Can we trade our way to the best Trader Joe’s meal? – Let’s talk about that. ((Intro Music)) – Good Mythical Morning. – And what a morning it is. Because the knew James and the Shame EP is dropping today. Has it already dropped? – Who’s that? – Who that? – Who’s that? Don’t embarrass me. You might know I do a little country music on the side under a moniker James and the Shame. This is my second album and EP. There may or may not be a song on it that features someone who also sits at this desk, who sits on the left side of the desk or the right side of the desk. – Charles and the Pride. – Charles and the what? – Charley Pride. – Oh, Charles and the Pride. Yes. It’s called Nothing Left to Love. That’s the EP, dropped today. I would appreciate you listening to it. Sharing it. It’s available wherever you get music. – Don’t listen to it out of pity. Listen to it, because it’s good. – No, no. – It is good. – But start out of pity. Okay. I need all the listens I can get. – Congratulations, man. – Thank you. – I mean, EP is shorter than a full length album. Does that mean? – I can only muster up six songs this time. – All right, at least you have a day job. – I have a day job that’s actually quite full. – Yes. All right. From James to Joe, Trader Joe’s has a special atmosphere and special products that you can’t really find in any other chain grocery store. – Yeah, it’s full of homey handwritten signs. They got reasonable prices and usually an especially nice cashier to check you out. – All these little touches, not from the cash, The cashiers are not supposed to do little touches. – Right. – I just mean, like, – You know, figurative. – You know what I mean? – Figurative. – It’s why they have such a devoted fan base, so much so that Trader Joe’s does an annual Customers Choice Awards to recognize their fans favorite items. – And these people are very, very passionate about these things. So today we want to see if we agree with this year’s winners. It’s time for They May Not Have Parking, But They Sure Have Good Snacks. The 2023 Ultimate Trader Joe’s Trade Off! – [Stevie] Gentleman today you’re competing to create the best Trader Joe’s lunchbox. According to the results of their 2023 Customer Choice Awards. Each round, you’ll be presented with a lineup of Trader Joe’s brand food items from a specific award category. Every category has one winner and a subsequent list of ranked runners up, and each product is worth points based on its ranking. For example, here’s a category you won’t be picking from today. – Beverages. – [Stevie] Beverages. – Sparkling honeycrisp apple juice beverage was number one? – It was the best. – Okay. – [Stevie] So, you can see the little runners up there. That’s how we’re playing each category. – So if you chose the number one, you get one point. – [Stevie] Correct. And then the second ranked item is worth two points and so on. And in the final round, you’ll have the chance to do a good old fashioned cafeteria style lunchbox item trade. So, of course, The person with the lowest score at the end wins the chance to trade seats with me – What? – [Stevie] For 60 seconds in Good Mythical More. A lot is on the line today. Why don’t you go ahead and pull in your lunchboxes. – You sure I can fit back there? – Pull in our lunch boxes. You mean our stainless steel drawers? – [Stevie] Yes. – No, I remember my lunchbox being about this size, you know? – Okay. – [Stevie] This first round will be the snack category. The top ranked Trader Joe’s snacks. In no particular order are The Organic Elote Corn Chips, Dippers. Chile Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips, Organic Corn Chip Dippers and the world’s puffiest White Cheddar Corn Puffs. To determine who will pick first, please go ahead and pull bananas from the Trader Joe’s bag. Longest banana wins. – Yes. Okay. – Why’s it got to be the longest? – I don’t like picking one that sticks out too far. – What? – Oh, wow. – You just wasted. That might be the longest banana in the bunch. but that gives you the power – I mean. – of choice. – You could turn that banana into, like, a. – Like four bananas. – One of those fancy rowboats. – Viking. – I’m familiar with these two. This one, I’m going to taste another. Boy, they’re really just – So good. The flavor’s so strong. – Mexican style street corn flavor, seasoning. It’s pretty, pretty accurate, don’t you think? – It’s very, very good and very, very accurate. Very good, strong flavor. I can see why they said it was good. – They’re spicy. – These are basically Takis? No, they’re rolled, they’re rolled. Is that what a Taki is? Yeah, they’re rolled too. – They got some tang, you person Rolled Corn Tortilla Chip Chili Lime. I’m gonna have another one of these too because it, it really reaches out and grab that tongue of yours. – Now, these are just basically the same thing as this with less flavor on them. They’re the organic corn They’re the organic corn chip dippers