u/Jssaws

I picked this tin up a while back when I first saw the Diplomats brand appear at World Market. It was an impulse buy, I think they were $4.99 and they sounded interesting so I thought what the hell. Honestly, not bad! I'm not a huge fan of brislings, but these were ok. A little bit of a fishy after taste with some bites more than others. There was a ton of sauce, and it was fine. Reminiscent of a frozen dinner or a cheap Indian buffet is my best comparison. Not a lot of spice notes, tomatoey and a little creamy. That being said, nothing tasted bad or unpleasant here! All in all, for a $5 tin, I wasn't disappointed and may check out the other flavor options Diplomats offer from time to time. I'll give these little guys a 7.3/10.

If you happen to dine at Chipotle on occasion you may remember that over the past year or so they have introduced a limited time red chimichurri sauce option to dress up your bowl or burrito. That tastes almost identical to what's been presented here in this tin of trout from Fishwife. Which isn't a bad thing. I love a good chimichurri, this is quite nice in my opinion and a refreshing change from your typical tinned fish options. The trout however, was not great. Maybe having ABC+ as my first tinned trout experience set an unfairly high bar. But either way, this was pretty dry, and crumbled apart as it was eaten. You're kind of left with a slurry of sauce and small chunks of fish by the end. The flavor was fine, I tasted no smoke though. The chimichurri held up to the tinning process and was bright, zippy, herbaceous and a little spicy. That seems to kind of be the Fishwife MO at this point. Take average to below average quality fish, dress it up with a trendy sauce or flavor profile, and put it in a flashy box. A "just look at the rims and paint job, don't check under the hood" kind of approach. This was $9.99 on sale, which still feels like it needs another couple of dollars shaved off to make it palatable. But, a nice flavor profile all in all, and I believe this could make a tasty sandwich if so inclined. 7.9/10

Well I picked up a Minerva spiced sardine tin in my very first World Market haul over a year ago. I cracked it open after having some alcoholic beverages one evening long ago, and was not impressed. So after working my way through the majority of what World Market has to offer; the rest of Minerva's catalog has been staring me in the face as the new to me options have dwindled. So I finally got around to trying this lemon variety yesterday, and they are much worse than I remember sans the cervezas. Three pretty beat up sardines with some scales and a stray tail or two floating in the bottom. Murky olive oil, lacking both lemon flavor and salt though I believe they're marked at 12% DV. These taste kind of like cheap tuna, with a whisper of lemon in one or two bites. I ate these on some Wasa crispbreads with some strong brown mustard to help out. Needless to say I am not looking forward to trying the rest of their line of tins I have stashed from World Market. And I can't think of a reason why I'd purchase anything from Minerva again unless one of the remaining tins I have to try is an absolute 180 from the flavors I've already had. 5.2/10

La Curiosa hasn't let me down yet, and this tin is no exception. Four firm, big, and beautiful mackerel fillets here. This is not a curry sauce, it's a dry curry seasoning and it's added with a light hand here. The flavors kind of follow the package description. You taste mackerel, then a nice olive oil, then a touch of curry and a hint of chili spice. I would like them to be more aggressive with the seasoning here personally, but the fish is so good I didn't mind too much. The sodium sits at 12% DV, so fairly low in the tinned fish world but it needs no extra salt. If anything an extra shake of curry powder if you have some would be great. I prefer their mackerel with lemon thyme just a hair because the herbaceousness comes through a bit more. But I'd happily purchase either again on occasion. 8.2/10

Well after having bad luck with Ekone's mussels in marinara last month I wasn't sure what to expect, and I wasn't terribly excited to try these. But I cracked these open and gave them a sniff. Campfire and bbq aromas wafted towards me. These smell like summer. About 15 small to medium mussels in the tin. Soft texture with a bit of chew. Clean, no beards or shell pieces. An intense dose of natural smoke flavor, onion and garlic powder, salt, and sugar round out the flavor profile. This is the smokiest tin I have had so far. As a lover of bbq and smoked meats, I was having a good time. Those mussels in marinara I previously tried don't even taste like they're from the same company. This smoked version blows them out of the water, no pun intended. I understand the Ekone hype now, and can't wait to get my hands on some of their oysters. 8.5/10

