Chocolate Almond Butter Tarte (the "e" on the end makes it fancy!)

We had a very special guest reviewer help us out on this one – our friend AMEDEO who was visiting from Italy!  We served him pasta with our homemade pesto (he loved the pesto!!  A rave review on our pesto from a real live Italian, that made me proud.)

An out of town (out of country!) visitor meant we got to sight see in our own city - I love that!
Here are David and Amedeo at the Lincoln Memorial.

But we are not here to review our pesto, we are here to review Trader Joe’s Chocolate Almond Butter Tarte!  Here is what David thought:  “This tarte is very good.  It is chocolate-y, but it is not too chocolate-y.  It is not like a chocolate bar.  It is between the softness of mousse and the moistness of pudding (EDITOR'S NOTE:  It is chocolate GANACHE, isn't that fancy schmancy??).  It has a bottom that I like (I like my tarts like I like my women, with a nice bottom!) (Editor’s note again: he’s here all week, folks!).  It is flavorful.  It has a hint of nuts on it.  it is good for the end of a meal and would be good with an espresso.  I would give this a 4.5.”

Doesn't it look SO PRETTY on the box?

Amedeo thought: “E molto buona dopo cena (it is very good after dinner). I think 4.5 is good.”

It is just as pretty in real life!

My take on it:  I think this is GOOD.  I was worried it might be a bit too chocolate-y for me after eating a big meal, but it is not too much chocolate.  It is a light rather than strong chocolate taste.  It’s a nice dessert and pairs well with a red wine.  I personally could use a little more NUT taste.  We all liked the texture – it is a bit of a double texture when considering the chocolate part and the crust.  That’s nice!

Delicious!  

The box says there are 4 servings, but we all agreed that the servings would be too big to cut it into 4.  6 servings seems more reasonable.  Because we did not eat it all for dinner, we had some leftovers the next morning for breakfast and reviewed it again.  I preferred it for DINNER because it was so good with red wine.  I do not oppose eating it for breakfast, but I liked it better at night.  Amedeo agreed that it tasted better for dinner, the mousse part was not as good in the morning after being refrigerated overnight.  David thought it was delicious for breakfast and loved pairing it with coffee, so he votes to eat it for breakfast!!

We all agreed that whenever you eat it, eat it in one sitting for the best taste.  This one is a treat worth getting – try it!  The signage at our local Trader Joe's said it was a new product, so pick one up next time you are shopping. I think the boys got the rating spot on so I will agree with them – it gets a 4.5 from me, too.

This is very reasonably priced.  Recommended!

Price: $5.99

Rating: 4.5 (from all 3 reviewers)

Bonus photo - David and Amedeo with the Washington Monument behind them :)

Day 53 - Grifone Primitivo (wine)

TRY THIS WINE.  Without judging. Without being snobby.  Heck, you might even want to try it without looking at the price at the bottom on this review!  Because it is GOOD.  It really is!

Oh man, I am not sure I should reveal the price here…  I mean, will it RUIN it for you if you know how crazy cheap this stuff is??  Here’s the deal – I really want to say the price HERE, like, RIGHT HERE and not at the end of this review.  But I promise to save it til the end, so if you want to drink it without knowing the price, write “Grifone Primitivo” on your shopping list now and give it to someone else to go get for you (I won’t tell you how much money you should give them for this purchase J ). 

So I am not a wine critic.  But I do know what I like.  And this Italian wine falls into the “like” category.  It has a really nice red berry note to it and is smooth and pairs well with food. 

Simple label, delicious wine

Don’t trust me?  Here is what some wine snob said in his review:  “100% Primitivo – Ruby red in the glass with a light strawberry/raspberry, floral nose. On the palate this one is fruit forward with more of those tart red berry fruits. This one turns a tad creamy before an acidic streak kicks in delivering loads of spice on a (slightly hot) tangy, tannic finish. While this one has nice forward fruit it is a bit rough and rustic around the edges which I like. For (price redacted, plus he paid less than me cuz he bought it 3 years ago…)  this is an enjoyable wine I am likely to be buying again.”

(from http://jasonswineblog.com/2012/02/22/2010-grifone-primitivo/ - and I see he DOES have a wine we are not fond of on his Trader Joe’s top 10 Wines List, but I will not quibble with him here…)

Are you writing it on your shopping list yet???  Try it!  Let me know what you think.  And if you do not want to know what it costs, stop reading here and send someone to go get you a bottle for your taste test.  The rest of you, keep reading to see the INSANE PRICE!

Price - $4.99 (see?????  I told you!  Under $5 for a delicious Italian red wine???  Count me in.)

Rating – 4.5