2 Farmland Bacon (16 oz. bag)

Item Purchased: 2 Farmland Bacon (16 oz. bag)
Location Purchased: Dominick's / 3145 S. Ashland / Chicago, IL
Price: $5.79 + tax ($2.895 ea.)
Purchased on: 02/22/07

Review: Dominick's offers fresh and thick bacon slices from their deli counter, and I want to try it soon. Outdoing themselves, however, Dominick's was offering a 2-for-1 deal on packages of Farmland Foods Bacon slices. Checking the expiration date ("use by March 27th... all good), I opted for the deal.

Though not as thick as the bacon behind the glass counter, Farmland Foods' bacon has less fat and fries up crispy and oh so tasty.

Farmland Foods is owned by Smithfield Foods, which is renowned for their shoddy labor practices, factory farming and use of sow gestation crates. The Olson family from Jewell, IA, however, are pictured in the top right corner of my bacon package and they look pleasant enough. I doubt they participate in such atrocities.

I eat a lot of disgusting stuff every day. We all do. I will finish this package of tasty bacon, but perhaps next time I go for pork belly goodness, I will travel a bit farther than the Dominick's down the street, or at least pay more attention to the packages of the bacon I do buy.

Rating: 2.75 / 5

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Creamette Elbow Macaroni

Item Purchased: Creamette Elbow Macaroni (32 oz.)
Location Purchased: Dominick's / 3145 S. Ashland / Chicago, IL
Price: $1.99 + tax

Review: Creamette was the first company to develop quick cooking elbow macaroni. I only know this because it is the type of information one seeks out when they can't think of anything else to say about the macaroni they just bought.

As a child of not only the eighties, but also middle class America, I have eaten a crapload of macaroni in my life. Macaroni with powdered cheese. Macaroni with grated cheese. Macaroni with cheese sauce. Macaroni with ch... you get the picture. The point is, even though I try and look deeper into the everyday purchases we make, some things are so ingrained into my being that I can't successfully comment on them in an interesting manner. Macaroni just happens to be one of these things.

I can say that Creamette elbow macaroni doesn't develop the starch powder taste that many boxed pastas do. It cooks fast and tender and goes well with just about anything you have on your spice rack.

For a boxed pasta that isn't whole wheat, Creamette does just fine. Though, maybe I just need to pay more attention and contrast and compare. Tell ya what... Next time I buy macaroni, I'll be sure it is a different brand so I can delve deeper into my pasta subconsciousness.

Rating: 3 / 5

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Trader Joe's Grass Fed Gouda Cheese (0.785 lb.)

Item Purchased: Trader Joe's Grass Fed Gouda Cheese (0.785 lb.)
Location Purchased: Trader Joe's / 1840 N. Clybourn Ave. / Chicago, IL
Price: $4.31 + tax

Review: Trader Joe's does it again! Bigger blocks of cheese for smaller chunks of change! Not only is this Gouda a lot less per oz. as the May-Bud I am used to buying, but it also packs a richer and creamier taste than the never-to-be-bought-again cheeses I have fallen back on like the stuffed animals that used to keep me company in my crib. As for being grass-fed, I'm not sure what else dairy cows would eat. I hate to think that there are farmers out there feeding their cattle Totino's pizzas and Baby Ruth bars. Isn't the forage that is fed to most cows made up of grass and hay (dried grass) anyway? Perhaps the label on this cheese simply means that the cows are fed fresh grass? I've read the reports and heard the stories of how cows are fed remnants of their slaughtered and ground up brethren. I'm not sure if it bothers me more that a dairy product must say "grass fed" on the label to ensure that I am not eating a cow that has eaten a cow or the fact that I don't see many labels that do state this.

Rating: 4.5 / 5

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Cabot Naturally Aged Extra Sharp White Cheddar Cheese (0.545 lb.)

Item Purchased: Cabot Naturally Aged Extra Sharp White Cheddar Cheese (0.545 lb.)
Location Purchased: Trader Joe's / 1840 N. Clybourn Ave. / Chicago, IL
Price: $2.56 + tax

Review: I know this may get me kicked out of my home state of Wisconsin when I go back to visit, but I have to say it. Vermont has the upper hand when it comes to cheese making. Maybe Wisconsin does milk better. I don't know. All I know is that I have not had a better cheddar in my life. End of story.

This naturally aged cheddar packs a bite and flavor unmatched by anything that Packerland has ever churned out. Though dry and powerful in flavor, there is still an underlying creaminess to this white cheddar. It is a disappointment that this is another product that doesn't claim to stay away from factory farming or rBGH, but I will admit that it would be hard for me to switch brands based solely on those factors. With a taste like this, even sensible health concerns fall to the wayside.

Sometimes my hedonistic tendencies disgust me. Of course, we're talking about curdled milk and mold here, so who's going to split hairs with that?

Rating: 4.75 / 5

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2 Trader Joe's Organic Tomato Paste (6 oz.)

