Category: Reviews

REVIEW: Cinnamon Toast Crunch Waffle Cereal

Brandon 5 Comments

Quite recently, on this web page, I spent a few hundred words bemoaning the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Committee’s efforts at integrating its product into places it maybe didn’t belong. The product of my focused ire in this specific instance was its attempt at crossbreeding its fine cereal product with Old El Paso taco shells. As part of my hard-hitting expose, I also mentioned its failures related to soft-baked cereal bars and peculiarly large “Stuft” marshmallows.

Garbage, all.

The good news about the new Cinnamon Toast Crunch Waffle cereal, though, is that it is, in no uncertain terms, a cereal. And if there’s one thing Cinnamon Toast Crunch shines at, it is being cereal. In fact, at any given moment, it is a Top 3 cereal. Maybe even Number 1. And its offshoots — for not being straight-up, dyed-in-the-wool CTC — are reasonably decent. The little balls they made were okay. The Rolls, various Leche(s), and French Toast riffs are all above average.

So what of this new Cinnamon Toast Crunch Waffle cereal?

The website acts like this is simply alternatively shaped CTC. It states, “Cinnamon Toast Crunch Waffle Cereal pairs epic cinnamon-sugar CINNADUST with crispy cereal pieces shaped like mini waffles. The whole wheat and corn cereal delights taste buds with real cinnamon and a crispy crunch.” But here’s the deal: I absolutely detect waffle flavoring in here as well. There’s a syrup-like undertone at the beginning and back end of each bite, and the whole shebang is covered in a ton of heavenly Cinnadust seasoning. It is, simply put, incredible. It took a lot of willpower to not eat more than one large bowl in my initial serving. It was just that delicious.

If I have one minor quibble — something that keeps this from being a perfect 10 — it’s that structurally, it doesn’t hold up well to milk. And on account of this is a cereal and all, that’s kind of problematic. This stuff gets soggy QUICK. Not inedibly soggy, no, but the crispness is deflated by a solid 65% within 30 seconds of a milk bath. On any lesser cereal, this would be a much bigger deal, but because this stuff was so good, all it did was make me eat it as fast as humanly possible.

I don’t know if General Mills intends on keeping this around as a regular offering or not, so my suggestion is to get several boxes now, and freeze-dry the ones that you… oh, who am I kidding— there’s no saving this stuff for later. Eat and enjoy while you can.

Purchased Price: $4.93
Size: 18.2 oz
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (41 grams) 170 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 210 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar (including 10 grams of added sugar), and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Sprite Chill

Erin 8 Comments

Have you ever enjoyed a nice cold soda and thought to yourself, “Wow, this is great, but if only there was a way to make it seem ever so slightly cooler?” I haven’t, or if I have, I probably just reached for some ice. If you lack access to anything frozen and are still searching for something to give you a cold boost, perhaps Sprite Chill is for you.

Billing itself as the “coldest-est” yet, this Cherry-Lime spin on Sprite claims to be the first soft drink to utilize a cooling sensation without also having a mint flavor (I guess this means Coca-Cola Starlight’s cooling trick used mint?) and the feeling is meant to intensify as you continue to drink it. The idea of a mint-less cooling effect sounds neat, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t love a good food gimmick, but I was even more interested in the Cherry-Lime flavor. With visions of icy cool cherry limeade in mind, I dove into my fridge-cold bottle.

To fit the chill theme, the drink itself has been given a frosty appearance. More opaque than a typical Sprite, it looks the part of something glacial. The cherry is noticeable in the first sniff and sip, but it’s certainly subtle. I’m relieved not to get a medicinal vibe, but I wish there was more oomph. Sprite already starts with a lemon-lime flavor, so I expected the cherry-lime would boost the lime and also bring a stronger cherry taste. The cooling sensation wasn’t immediately obvious to me, and instead of being extra refreshing, I felt like I was drinking a somewhat muted Sprite with a few cherries sitting in it for a while. You would think that whatever provides the cooling sensation would be more immediately refreshing, but I think this rendition almost lacks some of the crispness of original Sprite.

No longer married to gum and toothpaste, this “cooling” has recently shown up in several products and the consensus seems to be that it isn’t a very strong effect. I can notice it in Sprite Chill, but much like the cherry flavor, it’s subtle. If the press release is to be believed, the sensation should build as I keep drinking, but I don’t think it ever truly reaches a level beyond “I guess this is kind of tingly.” There’s a bit of that feeling you’d get from a menthol cough drop, minus the taste, but I don’t know if I’d even have this observation if I wasn’t actively looking for it. I like this soda, but I find it so unremarkable that I’m not sure why anyone bothered to make it. There isn’t enough cherry or lime to really make it stand out, and the chilling gimmick it relies on isn’t especially detectable. This Sprite isn’t bad, but it just doesn’t thrill or really chill me.

Purchased Price: $2.00
Size: 20 fl oz
Purchased at: Jewel-Osco
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle regular) 240 calories, 0 grams of total fat, 105 milligrams of sodium, 64 grams of total carbs, 64 grams of total sugars (incl. 64 grams of added sugars), and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Reese’s Cluster Bites

Tiffany 4 Comments

Reese’s is the elite, the S-tier. So, when it came out with its new Cluster Bites, I was immediately intrigued. All its new items have been pretty fire so far, from the DiPPeD line to the Big Cups with various inclusions.

