Author: Holly

REVIEW: Popeyes TRUFF Chicken Sandwich

Holly 3 Comments

TRUFF has been around since 2017, but I only became aware of the brand in 2022 when it collaborated with Taco Bell to feature its hot sauce. While researching, I was surprised to learn how many different products it had infused with the infamous fungus. Hot sauce was where it started, but now there’s a variety of products, including oil, pasta sauce, salt, and mayo.

Popeyes’ Spicy TRUFF Chicken Sandwich takes the original chicken sandwich and swaps the standard mayo with Spicy TRUFF Mayo. It’s a rich, creamy base that gets its spicy flavor from red jalapeños and earthiness from the black winter truffles. You can also add a side of the Spicy TRUFF Mayo to your order if you want to try it without committing to having it on your sandwich.

Truffles and I have a mixed relationship. I appreciate the savory, deep, and earthy flavor they can bring to food. When paired and balanced right, the meal can be very enjoyable. However, when low-quality truffle oil is haphazardly added to something simply to make it sound fancy, it usually results in an inedible dish. I approached this limited time item with a healthy amount of skepticism but also a genuine hope it would surprise me.

The smell of the truffles was extremely bold as I took the sandwich out of the package. While not unbearable or nauseating, it was not pleasant. It reminded me of mushrooms in the back of the fridge one day away from becoming inedible. Interestingly, my husband didn’t mind the smell. (Holly Fact: Truffles are similar to cilantro in that a genetic component is most likely the cause of how you smell/taste them). Moving past the smell, I tried a bit of the sauce on its own first.

The creaminess of the mayo and the slight spice of the red jalapeño were the first flavors I tasted. The truffle came creeping up at the end, bringing the umami finish. The mayo didn’t really stand out in a positive or negative way after taking a bite of the sandwich. It was just sort of there, occasionally adding a slightly spicy tang or earth layer to the iconic sandwich with each bite. It was a bit disappointing to have the sauce feel so secondary to the flavor profile. The crunchy, juicy chicken breast, pickles, and soft brioche bun are still as good as they’ve always been.

Popeyes’ Spicy TRUFF Chicken Sandwich is an interesting dabble into “fancy” for the chain, but it didn’t move the needle for me. The fungus-based condiment is certain to have its fans and haters, but for me, I fall in the middle. The sandwich did the heavy lifting of making the sauce palatable when it should have been the other way around, having the sauce elevate the sandwich.

Purchased Price: $5.99 (sandwich only)
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 670 calories, 38 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 95 milligrams of cholesterol, 1560 milligrams of sodium, 50 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 28 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Taco Bell Wild Strawberry Creme Delight Freeze

Holly 1 Comment

I have been deep in the pumpkin spice trenches since mid-August and usually try to take a “fall flavors” break around the end of September. It’s easy to burn out quickly by Thanksgiving and want nothing to do with anything pumpkin spiced or cinnamon apple. When I got the push notification from Taco Bell about its new Wild Strawberry Creme Delight Freeze, it was serendipitous.

Over the years, I’ve had varying degrees of enjoyment with the different frozen offerings from Taco Bell. Some I’ve enjoyed (Baja Blast Freeze) and others reminded me of kids’ medications (Blue Raspberry Freeze). My first, unmixed, sip of this gave me a mouthful of Wild Strawberry that took me back to my ear infection days. The Wild Strawberry flavor had a strong artificialness that isn’t unpleasant, but certainly isn’t something found in nature. I decided to wait until I got home to try the drink again.

During the short three minute drive home, all of the vanilla creamer had sunk to the bottom of the cup. I took that as a chance to try it on its own and feel like the descriptor of “vanilla creamer” does it a grave injustice. I was expecting an International Delight-type product, but instead it was more akin to the sweet cream from Starbucks. After a hearty swirl to blend the two flavors, I took another sip.

With everything blended together, the drink was absolutely delicious. The sweet vanilla cream softened the strawberry flavor in a truly enjoyable way. The blending in of the cream also solved a problem I tend to have with slush drinks: it never got icy from uneven syrup sips. It did require me to keep swirling to keep it well blending, but thanks to an iced mocha habit I have a good swirl system.

The sweet, frosty blend of strawberry and cream felt like that random day in September when the weather shifts to summer one last time. It was a nice treat and break from the fall flavors.

Purchased Price: $3.29
Size: Regular (16 oz)
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 200 calories, 1 gram of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 45 milligrams of sodium, 50 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 48 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Wendy’s Queso Fries

Holly 3 Comments

Every 3-4 months, I try to dig through our freezer to ensure nothing gets lost to the dread “back of the freezer.” These ventures sometimes yield gems of forgotten food, but more often than not, it’s random stuff past me thought future me would want. Wendy’s newest offering, Queso Fries, feels like someone in its research & development team found a container labeled “QUESO-2017” in the back of the freezer and decided to bring it back to restaurants.

In 2017, Wendy’s released Bacon Queso Fries as a companion side to its Bacon Queso Burger. Six years later, we now have Queso Fries as a companion to the chain’s Loaded Nacho Cheeseburger. The fast food side is a simple item with three ingredients: fries, shredded cheddar cheese, and poblano queso.

As a fan of the Baconator Fries, I had extremely high hopes. Unfortunately, they started out “pretty good,” but by the end of eating them, they were a solid “eh.” The first bite was a perfect little bit of everything: crispy fries, gooey queso, and slightly melted shredded cheese. Thanks to the mild but flavorful poblano peppers, the queso had a balanced spiciness.

