Posts Tagged ‘Trader Joe’s’
What’s that? Why, it’s a Pfefferneusse, of course!
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Monday, December 12th, 2011
Gut Checkers, do I have a great treat for you. As the countdown to Christmas is officially in high gear (12 days!), here’s a great Christmas treat in the form of none other than Christmas cookies!
And these ain’t no ordinary cookies…they’re pfefferneusse!
Pffeffer-huh?
On a recent trip to the new Trader Joe’s in Clarendon, I discovered these under an act of God. Naturally, whenever I go to Trader Joe’s I take my time roaming each aisle numerous times, making sure I didn’t miss anything. Man, am I glad I didn’t miss these cookies.
The distinct taste of these cookies is a complex combination of cloves, cinnamon, sugar, spice and everything nice in your mouth as you bite through the powdered-sugar-covered, crunchy outside and make your way to the soft and cakey inside.
Trader Joe's pfefferneusse
So, a couple of strong recommendations for you:
-If you’re feeling adventurous, try baking these at home from one of these online recipes;
-Go to Trader Joe’s and buy them for $2.99;
-Or, for more of a cookie haven in the Arlington area, stop in at Heidelberg and drool over the freshly baked Christmas cookies (and enjoy the free samples) like I did.
Heidelberg's pfeffernusse
And you can thank me later. 
-Julia Harbo
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, November 17th, 2011
Image: Ljupco Smokovski/Shutterstock
I used to hate honey when I was younger. It freaked me out that it came from bees. I hated bees (well, I still hate bees). I found it too sweet, which sounds impossible to me now. Now, I love it — I love it in tea, on oatmeal, on toast with peanut butter, on apples — and I can’t get enough of it. I can’t get enough of sweet, sweet honey — honey made from bees.
But a recent article from CNN’s Eatocracy informed readers and American honey consumers of the shocking news released in a Food Safety News analysis of honey. The analysis found that the honey sold in American stores falls short of including the essential ingredient of pollen in their falsely labeled “honey.”
More importantly, the lack of pollen in “honey” questions its legitimacy and origin of natural and safe sources. This brings up the problem of health and safety, and also the importance of supporting local beekeepers who specialize in making fresh and natural honey. But shockingly enough, there’s no honey standard set by the Food and Drug Administration.
So, what should you do? Organic honey from safe and reliable sources is available in stores like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. You can also find fresh honey at local farmers markets (listed below).
The farmers market I went to last week in Crystal City actually had one vendor with a glass showcase of lives bees flying and buzzing around in their honeycomb — though I’m now a grown adult, I still got freaked out and picked up my pace from casual-stroll to a speed-walk to the other side of the sidewalk. But if live bees don’t freak you out (even in a glass cage), I’d definitely recommend picking up some fresh honey from your local farmers market.
Northern Virginia Farmer’s Market and Hours:
Annandale Farmers Market • 6621 Columbia Pike, Annandale – Thu, 8-noon
Arlington Farmers Market • N. 14th St. & N. Courthouse Road, Arlington – Sat, 8-noon
Ashburn Farmers Market • 44036 Pipeline Plaza, Ashburn – Sat, 8-noon
Ballston Farmers Market • N. Stuart St. & N. Ninth St. – Thu, 3-7 p.m.
Brambleton Farmers Market • 22875 Brambleton Plaza, Ashburn – Sun, 9-1 p.m.
Burke Farmers Market • 5671 Roberts Parkway, Burke – Sat, 8-noon
Cascades Farmers Market • 21060 Whitfield Place, Sterling – Sun, 9-1 p.m.
Clarendon Farmers Market• 3100 Wilson Blvd., Arlington – Wed, 3-7 p.m.
Columbia Pike Farmers Market • S. Walter Reed Drive & Columbia Pike – Sun, 9-1 p.m.
Community Farmers Market • West & Main Streets (Sat), North St. & Old Lee Highway (Sun), Fairfax – Sat: 8-1 p.m.; Sun: 10-2 p.m.