Item Purchased: 2 Trader Joe's Organic Tomato Paste (6 oz.)
Location Purchased: Trader Joe's / 1840 N. Clybourn Ave. / Chicago, IL
Price: $0.79/ea. + tax

Review: Step aside O Organics, there's a new kid on the block! Sweeter and fresher than your pureed paste, Trader Joe's tomato paste is my new pick for pasta sauce base. Since I don't make it to Trader Joe's very often and make my own sauces extremely often (Paul Newman is good, but I'm better dammit), perhaps I should invest in a case of this paste so that I will never have to settle again.

Rating: 4.5 / 5

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Trader Joe's Reduced Fat 2% Milk (1 qt.)

Item Purchased: Trader Joe's Reduced Fat 2% Milk (1 qt.)
Location Purchased: Trader Joe's / 1840 N. Clybourn Ave. / Chicago, IL
Price: $1.39 + tax

Review: This is one of the few dairy products on Trader Joe's shelf that doesn't claim to be organic or explicitly say that it is made from cows that have not been treated with rBGH. This is disappointing for a few reasons. First of all, Trader Joe's seems to take pride and go out of their way to stock affordable and healthy selections. Though still in deliberation, many foodies and health nuts consider rBGH an unhealthy choice in dairy production. Secondly, though Trader Joe's does stock organic milk brands, none of those brands come in a quart size. I do not eat very much cereal anymore and do not drink milk plain. As a result, I do not go through more than a quart of milk in any two week period. I will use milk to make sauces, pancakes, other baked goods and to cream my coffee. That is all. I would much rather buy organic, but organic milk that goes bad is more of a waste than non-organic milk that will be used completely. Ultimately, it is a minor setback in the grocery decision making process that costs me a few more seconds.

As for the taste, I will be honest. I cannot tell the difference between this milk and the major grocery store brands I usually buy. Does anyone know where I can buy smaller containers (1 qt. or less) of organic, non-rBGH infused milk in this city for a reasonable/comparable price?

Rating: 3 / 5

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2 Trader Joe's Organic Vegetable Broth (32 fl. oz.)

Item Purchased: 2 Trader Joe's Organic Vegetable Broth (32 fl. oz.)
Location Purchased: Trader Joe's / 1840 N. Clybourn Ave. / Chicago, IL
Price: $1.99 ea. + tax

Review: This veggie broth is lighter on salt and bulkier on flavor than the usual broth I get from Dominick's. Since I have reconciled my disappointment with broths coming in such large containers by using whatever excess I have to cook up whatever kind of rice or other grain I have in my cupboard, I decided to buy two boxes. Chances are, I will use both of these broth boxes up by the end of the week. More than likely, I will use them up sooner than that, since the taste of Trader Joe's organic products are so good that I would actually consider heating this broth in a sauce pan as-is and slurping it as a soup.

Rating: 4 / 5

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Trader Joe's Grated Parmesan Cheese (0.61 lb.)

Item Purchased: Trader Joe's Grated Parmesan Cheese (0.61 lb.)
Location Purchased: Trader Joe's / 1840 N. Clybourn Ave. / Chicago, IL
Price: $3.04 + tax

Review: Remember how I raved about the Bel Gioioso Parmesan cheese I purchased last month? Well, chalk that up to naiveté. This Argentinian Parmesan cheese tastes stronger, is just as fresh and costs less than half as much as that name brand ubiqui-grocer brand. Though I need this cheese for a dish I plan on making for a dinner party next Sunday, I find myself eating spoonfulls and marvelling at how this cheese melts in my mouth and leaves a watery greedy maw that begs for more.

This is just one of the many reasons I wish I could make it to Trader Joe's more often.

Rating: 4.75 / 5

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Trader Joe's Jalapeno Pepper Hot Sauce (5 fl. oz.)

Item Purchased: Trader Joe's Jalapeno Pepper Hot Sauce (5 fl. oz.)
Location Purchased: Trader Joe's / 1840 N. Clybourn Ave. / Chicago, IL
Price: $1.99 + tax

Review: I didn't think Trader Joe's sold hot sauce. My girlfriend didn't think so either (and she used to work there). You can imagine my surprise when I found this stuff tucked away on the bottom shelf next to the canned beans and salsa. Okay, maybe you can't imagine my surprise. Hell, I don't even know if I was surprised. I was, however, happy to find it.

The real surprise came when I tasted just a speck of this stuff on the tip of my pinkie finger. Wow! Not only is this pepper sauce hot as August in Arizona, but also fully flavorful. I could actually taste the roasted peppers in all of their breath-gasping glory.

I can't wait to make a rice dish with a splash of this hot sauce mixed in. I'm sure I'll be rolling the complexities around in my mouth as well as reaching for an oil drum of ice water.

A must for all spice-heads! You'll never go back to Tabasco again.

Rating: 4.5 / 5

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Dec. 10th - Previously Reviewed Purchases

[ Safeway Brand Paper Towels (8 rolls) ($7.79) / Trader Joe's Extra Large Brown Cage Free Eggs (12 eggs) ($3.49) / Frugal Joe's Ordinary Beer (6 - 12oz bottles) / 2 Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Bars (3 - 1.75 oz. bars) ]

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