I think Porthos was going for a smiling Conquistador on the front of their tins. But to me this guy looks like a Disney villain trying to get you to take a bite of a poisoned apple, or a guy who's showing you the ace up his sleeve while cheating in a game of poker. While I don't think I was poisoned, I do feel a little cheated here. I cracked this open and got a splash of sauce on my finger, tasted it, and was shocked there was actually some heat! That turned out to be a mirage. Maybe my palette adjusted quickly after the initial hit of spice, but there was none preasant throughout the rest of the tin. The sardines themselves are firm, as they are in the Porthos teriyaki tin. The sauce feels like it's about 70% tomato 30% oil. Not a ton of seasoning, just kind of a bland standard tomato sauce. This doesn't touch Nuri, Patagonia, or Berthe's tomato sauce offerings. No scales, which is a common Porthos complaint. All in all I prefer their sardines in teriyaki to this. Not because they're fantastic, but at least the teriyaki offering is unique and interesting. These are around the same price as Nuri and Matiz at World Market, and I think I'd prefer both. That being said, these aren't bad. They're fine, but after I sample the rest of the Porthos catalog to rate and review, I probably won't be spending much time with this creepy bastard in the future. 7.2/10

I believe this was the last tin from a haul from October that had been lingering in my cabinet. I tried Mouettes' Mackerel in muscadet wine a few months ago, and that was quite the unique experience. So, after passing this over for months to reach for tins to try that offered more familiar flavors I finally cracked this open. And I'm glad I did. One massive Mackerel filet in this tin, just like in the muscadet wine offering. This could almost pass as a fresh cooked filet, firm, but flakes somewhat easily. The mustard sauce here is firing on all cylinders. There's not a rainbow of flavors here, but it delivers a creaminess from the creme fraiche, especially when stirred a little; and a nice Dijon mustard flavor that's front and center. There's some garlic, vinegar, wine, salt and spices here as well, but the dominate flavor is that creamy, savory, punchy mustard sauce. I ate this with some Wasa crispbreads and cheese, and sweet peppers from my garden. That was a very nice pairing, but this would be great on a sandwich as well! Best mustard tin I've had and certainly worth a try, 8.3/10

This tin of small sardines, or "petingas" in Brava sauce was my second go around with ABC +. At this point I think they could drop the BC and just call themselves A+ because both of the tins I've had from them were fantastic. These small sardines were actually not that small, somewhere between a really fat bristling or a smaller pilchard. I, being a fan of the big pilchards, very much enjoyed this. They were easily removed from the tin without falling apart, but were also somehow meltingly tender and soft when chewed. Beautiful sardine flavor, no scales or leftover bits. The Brava sauce is a blend of extra virgin olive and rapeseed oils, peppers, garlic, chilis, lemon, vinegar, mustard, paprika, salt and a binder. This sauce was deeply savory, salty, spicy, bright and luscious. It doesn't run down the tin when tilted. It slips and slides like a luxurious pan sauce on a plate at a nice restaurant, with body and fullness. I believe these were $17 when purchased, so not cheap, but nothing from ABC+ is. I think it's deserved, as this is now my highest rated tin and I would buy this, or anything else from their line in a heartbeat at this point. 9.4/10

Don Gastronom does some great work. Their mussels being a shining example of that. This is one of the first tins that I had, back at the beginning of my tinned fish odyssey, that made me "get it." I remember thinking "damn, this is what all the fuss is about!" Upon revisiting these, they still hold up beautifully. Voluptuous mussels, in a silky olive oil. The things advertised on the package are delivered with full intent. Garlic, and chili. There are actual thin slices of garlic clove, and small red chilis in the bottom of the tin. And they're not there for show. There is a noticeable heat, and it's one of the few tins I've had that actually delivers on that front. The garlic is prominent, and the salt level is perfect. They are a treat. They're available at my local World Market, so there's no need to order online. I think they're the best mussels I can just walk into a store and buy in my neck of the woods. And if you can walk into a store and buy them as well, I would highly recommend you do so. 8.3/10

