Trader Joe's

I’m not sure if this is what you had in mind by food relative, but have you ever been to Trader Joe’s? It is a cultural treasure that should be available to everyone because due to Newtown’s unfortunate placement it is not easily accessible to our residents unless they wish to drive an hour away to see what it has to offer. Trader Joe’s is basically a food market, but what makes it stand out from all the others like Big Y, Stop & Shop, and Shoprite is that is has food products that no other shops will have. Some of the things that I’ve sampled from this store are dried hibiscus flowers, and key lime cheesecake. Now I know that you probably don’t see key lime cheesecake as a novelty, but this one was an exception that could still rise above any modern cheesecake today…key lime or otherwise. I will go so far as to say that this cheesecake is paramount to a god among men. It is unearthly, however sadly it must no longer be in stock because after 6 years of searching it has yet to be seen again. It seems this creamy and tart taste of this cheesecake was too good to last. Hibiscus flowers are a type of flower that I believe originates from Asia. To some I’m sure that the thought of eating dried plants isn’t very appetizing, but those who can appreciate the taste of some of the earth’s flora should definitely try out these flowers. It’s not the stem, but the leaves of the flower you are eating which are sun dried and then become a deep kind of maroon or purple hybrid color. Once dried these flowers become a crisp and rubbery skin that has a citrusy flavor that I just can’t get enough of. Trader Joe’s prides itself on having different and interesting food dishes or combinations, foreign or common and I love the establishment for that. I’m sure that to some it is just another convenience store and I wish that they wouldn’t fail to appreciate the new options it offers to us common folk in the world of food and dinning. Each time I have been there it has been an interesting experience and there’s always something interesting to try. I just wish that the nearest one I know of wasn’t an hour away. Peter G.