I'm a big fan of a lot of the prepared foods at Trader Joe's. It tends to strike a nice balance along the price, taste, and health axes. So when, a couple of weeks back, I found a twelve ounce bag of pork al pastor in their freezer case, I was pretty excited.

I love me some pork al pastor. A little smoky, a little spicy, a little crispy, a little fatty. It's one of my favorite toppings at Taqueria Los Ocampos. I've tried to make it myself, with some success, but it's a bit fussy. So if Trader Joe's managed to come up with a decent frozen version, it'd be very useful.

But I don't think I'll be getting it again. It's not bad, as such. But there's not enough of everything. Not enough smoke, not enough heat, not enough crisp. Tastes mostly like pork, but a bit on the bland side. It made some OK tacos, with some black beans, queso fresco, and salsa verde, butI've made a lot of tacos in my life, and these wouldn't rank in the top half. Or top three quarters, come to think of it. Disappointing.