Author: Sean

REVIEW: Fruity Cereal Kit Kat

Sean 10 Comments

Fruity Cereal Kit Kat Wrapper

One of the best progressions in junk food over the last four years has been Hershey’s edging closer and closer to mimicking Nestle’s insane Kit Kat flavor production in Japan.

While stateside we’re still nowhere near the heights of experimentation reached overseas, we’ve had a myriad of interestingly flavored wafer bars that began with 2017’s relatively blasé California Strawberry from the Flavors of America line. Since then, we’ve been gifted Pumpkin Pie, Apple Pie, Sweet Cinnamon, Lemon, Raspberry, Birthday Cake, Key Lime Pie, Witch’s Brew, and the latest exciting addition: Limited Edition Fruity Cereal.

Kit Kat is one of those candy bars that I don’t want to call underrated because they’re very popular but feels at times underappreciated, even by myself, in its purest form. Milk, white, and dark without any limited time bells and whistles always deliver on a light and crispy sweet treat whenever they cross my path. This new Fruity Cereal version falls right in line with the expectation set by their core lineup; it’s refreshing, tasty, and not extreme in the slightest.

Fruity Cereal Kit Kat Fingers

The opaque pink color dotted with specs looks like it could be crumbs straight out of a bag of Fruity Pebbles. The bar carries a gentle fruity aroma that smells more white chocolate sweet than distinctly berry or citrus. The flavor goes along with the muted color, which is not necessarily bad; it just doesn’t punch me in the face. I get creamy white chocolate followed by a mild strawberry (a spooky hint of Franken Berry, perhaps?) that finishes with the lemon-lime citrusy zing I associate with most “fruity” cereals.

Fruity Cereal Kit Kat Layers

When I think fruity cereal, I autopilot to Fruity Pebbles, my personal favorite. This Kit Kat makes my brain go right to Froot Loops, which I’ve always enjoyed but associate with less of a citrus intensity and overall flavor wallop than Pebbles. Maybe it’s also recency bias from the amazing Fruity Pebbles Candy Bar that came out earlier this year, studded with actual cereal that leaves me searching for that magnitude of flavor. In any case, this Kit Kat is good!

Although the flavor is mild, it’s enjoyable. There’s a distinct creaminess that comes with any variety of Kit Kat, which takes center stage here. While it doesn’t knock my socks off the way my first Japanese Green Tea Kit Kat did or come close to the absolute perfection of Pumpkin Pie, it’s a solid ode to a crunchy breakfast that any Loops or Pebbles fan can break off a piece of.

Purchased Price: 88 cents
Size: 1.5 ounces
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 package) 220 calories, 12 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 35 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 20 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Lucky Charms Marshmallow Clusters Cereal

Sean 5 Comments

Lucky Charms Marshmallow Clusters Cereal Box

What is Lucky Charms Marshmallow Clusters Cereal?

Rice Krispies Treats Cereal’s reformulation is one of the most controversial topics in cold breakfast history.

Introduced in 1993 and taken away for seemingly no reason in 2018, the cereal delivered an extra crunchy version of a Rice Krispies Treat that could hold up in milk and still provide a super sweet spoonful of satisfaction.

Kellogg’s brought the cereal back in 2019 and replaced the chunks of treats with sweetened puffed rice and marshmallows. The new version wasn’t awful, but a far cry from its former self, which is why I was ecstatic when I saw the latest release from General Mills: Lucky Charms Marshmallow Clusters. Did Lucky swoop in and save Snap, Crackle, and Pop from themselves? I sure hope so!

How is it?

Lucky Charms Marshmallow Clusters Cereal Dry

Well, it isn’t Rice Krispies Treats Cereal. I try to go into every new product with an open mind, but the comparison was inevitable and set me up for a bit of a disappointment. But it’s not all bad.

The sweetened corn and rice clusters remind me of a crunchier version of Kix, and despite their pleasantly mild vanilla taste, they aren’t nearly sweet enough to remind me of a marshmallow treat.

Lucky Charms Marshmallow Clusters Cereal Milk

The mild flavor gets even milder, almost extinct when added to milk. I also find their size kind of bizarre. They aren’t quite big enough to dominate a spoon like Frosted Mini-Wheats, but they’re far from Cap’n Crunch territory too, making the proper spoon balance tricky. There’s a reason most rectangular cereal pieces aren’t this big and flat.

Anything else you need to know?

