Athena wrote:This flip side of this issue is that (per my visit to TJ's on Ontario this am) TJ's has discontinued carrying both their regular Irish AND English breakfast tea bags. Decaf, not a problem, green tea ditto, various chais & tisanes, BUT you can't buy regular bog-standard plain black tea bags there any more (not enough demand, they claim) :face palm:

I realize this message is over a year old but just wanted to note that I saw both English and Irish breakfast tea at the Park Ridge TJ's this weekend.

TJ's has a better than serviceable baguette. The baguette at WF is a disgrace.

grits wrote:

Athena wrote:This flip side of this issue is that (per my visit to TJ's on Ontario this am) TJ's has discontinued carrying both their regular Irish AND English breakfast tea bags. Decaf, not a problem, green tea ditto, various chais & tisanes, BUT you can't buy regular bog-standard plain black tea bags there any more (not enough demand, they claim) :face palm:

I realize this message is over a year old but just wanted to note that I saw both English and Irish breakfast tea at the Park Ridge TJ's this weekend.

TJ's brought them back a while ago - enough people bitched (v loudly) about it, per the manager at the Ontario St location.

Just to clarify, I am not Cathy2's cat. Also fond of canned tuna fish, but, different Katie.

The baguette at WF is a disgrace.

Strenuously disagree. The half-sized ones in particular are awfully good. Also, they have recently started carrying a pretzel roll (brat-sized) that is mighty tasty. I sliced one up and oven-toasted it for a bruschetta base; the sweetness was a great foil for the slices of grilled duck breast that topped it. Highly recommended.

Freeze dried blueberrys in a foil pouch. I use these on everything now. Yogurt, cereal etc. They are like a grown up Crunch Berry!

sundevilpeg wrote:

The baguette at WF is a disgrace.

Strenuously disagree. The half-sized ones in particular are awfully good. Also, they have recently started carrying a pretzel roll (brat-sized) that is mighty tasty. I sliced one up and oven-toasted it for a bruschetta base; the sweetness was a great foil for the slices of grilled duck breast that topped it. Highly recommended.

at which Whole Foods did you purchase this non-disgraceful half baguette? I have never seen a half baguette at Whole Foods: I have only ever seen full size baguettes with a cottony flavorless crumb, a weak crust and that gross textured chewy bottom.

sarcon wrote:

sundevilpeg wrote:

The baguette at WF is a disgrace.

Strenuously disagree. The half-sized ones in particular are awfully good. Also, they have recently started carrying a pretzel roll (brat-sized) that is mighty tasty. I sliced one up and oven-toasted it for a bruschetta base; the sweetness was a great foil for the slices of grilled duck breast that topped it. Highly recommended.

at which Whole Foods did you purchase this non-disgraceful half baguette? I have never seen a half baguette at Whole Foods: I have only ever seen full size baguettes with a cottony flavorless crumb, a weak crust and that gross textured chewy bottom.

The WF on N. Halsted sells something they redundantly label as a "demi half baguette."

The demi baguettes at WF South Loop are just as disgraceful as the full sized baguettes there. Same goes for the River Forest store. It's considerably worse than both the Trader Joe's baguette and the La Briola baguettes.

I know it is neither WF or TJs but I like the French bread (2 per pak) at Costco.

TJ's used to carry King Arthur flour, but now they have a TJs brand of flour, which I bought last weekend (because I secretly hoped it was sourced from KA). I'll probably hit this bag in a few weeks so I'll report back.

grits wrote:TJ's used to carry King Arthur flour, but now they have a TJs brand of flour, which I bought last weekend (because I secretly hoped it was sourced from KA). I'll probably hit this bag in a few weeks so I'll report back.

King Arthur Flour company sent out an email to its list subscribers bemoaning being dumped by TJ's, so (alas) I doubt this is so. KA all-purpose has a very high protein content, so one way to check would be to compare grams of protein-- just make sure the 'serving size' is the same, or correct if it is not. Do report back anyway-- is it unbleached? Also, do they offer bread, pastry, or whole wheat?

Cheers, Jen

While looking for something else at the TJs website I found the following statement regarding King Arthur Flour:

A Note About Trader Joe’s Baker’s Pantry Flour:
We want to let you know that Trader Joe’s no longer sells King Arthur Flour. We have decided to private label our own brand of flour. As King Arthur does not private label its goods, we no longer carry King Arthur Flour product in our stores. “Baker’s Pantry” Flour is our own private label flour and is not affiliated or related to King Arthur Flour.

