Tag: Fast Food

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Potion Macchiato

Erin Leave a comment

This Halloween season, Dunkin’ isn’t content just sticking to pumpkin flavors. It’s digging deeper and summoning the purple pigment powers of ube to create the new Potion Macchiato. If you’re not familiar with it, ube is a yam that’s long been used in Filipino desserts and has recently been making its way into various products in the US, usually when someone wants to capitalize on its vibrant violet properties.

The Potion Macchiato features a marshmallow ube swirl blended with milk and topped with espresso. Available hot or iced, the promotional pictures showcase a striking purple base crowned with a layer of deeply dark espresso. None of the ads mention this, but I think it’s important to note that if you stretch out the first syllable in ube, you’ll be making an excellent ghost noise.

Perhaps I should have tempered my expectations, but I was a bit disappointed in the visual appearance of my macchiato. Both portions of the drink were somewhat muted. I pictured the contrast being more vivid, and the beverage I walked away with looked like an apparition of what was advertised. It still felt a little like a novelty, but the ube base was barely purple-hued, and the espresso above it was a light brown. That said, I don’t mind sipping on a murky concoction as long as it tastes good, and I was eager to see if the ube made its presence known.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure it ever does. The overwhelming taste is vanilla and generically sweet. Ube is a milder flavor, so it isn’t surprising that this gets overshadowed, but there’s nothing here to make this drink memorable. I want to say I taste some of ube’s nutty or earthy notes or even that it has a marshmallow vibe, but that would be a stretch. I found myself hoping to taste the espresso more and balance things out, so I gave it a shake, which only resulted in further muddying the appearance and making it look like any other iced coffee.

I think this could be a perfectly satisfying caffeinated treat for those who like their coffee on the very sweet side and since this is Halloween, there’s nothing wrong with leaning into candy-level sweetness. I’ll give the visual gimmick some credit for trying, but I wish the potion itself had more intrigue. Maybe I’ll order my next one with an extra shot of dragon scales? If you’d like to test the Potion Macchiato’s effect on you, get to Dunkin’ soon because this limited-time offering will disappear after the 31st.

Purchased Price: $5.29
Size: Medium
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 280 calories, 6 grams of total fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 48 grams of total carbs, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 46 grams of total sugar, and 8 grams of protein

REVIEW: KFC Cherry Pie Poppers

Marvo 3 Comments

Now would’ve been an optimal time to come out with Pumpkin Pie Poppers, but instead, KFC came out with these new Cherry Pie Poppers. But what do I know? I’m just some guy with a calendar.

Maybe pumpkin pie doesn’t pair well with the Colonel’s secret blend of 11 herbs and spices. Or perhaps these are Halloween-themed because the cherry represents blood, and these were supposed to be called Cherry Die Poppers. But the promotional materials for Cherry Pie Poppers were already made and shipped, so here we are.

These are a follow-up to KFC’s Apple Pie Poppers, which came out earlier this year, and just in time for the Fourth of July season, which apple pies are most known for here in the US. (Okay, they came out over two months before Independence Day, and I’m not 100 percent sure apple pies are a summer thing, but it seems correct.) This newest dessert is filled with warm cherry pie filling wrapped in a flaky crust, and it’s available in 4- or 10-piece orders.

The crust is wonderfully buttery and flaky, and I love the sound of the crispy layers crackling as I bite into them. There’s a tiny bit of sweetness, but I wish it was a bit more sugary or glazed like a pre-packaged convenience store fruit pie pastry. Within the flaky layers is a cherry filling that wasn’t overly sweet or tart. But it also wasn’t sweet or tart enough to really stand out. However, that might be due to the filling-to-crust ratio leaning too much on the crust side because it did seem like the cherry goo was a bit thin in my order’s four pieces.

Due to its lack of a robust fruity flavor, KFC’s Cherry Pie Poppers were a bit underwhelming, and I don’t see myself ordering it again any time in the future.

Purchased Price: $3.79*
Size: 4 pieces
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 piece) 70 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 40 milligrams of sodium, 7 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 1 gram 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: Burger King Wednesday’s Whopper

Marvo 4 Comments

There are two differences between Burger King’s new Wednesday’s Whopper and a standard Whopper with Cheese. First is the use of Swiss cheese instead of American. The second is a purple sesame seed bun colored with purple potato instead of the standard sesame seed bun. The 1/4 lb flame-grilled patty, tomato, lettuce, mayo, ketchup, pickles, and onions are present with both.

