Category: Reviews

REVIEW: Jack in the Box Noggy or Nice Biscoff Shake

Marvo 1 Comment

The person who came up with the names for Jack in the Box’s most recent shakes needs a raise because they are doing some wonderful word working that brings a smile to my face. There was fall’s Witch Please Shake, and now there’s the new Noggy or Nice Biscoff Shake. (NOTE: Jack in the Box still offers the Witch Please Shake and calls it that in the app, but sadly, the menu board in the restaurant uses the less creative Purple Oreo Crumble Shake.)

The seasonal dessert features a vanilla shake blended with eggnog flavor and Biscoff cookie crumbs. It is finished with whipped topping and more cookie crumbs. An eggnog-flavored shake isn’t new to Jack in the Box. It has offered the delicious dessert on and off for several years during the holiday season. But does adding Biscoff cookies make it even better?

After trying the chain’s new Biscoff Donut Holes and being disappointed, I was a tad hesitant about the shake and its Biscoff-iness. However, this sippable dessert has a much better flavor than the donut holes, though it comes in spurts.

It’s either you taste eggnog or Biscoff cookie, it’s never at the same time. The first few sips I took had a strong eggnog flavor, but I know there were crumbs included because I could feel them when they came out of the straw, although they were tiny due to being blended with the base. When I chewed on those tiny bits, I still got an overwhelming eggnog taste. But that was before I mixed in the whipped topping and cookie crumbs on top into the base. When I did that, some bigger chunks were coming up my straw, and when I chewed on them, I got a taste of the spiced cookie that was strong enough to block out any of the eggnog flavors. That’s not a bad thing, though. Tasting an eggnog shake with occasional bursts of Biscoff is still delightful.

Jack in the Box’s Noggy or Nice Biscoff Shake is an upgrade over its usual eggnog offering. However, if you think about it, it isn’t very different from most shakes it offers. It’s basically shake + cookie crumbs, which it has done ad nauseam with Oreo cookies. And I imagine someday, the chain will offer an eggnog shake with Oreo crumbs and call it the Noggy Oreo Nice Shake.

Wait. Am I the one who comes up with the names?

Purchased Price: $6.29
Size: Regular
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 800 calories. No other nutritional numbers are available on the Jack in the Box website or app.

REVIEW: Jack in the Box Loco Moco Smashed Jack

Marvo 1 Comment

Yes, what you’re looking at above is a burger topped with white rice. It’s probably the first time you’ve seen one. It’s definitely the first time I’ve seen one. It’s not a joke. It’s not some TikTok menu hack. It’s actually supposed to be there as part of the Hawaii-exclusive Jack in the Box Loco Moco Smashed Jack.

The burger honors the loco moco, a popular dish here on this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It’s a layer of white rice, topped with a beef patty and a fried egg, and everything is covered with gravy. While I’ve had a loco moco from convenience stores and fancy restaurants that have cloth napkins, I’ve never had it from a fast food chain. Jack’s burger version of the dish features a 1/4 pound smashed patty made with 100% seasoned beef, a freshly cracked egg, an onion ring, white rice, and loco moco-style gravy on a brioche bun.

So, about the onion ring…while I’ve had a few loco mocos with sautéed onions, adding them is a slight deviation from the standard recipe you’d get from most places. However, the onion ring here seems necessary because its flavor enhances the gravy, giving it a stronger punch. There’s a decent amount of brown sauce, but sadly, it’s not oozing out from the burger, and if not for the onion, it would have too mild of a taste.

Another characteristic of a loco moco not seen in this Jack in the Box offering is a runny yolk. Yes, consuming undercooked eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illnesses, but the fried egg’s runny yolk in an actual loco moco adds a rich eggy flavor to the dish. In this burger, the fried egg with its fully cooked yolk adds more of a squishy sound than an egg flavor.

As for the white rice, I wish I could say that it’s exquisite pearl white medium grain rice imported from the mountains of Hokkaido, Japan, that’s been washed with lava rock filtered spring water and prepared in a rice cooker that uses an algorithm to maintain the perfect level of heat and moisture to maintain freshness. But there’s not much to say about it. However, because it’s sticky rice, it doesn’t fall out while eating the burger. Yes, eating rice in a burger is odd, but it’s necessary to get across that this is a loco moco burger. However, having two different starches muzzle the gravy and beef flavors, and it might be why I don’t really taste the egg.