I was sad to see that TJ's doesn't carry King Arthur flour any more; I like the flour and they had it at a nice price.

However.

I just finished making a couple batches of muffins with TJ's version of the 'white whole wheat' flour. Muffins were excellent; maybe even a little better than the King Arthur 'www' flour. Flour texture seems to be a bit coarser, but the flavor was what I like in this flour: no strong 'whole wheat' flavor dominating the baking. I love to use this stuff to get the whole wheat benefits without having to taste my way around the whole wheat flavor.

Which is not to say that I don't like whole wheat flavor in bread or other products when that's what I want . It's wonderful to have the best of both worlds with this flour.

Giovanna

JenM wrote:

grits wrote:TJ's used to carry King Arthur flour, but now they have a TJs brand of flour, which I bought last weekend (because I secretly hoped it was sourced from KA). I'll probably hit this bag in a few weeks so I'll report back.

King Arthur Flour company sent out an email to its list subscribers bemoaning being dumped by TJ's, so (alas) I doubt this is so. KA all-purpose has a very high protein content, so one way to check would be to compare grams of protein-- just make sure the 'serving size' is the same, or correct if it is not. Do report back anyway-- is it unbleached? Also, do they offer bread, pastry, or whole wheat?

Cheers, Jen

The protein content is the same, but a few of the vitamins and minerals are different (Vitamin A, for example). So as everyone says above, it must be different flour. This will be interesting as I've been loyal to KA for years.

Unfortunately, I don't remember if TJs had anything other than white and white whole wheat. I'm pretty sure they do not carry cake flour.

gleam wrote:The demi baguettes at WF South Loop are just as disgraceful as the full sized baguettes there. Same goes for the River Forest store. It's considerably worse than both the Trader Joe's baguette and the La Briola baguettes.

And ditto goes for the demi-baguettes at the new WF on Kingsbury. Soft, pale things. A shame.

Santander wrote:

cilantro wrote:The tom yam rice crackers TJ just started selling are extremely tasty! They're topped with whole cashews, kaffir lime zest, and even a bit of spice. Beats the pants off of potato chips, that's for sure. Everybody needs to start buying these so I can be assured of getting my fix.

Friggin' love these, and the individual packaging (while overkill) assures freshness even if you leave, say, four packages of them in your desk at work, eat three, and accidentally leave half of an open package in your drawer for three months, only to find them when you need a salt and sweet kick the most, not that that's ever actually happened. [crunch, crunch]

I never noticed the tom yam rice crackers at TJ's before I read this, so I purchased some the other day - yowsa! They're not only precious, but good. I love the packaging, too - ensures that you get the entire cracker intact.

Two other items not carried by TJ, at least at the Northbrook store, despite being repeatedly requested (according to two different store employees): lemon grass in any form, and wheat germ. Odd, indeed.

My next alternative try, Fresh Market in Wilmette, evidently doesn't carry lemon grass, either, which was also surprising, but they are forgiven, as they carry prime beef, as well as fresh OJ, for non-exorbitant money. They also had white peaches and nectarines today for less than a buck-fifty a pound, which will be going into a variation of a Gale Gand coffee cake recipe that I purloined from her demo at the BotGar last week. (Her new book, "Brunch!" is excellent, and the recipes are easy and reasonably fast, without being dumbed-down.)

sundevilpeg wrote:Two other items not carried by TJ, at least at the Northbrook store, despite being repeatedly requested (according to two different store employees): lemon grass in any form, and wheat germ.

I guess I wouldn't expect TJ's to carry lemongrass. They aren't trying to be "super produce world" or anything.

The wheat germ I could see going either way. It's probably something I'd check for if I was there, but wouldn't necessarily be surprised they didn't carry it.

sarcon wrote:
at which Whole Foods did you purchase this non-disgraceful half baguette? I have never seen a half baguette at Whole Foods: I have only ever seen full size baguettes with a cottony flavorless crumb, a weak crust and that gross textured chewy bottom.

