These Were The 5 Trader Joe’s Items We Couldn’t Resist This Week

Just in case you’re new around here, let me catch you up to speed. You see, each week we here at Sporked inevitably end up going to Trader Joe’s. And, since we go to Trader Joe’s so often, we seek out anything new and interesting from the store. Come the end of the week, we then like to do a little roundup of the things that caught our eye over the course of the week. 

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But, we’re not just letting you know what we left the store with. No no, that would be far too boring. Instead, we leave the store with our little selection of curiosities and taste taste each product extensively. And while that is always a treat and delight for us in and of itself, it also is valuable information to shoppers who don’t want to risk trying out a product that they are not sure if they’re even going to like. After all, it’s our mission here at Sporked to make our readers more informed shoppers. So for this week, these are the five things we absolutely couldn’t leave Trader Joe’s without, and what we thought about them. 

Pampelonne French 75

Honestly, we were expecting a lot more nuance from this wine. Sure it’s a wine cocktail, but it was supposed to taste reminiscent of a French 75 with notes of juniper, lemon, and elderflower — and it didn’t. Honestly, it kind of just tasted like plain wine. Perhaps a little bit sweetened, but otherwise the complexity of this drink that we are expecting wasn’t there. It was still good, and the flavor of the wine was nice, but this was definitely a disappointing try for us.

Midwest McIntosh Apples

Especially as we get into fall, we have been snacking on apples left and right. But we can’t only eat so many Honeycrisps and all of the big, juicy apples. Sometimes we like to switch it up with something a little bit more nuanced that has a deeper, more complex flavor. And that’s exactly what these are. They’re McIntosh apples, so they definitely have more of that soft, dare I say it, mushy apple texture. But sometimes that’s what we want. These were wonderfully in season, succulent, and juicy. We’ll be sure to get these at least once more before the season’s out, especially since they were such good value for money as well.

Uncured Turkey Corn Dogs

As always, we have to do a little mooch around the frozen foods section. And especially with the season at hand, we were feeling very cozy and nostalgic. That’s why we ended up picking these up. Ultimately, these are probably some of the best frozen corn dogs we’ve ever tried. Even though it’s turkey, the overall effect is still the same and so much of a corn dog’s nostalgia comes in the coating anyways. As for the dog itself, it definitely tasted a bit different, but not at all bad or icky. The coating gets delightfully crispy when you bake or air fry them as opposed to simply microwaving. If you have the extra couple of minutes, then I would highly suggest taking that route.

Villa Italia Blood Orange Italian Soda

The drink options at Trader Joe’s always have us curious and intrigued. Some of our favorite drinks that they have available are also the ones available in more of a bulk capacity rather than individual cans. This Italian soda came in a 1-liter glass bottle, which was delightful in and of itself, but what it had inside really blew us away.

We weren’t expecting it to have as bright of a flavor as it did. Usually with drinks like this, it’s a bit more mellow. But this drink was impressively pungent, and yet still sweet and smooth. It’s a good thing this isn’t a seasonal item, as we will purchase this one over and over again now that we’ve found it.

Hane Style Beef Gyoza

We were really excited to try these since they are not only a brand-new addition to the frozen foods section at Trader Joe’s, but also because of the cult-like following that their typical pork and chicken gyoza have. They’re probably one of our most repurchased items ever from Trader Joe’s due to their perfect culmination of quality, affordability, and accessibility. We were hoping these just added to that catalog, but with a bit more nuance. And we got that… but there’s a catch.

You see, there’s a pretty significant learning curve to these. If you don’t follow the directions absolutely, then it’s not going to go well. But, if you’re able to actually get there, these are delicious and very satisfying. Not only is the flavor great, but the contrast between the super tender filling and the crunchy crust was delightful.