Crystal City Farmers Market • Crystal Square Arcade between S. 18th and 20th Streets – Tue, 3-7 p.m.
Culpeper Farmers Market • E. Davis & Commerce Streets – Sat, 7:30-noon
Dale City Farmers Market • Dale Blvd. & Minnieville Road, Dale City – Sun, 8-1 p.m.
Del Ray Farmers’ Market • E. Oxford & Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria – Sat, 8-noon
Fairfax Farmers Market • 3720 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax – Tue, 8-noon
Falls Church Farmers Market • 300 Park Ave., Falls Church – Sat, 8-noon
Fredericksburg Farmers Market• George and Prince Edward Streets, Fredericksburg – Mon-Sat, 7-6 p.m.; Sun, 12:30-4 p.m.
Frying Pan Farmers Market • 2709 West Ox Road, Herndon – Wed, 8-12:30 p.m.
Great Falls Farmers Market • 750 Walker Road, Great Falls – Sat, 9-1 p.m.
Haymarket Farmers Market • 1500 Washington St., Haymarket – Sat, 8-2 p.m.
Herndon Farmers Market • Lynn and Station Streets, Herndon – Thu, 8-noon
Kingstowne Farmers Market • Kingstowne Center & Kingstowne Blvd., Franconia – Fri, 4-7 p.m.
Leesburg Farmers Market • 20 Catoctin Circle S.E., Leesburg – Sat, 8-noon
Lorton Farmers Market • 8990 Lorton Station Blvd., Lorton – Sun, 9-1 p.m.
McLean Farmers Market • 1659 Chain Bridge Road, McLean – Fri, 8-noon
Middleburg Farmers Market • 300 W. Washington St., Middleburg – Sat, 8-noon
Mount Vernon Farmers Market • 2501 Sherwood Hall Lane, Alexandria – Tue, 8-noon
Nokesville Farmers Market • 13005 Fitzwater Drive, Nokesville – Sat, 8-noon
Oakton Farmers Market • 3200 Jermantown Road, Oakton – Wed, 8-noon
Old Town Alexandria Farmers Market • 301 King St., Alexandria – Sat, 5:30-11 a.m.
Old Town Manassas Farmers Market • 9201 Center St., Manassas – Thu, 7-1 p.m.; Sat, 7:30-2:30 p.m.
Nokesville Farmers Market • 13005 Fitzwater Drive, Nokesville – Sat, 8-noon
Purcellville Farmers Market• 751 E. Main St., Purcellville – Sat, 8-noon
Reston Farmers Market • 11400 Washington Plaza W., Reston – Sat, 8-noon
Smart Markets – Centreville • 5875 Trinity Parkway, Centreville – Fri, 3:30-6:30 p.m.
Smart Markets – Fairfax Corner • Grand Commons Ave., Fairfax – Tue, 3:30-6:30 p.m.
Smart Markets – Gainesville • 13297 Gateway Center Drive, Gainesville – Sun, 10:30-1:30 p.m.
Smart Markets – Herndon • 460 Elden St., Herndon – Thu, 3:30-6:30 p.m.
Smart Markets – Oakton • 2854 Hunter Mill Road, Oakton – Sat, 10-2 p.m.
Smart Markets – Reston • 11890 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston – Wed, 3:30-6:30 p.m.
Upper King Street Farmers Market • 1806 King St., Alexandria – Wed, 3-7 p.m.
Vienna Farmers Market • 131 Church St. N.E., Vienna – Sat, 8-noon
Wakefield Farmers Market • 8100 Braddock Road, Annandale – Wed, 2-6 p.m.
Warrenton Farmers Market • Branch Drive and Warrenton Village Center (Wed), S. Fifth & Lee Streets (Sat) – Wed, 7-1 p.m.; Sat, 7-noon
West End Farmers Market • 4800 Brenman Park Drive, Alexandria – Sun, 9-1 p.m.