The topping is a blend of various cheeses (American, cheddar, Monterey jack) that offer that savory cheese flavor without being too strong. The shredded cheddar was virtually lost to the other flavors and textures. Wendy’s fries offer a good starch base, but I would have liked to have had something else to give more texture (maybe the crunchy strips on Wendy’s Loaded Nacho Cheeseburger?). But I enjoyed my initial few bites of the fries.

However, time doesn’t stand still for any food item, and within five minutes, the queso had cooled into a thick, paste-like texture. Normally, I don’t have many issues with food texture, but something about the globbiness of the cheesy topping made me extremely uninterested in finishing the item. It had such a good flavor that this metamorphosis into cold goo was a bummer. Thankfully, my husband had no issue with the oobleck queso, so he finished the fries.

Wendy’s isn’t afraid to bring flavorful items to its menu, and I appreciate that. The Queso Fries are flavorful without being overly spicy. While they were initially quite good, they cooled down into a textural nightmare item I couldn’t finish. If you try them, just make sure to have someone around who will eat the rest when the cheese sauce turns to gak.

Purchased Price: $3.49
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 390 calories, 20 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 940 milligrams of sodium, 43 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 1 grams of sugar, and 9 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Sonic Buffalo Chicken Dip Bites

Holly 15 Comments

I have always been a snack fiend. I tried to be a more “three square meals” person, but it didn’t really stick. Instead of fighting it, I’ve accepted it and embraced it. When I opened the Sonic app to order a drink, a screen showing its new Buffalo Chicken Dip Bites came up. Seeing the picture of the tiny empanada-looking snack, I immediately added them to my order.

Sonic recently added the Buffalo Chicken Dip Bites as a limited time item. Each piece is a crispy fried pocket filled with cheddar cheese, Buffalo sauce, and chicken. By default, you are given a cup of ranch to dip them in, and they are available in quantities of 3, 5, or 7.

The outside wrapper was absolutely fascinating to me. It looked similar to an empanada or even a ravioli, but ate like a wonton. The crispiness and chew were reminiscent of the wontons I’d get from my local Chinese takeout restaurant. It walked that line of crunchy but not brittle. I was worried the outside would be the weakest part of the item, but it ended up being its strength.

The Buffalo chicken dip mixture was fine but didn’t wow me in the way I had hoped. I am sure some of you are saying to yourself, “Holly…it’s a fast food item. What do you mean ‘wow’ you?”

In recent years, Sonic has stepped up many of its flavors. At least to me, they’ve been more willing to try bolder and unique food offerings to varying degrees of success. I was looking forward to a spicy, flavorful filling with the Buffalo chicken dip, but it fell flat. I was hoping for that strong spice I find present in most iterations of “Buffalo,” but instead got a La Croix interpretation.

Dipping into ranch only made the bite milder in flavor and added nothing to my eating experience. If I were to get them again, I would probably get a side of Buffalo sauce to dip them in to see if that would bring the flavor to the level I had expected. It was just a bummer to have a unique item that did not quite live up to what I wanted.

The Sonic Buffalo Chicken Dip Bites didn’t deliver the spicy snack I had hoped for, but I think the presentation with the tiny fried shell has much potential for future snacks. Spice tolerance is a fairly subjective thing, so if you enjoy the more mild Buffalo flavor, these will probably be a hit. However, if you’re looking for a more cayenne pepper-forward Buffalo taste, these will probably not satisfy you.

Purchased Price: $4.29
Size: 5 pieces
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (5 pieces) 280 calories, 14 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 650 milligrams of sodium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 1 grams of sugar, and 14 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Coca-Cola Limited Edition Ultimate

Holly 30 Comments

Video games partnering with soda brands to cross-promote is such a natural partnership. It’s a synergy of two things that already tend to be consumed by the same people and often allows for a bump in sales/game play. This summer, Coca-Cola partnered with Riot Games’ massive game League of Legends to release a new limited edition drink under their Creations banner: Coca-Cola Ultimate. Described as being +XP (experience point) flavored, the sixth addition to the Creations line is just as odd and unique as the other offerings.

+XP is often earned in games through tasks/challenges that contribute to you gaining a level, so I was extremely interested to see how they would interpret that concept into a flavor. Its smell was that of a sweet berry that almost gave me the vaguest hint of Pepsi Blue. Don’t worry, to all that hated that drink; the initial aroma was the only thing that reminded me of the divisive blue beverage.

The first sip was overwhelming to my pallet as it didn’t match the berry smell. I should have known better with the Creation line than to assume it would taste how it smelled. Taking my time to savor the soda, I tasted peach on the front with a hint of citrus on the back. The tried and true Coca-Cola flavor isn’t really present. The sweetness you expect from a Coke is absolutely there, but the signature “cola” taste is barely there.

The lack of a strong cola flavor didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment. While I am sure that will turn some off, I genuinely enjoyed that this tasted like a whole new concoction because other Creations varieties drank like “Coke with added flavor.”

When researching the connection between the drink and League of Legends, I was a little bummed to find it wasn’t inspired by anything directly from the game. However, you can access some interesting benefits by scanning the QR code on the bottle or can. It will take you to the Coca-Cola Creations page, where you can access different activities tied to the game. It’s worth noting you don’t have to buy the drink to access these benefits: in-game missions can yield you an exclusive emote, AR lenses can turn your likeness into an LoL emote, and you can add your face into a video to share.

While I cannot speak to whether or not I gained XP drinking Coca-Cola Ultimate, it was an overall enjoyable drink. The connection to League of Legends doesn’t seem as deep as other soda x game collabs have been, but I think it will work in Coke’s favor: LoL fans can enjoy in-game rewards and limited edition soda fans can enjoy a new offering.

Purchased Price: $2.29
Size: 20 fl oz bottle
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle) 240 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 65 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 65 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.