Overall, while Jack in the Box’s Loco Moco Smashed Jack is a unique item and quite filling thanks to having two starches and two proteins, I don’t think it’s flavorful enough to convince me to eat it as regularly as an actual loco moco.

Purchased Price: $9.99
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 770 calories. No other nutritional numbers are available on the Jack in the Box website or app.

REVIEW: Jack in the Box Biscoff Donut Holes

Marvo 1 Comment

I can’t really complain about the $1.50 price of Jack in the Box’s Biscoff Donut Holes. It’s rare to see sub-two-dollar fast food menu items nowadays. That’s loose change under a car’s floor mats. That’s a couple of dives into a wishing fountain. That’s a few minutes of coin collecting under a roller coaster. However, while I can’t grumble about the price, I can grouse about everything else regarding the sweet snack.

Available in only a three-piece order, the menu item features donut holes tossed in a Biscoff cookie crumble. Jack in the Box also offers a shake and a sweet cream iced coffee with Biscoff cookie crumbles for the holiday season.

First off, my order was served at room temperature. Nothing on the Jack in the Box website or app says it comes warm, but it would’ve been a little nice if they were. The Biscoff cookie crumble coating has a slight sugary crunch, which is pleasing, but what’s inside is less so.

Obviously, these aren’t made fresh, but they have a slightly gummy texture that screams cheap, prepackaged convenience store donuts from a bakery that claims their products are baked with love but are really baked in special metal machinery designed to pump out as many baked goods as possible and is as cold as a black heart when they sit motionless and alone overnight.

The gumminess could be forgiven a little if these had a wonderful spiced Biscoff cookie flavor, but it’s not recognizable in the donuts’ coating. There’s a mild sweetness and a bit of spice, but it doesn’t wow my taste buds or instantly bring the delicious flavor of Biscoff cookies to mind.

With the combination of disappointing flavor and texture, these Jack in the Box Biscoff Donut Holes are mediocre. Maybe I got a bad batch. Or maybe my order was sitting around for too long. Or perhaps I just got what I paid for.

Purchased Price: $1.50
Size: 3 pieces
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 230 calories. Other nutrition numbers aren’t available on the Jack in the Box website or app.

REVIEW: Sour Skittles Pop’d Freeze Dried Candy

Ann 1 Comment

Freeze-dried candy seems to have been gaining popularity in the past few years. What was once only seen at craft fairs, TJ Maxx checkout aisles, and farmer’s markets have now gained proliferation in gas stations and grocery stores. The most popular seem to be variations of freeze-dried Skittles. I don’t fully understand the legality of an independent candy company buying branded candy, sucking the water out of it, and then re-selling the confection under a new name and brand, but hey, that’s capitalism for ya! So, when I saw Skittles was launching its own freeze-dried candy, my immediate thoughts ranged from “Of course!” to “DUH.”

Skittles Pop’d has launched in both Original and Sour varieties. I opted for the latter for a bit more intrigue and interest. The flavor variety differs from the original Sour Skittles mix. The Sour Skittles Pop’d comes in Strawberry, Lemonade, Blue Raspberry, Cherry, and Watermelon. The combination lands closer to the Mixed Berry mix, which some people will adore! Sour Mixed Berry? Yes, please!

Watermelon is the least perceivably sour and much closer to the true watermelon candy flavor. The blue raspberry and strawberry are similar to their original Skittles flavors, but the concentrated flavor from the freeze-dried process makes them way more intense. Lemonade is BY FAR the most sour, and Cherry just sort of tastes like generic sour/sweetness, with the cherry flavor getting lost in the overwhelming hit of sugar.

The freeze-drying process removes all moisture from the food or candy and inherently changes the texture and flavor delivery. Moisture and how it is chemically bound to other molecules in a food play a large role in how our taste buds perceive flavors. So, it wasn’t necessarily surprising that these Sour Skittles Pop’d were INTENSELY sweet the second they started to dissolve on the tongue. What was a little less expected was which part of the candy was sour. I’m used to Original Sour Skittles being sour on the outside, where the citric acid and sugar coating is applied. If you let that coating dissolve, the inside of an original Sour Skittle is sweet, just like Original Skittles. These are sour on the inside, making the entire eating experience sour from start to finish, something I really enjoyed.

The texture of Skittles Pop’d is the largest difference from the original. The freeze-drying process made these extremely crunchy and not at all chewy. Like most freeze-dried foods, they sort of take on that chalky, crunchy, pull-all-the-moisture-out-of-your-mouth type of experience I’d otherwise only associate with science museum gift shop astronaut ice cream (also freeze-dried). The texture is fun but not something I can tolerate as long as the original chewy candy.

Overall, I think there’s a reason the original Skittles has stood the test of time. Whether Original, Sour, or one of the many flavor varieties, the sweet, chewy Skittle delivers an enjoyable and expected candy experience. But I think it’s strategic for the brand to carve out its own space in the growing freeze-dried candy market. I mean, hell, if competitors are going to re-sell Skittles anyway, it might as well get in on that branded action.

Purchased Price: $5.99
Size: 5.5 oz Resealable bag (individual smaller bags also sold)
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (30 pieces) 120 Calories, 1 gram of fat, 5 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 21 grams of sugar (21 grams of added sugar), 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Hash Brown Brisket Scramble Bowl

Vin 1 Comment

“Cellar door” is often cited as the most beautiful sounding phrase in the English language, but I think I’ve discovered the new top phonesthetic… which is definitely not a word I just discovered two seconds ago.

Ya had a good run, “cellar door,” but you’re downright hideous next to “brisket bowl.” Ahhh, “brisket bowl.” Just let it roll out – Brisket. Bowl. Doesn’t that feel good? Doesn’t that sound good?

Dunkin’ thought so, that’s why it put out a “Hash Brown Brisket Scramble Bowl.” I mean, that doesn’t flow as well, but I guess it still sounds great. I should’ve known the joint that removed “donuts” from its name would opt against short and sweet alliteration.

So, while that name is a little too gussied up, I’ll let it slide because, well, that sounds delicious. Does it taste as good as it should’ve sounded?

Nope, but it almost got there.

The Hash Brown Brisket Scramble Bowl consists of hash browns, scrambled eggs, smoked cheddar cheese, poblano peppers, caramelized onions, cheddar queso, and what I thought would be the star of the show, shredded brisket.

On paper, that sounds really good, and it’s not terrible, but like the name I keep harping on, and this review I’m sure, it needed some editing.

I’ll start with the good. I love Dunkin’s hash browns. They’re crispy, they’re zesty, and they’re a perfect size. No complaints. I liked the fluffy egg chunks too. In fact, I would’ve liked about 25% more egg. These ingredients make for a great base, unfortunately the meat is usually where Dunkin’ lacks for me.

The brisket was a mixed bag. I didn’t expect KC BBQ, but I was at least expecting tender strips. I got a few sinewy, chewy strings of beef that I had to spit out in a napkin. That was a real buzzkill because other bites were actually nice. Still, I had to go into each forkful with trepidation. It was a game of roulette. Say I got ten bites of brisket, four were good, three were inedible and three got lost in the sauce.

The little bits of poblano were a big hit, but I honestly had no clue there were onions in there. They must’ve just blended into the queso, so they literally got lost in the sauce. I’m a “less is more” guy when it comes to sauces, so I could’ve done with less queso too. Also, this is an absolute salt bomb. Grab a coffee.

I don’t ever wanna spit out part of the meal I’m eating, but for some reason, I still give this a light recommendation. It doesn’t need to be tossed behind the cellar door. Hell of a callback there…

I can sit here and tell you the brisket was terrible, but honestly, I think their bacon and sausage are usually pretty unremarkable too, so at least it was a change from the norm.

I think these little bowls are a good portion size, so if you’re just looking for a small breakfast, it’s worth a try. Maybe I just got a bad batch of meat. I might get this again and dump the contents into a tortilla, because I imagine it would make good contents for a breakfast burrito. “Brisket Breakfast Burrito” – now that sounds beautiful.

Purchased Price: $4.99
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 Bowl) – 340 calories, 22 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 110 mg of cholesterol, 1300 milligrams of sodium, 25 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, 10 grams of protein.