-Julia Harbo
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, October 27th, 2011
This week I went to Izakaya Blue Ocean in Fairfax for a great sushi lunch. I had read amazing things about this place online–I’m a big fan of Yelp “research” and like to read reviews of most places I go. The first Yelp comment for Blue Ocean was: “This place is legit.”
Not quite sure what to expect from that, I walked and instantly knew what the comment meant. In Fairfax’s Pickett Shopping Center, with a Chuck E Cheese’s and Dollar Tree, I would have never picked out the lettering of BLUE OCEAN and even think of walking in the place. But man, am I glad I did.
Eel and salmon....drool
For 2 p.m. on a Tuesday, I was expecting an empty restaurant with one or two lingering waiters. But as soon as I walked in through the door, I was surprised by the bustling scene, loud talk and laughter and some lively instrumental music that was oddly fitting. There was a table in the back with a large party of Japanese women, which I took as a great sign. (Yes, I know this is a bit presumptuous, but I try to be observant and I’m a firm believer that an ethnic restaurant is especially good if there are people of that ethnicity eating in it; I knew the women were Japanese because I heard them speaking Japanese to the wait staff.)
I sat at the sushi bar and saw in another corner of the restaurant an old Japanese woman who sat eating by herself–she looked to be at least 95 years old, packing down a plate of steaming hot food, and from what I picked up she was most definitely a regular. I relished in the endearing moment, thinking how I loved the vibes of this Izakaya already, and then was immediately brought a hot bowl of miso soup as I looked over the menu, which my growling stomach and I were very appreciative of. Adding to my experience, the sushi chef was very friendly and pleasant to chat with.
After I finished my lunch (I went for the maki—an E.T.A. roll (eel, tobiko, avocado) and a crunchy salmon roll; both were delicious) the waitress brought over a little complimentary dessert with my bill. It was a small, green, round ball of ice cream inside Japanese mochi, a glutinous rice cake that’s soft and chewy, (and, in my opinion, doesn’t have too much flavor on its own, but stuffed with green tea ice cream it was amazing). Such great texture of chewiness and cool, silky and sweet ice cream.
I asked the waitress if they make these mochi creations in-house or if I could (hopefully) buy them somewhere, but the waitress told me that they order them online from a distributor in New York. I hoped my memory of the mochi ice cream would last, and told myself I would definitely be back to Blue Ocean again.
After lunch I went next door to Trader Joe’s to do some grocery shopping. Roaming the frozen isle, I couldn’t believe what I stumbled upon…mochi ice cream! Go figure. I was tempted to buy the box and run back next door to Blue Ocean, even though they were closed for lunch, to show them my excitement of what Trader Joe’s had.
I laughed at the irony of the Trader Joe’s next door selling what I marveled over inside the gem of Blue Ocean’s Japanese haven, and of course, bought the strawberry mochi (the only variety they had) to hold me over until my next visit.
Izakaya Blue Ocean is located at 9440 Main St. in Fairfax (703-425-7555; www.izakayablueocean.com)
-Julia Harbo
Centreville’s Trader Joes Turns Internet Heads with “Parks and Rec” Signs
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, July 20th, 2011
“Can they do that?” a friend asked when he sent a link to Splitsider’s post on the Centreville Trader Joe’s and its use of characters and quotes from popular NBC sitcom “Parks & Recreation.”
Our answer? Man, who cares? Look at how awesome these are:
(Image Splitsider)
(Image: Splitsider)
On Twitter, Tom Haverford himself, comedian Aziz Ansari, had this to say: “I don’t think Trader Joe’s is on Twitter, but FYI Tom Haverford calls Trader Joe’s Mango Lemonade – Nature’s Hennessy.”
For now the signs live at the Centreville Trader Joe’s location at 14100 Lee Highway, which is right down the street from our offices, and were drawn by employee Elisa Ortiz. Who knows? There could be more.
And if you don’t know what we’re talking about, stop what you’re doing and go watch all of “Parks & Recreation” immediately.
Well, maybe not the first season.
UPDATE: Those are the only ones so far and they are comically small.