The Lucky Charms marshmallows are excellent. Vibrantly colored and full of crunchy-yet-soft freeze-dried splendor, their pronounced sweetness brings a very welcome balance to the unfortunately bland clusters. Although Lucky Charms isn’t one of my favorite cereals, I prefer its normal Cheerios-adjacent glazed oat pieces to these new hypothetically sweeter and more fun clusters.

Conclusion:

Whether or not I had inflated expectations, this cereal would have been a letdown. Between its odd shape and texture and too mild flavor, this just makes me miss the 90s classic even more.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free product sample. Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 11.2 oz. box
Purchased at: N/A
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup/37 grams) 150 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 180 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Pringles Wavy Pineapple Habanero

Sean 3 Comments

Pringles Wavy Pineapple Habanero Can

What are Pringles Wavy Pineapple Habanero?

Move over mango; your long-standing love affair with habanero is being put on pause. The newest Walgreens-exclusive Pringles variety puts a fresh tropical twist on the classic wing pairing with a pineapple infusion.

How are they?

Pringles pretty much nailed this new yet familiar combination of sweet and heat. It follows the same trajectory laid out by mango but has a distinctly acidic and sharp pineapple flavor that works just as well, if not better, than its orange-colored sibling. The crisps aren’t overly sweet, but they have a dominant pineapple presence that starts immediately and lingers well into the aftertaste.

The habanero sits behind the pineapple and exists much more in spicy flavor than it does heat. There’s a great herbaceous and peppery flavor that builds more substantially than any fiery tingling, and even after eating seven or eight in a row, I don’t feel a need to reach for water.

Pringles Wavy Pineapple Habanero Closeup

The only real downside of this experience is the Wavy-ness. In every other situation, wavy chips trump non-ridged, but I’ve never been convinced of how the wave translates to Pringles’ pressed potato crisps. The crisps are crunchier than normal Pringles, but they strike me as feeling hard in a stale way more than crunchy, and they don’t carry any extra flavor.

Anything else you need to know?

There’s something about this flavor pairing that reminds me of Chinese food, specifically sweet and sour pork with its chunks of pineapple sitting in sweet acidic sauce. There’s no meat flavor here, but if it was added in and the name was changed, I would have no problem believing that it’s another wacky Pringles flavor.

Conclusion:

Pringles nailed the flavor, but the wavy texture needs some work. That won’t stop me from finishing the tube, though. These crisps are complex enough that it is impossible for me to eat less than six every time I pop the lid.

Purchased Price: $1.99
Size: 4.8 ounces
Purchased at: Walgreens
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (12 Crisps) 150 calories, 9 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 135 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar, 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Little Caesars Pepperoni & Cheese Stuffed Crust Pizza

Sean 15 Comments

Little Caesars Pepperoni Cheese Stuffed Crust Pizza Whole

According to a 2015 University of Michigan study, pizza is the most addictive food in the United States. Sitting proudly atop of chocolate, potato chips, cookies, ice cream, and cheeseburgers, the study of more than 500 people’s eating habits officially handed the craving crown to pizza’s undeniable combination of sweet sauce, fatty cheese, and fluffy (or crispy) crust.

And you know what?

I can’t argue that point. I’m not sure there’s been a single time in my life when I thought to myself, “Yeah… I’ve had enough pizza,” unless my stomach was on the verge of bursting. I have never grown tired of pizza’s immaculate flavor trifecta, and if it wouldn’t kill me, I’d eat it every day.

So, in 2021, how can it be made even more addictive? Stuff that crust. And not just with cheese, that’s so Pizza Hut circa 1995. Stuff it with more salty, fatty, and crave-able stuff, like pepperoni. Cue the applause for Little Caesars, who has graced us with its latest innovation, a large ExtraMostBestest pepperoni pizza with pepperoni and cheese stuffed in a parmesan and butter-flavored crust.

For those unfamiliar with LC’s lingo, an ExtraMostBestest takes its standard $5.99 pepperoni pizza and adds extra cheese and “the most” pepperoni for only $1 more. The new limited-time double stuffed offering ups the price to $10 but promises nine feet of pepperoni and three feet of cheese in the bread. Spoiler alert: it’s worth every extra (most bestest) penny.