While the name itself is a mashup of the now-discontinued Reese’s Bites and the current Reese’s Clusters, the offering is a bit different from both. It touts “creamy peanut butter, gooey caramel and crunchy peanuts, all covered in smooth milk chocolate.” So, unlike the clusters, there are no pecans! But honestly, it may have benefitted from it.

I ripped open the bag to find bigger clusters than expected. I thought it would be smaller because of the bites part of the name. For once, the food itself actually matched the size of the picture on the bag!

Unlike a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, it smelled more like peanut butter. But, it was its texture that shook me. It was quite a different eating experience compared to a Reese’s cup, which has that distinct texture of the thin chocolate snapping under the pressure of your teeth. Instead, these clusters were soft and squishy, particularly because of the caramel. The texture primarily came from the whole peanut rather than tempered chocolate. Its flavor was like eating a softer, smaller nougat-less Snickers bar. Meh.

All good things come to an end, including Reese’s streak of fire innovations. This was just OK, but maybe it’s because Reese’s other new items have been so good that they set the bar way too high.

I will say that the new Cluster Bites are indeed more “snackable,” and I can appreciate the volume. I can eat many without feeling as guilty or full as I would if I ate an equivalent number in mini cups or DiPPeD pretzels. Even so, I don’t see this replacing or being added to my weekly Reese’s rotation.

Purchased Price: $4.42
Size: 7 oz pouch
Purchased at: Menard’s
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (4 pieces – 30 grams) – 160 calories, 10 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 45 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 13 grams of sugar (including 11 grams of added sugar), and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Chobani Cookie Dough Coffee Creamer

Marvo 2 Comments

I had no experience with Chobani Coffee Creamers until I picked up a bottle of the brand’s Cookie Dough Coffee Creamer. After trying it, I have to say I’ve apparently been missing out if all the other flavors are as delicious as this one. I decided to buy it because I wondered if it could be a replacement for my beloved Nestle Coffee mate Nestle Toll House creamer, which kind of reminded me of cookies and is something I can no longer find.

It turns out it’s a wonderful replacement.

Unlike the Nestle Coffee mate offering, the ingredients list for the Chobani creamer is much simpler. There are no double digit letter single word ingredients that have prefixes or suffixes. Instead, it’s just milk, cream, cane sugar, Dutch cocoa, natural flavors, and sea salt. I mean, it’s Chobani, so simple ingredients are to be expected. What I didn’t expect is how good this makes my coffee taste.

However, despite all those simple ingredients, I wouldn’t say it’s better tasting or I prefer it over the discontinued Nestle Coffee mate Nestle Toll House creamer. They have their own distinct brown sugar and cocoa flavor notes, and both evoke the comforting taste of cookies. I find them equally enjoyable, although I wish the Chobani creamers came in larger bottles.

Purchased Price: $4.89*
Size: 24 fl oz bottle
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 Tbsp) 40 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 20 milligrams of sodium, 6 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of sugar (including 6 grams of added sugar), and 0 grams of protein.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.

REVIEW: Doritos Baja Fiery Mango

Marvo 4 Comments

With the introduction of these new Doritos Baja Fiery Mango Tortilla Chips, will we start seeing a new fruity Baja chip flavor every year, similar to how Mtn Dew rolls out new Baja soda varieties annually? That would be a Baja Blast if that happened, PepsiCo.

As you can guess from the name, these are spicy. However, they’re not overly spicy. Well, my mouth didn’t think so because my hands weren’t reaching out for a cool beverage to put out an intolerable burn in my mouth. However, other parts of my body were not in sync with my mouth because certain glands on my head thought otherwise, causing the pores on my forehead and the back of my neck to express their thoughts about the spiciness through perspirat…Whoop! There’s the intolerable heat in my mouth! I’ll be right back. I need something cold to drink.

While the spiciness forced me to get a glass of water, it didn’t make me forget about the slightly off-putting mango flavor when I first started eating them. There was no mistaking it was an artificial mango taste, but there was a saccharine explosion that made things too sweet. Thankfully, the heat rose up and cut through that. After a few more bites, there was a sweet and spicy balance, but every time I gave my taste buds a break, that initial flavor would make its unwanted return. When everything is balanced, the chips have a decent chile artificial mango taste, but it’s not a flavor that I’ll be yearning for.

Before these Doritos, Frito-Lay’s only offerings with mango flavor were potato chips. Both times, they seemed odd and produced varying results to my taste buds, from mediocre to bad. Maybe it’s just me, but fruit and fuego flavors make more sense on a tortilla chip than a potato chip, like with last year’s Doritos Spicy Pineapple Jalapeño.

Much like the previously mentioned fruity spicy Doritos from a year ago, these are okay, but aren’t compelling enough for me to eat again. However, if you liked Doritos Spicy Pineapple Jalapeño, you might enjoy this.

Actually, now I’m truly wondering if I really do want Doritos to offer a new Baja chip flavor every year, like how Mtn Dew rolls out new Baja soda varieties annually.

Purchased Price: More than one should pay on eBay
Size: 9 oz bag
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (about 11 chips) 150 calories, 7 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 150 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.