- Kris King
Estabrook’s “Tomatoland”: Serious-Minded Summer Reading
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, June 10th, 2011
(Red Tomato: Dmitry Kosterev/Shutterstock)
The book’s introductory chapter alone contains enough to make me want to hug my mother for her efforts in growing her own tomatoes in our little dusty backyard plot and seeking out farmers markets when they weren’t so in vogue:
-”100 grams of fresh tomato today has 30 percent less Vitamin C” and thiamin, “19 percent less niacin . . . 62 percent less calcium” and 14 times as much sodium as its 1960s counterpart.
-Due to the inhospitability of Florida’s humid climate for the originally dessert-dwelling tomatoes (the fruit’s wild ancestors came from the coastal desserts of northern Peru and southern Ecuador), and consequently, the crop’s vulnerability to fungal diseases, 100 different herbicides and pesticides are commonly used in tomato harvesting. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture has found residues of thirty-five pesticides on tomatoes destined for supermarket produce sections.”
-And worst of all, “those cheap tomatoes that fill produce sections 365 days a year . . . come at a tremendous human cost.” A tomato worker today is paid the same basic rate that a harvester received 30 years ago. This means that the harvester’s wages have actually dropped by half taking into account inflation. Workers have also been sold to pay off so-called debts. They have been beaten, “held in chains, pistol whipped, locked at night into shacks” and even murdered.
Estabrook has recently spoken out quite eloquently regarding corporate holdouts such as Trader Joe’s to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ Fair Food agreement and a penny-a-pound wage increase for tomato workers. To learn more about Estabrook’s important book, read reviews and an excerpt, visit his website.
-Johnisha M. Levi
Posted by Lynn Norusis / Tuesday, March 1st, 2011
Stabbed man tells cops he was too drunk to remember what happened
Many Virginians are just scraping by
Reston Town Center inks deal on last remaining “open” space
Trader Joe’s coming to Clarendon
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, February 9th, 2011
Every region of the country seems to have its own grocery stores that dominate the food-related market. While some have expanded from sea to shining sea, there are some you just don’t see when you’re out of town. It’s hard to tell the difference between most of them, but some people have sworn loyalty to one specific store for no particular reason. Could it be close proximity, good deals, or friendly service? What, if anything separates them from one another?
1. Giant has always been the one I frequent the most, but I have tried to mix it up recently. All 202 locations are centered around three states, four if you count the District of Columbia. Delaware is home to at least six, but the bulk of them are in Maryland and Northern Virginia. Impressive renovation efforts are an ongoing process in order to keep up with the competition. I’ve never been to one that disappointed me, but prices may vary. The Giant Rewards card has become more of a valuable commodity since they teamed up with Shell gas stations. The more food you buy, the more you can save on gas. I’ve saved up to $1 per gallon, but points don’t carry over from month to month.
2. Harris Teeter is a relative newcomer around these parts, but they certainly have made a name for themselves. The official grocery store of the Washington Redskins serves nine states, including the District. The majority of the 201 locations are in the Southeast, but they stretch as far north as Delaware. The quality of their food and service has forced other chains to improve upon their own. I get the feeling that they genuinely aim to please, which is refreshing to see at a super market. The weekly specials and sheer variety of beer and wine keeps me coming back for more. The VIC card also offers special savings for loyal customers.
3. Safeway and Shoppers have kind of struggled to stay comparatively relevant as of late, but they boast over one hundred locations combined in and around the region. It wasn’t that long ago that they were competing with the best of them, but they both continue to do relatively good business. Customers are sure to find surprising deals and quality products, but the decor and design seem to be lacking a bit. That takes nothing away from what they have to offer though. Reward programs and community outreach have prolonged their life expectancy. They will not meet the same fate of Food Lion, who has been relegated to only a few locations in southern Virginia.
