Trader Joe's Spicy Dynamite Sauce

To me, this stuff tastes just like spicy mayo. It's a nice flavor with a good bit of heat that creeps up on you after a while. This product is vegan and its base is a vegan mayo spread made with soybean oil and sesame oil.

It's surprisingly thick and creamy. It coats quite well. The first things we tried it on were traditional hamburgers. It works just fine in lieu of regular mayonnaise.

I'm most excited about trying this stuff in my "tuna melt surprise" which involves dumping a bunch of random condiments in a bowl with a can of tuna, mixing it around, plopping it on some bread, topping it with cheese, and then heating it up in the oven or air fryer.

Most of our thoughts about this product were expressed in our short video review, embedded below. So why not watch the video, hit subscribe, click the "like" button, and leave us a comment about your thoughts on this product?

$2.99 for the 18 serving squeeze bottle. Product of Thailand. Sonia and I probably wouldn't buy it again, but if you're vegan you might want to check it out. Six and a half stars from the beautiful wifey. Seven out of ten stars from me for Trader Joe's Spicy Dynamite Sauce.

Bottom line: 6.75 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Sweet Ripe Plantains

Long ago, I hung out with some folks from São Paulo, Brazil pretty frequently. They loved telling us about how life was different in Brazil and exposing us to their cuisine and culture. We went to a few different Brazilian restaurants together, and the most common type of platter we'd encounter was a simple dish with a grilled meat of some kind, rice, either beans or a small salad, and finally fried plantains. In contrast to, say your typical Mexican food for example, there were very few sauces, salsas, and cheeses. Everything tasted remarkably clean and fresh.

Around the same time, I discovered Cuban cuisine. Lo and behold, nearly every Cuban dish I tried came with a side of extremely similar fried plantains. Apparently, they're quite common in most cuisines in the Caribbean, Central and South America, and even Africa. With such a huge portion of the world enjoying a specific side dish with such regularity, it's a wonder it never really caught on in the US.

In the same way you might serve sweet potatoes with turkey and stuffing, Sonia made a delicious platter of sautéed chicken seasoned with Trader Joe's Cuban Style Citrusy Garlic Blend, white rice, black beans, and these sweet ripe plantains. From frozen, she simply fried them in a little olive oil for a few minutes on each side. They were quite tasty—among the best plantains I've ever had.

The texture was soft and a little starchy, very similar to a raw banana. The flavor was surprisingly sweet, with no added sugars. The only ingredients in this offering are plantains and palm oil. They complemented our savory sides and gave the whole dish a wonderful natural sweetness.

$2.49 for the 6 serving bag, found in the frozen section. Kosher. Product of Honduras. Sonia and I would both buy again. I'll throw out a solid eight out of ten stars for Trader Joe's Sweet Ripe Plantains. The beautiful wifey will go with nine out of ten.

Bottom line: 8.5 out of 10.

Trader Joe's Harvest Brunch Dog Treats

We had to pick up these seasonally-appropriate pet treats because, hey, Alfred and Sadie love the fall just as much as we do. I mean, they really love all the seasons. Well, maybe not winter so much. They are half chihuahua, after all.

But spring, summer, and autumn, they're quite content. And why not celebrate the flavors of the fall along with us? Here we have waffle-shaped treats featuring real turkey, apple, and pumpkin. In fact, turkey is the number one ingredient. They even flaunt spices like basil, thyme, and sage. I don't think I've ever seen dog treats that have a sophisticated spice blend like that before.

These treats are a tad bit bigger and slightly tougher to chew than some of the other treats we looked at recently, so our fur babies will dock a few points for that reason. But they love the flavor of the treats and the fun, festive art work on the packaging and the overall autumnal harvest theme of the product. We've got another resealable bag here, so the treats stay nice and fresh for many days.

$3.49 for the 4.5 oz bag. We wish TJ's would offer a fall-themed dog treat that's tiny and super soft. The Pumpkin Flavored Dog Treats were fun, but they were way too hard for our pups. The Maple Bacon Stuffies were a big step in the right direction since they were soft and chewy, but the pieces were still way too big without breaking them in half. We're waiting for something along the lines of the Peanut Butter & Vanilla Dog Treats, but with a harvest theme instead of a Christmas one. Anyway, these treats are fun and harvestacular and would be great for bigger dogs. We'll go with seven and a half out of ten paw prints on this one.

Bottom line: 7.5 out of 10.