They sell the half-sized baugettes at the Saugaunash WF, but it's the same "flavorless crumb and weak crust" as the big ones. They'll do in a pinch, but I've got to be getting pinched pretty hard.

lincoln park WF has always sold 'demi' baguettes. and roosevelt road does as well. justjoan

grits wrote:

sundevilpeg wrote:Two other items not carried by TJ, at least at the Northbrook store, despite being repeatedly requested (according to two different store employees): lemon grass in any form, and wheat germ.

I guess I wouldn't expect TJ's to carry lemongrass. They aren't trying to be "super produce world" or anything.

The wheat germ I could see going either way. It's probably something I'd check for if I was there, but wouldn't necessarily be surprised they didn't carry it.

Sundevilpeg, I was at Fresh Farms on Touhy today and they have lemongrass and wheat germ. I think the wheat germ was with the hot cereals near the top of one of their middle "rounded" shelves.

I don't think Whole Foods has the Gummy Tummy Penguins (with liquid centers).

Sundevilpeg, I was at Fresh Farms on Touhy today and they have lemongrass and wheat germ. I think the wheat germ was with the hot cereals near the top of one of their middle "rounded" shelves.

Thanks - I went to the Broadway Supermarket today, and they had the lemongrass, of course, but also fresh Kaffir lime leaves, among a zillion other SE Asian produce offerings. I finally have a replacement for the dear departed Thai Grocery, and a great big one that has a parking lot, at that.

Just to clarify, I wasn't looking for wheat germ - the check-out clerk at Trader Joe's in Northbrook mentioned that as an additional example of something that they get a ton of requests for, along with lemongrass, that they never carry.

I guess I wouldn't expect TJ's to carry lemongrass. They aren't trying to be "super produce world" or anything.

See, I would - at least jarred or cryopak frozen, if not fresh trimmed stalks in the pre-packaged herb format that they seem to favor. Seems an item that would be right in their wheelhouse.

Hi,

FYI: H-Mart does have frozen lemongrass in the freezer section in a small plastic re-sealable container.

Regards,

HarvesTime Foods carries four types of King Arthur flour at $5.89 per 5-lb. bag as of today: regular whole wheat, white whole wheat, unbleached bread and unbleached all-purpose. This store in Lincoln Square would be an attractive alternative for those who used to buy King Arthur flour at the North Center Trader Joe's.

HarvesTime Foods
2632 West Lawrence Avenue

I am obsessed with two TJ's products:

Unfiltered Concord Grape Juice(TJ's brand)
Lowfat Plain Kefir (TJ's brand)

I don't know where they source their kefir from, but I like it a lot better than Lifeway's because it doesn't have the added fiber. And the unfiltered Concord grape juice is just insanely good, although not cheap.

grits wrote:I am obsessed with two TJ's products:

Unfiltered Concord Grape Juice(TJ's brand)
Lowfat Plain Kefir (TJ's brand)

I don't know where they source their kefir from, but I like it a lot better than Lifeway's because it doesn't have the added fiber.

Tom had mentioned that you could check labels to see to which dairy plant processed the kefir. A quick glance at a couple of Lifeway and TJ kefir bottles revealed that both came from plant #17-111.

--
edc

edc wrote:

grits wrote:I am obsessed with two TJ's products:

Unfiltered Concord Grape Juice(TJ's brand)
Lowfat Plain Kefir (TJ's brand)

I don't know where they source their kefir from, but I like it a lot better than Lifeway's because it doesn't have the added fiber.

Tom had mentioned that you could check labels to see to which dairy plant processed the kefir. A quick glance at a couple of Lifeway and TJ kefir bottles revealed that both came from plant #17-111.

--
edc

TJ's doesn't have the added fiber. Trust me on this one.

grits wrote:

edc wrote:

grits wrote:I am obsessed with two TJ's products:

Unfiltered Concord Grape Juice(TJ's brand)
Lowfat Plain Kefir (TJ's brand)

I don't know where they source their kefir from, but I like it a lot better than Lifeway's because it doesn't have the added fiber.

Tom had mentioned that you could check labels to see to which dairy plant processed the kefir. A quick glance at a couple of Lifeway and TJ kefir bottles revealed that both came from plant #17-111.

--
edc

TJ's doesn't have the added fiber. Trust me on this one.

I'll trust him on this [may be obscure].



(bonus points for Mrs. Landingham)

Just because products are manufacturered at the same plant doesn't mean they are the same formula. This just proves that Lifeway is the supplier for TJs.