4. Wegmans has built somewhat of a cult following since it first expanded to NoVA in 2004. Now there are six locations, and over 75 along the mid-Atlantic seaboard. They pride themselves on the gourmet food they sell for a reasonable price. You will find plenty of deals and specials. It doubles as a great cafe for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I even saw a wedding rehearsal lunch take place at the one in Sterling. The meticulous design of the store itself is worth the trip. There’s something special about it, but it’s hard to put your finger on what exactly makes it so. Visit one for yourself when you get a chance.
While there may be several national chains to choose from, only a few are deserving of mention.
Costco is a members-only club that sells everything in bulk. There are over 560 locations around the world, and four in this area alone. It has a little bit of everything inside one gigantic construct. Just $50 a year gains you entry to one of the best and biggest stores known to man. I may just be saying that because I thoroughly enjoy the samples, but it’s definitely something to behold. Costco can be a little intimidating at first, but that feeling subsides as soon as you find one of their many great deals. Be sure to try their food up front, the pizza is delicious!
Whole Foods and Trader Joes shouldn’t be overlooked either. They may cater to more of a niche market of individuals, but there’s actually something for everyone. Both specialize in organic food that is not only beneficial to your health, but also quite tasty. Samples are not uncommon at the locations I’ve visited. These include, but are not limited to hot food and wine tastings on certain days. Other stores can offer you more specials, but the gourmet factor can be a powerful draw for some people. With multiple locations around the region, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to visit one or the other if you happen to come across it.
Suffice it to say, there really isn’t a grocery store that is better than the rest. While it may waste gas, visiting several different stores is actually the best way to save money on food. Even the gourmet stores are prone to having great deals from time to time. Don’t forget about your local farmer’s markets for the freshest produce, but these have a tendency to be seasonal.
I’ll leave you with one important rule of thumb. Try not to grocery shop when you’re hungry. I’ve learned that the hard way.
-Ryan Robertson
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Tuesday, April 14th, 2009
Trader Joe's unveils its newest model of designer eggs -- now with twice the cholesterol! Photo by alx chief/Flickr.
Adam Kuban from Serious Eats reports that one reader bought a carton of Trader Joe’s jumbo eggs only to find found that every single one of them was double-yolked — that’s a total of twenty-four yolks distributed across only a dozen eggs.
I don’t know about you, but I had an immediate visceral reaction when I first laid eyes on that sea of yolks. It’s not like I’ve never encountered a double-yolked egg before. (I once found one while making an omelet and immediately whisked the whole thing together so I could pretend it never happened).
There’s just something seeing mutated foods en masse that makes me feel like the world is falling apart. One egg has only one yolk – that’s an equation that sustains our everyday logic. I can ignore one or two freak occurrences, but a whole dozen of them makes me question my view of reality.
A commenter on that Serious Eats egg post astutely points out that:
Factory farms sort out all the eggs that don’t meet the textbook image of what an egg should be. Eggs that are too long, too squat, too big, too small, unevenly shaped or colored are all picked out in order not to freak out the oh so fragile consumer.
Egg laying is a complex process…you can bet all the things coming out of the hens aren’t picture perfect.
So, what other egg mutations aren’t we aware of?
Conveniently, PoultryHelp.com has a whole page dedicated to odd eggs, complete with disturbing pictures. (Apparently enough people have emailed them with questions about egg mutations that they felt the need to give the topic it’s own FAQ).
Here’s a list of some of the creepiest egg malformations from that page:
- NO YOLK – These are commonly called “fart eggs” in the poultry industry.
- MORE THAN TWO YOLKS – PoultryHelp.com claims that one record-breaking egg held a total of nine yolks.
- NO SHELL – Instead of a hard shell, a thin pliable membrane encloses the egg contents like a squishy water balloon (ugh).
- EGG WITHIN AN EGG– It would blow my mind if I cracked an egg into a bowl and saw another miniature egg come out.
- ODD-SHAPED – One egg found in China looks vaguely like a soup spoon (a Chinese soup spoon, of course).
Have you encountered any of these freaky eggs while making breakfast? More importantly, were you able to bring yourself to eat them?
– Christina Lee