Posted May 12th, 2009 by Meg
Pleasantly Tart with active cultures
It is my latest find at Trader Joe’s. Well, it’s not really my latest find. I’ve been eating this for a few weeks now, but have been unable to post about it because I am so overcome with excitement and happiness about it that I forget to take a picture. Finally, after finishing my nightly bowl I remembered to take a picture of the aesthetically pleasing container. It’s tart. More tart than Pinkberry. It also has active cultures too (something Pinkberry doesn’t have). You can tell this when you bite into it because it tastes so similar to yogurt. However, it is almost custard like in texture. Not what I initially expected, but delicious. It’s this cat’s meow.
Posted November 19th, 2008 by Meg
My boyfriend recently was given a bottle of red wine (Kono Báru 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon) and some candles from a friend for his birthday. Although it sounds like a sweet and innocent gift, it is not. First, who gives their friends candles for their birthday or ever? (Bizarro). Second, everyone that is friends with my boyfriend knows that he does not like red wine. To add to this shadiness, his friend claims the wine came from Mel and Rose’s and was worth thirty dollars. However, I accidently found this upside down label selling at Trader Joe’s for $3.99! I also called Mel and Rose’s to confirm the price, but they told me they had never heard of the brand and did not sell it. Thus, confirming the sketchiness of the story. Even though all signs point to regifting and lying, it did work out to my benefit: I got a free bottle of wine.
The wine was better than expected. It was low complexity and sweet. It had a medium body, monotone flavor, and a short finish. No notes of dryness. It was inoffensive and uninteresting, but still palatable. Overall, a good buy lie.
Posted October 30th, 2008 by Meg
Trader Joe’s Sparkling Orange Mineral Water.
Posted October 17th, 2008 by Meg
I went here for the first time about two weeks ago. I have fallen in love. It has become my new favorite frozen yogurt place. As you can see below, the pros outweigh the cons which makes this place rank very high. I was tempted not to write about it because I wanted to keep it my little secret, but then I decided I wanted to share it with the world ten people.
The cons
-Kinda far from where I live; farther than Bigg Chill (it’s practically in Culver City)
-Completely furnished with the predictable “Ikea” style
The pros
-Close to a Trader Joe’s (2 birds, 1 stone)
-Not as busy as Bigg Chill
-Takes credit cards ($5 minimum, so you HAVE to get a large with toppings)
-Parking lot is not too crowded or overwhelming (like Bigg Chill)
-You’re practically in Culver City so you might as well go get a glass of wine at Bottle Rock
-Pretty wide selection of flavors (tart, chocolate, vanilla, cookies and cream, peanut butter, specials for the week)
-Menu offers nutritional information (allowing me to know that I am eating way too much)
I am a simple girl and ordered Peanut Butter and Chocolate. No toppings necessary, even though they had mochi. Peanut butter is my favorite flavor ever and Yoku Yoku’s seems to have the best recipe for it. So if you too enjoy Peanut Butter frozen yogurt, you should go try it. Or if you just like frozen yogurt, check it out.
Yoku Yoku
11146 Palms Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 391-0571
Posted October 15th, 2008 by Meg
No, it’s not a soap for STDs. It’s my latest find at Trader Joe’s! Lumpy Bumpy Bar is creamy caramel and peanut nougat drenched in dark chocolate. Yum. This lumpy bumpy bar is 290 calories (130 of the fat kind), 14g of fat, 6 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber. Whatever that means, hah! It’s chewy, nice and nougat-y, and goes well with the dark chocolate. It had me at lumpy.
Three stages of L.B.B.
1. Uncut
Reaction: That’s not so lumpy OR bumpy.
2. First Cut
Reaction: Where’s the bumps and lumps at?
3. Second Cut
Reaction: Ohhhhh, I found the lumps and bumps!
This delicious Lumpy Bumpy Bar was bought at the Trader Joe’s in Santa Monica (the one where it is always ridiculously crowded, out of my favorite foods, and takes at least 10 minutes to check out; supposedly one of the busiest in the nation). I found this gem where the chocolate bars are normally located at TJ’s: near the cash register for last minute “oh I really absolutely need this” grabbing.
Trader Joe’s
3212 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 581-0253
Posted August 8th, 2008 by Meg
Friday night my roommate and I opened a bottle of 2006 King Shag Sauvignon Blanc. Yes, it is a bottle of wine that can be found at Trader Joe’s for under ten dollars. That is the way we roll here in our Brentwood abode…
I am only recently learning to love white wines, so everything is new and exciting for me. I have learned quite a few interesting facts about sauvignon blancs: Made from green-grapes originating from Bordeaux and the Loire Valley regions of France. The grape gets its name from the French word sauvage (”wild”) and blanc (”white”) due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France. During the 18th century, the vine was paired with a Cabernet Franc and gave birth a good friend of mine: Ca bernet Sauvignon. California is the leading producer in North America. When it came to California, it acquired the marketing name change to Fumé Blanc under the initiative of Robert Mondavi in effort to avoid prejudices held at that time against sauvignon blanc (grassy flavor, aggressive aroma). It is usually consumed young, as it does not particularly benefit from aging (inappropriate joke goes here). It can sometimes be recognized by its typical smell that reminds one of cat’s urine (which would not stop me anyway, and doesn’t stop most people apparently.)
King Shag is named after a rare bird species endemic to New Zealand, which really is not a coincidence because the wine is made in the subregion, Marlborough, in the South Island of New Zealand. I am willing to bet money that the image on the bottle is of the King Shag himself.
My opinion: Smooth, tart, tannic, and a citrus sweet finish. I taste lime and grapefruit.
I don’t love it, but it’s still good. I would be willing to drink it again and maybe even purchase more at some point in time.
Because we weren’t drunk enough..
My roommate and I opened another bottle of wine. It was also from Trader Joe’s for under ten dollars. King Shag was our last bottle of white wine, so red was our only option. We decided on the Riserva 2004 Epicuro Italian Red Wine.
Although you can’t really see the label in the picture, it says: Salice Salentino Denominazione Di Origine Controllata Red Wine. Salice Salentino is the name of the wine, but it is also named after the town it is produced in, the Apulia region of Italy. Apulia is in the heel of the Italian boot. (”Denominazione di origine controllata” translates to English as “appellation of origin” which is referring to Salice Salentino.) The grapes used in this bottle are 80% Negroamaro and 20% Malvasia Nera. The negroamaro grapes dominate the vineyards in Salice Salentino. I find the name, negroamaro, very interesting because they are used to describe the characteristics of the grape, but depending on the language used, you can come up with different translations. Negro translates to black, but amaro adds some confusion. Amaro in Italian translates to ‘bitter,’ but it has been suggested that the name derives from Greek word “manu” which also translates to black. Not that this is important at all, I just think it’s kind of cool. There is also an Italian rock band named after the grapes too, Negroamaro.
My opinion: medium bodied, spicy, berry taste, and a warm finish that hugged my heart.
My roommate picked up more specific tastes such as gameyness, smokiness, and in particular lingonberries, which is not a berry I am familiar with so I couldn’t truly accept. But, now that I know of these little cranberry-looking berries, I will try to become more familiar with them. Overall, I enjoyed it and would not be hesitant drink it again.
