Here Little Cookie

Surprising new foodstuff dethrones cookie butter on Trader Joe's top 25 products of 2013

Uh-oh, we feel a shortage coming on. Gourmet foodie emporium Trader Joe's has released its list of top products for 2013, and it's bad news for Speculoos cookie butter. The gingerbread spread has been toppled by an even more ginger-y interloper: triple ginger snaps.

Overtaking cookie butter is no small feat. The super-hot spread topped Trader Joe's top products for 2012 and became such a smash that TJ's suffered a national shortage. In its valiant struggle to keep Speculoos on the shelves, the chain was forced to limit sales to one bottle per customer. The national nightmare finally waned in August, when the supply was replenished.

But this spicy, feisty ginger snap seems up to the task. It contains a triplet of gingers: crystallized ginger, fresh ginger and ground ginger. Other ingredients include wheat flour (hey, it's healthy), brown sugar, butter, molasses and egg. The butter and molasses provide a flavorful platform for the bits of crystallized ginger, which sets off explosions of bright flavor and moist gummy-bear chew.

Triple ginger snaps are not a new product; they took the No. 3 spot on last year's list. And as an FYI, Whole Foods Markets sell a nearly identical cookie in its bulk bins. But that shouldn't stop anyone from storming Trader Joe's and creating a run on the cookie so that we have something fun to write about for all of 2014.

Here's the full list (an * indicates that the product was limited-edition and probably can't be had right now, boo):

1. Triple Ginger Snaps. Not one, not two, but three gingers.
2. Speculoos Cookie Butter. Made of cookies. Like a gingerbread spread. No nutritional value whatsoever.
3. Joe Joe’s Cookies (all varieties). TJ's version of Oreo's, with the limited-edition holiday-season peppermint being an annual highlight.
4. Reduced Guilt Chunky Guacamole. Does anyone really feel guilty about regular guacamole?
5. Charles Shaw Wine (all varieties). Cheap good wine remains a Trader Joe's trademark.
6. Pumpkin Coffee.* New pumpkin item proving that anything pumpkin sells, even god-awful pumpkin-flavored coffee.
7. Mac ‘n Cheese. Returning favorite moves up from last year's position at No. 16.
8. Pumpkin Butter. * Last year's No. 12. And if we haven't mentioned this previously, pumpkin = popular.
9. Almond Butter (all varieties). New to the list, almond butter has become more popular with the rise of (and phobia over) peanut allergies.
10. Pumpkin Pecan Instant Oatmeal.* Oatmeal with pumpkin and pecans. TJ's is going to turn into a big pumpkin.
11. Chili Lime Chicken Burgers. Burgers made not of beef are hot.
12. Fennel Bulbs.* How refreshing to see fresh produce on this list.
13. Cranberry Goat Cheese Log.* Tangy cheese from Wisconsin, hand-rolled in candied cranberries.
14. Harvest Blend Herbal Tea.* Limited-edition tea is a no-brainer because it has cinnamon, ginger — you know, the pumpkin pie spices. Pumpkin again, oy.
15. Pound Plus Chocolate Bar (milk and dark). Longtime TJ's product is a lot of good chocolate for a low price and a boon for bakers.
16. Almond Cocoa Spread.An almond cousin to Nutella, the chocolate-hazelnut spread that's gotten hot in the past couple of years.
17. Pumpkin Bread & Muffin Mix.* Returning favorite (No. 14 last year) has one, ahem, ingredient we won't bother mentioning again.
18. Rosemary Marcona Almonds. Nuts are one of TJ's stock-in-trades. "Marcona" almonds means they're fried until extra-crunchy. Add rosemary and voila.
19. Corn & Chili Pepper Salsa. This salsa-without-tomatoes was No. 20 on last year's list. Inching up!
20. Dark Chocolate Covered Caramels. Awww, sank from No. 8 last year.
21. Chocolate Orange Sticks. Candied orange gel enrobed in chocolate. Bit of a surprise to see on this list.
22. Pesto Gouda. Introduced as a St. Patrick's Day item because it's green duh, this got bumped up to year-round availability.
23. Mandarin Orange Chicken. Once found at the top of the list (sniff!), this frozen dinner-in-a-bag is a longtime bestseller.
24. Spinach & Kale Greek Yogurt Dip. Returning champ is a kale-y twist on spinach artichoke dip, with yogurt standing in for sour cream.
25. This Cranberry Walks Into a Bar … * Cross between a Pop Tart and a Fig Newton, this limited-edition breakfast bar has a thin pastry shell and lots of fruit.

Triple ginger snaps was Trader Joe's No. 1 best-selling product of 2013.

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Triple ginger snaps was Trader Joe's No. 1 best-selling product of 2013.

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French Food News

Dallas restaurant Frenchie debuts in former Corner Bakery spot

Frenchie

A French restaurant has debuted in an iconic Dallas space: Called Frenchie, it's a new concept from Travis Street Hospitality (Knox Street Bistro, Georgie) now open in North Dallas’ Preston Center Plaza in the former Corner Bakery space at 8420 Preston Center Plaza.

Described as a quintessential French brasserie — designed as a casual, everyday restaurant serving an all-day menu of lunch and dinner (with breakfast launching in the coming weeks) — it's a new direction for Travis Hospitality, who are venturing outside of their usual Knox-Henderson neighborhood, with their first venture without white-tablecloth service.

Frenchie is the natural evolution for founders Stephan Courseau and Daniele Garcia and culinary director, Bruno Davaillon, who have built a reputation on refined, French-forward restaurants like Knox Bistro, Georgie, and Le PasSage — tempering their French-born culinary heritage and fine-dining training with American sensibilities to create a more family-friendly concept designed for North Dallas’ premier mixed-use district.

"Frenchie is an American French restaurant made by French guys who are now in the American mainstream,” Courseau says in a release. "Frenchie represents the version of the French people we are today. It’s who we became over the years – authentic to who we are today."

Food and drink
The menu blends classic French comfort food with all-day versatility, featuring crepes, rillettes, quiche, poulet rôti, tartare de boeuf, salade Parisienne, and pâtes au pistou. In the morning, coffee and croissants. At lunch, burgers and onion soup. At dinner, steak frites and profiteroles dinner.

The wine list will feature small French wineries, while cocktails will include a "freezer martini" — custom bottled and pre-chilled by Travis Street Hospitality’s Executive Mixologist, Mario Martinez, exclusively for Frenchie.

Decor
The 4,000-square-foot restaurant will feature seating for 150 in the dining room and bar, and a 1,200-square-foot covered patio with an indoor-outdoor bar.

Decor will be grounded in the fundamentals of classic French bistros, with design details such as pewter bar tops, patinaed mirrors, brass sconces, rattan chairs, and rows of banquettes.

Audience
The goal will be to become an everyday destination for families, parents, office workers, and shoppers at the Preston Plaza Center.

Founded by Stephan Courseau and Daniele Garcia, Travis Hospitality has been on the dining scene since 2013 with the debut of Le Bilboquet. This was followed by the opening of Knox Bistro, Georgie and The Georgie Butcher Shop (2019), Rose Café at Le PasSage and Le PasSage (2024).

openings