Day 182 - HALF WAY POINT and Review of Dulce de Leche

THE YEAR IS EXACTLY HALF WAY OVER!  The way I figure it, there are 365 days in a year.  Divide that by two to get the midpoint, which is 182.5.  So the way I figure it, half way through day 182 (which is July 1, 2015) is THE MIDDLE OF THIS YEAR LONG BLOG!!!

  

This has nothing to do with Trader Joe's.  It is a fuzzy photo of me on the beach in my pajamas and pink Crocs on
Christmas Day 2014 :)

Yes, I have done 182 reviews.  That sounds like a ton to me, especially when I think, “Wait, that means I still have 182 more reviews to write???”.  The majority of the work on this project has been very fun.  I have visited (I think) a total of 13 different Trader Joe’s stores in 8 different states (well, one was a District) with 2 more states and stores (that I know of) planned for this summer!  When I count them all up it makes it sound like I have been to a lot of states and stores!!  I have taken photos inside all of the stores we visited (and outside many of them) and never once gotten in trouble or even asked, “Why are you taking a close up photo of that pricing sign??”.  One time an employee did politely decline to be IN one of my photos, which was perfectly acceptable to me. 

I would say of all of the stores I have been in, my favorite one was probably on U Street in Washington DC.  They had free parking with a super cool parking attendant that really made us laugh.  They also had the best artwork behind their customer service station.  You can see it if you check out Day 106.  The worst parking lot of any Trader Joe’s I have seen so far is by far the La Jolla, CA store.  If that was my local store I would go nuts trying to park there.

The coolest store was obviously the New York City WINE store – a whole Trader Joe’s with just wine.  Ahhhh heaven.  Annnd they do free wine tastings every single day.  Day 95 has a photo of my opinion on this store J .

As far as reviews go, at this half-way point there have been definite winners and some downright CLUNKERS.  17 products have garnered rave 5 STAR reviews, and 2 have bottomed out with 0 stars…  The most commonly given star number in the reviews so far is a 4 (33 products have gotten a 4). 

As far as the blog itself goes, the most views of any review is by far Head to Toe Moisturizing Balm.  It was a clunker of a product (only got a 1.5 star review on Day 89) but as of June 30^th it had 426 views!  Maybe it’s because the review is pretty funny.  Another often read post is the one on Chicken Pot Pie Ravioli (Day 160), which has 203 views.  I think people are finding that one because they are considering buying it and wonder if such a weird product would taste good (the answer is – YES it does).  Ocarossa Wine is also one that gets a lot of views (178 views) on day 26. 

So let me take a peek at the first 182 days – the first half of this project – and tell you know how some things stand:

·         Best Red Wine – Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Nouveau, 4.5 stars on Day 2

·         Best White Wine – tie between Kono Sauvignon Blanc, 4.0 stars on Day 174 and Charles Shaw Pinot Grigio, 4.0 stars on Day 43

·         Worst Wine – Grand Reserve Meritage, .5 stars on Day 13

·         Best Coffee (out of 9 Trader Joe’s (I think) coffees that I have tried so far this year) – Ethiopian, 4.25 stars on Day 138

·         Best Dessert – Cocoa Dusted Truffles with Toffee Bits, 4.75 stars on Day 126

·         Worst Dessert – Pumpkin Scones, 0 stars on Day 23

·         Close 2^nd in the category of Worst Dessert – Peach Raspberry Pie, 15 stars on Day 35

·         Best Drink – San Pellegrino Limonata, 5 stars (and a hilarious review) on Day 141

·         Worst Drink – Cranberry Juice, 0 stars on Day 163

·         Best Toiletry Item – Lavender Hand Lotion, 5 stars on Day 120

·         Worst Toiletry Item – Head to Toe Moisturizing Lotion, 1.5 stars on Day 89

