Day 300 - Turkey and Stuffing Seasoned Kettle Chips

I MADE IT TO DAY 300 OF THIS PROJECT!!!!

And hey, we went to ANOTHER NEW TRADER JOE’S!  That is 21 locations visited so far since January 1^st of this year.  This one was in Bethesda, MD (a suburb of Washington DC).  It is an oddly set up store!  There is construction of some sort going on outside (in the parking garage I think).  The parking is free, which is nice.  Sadly, there is no real signage outside the store to draw people in.  We had to really look around to find the store (we had the address programmed into GPS so knew we were there, but where WAS it??). 

Whew, we found it!

 The store itself is also a bit strangely set up.  It just seems like it needs to be BIGGER all around.  The aisles are very narrow and we often found ourselves feeling in people’s way with our cart (which was just one of the tiny carts).  The check-out stations are very bizarre.  They are on a diagonal and seemed to be a big ol’ mess really – people waiting in line to check out blocked even more arteries of the store.  It seems like an expansion and a good, long redesign for the set up of the entire store are in order.

Outside what we think is supposed to be the main entrance of the store.  Check out the great flowers David got me!

BUT let’s ignore the physical set up of the store and focus instead on the employees - which were super nice.  We met one really great employee and I WISH I had written her name down but I didn’t.  I hope she sees this and replies!  She was back by the sampling station and was super friendly.  I told her about the blog and about this being our 21^st Trader Joe’s to visit for the project and she thought it was cool, then asked if we had tried the new Turkey and Stuffing Seasoned Kettle Chips.

Ummmmm, that would be an n-o…

Does THAT look like a chip you see and think "Yum, I must have it"??

David doesn’t like kettle chips (too hard and crunchy) and I don’t normally like oddly flavored chips.  I want plain, simple, humble chips, thank you very much!

She saw us wrinkle our noses up after she mentioned these and grabbed a bag saying, “Wanna try ‘em??”.

I need to pause in the review here to remind you all again – you can TRY stuff at Trader Joe’s.  It is an excellent policy.  It goes beyond being “customer focused”.  Seriously, it is great!  We hadn’t even ASKED to try these, in fact I am guessing that our facial expressions were asking to NOT try them.  But she took it upon herself to grab a bag and open them.  She took the bag to the sampling station and had the lady working there put a few chips in little paper cups for us to taste. 

And do you know what?  It resulted in a sale.  That is $1.99 that Trader Joe’s would NEVER have gotten out of us.  We didn’t even see these chips before she mentioned them (display note:  those are up too high for short people to see on the rack in the back of the store, move ‘em down).  And even if we HAD seen them, trust me, we would not have purchased them if she didn’t give us a taste.  And I am guessing the one bag of open chips resulted in other sales, too, since the sample lady was going to serve the rest to other people.  My totally unscientific guess is that 7 out of 10 times when they go out of their way and open something especially for a customer to taste it results in a sale.

It turns out they are GOOD!

So here is our review of these wacky chips:

Susan – These are a good example of grocery shopping when you are hungry.  We left with a product we might never have bought.  But honestly, we bought it because of the “taste test” policy mostly.  The first bite of these chips is a little bit startling.  Even the smell of it, really!  It is a CHIP that smells like TURKEY.  That’s bizarre!!  But this chip really does capture the taste of Thanksgiving!  You can taste turkey, stuffing, and whatever herb is in stuffing (I think it is sage).  They are crunchy but not as crunchy as some kettle chips which is good.   This is a fun seasonal product!  When the lady showed us the bag David said he thought Trader Joe’s had “jumped the shark”.  I mean, like, seriously…  You are going to do TURKEY AND STUFFING CHIPS???  But he liked them, too!   He even wanted to open the bag and munch on them on the way home!

David – “It is true!  And like Susan said, they are not too “gum tearing up crunchy” like kettle chips sometimes are, which is good.  They are easy on the turkey flavor, which I don’t even know what turkey flavor would be, cuz turkey is essentially a flavorless meat…  But the whole taste is the EXPERIENCE of a nice turkey dinner.  A little bit of turkey, some stuffing, and maybe it is sage I am tasting in addition.”

These are a cool seasonal item.  They are a fun alternative to the plethora of pumpkin that is vomited everywhere this time of year.  We will enjoy the heck out of this one bag then call it an autumn. 

