The Impulsive Buy

SPOTTED ON SHELVES – 11/8/2013

Marvo / November 8, 2013 / Spotted on Shelves / 4 Comments

Here are some interesting new and limited edition products found on store shelves by us and your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of the products, share your thoughts about them in the comments.

Seeing Starburst Fruity Slushies makes me think Starburst and Slurpee should hook up to make some Slurpee-flavored Starburst candy. Also, I think Slurpee and I should hook up to cool me down. (Spotted by Lauren at Walmart.)

Making coffee flavors like apple pie is as American as apple pie. (Spotted by Marvo at Target.)

I think Aquafina should be bananaed from making anymore Flavorsplash flavors with puns. I should also be banned from bad fruit puns. (Spotted by Marvo at Target.)

I didn’t realize frozen vegetable producer Birds Eye made products with actual birds in them. (Spotted by Kassie at Safeway.)

Hey folks who don’t have a discerning palate for wine and don’t mind drinking it out of stemless plastic cups, I think this is a product for you. (Spotted by Charmi at Foodland.)

Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new or limited edition 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. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES – Lay’s Wavy Potato Chips Dipped in Milk Chocolate

Marvo / November 7, 2013 / Spotted on Shelves / 7 Comments

Update: Click here to read our Lay’s Wavy Potato Chips Dipped in Milk Chocolate review

Wow. That bag is a lot smaller than I hoped it would be. But I’m still looking forward to getting my fingers chocolatey with them. By the way Pringles, this is how you do chocolate potato snacks. (Spotted by Lauren at Target.)

If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new or limited edition 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. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES – Limited Time Only White Chocolate Pringles

Marvo / November 7, 2013 / Spotted on Shelves / 1 Comment

Yup. Limited Time Only White Chocolate Pringles. Not to be confused with last year’s White Chocolate Peppermint Pringles or this year’s Mint Choc Pringles in the U.K.. (Spotted by James at Walmart.)

REVIEW: McDonald’s BBQ Ranch Burger

Marvo / November 7, 2013 / Reviews / 11 Comments

The McDonald’s McDouble is now more than a dollar.

This price hike makes me as angry as a child whose parent got them the wrong Happy Meal toy. And this anger causes my blood pressure to rise, much like how eating a McDonald’s McDouble does. It’s only 29 cents more, but this is the second time McDonald’s has taken something on their Dollar Menu that I love and increased its price (first one being their Double Cheeseburger).

However, with both cases, McDonald’s replaced the pricer sandwiches with another dollar burger. The McDouble replaced the Double Cheeseburger, and now the BBQ Ranch Burger replaces the McDouble.

The new burger is one of several new additions to McDonald’s revamped Dollar Menu & More…um, Menu. It’s made up of a beef patty topped with a slice of white cheddar, BBQ ranch sauce, and chili lime tortilla strips.

This year, McDonald’s has used that white cheddar as many times as I’ve used a puppy’s tongue to plant wet, warm licks on my neck. It been in their Grilled Onion Cheddar Burger, Bacon Habanero Ranch Quarter Pounder, and Egg White Delight McMuffin. As for the chili lime tortilla strips, they’re also used in their Southwest Salad and Southwest McWrap. The BBQ ranch sauce is something we haven’t seen before from McDonald’s.

Before trying it, I thought there’s no way this burger with less meat would be as satisfying as the up-down-up-down-left-right-left-right-meat-cheese-bread combo of a McDouble. However…

Holy sweet mother of cellulite!

The McDonald’s BBQ Ranch Burger is a delectable little sandwich that makes me want to dive into a wishing well and collect all those pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters so that I can buy more of this cheap burger. The creamy BBQ ranch sauce is a little sweet, slightly tangy, and a smidge spicy, but a whole lot of delicious. However, it’s the chili lime tortilla strips that make this burger special. They not only add an extra saltiness and tanginess, but they also give the BBQ Ranch Burger a wonderful crunchy texture.

To be honest, I was surprised the tortilla strips didn’t end up soggy by the time I got around to eating the burger. I was sure the sauce and heat from beef patty would turn those strips into limps. However, the slice of white cheddar, which doesn’t provide much flavor, isn’t as melty as McDonald’s American cheese so I believe it shielded the tortilla strips from certain soggy doom.

As yummy as it is, I have to say it has a too familiar flavor. The combination of the BBQ ranch sauce and chili lime tortilla strips make it taste somewhat like the McDonald’s Southwest Salad, which I’m quite familiar with because it’s the only salad I buy from the Golden Arches. I also said the same thing about the recent Southwest McWrap.

But overall, I will love this burger with all my heart…until McDonald’s raises its price to $1.29.

(Nutrition Facts – 350 calories, 140 calories from fat, 16 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 45 milligrams of cholesterol, 680 milligrams of sodium, 37 grams of carbohydrates, 7 grams of sugar, 3 grams of fiber, 16 grams of protein.)