·         Best New Finds:

o   Chicken Pot Pie Raviolli, 4.75 stars on Day 160

o   Chicago Popcorn (aka Caramel and Cheddar Mix), 5 stars on Day 100

o   Thai Green Curry Simmer Sauce, 4.75 stars on Day 135

o   Chocolate Covered Sea Salt Butterscotch Caramels, 4.5 stars on Day 111

o   Kale Sprouts, 5 stars on Day 36

o   Saucy Scallions with Mushrooms, 4.75 stars on Day 91

o   Cara Cara Navel Oranges, 5 stars on day 66

·         Best Snacks – tie between Omega Trek Mix, 4.75 stars on Day 82, and Partially Popped Popcorn, 4.75 stars on Day 74

·         Best Meat – Filet Mignon, 4.75 stars on Day 114

·         Best Salad – Greens and Seeds, 4.75 on Day 121

·         Best Snack Food – Mediterranean Hummus, 4.75 stars on Day 154

·         Staples we were reminded of and continue to love:

o   Sunflower Seed Butter, 4.75 stars on Day 96

o   Eggs, 5 stars on Day 64

o   Capers, 5 stars on Day 58

But writing this blog has not been ALL fun and eating.  It can get a bit stressful and tiring feeling that I MUST write a new review of a different product every single day.  I go through periods where I really ENJOY the shopping, tasting, and writing, and periods where it is more of a chore.   Especially if I am travelling to a city that does not have a Trader Joe’s and I am not “ahead” in my reviews – I have to PACK Trader Joe’s food to bring, eat, and review.  But I definitely want to see this mission through to completion!  I am HALF WAY DONE and, as they say on one of the world’s worst “reality” TV shows that I hate to admit I watch (“Naked and Afraid”), “I am not tapping out!”.  (Side note:  I really feel the producers need to make them say QUIT.  Because QUIT is what tapping out is…  Every time they say “tap out” David and I look at each other and say, “Do you mean quit??”.  But I digress…)

See how many TJ's products I have to squirrel away when I go to a place without a TJ's??  It is difficult!  (And right after we took this photo I found about 5 more products I had brought with me to review...)

I am writing this entry the evening of June 30^th – the night before it will be posted.  The blog has almoooost 8,000 views, averaging out to 44 views per day.  Every great once in a while someone will post a comment, which always makes me have a huge smile.  If you enjoy reading it or find it worthwhile, please share the URL with a friend.  Thanks.

And now, onto TODAY’S REVIEW!

Dulce de leche! 

A good price for a jar of deliciousness...

I found this lovely little jar on the shelf of our local Northern Virginia Trader Joe’s recently and knew it would be good to bring on the road for being in a location with no TJ’s.  I just looked up the word “dulce de leche” and learned that it means “candy (or sweet) made from milk”.  Hey, it is made from MILK?  That means it is HEALTHY, right?  I’m in!!

Creamy-smooth is not a lie - it IS creamy-smooth!

 This is very tasty!  I had it this morning on a piece of toast (as that was one of the recommended ways to serve it listed on the jar).  It reminds me of one of my favorite TJ’s products, a sauce that is almost the same color and I think the jar it is in is the same size as this one – Fleur Del Sel Caramel Sauce (which got a 5 star review on day 132).  In fact, now that I look at the review for the caramel sauce, I realize I should have sliced up a banana this morning and put it on my toast with this dulce de leche sauce! 

Ahhh - breakfast.  Orange juice, coffee, toast with Dulce de Leche, and PARCHEESI!

But seriously, this product is totally worth a try.  It is sweet and creamy and delicious.  Another serving suggestion is to eat it with a big chunk of chocolate – oh yeah – I am going to have to try THAT ONE… 

If you want to learn more about dulce de leche in general, check out the Wikipedia article about it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dulce_de_leche

Price - $2.99

Rating – 4.75

Day 141 - San Pellegrino Limonata

Wow, was THIS a great surprise treat to find on the Trader Joe’s shelves recently!  Either they just started carrying this drink) (which I think is the case because the sign says "new", or we have missed seeing it there for years.  San Pellegrino Limonata is a drink we buy at Safeway when they have it on sale, because we really like it but it is usually pretty expensive. 