Buy these as an alternative to loads of pumpkin crap. 

Price - $1.99

Rating - 4

Day 256 - Turkish Honey

We bought this honey in early 2015 in a LaJolla, CA Trader Joe’s.  As sometimes happened early on in this project, we would see a product in another state at a Trader Joe’s and think, “Wait!  We do not have that at our LOCAL Trader Joe’s!”.   We would be envious!!  And we would BUY said product, thinking we had scored a special gem.  Later, upon returning home and going to our local Trader Joe’s, we would inevitably find the same product on the shelf there…  In truth, most Trader Joe’s carry the same products.  There are a few local items at some stores, but 9 times out of 10 you can find the same products in different states.  (Local BEER is an exception, and some local wines as well.) 

La Jolla, CA Trader Joe's signage - cool lettering, eh?

So though we BOUGHT it early on in this project, we only recently got around to opening it.  Yes, we flew with it in a checked suitcase (couldn’t carry it in our carry on, honey is liquid) from California, put it in the cupboard, and waited months to open it.  We do not get through a ton of honey in our household so this one waited for us until another bottle was empty.

It was worth the wait!

Here is the bottle - can you see the pretty color of the honey?

I served it the other morning over Greek yogurt and peaches.  Here is what we thought of it:

David – “GREAT.  HONEY.  Smooth.  Rich.  Sweet, but not overly sweet.  And with the fabulous lingering afater-taste – no, it is really a taste at the “back end” of the experience like a Crème Caramel Brulee.  I have had many honeys, this is my favorite.  (I clarified here- your favorite of ALL THE HONEYS YOU HAVE EVER HAD IN YOUR LIFE, or of the Trader Joe’s honeys you have had, or what??)  Of all the honeys I can REMEMBER, which severely limits the field (this concept cracked us both up, because David, though he has an amaaaazing memory for the physical work in his solo shows, in general has a pretty crappy memory).   It is nice.“

Susan – This honey comes in a larger container than most honeys (1 lb 8 ounces), which worried me because, as I mentioned above, we do not get through a ton of honey.  David eats the majority of honey consumed in our house.  The last year or so I have taken to putting sugar on my yogurt (I know, I know, spreading SUGAR on yogurt immediately negates any and all health impacts the yogurt may have had…).  The “sugar on yogurt-y like food” thing is something I learned in Paris when we used to cover these little Petit Suisses with sugar.  Yummmmmy. 

Isn't is BEAUTIFUL?  Look at it pouring out - ahhhhh....  

Anyway, I was worried the container was too big for our use, but I think we will get through this one.  David loves this one so much he swears he will get through it.  We usually buy the cute little Honey BEARS, you know the ones.  But this honey is muuuuch tastier than those bears.  It is a darker, more golden color, too.  The cheaper honey bear honey is more yellow and see through.

The label says that the honey bees making this honey primarily foraged Rock Rose, Citrus, Wildflowers and Turkish Pines.  Maybe it is the PINES that give it that different taste.  It almost tastes a little bit burnt, but burnt in a GOOD WAY – a warm, nice, toasty way.  It is SWEET, but with a warm, toasty taste. 

Ahhhh- yogurt, fresh peach, and this golden  honey, what a tasty breakfast!

I like this a lot better than other honey we have had.  It is a good product and we think you should try it.

Price – $5.99

Rating - 5

Day 136 - Dried Apricots

We got these as a “road trip snack” but have ended up eating them (and sharing with other artists) as a “theatre festival snack”.  They are nice!

Last minute addition to our shopping cart - dried apricots from Turkey

They are dried, but not “shriveled-up-no-liquid-left-dried” like some dried fruit.  I thought this was exciting and unique, but when I shared one with a fellow artist he declared that no, this was not unique, this was indeed how most (all??) dried apricots are, and that these were, in his opinion, average.

Way to be a Debbie Downer! 

I will follow my original opinion of this snack and not be swayed by a dried apricot connoisseur.  J 

Not all shriveled up and dried

These are plump, moist, tasty apricots.  The bag (1 lb) is plenty big to share with friends old and new.  I have not tried cooking with them, just munching them straight out of the bag.  They make me feel like I am eating a healthier pick-me-up than, say, a bag of Doritos (which, let’s face it, happens sometimes…). 

Good snack. 

Price – $3.99

Rating – 3.75