Item: McDonald’s BBQ Ranch Burger
Purchased Price: $1.00
Size: N/A
Purchased at: McDonald’s
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: A delectable little burger. Creamy BBQ ranch sauce is sweet, tangy, and a little spicy. Chili lime tortilla strips give the burger a little tanginess and a whole lotta crunch. White cheddar helps prevent the tortilla strips from getting soggy. It’s only a dollar.
Cons: White cheddar doesn’t add flavor. Tastes like a McDonald’s Southwest Salad, which is probably fine, you don’t regularly eat the salad. Raising the price of a McDouble. Getting the wrong Happy Meal toy.

Fast Food McDonald's

REVIEW Ben & Jerry’s Limited Batch Ron Burgundy’s Scotchy Scotch Scotch Ice Cream

Jasper / November 7, 2013 / Reviews / 5 Comments

The first Anchorman movie – technically, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy – came out the summer of 2004. The world was a very different place back then.

Steve Carell was still a correspondent on The Daily Show. Adam McKay and Will Ferrell were just beginning their comedic partnership. And I was constantly saying, “I love scotch, scotchy, scotch, scotch, here it goes down, down into my belly” despite having consumed alcohol just one single time in my life. (Bacardi 151 in my friend Josh’s basement before a Sweet 16 party. I couldn’t believe alcohol tasted that awful and swore that I’d never touch the stuff again.)

Things have certainly evolved since then. Steve Carell is a bona fide movie star. The McKay/Ferrell team has created Ricky Bobby, the Funny or Die website, and that video of the adorable little girl cursing out Will Ferrell. Single malt scotches are now my drink of choice – I’m writing this review with a bottle of Glenlivet 15 year on my desk.

One thing that hasn’t changed: I still routinely say “scotchy scotch scotch” whenever I drink anything out of a whiskey glass. More generally, I’ve probably never gone a week without quoting Anchorman at any point in the last decade, and, for a certain demographic, phrases like “I’m in a glass case of emotion” and “60% of the time, it works every time” are now among the most recognizable idioms in the American lexicon. (Full disclosure: I just spent 30 minutes deciding which Anchorman quotes to use in the previous sentence. I imagine that’s what picking your favorite child is like, if all your children were hilarious, perfectly delivered, and always extended you invitations to the pants party.)

All of which is to say, we are long overdue for a new Anchorman movie. With Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues coming out soon, I am absolutely willing to support any and all Anchorman-related promotional tie-ins, especially if they callback my favorite quote and incorporate my favorite liquor. (I’m also planning to test drive a Dodge Durango this weekend.) Last night I purchased a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Ron Burgundy’s Scotchy Scotch Scotch ice cream with great excitement.

In preparation for eating some scotch-flavored ice cream, I had created a whole list of moderately pompous scotch-related adjectives to use in this review. (In my mind, that ice cream’s late palate was going to be complex and peaty, with an oaky yet balanced finish.) Alas, Scotchy Scotch Scotch actually has no scotch flavoring; rather, it’s butterscotch ice cream with butterscotch swirl. I got over my initial disappointment and tried a couple scoops anyway.

Scotchy Scotch Scotch is very tasty in small servings but likely too rich to be enjoyable in larger doses. The butterscotch ice cream base was extremely creamy, sweet, and flavorful. That base by itself would have already done butterscotch proud, but then I got a taste of the crunchy ribbons of candy and, boy, that escalated quickly.

The experience was almost nostalgia-inducing, given how much the ice cream tasted like a Werther’s Original butterscotch. I really liked the textural contrast between the cream and the butterscotch candy bits, but altogether it was relentlessly sweet. I could’ve used some saltiness or sourness to add a little balance, à la Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby or Cherry Garcia.

I wouldn’t recommend you buy a whole pint, but if you happen to be near a Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop, you should definitely drop by and try a scoop of Ron Burgundy’s Scotchy Scotch Scotch. In small servings, it’ll take you to Pleasure Town. (Yes, I really had to drop in one last Anchorman quote. Don’t act like you’re not impressed.)

(Nutrition Facts – 1/2 cup – 280 calories, 150 calories from fat, 17 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 70 milligrams of cholesterol, 105 milligrams of sodium, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 27 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.)

Item: Ben & Jerry’s Limited Batch Ron Burgundy’s Scotchy Scotch Scotch Ice Cream
Purchased Price: $6.50
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Ice cream base was flavorful, sweet, and creamy. Crunchy candy swirl provides great textural contrast. Tastes just like a butterscotch hard candy. Single malt scotch. Those Dodge Durango commercials. Anchorman 2 is coming soon!
Cons: Relentlessly sweet. Could’ve used some saltiness or sourness. Not actually scotch flavored. Scotch-related pomposity. Picking your favorite child. Bacardi 151. Using Anchorman quotes way too frequently.

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream