over the holidays (those are now in all TJ’s stores as seasonal items, and as a Virginian I think that is pretty cool).  We did find one local wine (from Horton Winery).  Speaking of wine, a great thing about this location is that they had some wine CHILLED.  Our usual TJ’s does not do that.  But if you live in Charlottesville, you can pop in for a bottle of white wine and pop that puppy open as soon as you get home!  Sweet.

Need some already chilled wine?  They've got you covered!

I believe this is the first Trader Joe’s I have ever gone into where I left empty handed.  Yup, we didn’t buy a single item.  Granted, we were on a road trip and had a car full of Trader Joe’s snacks and had already munched on some before we got to Charlottesville, but still, strolling through a grocery store and not coming out with something is rare for us. 

But just because we didn’t purchase anything in Charlottesville doesn’t mean there won’t be a product review today.  I will review something we bought at our local store – BEER BREAD MIX.  Have you tried it?  If not, you are seriously missing out!!

David looks a bit funny when considering the purchase of Beer Bread Mix

Here is what I think of it:  The worst thing about this bread is that it tastes so good when it is fresh and warm is that you might eat so much of it (because it is soooo tasty) that you won’t be able to eat the rest of your dinner.  And really, is that such a bad problem to have??

It is super easy to make – you just need the bread mix and one bottle of beer, plus some butter to put on top.  We used a Pills beer and the bread was delicious!  You can also add cheese, which we did not do since we were serving it with a homemade cheesy potato soup. 

Just add beer and butter!  Easy peasy

It tastes like a soda bread and I think it would be great with chili.  It is not sandwich making bread, but it is great alongside a meal.  It doesn’t taste too much like beer, but there is a hint of the flavor.  I don’t know how well the bread will hold up – it seems like something you will want to snarf down the day you make it. 

A warm piece of Beer Bread?  Yes please....

In all honesty, our box of this mix sat in the cupboard a looong time before I baked it.  Ours expired February 16^th and I made it 11 days later, but it still turned out great!  I am not sure if it is still on the shelves at TJ’s, I think it is/was a winter seasonal product.  If you see a box, grab it.  And if you do not see a box now, do not fear.  It should come ‘round again next fall!  I will give this product a 5!

David:  “It is like Irish soda bread and also a bit like cornbread.  It is delicious and hearty.  It is good to put butter on it even though there is already a lot of butter on it when you bake it.  I think it is a good idea not to add cheese to it because it is so tasty without it.  it is quick and easy to make.  It might be interesting to see what it would be like baked in tiny pans or like muffins.  I will give this a 5.”

Price:  $2.79

Rating:  5

And here is a bonus photo for anyone still reading.  On the same day of this road trip we also stopped at Cox Farms.  A photo of one of their signs, it says RESIST WHITE SUPREMACY, recently went viral.  We saw that sign along with several others.  This one was my favorite :).

But SRSLY....