Little Caesars Pepperoni Cheese Stuffed Crust Pizza Closeup

The pizza is adorned with a noticeably admirable amount of pepperoni, and when taking my first bite, I’m immediately reminded of why pizza is the #1 most addictive food; I never want to stop. The topping has a slight curl and nice crunch that erupts with salty bliss made much more intense by the generous sprinkling of green seasoning on the top that amplifies every bite to 11. The seasoning is a combination of oregano, basil, and salt, and I’m sure it’s the same spice blend that comes with its Italian Cheese Bread; it’s delicious.

The cheese is also as advertised: lots of melty mozzarella sitting atop an acidic and slightly sweet layer of sauce that plays third fiddle to the two prominent salty, fatty toppings.

Little Caesars Pepperoni Cheese Stuffed Crust Pizza Stuffed

So how’s that groundbreaking new crust? It’s wonderful, with pretty flawless ratios of bread to cheese and little rolled pepperoni slices in every bite. It’s an impressive technique, but for how delicious it is, it’s hard to really taste the pepperoni with the amount of cheese and parmesan butter flavoring added to the crust.

I love every bite but not really getting any meaty or spicy notes because the salt is overwhelming my tongue. I wish I had a little marinara dip cup for the crust because at this point, with pepp and cheese inside, it’s the only thing missing, and I could use some sweet relief from the oncoming sodium overdose.

Little Caesars Pepperoni Cheese Stuffed Crust Pizza Slice

The pepperoni in the crust may not have popped as hard as I would like, but that was really only because the flavor throughout the whole pie was so strong that it never took its foot off of the salty flavor accelerator. For ten bucks, you can’t go wrong. Just consider adding a side of their Crazy Sauce to inject some extra life into the crust.

Purchased Price: $10.00
Size: Large Pizza (14 inch)
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 slice) 417 calories, 23 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, less than 1 gram of trans fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,093 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, 19 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Mexican Street Corn Cheetos

Sean 20 Comments

Mexican Street Corn Cheetos Bag

Mexican Street Corn, often referred to by its proper street name, elote, which roughly means “corn cob” in Spanish, is grilled corn covered in mayonnaise or sour cream, topped with chili powder, Cotija cheese, and lime.

Growing up in California’s Bay Area, I came across this savory delight every week, oftentimes from street vendors also peddling Chicharones de Harina, fried orange wheel chips soaked in lemon juice and Valentina hot sauce, and on a lucky day, mango adorned with a generous sprinkling of Tajín. Needless to say, these are good eats.

I’ve also come across a more modern trend where the traditional Cotija cheese that cakes the outside of the grilled corn is replaced with crunched up Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, which brings me to the natural progression and potential dream creation of Mexican Street Corn Cheetos.

The bag boldly states “TANGY – SPICY – CHEESY” on both the front and back, so before digging in, even though I’ve had actual elote, I know exactly what I’m expecting. The aroma from the slightly slime-colored but eye-catching green bag nails those three elements. I get a citrusy tang flirting with spice and a general fried smell wafting up from the uniquely yellow-tinted crunchy Cheetos.

Mexican Street Corn Cheetos Pour

The first thing I notice in the flavor is the cheese, but it’s not the typical cheddar-meets-nacho kind of artificial cheese that defines Cheetle seasoning. It’s sharper with a touch of that umami quality you get from parmesan with its earthiness and slight funk. Not only is it cheesy, but it’s also creamy, with the distinct tang of sour cream that really stands out with a hint of buttery richness as well. Cotija cheese is really similar to parmesan when dried and aged, and I’m impressed with the depth and uniqueness of this cheesy flavor that is truly as luscious as something that’s crunchy can be.

Mexican Street Corn Cheetos Closeup

The cheesiness is followed quickly by the taste of lime and rounded out by spice, but it’s far from the type of spicy usually associated with the brand. It’s a much more of an ancho chili powder taste than heat, and the flavor does a pretty good job of emulating the balance of an elote experience, which isn’t particularly hot. There are also notes of garlic and onion floating in the background.

Since the first ingredient in Cheetos is enriched corn meal, it goes without saying that the corn-flavored chips have an inherent corniness to them that permeates every bite. The only thing absent from the profile of an actual elote stick is the sweetness of fresh corn, which Trader Joe’s added to its sensational Elote Organic Corn Chip Dippers (my favorite chip of all time). But I don’t really mind that missing element here. The cheesiness’s depth and tang are impressive, and they make these Cheetos unlike any that I’ve had before.

Purchased Price: $1.99
Size: 3.25 oz bag
Purchased at: 7-Eleven
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (21 pieces – 28 grams) 160 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.