The Impulsive Buy

FAST FOOD NEWS: Arby’s Venison Sandwich Returns and a New Elk Sandwich is Announced

Marvo / October 12, 2017 / Fast Food News / 4 Comments

About this time last year, Arby’s rolled out the Venison Sandwich. It was available only at few location across the U.S. and in limited amounts, but not Rick and Morty McDonald’s Szechuan Sauce amounts. Due to the popularity of the deer meat sandwich, Arby’s is bringing it back. But this time it’ll be available at every Arby’s restaurant in the U.S., starting on October 21 and while supplies last.

“While supplies last” is vague. But just to let you know, at many of the locations that offered it last year, the sandwich sold out within hours.

The Venison Sandwich features a thick-cut venison steak and crispy onions topped with a juniper berry sauce on a toasted specialty roll. The venison is marinated in garlic, salt and pepper and then sous-vide for three hours. The juniper berry sauce is a Cabernet steak sauce infused with juniper berries. We posted a review of it last year.

But that’s not all Arby’s is announcing.

The chain that has the meats is testing a new one at a few of their locations. Arby’s Elk Sandwich will be available on October 21 in THREE restaurants in the popular elk hunting states of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. The very limited edition sandwich features a tender elk steak topped with a blackberry port steak sauce and crispy onions on a toasted roll.

It’ll be offered at the following Arby’s locations:

200 East 144th Ave., Thornton, Colorado 80023
2607 CY Ave., Casper, Wyoming 82604
2834 King Ave. W, Billings, Montana 59102

If you try either sandwich, let us know what you think of it in the comments.

(Venison sandwich photo via Arby’s.)

SPOTTED ON SHELVES: Hostess Brownies made with Butterfinger

Marvo / October 12, 2017 / Spotted on Shelves / 1 Comment

Um, wrong peanut buttery candy to use. Hostess Brownies made with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups has a nice ring to it. (Spotted by Sulistiani R at Walmart.)

If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you’ve tried the product, share your thoughts about it in the comments.

Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

REVIEW: Jelly Belly Krispy Kreme Doughnut Jelly Beans

Vin / October 12, 2017 / Reviews / 3 Comments

I once e-mailed Jelly Belly about making an Advil flavored jelly bean.

You know that sugary coating the orange Advils have for three seconds? That.

Needless to say, they never got back to me. Apparently dirt and dog food are acceptable flavors, but nooooo, not Advil.

I guess I just figured the innovators over at Jelly Belly might be open to some outside ideas. Then again, I found out they were hard at work mimicking Krispy Kreme donuts and I immediately let it slide.

Krispy Kreme is a treat. I don’t have one nearby so I envy anyone who can stop in and pick up a dozen whenever they want. I usually have to wait until I hop a train to NYC to get my fix, but they’ve never let me down. Now you’re telling me they’re teaming up with “THE original gourmet jelly bean?” I’m in.

Here are my quick reviews of the five flavors included in the Jelly Belly-Krispy Kreme mix:

Cinnamon Apple Filled – Beige with brown – These tasted like apple pie. The taste starts as a normal sweet apple Jelly Belly, but is soon met with a dulling cinnamon flavor.

Strawberry Iced – Pink with a little sheen – These tasted just like strawberry cake icing. Unlike a normal strawberry flavor, it’s not very acidic or fruity.

Glazed Blueberry Cake – Basically a darker shade of the Cinnamon Apple – These tasted like a complex blueberry muffin. I got “baked goods” in this more than the others. They were definitely the “donutiest,” which is absolutely a word. Don’t bother looking it up.

Chocolate Iced with Sprinkles – Brown with a few sprinkle dots – These tasted like what I recall Chocolate Pudding Jelly Belly beans tasting like. I might actually say they were “Fudgsicle” flavored.

And now, it’s time for the Krispy Kreme staple. The bean you’ve all been waiting for:

Original Glazed – Color and sheen match the donut – These were really disappointing. Wow. I just didn’t get much here. I realize glaze is essentially just sugar, but that’s all I tasted – sugar. Maybe they slipped some Advil beans in for me instead? I didn’t really find them distinctly Krispy Kreme donut. I wanted to be immediately reminded of a hot conveyer belt glazed, but I got more of a toasted marshmallow vibe. I feel like I’m wrong, but I gotta trust my buds. What did I miss?

My Ranking:

Glazed Blueberry Cake

Strawberry Iced

Chocolate Iced with Sprinkles

Cinnamon Apple Filled

Original Glazed

I can’t believe it.

Despite my clamoring for the sugary Advil, this mix got cloying in time. I appreciate the larger Jelly Belly variety boxes because you can counter flavors like this with say a citrusy fruit flavor. You need that balance if you wanna consume mass beanage – which is also absolutely a word.

As far as the “donut” of it all, I popped all five at once and found that brought a lot of the pastry effect out.

You might wanna wait to see if these break into the bigger mixes before dropping $5 on this box.

(Nutrition Facts – 27 Beans – 110 calories, 0 grams of fat, 20 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 20 grams of sugar (+20g added sugars), and 0 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $5.00
Size: 4.25 oz.
Purchased at: Five Below
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Some cool new flavors to add to the roster. Blueberry was really good. Unless they say “Bertie Bott’s,” Jelly Belly never really disappoints. Delicious Advil coating.
Cons: The baffling Glazed flavor making me question my taste buds. Lack of fresh glazed donut flavor. I prefer a Jelly Belly mix with a little more variety. No Krispy Kreme near my house. A little pricy.

Candy Jelly Beans Jelly Belly

SPOTTED ON SHELVES (BAKED GOODS EDITION) – 10/12/2017

Marvo / October 12, 2017 / Spotted on Shelves / 1 Comment

Here are some interesting new or limited edition baked goods found by your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of the products, share your thoughts about them in the comments.

Entenmann’s Minis Party Cakes

Entenmann’s Minis Creme Filled Fudge Cakes

Entenmann’s Donut Shoppe Limited Edition Seasonal Frosted Chocolate

(Spotted by Bob K at Giant Eagle.)

Simple Mills Crunchy Cookies (Toasted Pecan, Chocolate Chip, and Double Chocolate)

(Spotted by Rachel C at Sprouts.)

The Bakery Halloween Brownie Bites

The Bakery Baklava

(Spotted by Bob K at Walmart)

Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email (theimpulsivebuy@gmail.com) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES: Kroger Big K Limited Edition Cinna-Roll and Candy Cane Soda

Marvo / October 11, 2017 / Spotted on Shelves / 10 Comments

Merry Chricinnamas! (Spotted by James M at Kroger.)

Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.