This Fishwife tin was one of the first few pricier purchases I made and sampled when I was just getting started on my tinned fish journey. I believe it was right around a year ago, and I remembered enjoying it. I had given it an 8.0. When I saw my local Sprouts had a Fishwife sale going on a month ago, I grabbed this and a couple of their trout and mackerel tins to revisit and revise my initial reviews to see if they still held water. Well I'm not sure if production has been altered, there was an issue with this batch, or I had a few too many beers the night I tried this originally. But these 'dines fell well short of my original scoring. There was no heat to the five medium sized, firm and kinda dry fish here. The olive oil was average to below average which i expected. The most jarring thing was how bland these fellas were. The one thing I thought I remembered was; that while being pretty average fish, oil, and not having much heat, they were a good salty snack when you needed to grab something quick. The seasoning here was abysmal. At 15% DV of sodium, they fall in the middle ground for tinned fish, but this tasted like there was almost no salt at all. I believe I paid $6.99 on sale for these, and with King Oscar Mackerel creeping over the $4 mark in my neck of the woods, I felt like that was a fair price. Not anymore unfortunately. Glad I tried these again, because they needed a few points knocked off. Upon review, these get a 6/10 from me.

Well I was getting ready for work this morning and realized I left a $35 bag worth of groceries in the backseat of my car last night. So after throwing out my bottle of cold brew, the yogurt I was going to have for breakfast and two pre made deli counter lunches I had purchased for the next two work days; I dove into my cabinet to cobble something together. Good thing I stay stocked. I've had the Pinhais spiced before, but never the Nuri version actually. I figured there can't be much of a difference because they're the same company with different packaging. I was correct. Three big chonkers in this tin that were impossible to get out whole. They had some mega spine action as you can see in the last pic, but no crunch, just a soft texture that blends with the fish. There's actually some spice here, unlike many "spiced" tins which is nice. The obligatory carrot and pickle slice where thick and had a smidgen of texture left to them. Well salted as they should be at 21% of your daily value. All in all, typical showing from Nuri. Meaty 'dines, well seasoned, decent olive oil. They're not blowing my mind, but they helped make my day better as part of a tasty last minute lunch. 7.9/10, exactly the same as their Pinhais counterpart. ***Bonus: those TJ's beans are freakin fantastic. Large and in charge, they offer a firm outer shell with a meltingly soft interior. Nothing like American sugary baked beans, they rest in a deeply savory and umami packed Mediterranean style tomato gravy 9/10, these are a banger for bean lovers.

This is one of the first tins I ever had, so I thought it was time to revisit and review these fellas. Plenty of medium to small mussels in the tin. Floating in a broth consisting of apple cider vinegar, EVOO, red bell pepper, Spanish paprika, cayenne and salt all of the organic variety. The packaging states HOT, TANGY, SWEET. They nailed two out of the three. They are tangy, reminiscent of an escabeche, which according to their website was an inspiration for this tin. They have a balanced sweetness from the cider vinegar, the red bell pepper, and the paprika. They are not, however, HOT. There's a little tickle with certain bites, that reminds the cayenne is in fact there. But even drinking the broth after finishing the tin did not inspire me to reach for a sip of water or anything. They are however, quite tasty. At 22% daily value of sodium, they're in the mid to higher end for tinned fish, but they taste perfectly seasoned. All in all, this falls in line with most of the Patagonia products. Clean, consistent, tasty and reliable. I've never been floored by a Patagonia product, but I have rarely been disappointed either. Knowing you're getting something good is a value in itself. 7.3/10

I had great results with a tin of La Curiosa lemon thyme mackerel several months ago. I thought it was fantastic so I was excited to try something else from this brand. Another quality tin I'm pleased to say, and La Curiosa is entering my circle of trust. Beautiful presentation and top notch olive oil; glossy, silky and clean. The ingredients are simple like most spicy tins, fish, extra virgin olive oil, salt and chili. Not much chili heat here besides a slight tickle, nice salt level. Meltingly tender small sardines. They break apart with a slight chew and have a beautiful clean sardine flavor. Zero funkiness. These reminded me alot of the Bela spicy sardines. The difference is Bela's run in the $6 to $7 range while these where somewhere in the $10 to $12 realm. Are they good enough to shell out the extra clams? I'm not sure, seeing as I always prefer the larger pilchards, I'm probably not the best person to ask. But these are delicious, and if you are a lover of small sardines I think you should give them a try. No complaints, and looking forward to trying the tin of La Curiosa small 'deenz with Padron pepper I have stashed in the cupboard. 8.2/10

A first of many things for me here. My first tin from Pollastrini, first from Italy in general, and the first time trying vintage or "aged" sardines. Ingredients here are just sardines, chili, salt, olive oil and time. Three years to be exact, but the best by date on the side of the tin says 2028. So perhaps I was still a little early. Beautiful fish, decent olive oil which carried most of the chili zip that was present. The sardines themselves weren't inherently spicy, but taking a sip of the oil got me in the back of the throat with some chili heat. Sodium runs 24% of your daily value here, and the fish are salty in a well seasoned way, and not at all in an off-putting manner. They are clean from top to bottom. Clean looking, clean tasting. They have an ever so slight firmness that gives way in a chew or two to meaty deliciousness. No spine crunch, an overall soft and moist bite. I would not be able to tell these were aged. I may not have a sophisticated enough palette to pick up on the nuances of a vintage tin. But that said, these are beautiful, light and delicious. Around $10 at World Market, I think they're worth their weight in currency. But I would probably only get these on occasion. Not for lack of quality, but because regular "spicy" tins that differentiate from a normal olive oil tin by only the addition of chili pepper don't excite me quite as much as other sauced or seasoned options. Nevertheless, very well done Pollastrini. 8.3/10

Well, sometimes you don't get what ya pay for. I happily purchased these and a tin of Ekone smoked mussels at a local wine and cheese shop when I found them several months ago. Ekone was a brand I hadn't tried yet but had high expectations for. Heartbreak. These were not good. The marinara tastes cheap, reminiscent of Chef Boyardee or a Banquet spaghetti and meatball TV dinner. I laid eyes on a few capers, but upon chewing their flavor had already ascended to the heavens. Lifeless. Their was about ten medium sized mussels and they were the muddiest tasting ones I have had by far. Also had a nice crunch from a piece of grit in one of the first few bites, great stuff...I really hope the plain smoked mussels I have fair better than this, being as that is not a high bar to clear. And I'll purchase their oysters eventually to give those a shot because that's what they're most known for. But at $12 to $13 a tin, Ekone has an incredibly short leash with me now. These get a generous 6/10.

On my quest to try every tin I can get my hands on, I've now almost had every Ferrigno tin available at my local World Market. Surprisingly, this has been my favorite so far! Classic Ferrigno composition here, three huge sardines crammed into the tin. They are on the firmer end with a big meaty bite and as always, there's a few scales unfortunately. Nicoise here, means extra virgin olive oil, garlic, onion, peppers, salt and chili. That seemed less exciting to me than other Ferrigno tins like the tapenade, ratatouille or preserved onion so I but off buying them for a while. That was silly of me because these are pretty delicious. The sum is greater than it's parts. There's a deep savoriness from the onion, garlic and peppers with just the faintest tickle from the chili. It's a comforting flavor profile that reminds, sometimes simple is best. Seasoned well, the sodium content claims it's only 2% of your daily value. Which is either a mistake or a miracle because these needed no extra salt whatsoever. Give these a try, I think it's a very nice starting point into the Ferrigno line and my current favorite of theirs. 8/10