  

Look how excited David is to find Limonata at Trader Joe's!

So as far as the PRODUCT REVIEW goes, yay!  This “sparkling lemon beverage” is delicious!  Yummy!  Amazingly refreshing!  Bubbly without being TOO bubbly.  Lemony without being over-the-top-crazy lemony.  Best served very cold.  Has a sweet little foil “cap” to feel off before drinking, making you feel like the can you are putting your naked lips on is not dirty.  18% fruit actual juice, so feels healthier than drinking a can of soda.  We had some for guests yesterday at a party and they really liked it, too.  It is a really nice summertime drink.

YES!  San Pellegrino Limonata at a very reasonable price at Trader Joe's!

A tasty, refreshing treat

So we know how this reviewer feels about the product (2 thumbs up!), which just leaves the issue of the best place to PURCHASE the product…

Like I said, our normal point of purchase is Safeway, but only when it is on sale.  However, Trader Joe’s had the 6 pack for the low, low price of $4.99 (which comes out to only .83 cents per can).  This seemed like a great bargain so of course we grabbed some.

We brought it to FLORIDA with us, which is where I did my very scientific, rigorous price comparisons.  First, I checked how much the same product sold for at the Publix Grocery Store in Ormond Beach.  Publix is a nice store and typically prices things much higher than other places, so we were really surprised to find San Pellegrino Limonata for the exact same price that Trader Joe’s was selling it for!

Publix, normally expensive but in this case not

I wanted one more price point to compare, so we went to the most Florida store of all, WALMART, and we had the most WALMART-ISH experience a person could ever have.  No lie, this was like, uber Walmart.

Before we could get back to the canned drinks section, we had to pick up a couple of greeting cards.  But when we turned to enter the greeting card lane, you will NEVER GUESS WHAT WE SAW…  (Well, it is Walmart, so I bet you could guess LOTS of things, but I do not think you would ever guess correctly, so I am going to flat out tell you here…) – WE SAW HUMAN EXCREMENT!  Yes – POOP!  Human poop in the greeting card aisle!

And before you ask, no, it was not BABY poop.  And no, it was not DOG POOP.  It was full grown adult human freshly plopped poop.  And there was not just one plop, oh nooooo…  There were 2 large “plops” and a small one.  Not to mention the skid marks where someone had run their Walmart shopping cart THRU said poop, and (close your eyes if you are easily grossed out…), A FOOTPRINT from where some unfortunate soul, probably wrapped up in looking at greeting cards, stepped in it… 

It didn’t take long for a Wal-Mart associate to show up and “stand guard” at the end of the aisle, trying to prevent more poop spread.  But the gawkers kept gawking, including my partner David who for some reason could not take his eyes off the whole fiasco.  “Poop….” We kept repeating…  “Poop!  In the GREETING CARD AISLE!” as if the location made the whole thing even more egregious.  Pretty soon the Wal-Mart janitor showed up, perched atop his Walmart-esque zamboni machine, and sucked or whisked away said poop.  Even he was a bit disgusted by the whole affair, and you KNOW a Walmart janitor has seen it all before. 

Lucky for you, gentle readers, I do not have a photo to place here of the human poop in the greeting card aisle.  That is not for lack of trying – David decided he really needed photo documentation of this experience and tried to get one but couldn’t get his cell phone out and organized fast enough.

But I DO have this proof – the sign from the same San Pellegrino Limonata being sold at Walmart for ONE PENNY less than we paid at Trader Joe’s.



There you have it folks, a whole penny cheaper at Walmart!

So here’s the thing…  How much is a pleasant, clean, friendly, POOP-FREE shopping experience worth to you??  To me, it is worth much more than a penny.  I will gladly pay one cent more for my drinks to have a sanitary shopping floor.  Heck Trader Joe’s, you could even come in at a nickel over Walmart and you would still have my business.

Price - $4.99

Rating – 5

Experience in the greeting card aisle at Walmart in Ormond Beach, FL - priceless