without the elote. – But they’re bigger than those. – No, they’re not. – They’re not? They’re different. – It’s the same exact back, bro. It’s just they put flavor one. – I mean that’s a good Frito. – How could that be better than that. – Rip off because you might want to dip in in something that that doesn’t go with. But yeah. I mean, I have to power like choice. I can go ahead and tell you. – These are not necessarily ones that were introduced in 2023. – [Stevie] No. Just what the customer’s. – Because this has been around for a while. – Is this not just Pirate’s Booty? – I thought it was called Pirate’s Booty? – That’s the brand. – I think they decided they got to stop saying booty. A lot of people are stopping saying booty. Have you noticed that? I used to get 2, 3 booties a day. – You’re getting like one to two now? – I’m getting one to two booties a week now. – That’s sad. – Yeah, yeah. The more booties, the better is what I always say. – Ain’t nothing wrong with tossing around a little booty. – That’s so good. Those are so good, dang. – Yeah, I’m loving these and I don’t want to leave them for you. But I haven’t heard about it. We have these in my house all the time. – You get the newsletter? – I do tend to hear about these things. – What do you think you might hear about it? – I’m going with these. – Dang it. That’s what I wanted. – These rival Takis big time. – That’s what I was gonna choose. – What you gonna choose? – These are so good. But I think they might be polarizing. – That means some people may not like them. – Make a choice, sir. – I think the perennial popularity of the white cheddar corn puffs puts them in the top. And I also wanted to see if I can get these in my lunchbox. They fit. – [Stevie] This round is all about entrees. The top Trader Joe’s entrees, in no particular order are Kung Pao Chicken, Butter Chicken with Basmati Rice, BBQ Teriyaki Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala. And I will note that the number four ranked entree is actually Butternut Squash, Mac and Cheese, but it’s a seasonal item. So we swapped it out with number five on the list, which today will count for four. – ‘Tis not the season? – ‘Tis not the season. That’s a good Kung Pao. You’ve got the? – We got bananas. Why don’t we just. Whoever’s got the most interesting banana this time. Oh. – Mine is so interestingly short. – Mine there’s so much more to be interested in. – All right. Now you’ve got the power of choice. – Okay, Kung Pao, that’s not bad. – Nope, it’s good. You know, Trader Joe’s is not a sponsor of this episode, but I’ll go so far as to say that we recently went on a little retreat with some friends of ours, had a little hang. And all we did was buy stuff from Trader Joe’s to eat. – Yep. I went into the Trader Joe’s with Jessie before we went. – Oh, yeah. You were there. – And I was like, I’ve only been in this Trader Joe’s two times in the, like, eight years. I’ve been living in proximity of it. – What’s your problem? You scared? – I don’t know. – I just end up going to Ralphs, but. – Dang, it’s good. – Butter chicken. – That’s butter chicken? – It’s such a great dish. – Oh, it’s my favorite. – I mean, look, yeah, just eat all of it. They only like the chicken. -This is just teriyaki? – Yeah, and it’s chicken thigh. Which I love. But they don’t put that on the box. They don’t tell you – Dark meat. – They do tell you. – So it’s also some legs. – I don’t see any leg parts in here. I would know. Trust me. – Why don’t they say chicken booty? – This is pretty “deesc”. – Oh, I didn’t know I was gonna get a piece that big, Charles. Look at that. Can he put that in his mouth? – Tikka masala. – Is a lot like butter chicken, but a little bit different. – But not as good. We both love some butter chicken. Don’t we? I mean, I need to have this in my house. But I also really like a good chicken thigh. I ain’t going to be mad, whatever you choose, as long as, well I am going to be mad. Make your choice. – I’m choosing the butter chicken. Cause it’s butter. – I’m okay with that. The number one thing. You know what? – Best entree. – I think it’s this kung pao chicken because this is just as good as takeout. – [Stevie] Next up, we’ve got the sweet/dessert category. The top ranked Trader Joe’s sweets in no particular order, are Hold the Cone! Mini Ice Cream Cones, – Okay. Danish Kringle, Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches, and Chocolate Lava Cakes. – Hold the cone. – Look at that. It’s so cute. I’ll probably eat the whole thing at once. – Can you “bootify” it? No. You can “boobify” it. – That’s not what I’m trying to bring back. I’m not trying to bring back that. – Some vanilla under there. – [Stevie] And there are multiple flavors of the Hold the Cone! Mini Ice Cream Cones, but we just. – Hold on. Before you cut it. Look at this thing. – I came home last year. – My face goes in it. – I want it to go in my face. So I don’t want it to touch your face. – It’s like I’m freaking on a cruise. Oh, there’s a whale. ((Laughing)) – You ruined it. I got home last year, and my wife had one of these on the counter, and I thought she went to some bakery. I had no idea. She did not tell me. She just went to Trader Joe’s and got this thing and it was so good. We ate it for week. – Was it the pumpkin? What’s it called? Pumpkin? – Caramel. – Caramel. Good gracious. Look at that. – It’s so good. – I smell T-R-O-U-B-L-E. – It’s so good. We forgot our bananas. It’s so good we forgot about bananas. Let’s just keep going We’ll get back to the bananas. – It’s interesting that it comes in this packaging, the Danish Kringle, – Because it feels authentic. – Well, it’s from Racine, Wisconsin. – No, that’s “Ra-sin-e’ – It’s not. It’s not Trader Joe’s branded. – No that’s why I thought she got it at the Oh, Danish Bakery. – And then this guy. – I like an ice cream sandwich. It’s very good. Nothing super special. I’m going to lava this thing for you. – Does that make you Mr. Lava, Lava? – Is that a reference? – Mr. Boombastic. Fantastic. – Oh, you’re going way back. I didn’t know what decade to reference. – That is lava-like. That’s just as good as what you get at Chili’s? Applebee’s? One of those. – Okay, banana time. – Because we both want to vote for this, right? – I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know, I think people might be scared of. It’s so big. – Oh! I’m scared because it’s so big. – That’s an interesting banana you got there. – I think people are rickety, rickety raving over this. I’m throwing it in here. -That’s a great choice, man. Um, I think that. – I think the lava cake is the next best tasting thing. – I think the kids like these. – I think you get it for the kids. So I’m getting it from my lunchbox. – Well. – [Stevie] Lastly, we’ve got the overall category. The foods that rank the highest, regardless of what type of food they are. The overall top foods. In no particular order are Everything But the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend, TJ’s Hashbrowns Chili Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips. – It’s back. – [Stevie] And Steamed Chicken Soup Dumplings. – Hashbrowns. – You got these in your house? – Like I said, I never know when she’s going to show up with something from Trader Joe’s. – That is a good hashbrown. – She’s been playing sneaky with me make me think that going to the bakery. – That’s a good, what makes those freakin hash browns so good. – Oil – Yeah, probably the oil. – So we know something about a choice that was made earlier in this game. – Yep. I don’t have it. – A soup dumpling, huh? – Feeling good about that. Chicken noodle soup? – You got to go full dumpling. All right. – Well, you know, I want to bite it to see how soupy it gets. – I want the soup to go in my mouth. – Oh, yep. There it is. It’s Soupy. Proof is in the drip, man. – Okay. Last bananas. – Yeah. Look at that. – That’s an interesting banana. So interesting. No, it’s almost nothing. – I mean, what kind of banana is that? We don’t even know. – This soup dumpling is impressive. It tastes good. All of these are so good. Gracious Trader Joe. – I haven’t had anything that I don’t like. – Does a good thing, does a good thing. Throw a Trader Joe’s party, not a sponsor. Have a good old time. I know which one I’m picking, though. It’s not even hard, because this, my friend. – Dang it – Is a ubiquitous, this. Well, you put it on everything. It’s got everything in it and you put it on everything and you got to have it in your house and you get it from Trader Joe’s. It’s going to be hard to topple this from the top. – Well, if I had a long banana, I would have chose that. You think everyone, I think some people are afraid of a soup dumpling. They’re like, what does that even mean? I don’t want to find out. – Yeah, that could have been me. – I don’t feel strong about this. The only one I felt strong about, is the one you already chose. Yeah, but I got to position myself because I think that you’ve got two things that are the number one thing in the category. I have to think about which one I want. Be really interesting to have this. Do you think this is number one all around just because it’s number one in a category? – Well, by getting it in this category, are you also getting it in the other category? – No. ((Laughing)) – No. Am I going double rolled corn? I think I am. – Don’t do that. You do that. – Okay. – [Stevie] Okay. So before I tell you how you did, you have the opportunity to trade one item from your opponent’s lunchbox that they cannot block. And no, you cannot trade back for an item that’s been taken away. And if you like to make any additional trades, you just both have to agree on the trade somehow. So – I don’t. – But you have to tell us who’s losing right now. Because that person gets to trade first. – [Stevie] Link, you’re losing, so. – Seriously? – [Stevie] You can take your trade first. – How can I be? All right. I want to trade. See, it’s either this or this because I feel really strongly about this. And I have a good feeling about this one. So which one of these I’m going to trade, Butter chicken for this? – But really? – No, for this. – Hold on. Can he trade anything for anything? – Yes. And you can’t do anything about it. – I know, I’m just saying, I think you could trade Danish Kringle for it. It doesn’t have to be a category trade, is all I’m saying. You just happened to trade within categories. I think you did a good thing there, Link. – I don’t need you to tell me that. – And I can not give it back to you. I would love to give it back to you, but I’m not going to give it back to you. – Do you want this Kringle? – What I want is I’m going to give you. Man, I think I’ve done I think I actually did really well with this. So, I think I’m about to maybe give you a really good item. For a really good item. There’s probably some obvious thing to do right now if I trade him corn tortilla chips for corn tortilla chips. – Yeah, let’s do that. – Hey, you can’t. I’m trading the corn tortilla chips within a category for the corn “cortilla” chips, Corn tortilla chips within another category. – Yeah, do it. – [Stevie] Yeah. – I don’t know why, but you should do that. – No, I’m going to do this. – With the Kringle? – I am going double tortilla. – So you think that’s number one overall or at least higher up overall? All right, hold on. Is there anything, you know, I’d like to trade Would you be willing to trade? – I shouldn’t have done that. I should have gotten this, but I confused myself. I rolled my corn over. – You want this? Well, you can’t have it. But maybe you would want, I want to get rid of this and I’m going to. Would you be willing to trade the corn? – No, I’m not giving. – I want the white corn. -No, I’m not giving that up. – For this? – I’ll give this thing I accidentally took. I’ll give it back to you. No, not for the Danish. I’ll give it to you for the everything. – No, but this? You got two of these. – You’re stuck with the Kringle. – All right. We’re locking in. – [Stevie] Let’s see how you did. – [Stevie] Before I tell you where you ended up, I’m just going to tell you what your scores were before your trades. So, Rhett, you had nine points, okay? And Link, you had 10 points. – It was tight. – Oh, man, I just gave it to you. I just totally gave it to you, didn’t I? – [Stevie] So, we’re gonna start with the snacks. Rhett, you have the Chili Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips and the White Cheddar Corn Puffs, which ranked number one and number four, respectively, making them worth five points total. – Yeah, man, you don’t want this stuff. The Pirate’s Booty is on the way out. – [Stevie] And Link, you don’t have any items from the snack category. – Nope – [Stevie] For the entree round, Rhett, you have the Kung Pao chicken. – Very good. – [Stevie] Which ranked number three making it worth three points. – That was a good trade for me. – [Stevie] Link, you have the butter chicken, which ranked number one making it worth one point. – It’s great. – [Stevie] For sweets and desserts. Rhett, You don’t have any dessert items. Link, you have the Danish Kringle and the ice cream sandwiches, which ranked number two and number three respectively. – So, what was number one? The cones? – [Stevie] Yep. -The cones aren’t as good as the cookies in my, H, no, in my O ((Laughing)) What is the H in my H.O.? In my “humble”. Oh, honest? I thought it was a humble opinion. – It can be either – In my humble opinion. – [Stevie] And finally, for the overall round. Link, you have Everything But the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend, which ranked fourth. – Oh shoot! I may have pulled it out. I may have, I don’t know. – [Stevie] Making it worth four points and Rhett, you have the Chili Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips. which ranked, first. – No! – [Stevie] That means Rhett ended up with 9 points Link ended up with 10 points. – What are the chances? – [Stevie] And Rhett is the winner and gets to trade seats with me on Good Mythical More. – Oh, my gosh. What a roller coaster, Joe. – I hate Trader Joe’s. I hate everybody who loves it. But I am gonna throw another party and that all we’re gonna eat! -Thank you for subscribing and clicking that bell. – You know what time it is. – My name is Sadie and I’m from Phoenix, Arizona. I just moved to a new apartment and I’m very close to a Trader Joe’s, so I’m on Sporked to see what the best groceries to get at Trader Joe’s are. And it’s time to spin The Wheel of Mythicality. – Sadie knows what’s up, knows how it works. Click the top link to watch us decide what crazy trades we would make in Good Mythical More – And to find out where the Wheel of Mythicality is going to land. – [Rhett] My new James and the Shame EP, Nothing Left to Love is streaming everywhere.