These are glorious. I've mentioned these La Barca mussels in escabeche before here, but never officially reviewed them. If you are a fan of escabeche I highly recommend giving these a try. Beautiful medium sized mussels in a velvety sunflower oil tinged red. The only knock against them is the lack of olive oil here. Wine vinegar, spices and salt. I'm sure there is Spanish paprika and garlic in those "spices" along with whatever that makes these magic. Each bite is permeated with that vinegar; making for a pop of bright tangy flavor followed by the paprika and spices. Incredibly well seasoned, perfect salt level, and a clean earthy mussel flavor. Slight bounce and chew that gives way to a tender finish. No beards, no shell, nothing but flavor. La Barca has done an exceptional job with every tin from their catalog that I have tried so far, while keeping them all at an incredibly reasonable price point. I get these for $6.50 at Central Market. This is my favorite tin of mussels so far. I have had it many times and will continue to have it many more. 8.9/10

Berthe is my favorite brand across the board. They do a fantastic job and this tin is no exception. This was one of the first "nicer" tins I ever had, and spurred excitement into the world of tinned fish. Revisiting this a year later, it's still very nice, but a touch of the shine may have been knocked off now that I've sampled a much broader array. Mellow aroma, pretty firm filets with a flavor reminiscent of tuna. Perhaps that's the influence of mustard, there's yellow, grain and dijon here, that brings to mind some tuna salad flavor profile. Sugar, white pepper, turmeric, vinegar and stabilizers round out the ingredients and make this a thick luxurious sauce. Surprisingly mellow and lacking tang with that much mustard and vinegar included. There is mustard flavor, but not punch, and a subtle sweetness throughout. It's a nice experience, and a shakeup from the normal spiced, tomato, or plain olive oil tins. I feel like punching up the pucker factor would work great here. Slapping this on some toasted rye or pumpernickel with swiss or cheddar and sauerkraut or pickles would make a killer ruben/tuna melt Frankensandwich. 8.2/10

The last of my stash of Trader Joe's tins, and I'm sad to see them go. They do a great job with their salmon and smoked mussels, and this calamari tin is no different. There's a pretty strong fishy aroma when you first crack it open, but that quickly dissipates into a nice mellow seafood smell. Just calamari, olive oil, and salt here and they work in perfect harmony. Nice bouncy squid pieces that deliver a satisfying chew without being rubbery. The olive oil imparts a nice flavor, there's lots of savory umami depth going on. Salted perfectly, I can crush this as a snack straight out of the tin. It would be great tossed into a paella at the last second to heat through, or mixed together into a ceviche style salad. I have no qualms with Mr. Joe; from my experience they deliver the best combo of quality and value in the game. I think I paid a whopping $2.99 for this and would gladly do so again. 7.5/10

I am a red sauce fiend. I'm the guy who gets EXTRA marinara to dunk my pizza into. I love any tomato based sauce, or pasta; much to the chagrin of other options like a marsala or piccata that I also quite enjoy but can't get myself to order over that tomatoey goodness. So tomato tins are a favorite of mine, and Patagonia does a very solid job with their interpretation. Nice, clean, meaty fish and organic ingredients as always. Three hefty fellas in the tin. The sauce is bright and zesty with a nice tomato tang. The inclusion of capers, olives, onions and garlic are welcome. This is like their spin on a pasta puttanesca, which typically includes anchovy in the sauce. They've leaned that direction and snuggled their sardines in instead. I curiously read through the ingredients and saw apple cider vinegar listed at the end. I think that's to keep the sauce bright, as tomato sauce can become dull or muted as it sits in the can. Cayenne here too, but I think that's to round out the flavors more than provide any heat. The sodium listed is high at 26%, but it tastes well seasoned and not overly so. 8.1/10