If you’ve looked through the list of ingredients above and eaten various colored buns from the Whopper-Verse, you might have realized that Wednesday’s Whopper is similar to a particular web-slinger’s offering — the Spider Verse Whopper. Instead of a purple bun, it had a red one, but everything else was the same.

Let’s start with this hamburger’s headliner, the purple bun. Prince would so approve. The purple potato used to dye the buns makes it look spiffy, and the black sesame seeds dotted across the crust are the chef’s kiss. But the vibrant violet under the crust looks even better. However, the bun is more of a visual experience than one that tantalizes your taste buds because it pretty much tastes like a standard bun.

The Swiss cheese has a mellower flavor than the usual orange stuff, but its creaminess and saltiness come through, which slightly mellows the Whopper’s flame-grilled flavor. All the usual Whopper flavors are there, especially the ketchup, mayo, and pickles, which makes it taste too similar to a regular one. That’s not bad, though, since I enjoy regular Whoppers. However, I wish Burger King continued the purple theme by adding red/purple onions (or maybe even purple-dyed cheese). The purple onion’s sharper taste also would’ve given this burger a slightly different flavor than the Spider Verse Whopper.

Finally, some of you might be wondering if there’s a specific post-digestion problem that has happened with a previous Burger King colored bun. Well, whew, no number two issues.

If you’ve never experienced one of Burger King’s colored buns—red, orange, white, green, or black—here’s your opportunity to feast your eyes on one in real life.

Purchased Price: $9.19*
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 820 calories, 52 grams of fat, 20 grams of sugar, 1 gram of trans fat, 125 milligrams of cholesterol, 1480 milligrams of sodium, 56 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 40 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: Burger King Morticia’s Kooky Chocolate Shake

Mark Leave a comment

This October, Burger King has teamed up with one of the most iconic Halloween families: The Addams Family!

This fall marks the 60th anniversary of the original series, and fans are eagerly awaiting season 2 of Wednesday. However, BK has opted to brand its seasonal lineup with the animated movies instead. (I enjoyed the 2019 film, but the 2021 sequel was literally the worst version of the franchise I’ve seen. And I’ve seen most incarnations.)

Representing the family matriarch is Morticia’s Kooky Chocolate Shake, which mixes soft-serve ice cream with chocolate cake batter fudge, topped with black and purple cookie bits. (It seems like a missed opportunity not to call this a Kooky Cookie Shake or a Kooky Cocoa Shake.)

Let’s get this out of the way first: chocolate cake and chocolate shakes seem like something that Morticia Frump Addams is unlikely to eat. For someone who enjoys cooking aardvark, yak, eye of newt, and cookies with bats and lizards, chocolate just seems too gauche. And she also seems unlikely to feed it to her carnivorous plant Cleopatra.

But for me, someone who does not keep nooses or iron maidens hanging around the house, I really enjoyed the shake. Since it is made with cake batter fudge, it is a richer, more sophisticated chocolate shake than one you would get made with chocolate syrup.

The cookie pieces are a standard chocolate sandwich cookie, but the creme filling is purple. They have a good flavor, but perhaps more importantly, they provide some textural contrast to the soft shake. But there’s not too many of them to become annoying.

At the bottom of the cup, I scooped up some of the cake batter fudge. It had a slightly gritty texture and a rich, almost buttery flavor. This tells me they actually put some effort into this limited-time offering, instead of just putting in a nondescript syrup and pretending it’s fancy.

Morticia’s Kooky Chocolate Shake is a scream. Or, rather, a scree-yum.

Purchased Price: $4.69
Size: Regular
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 740 calories, 30 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol, 690 milligrams of sodium, 106 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 82 grams of sugar, and 13 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Burger King Gomez’s Churro Fries

Marvo 2 Comments

Perhaps the most intriguing product from Burger King’s Addams Family Menu is Gomez’s Churro Fries, fried crispy pastry dough tossed in cinnamon sugar and served warm with chocolate sauce.

Wednesday’s Whopper looks cool with its purple bun, and Morticia’s Kooky Chocolate Shake sounds delightful with black and purple cookie pieces and chocolate cake batter fudge. But there have been numerous Whoppers with colored buns, and the shake sounds like it’s just a chocolate shake with cookie bits. However, how many major fast food chains have offered us a churros and chocolate combo? I can’t think of one.

The dippable dessert comes in four-, eight-, and twelve-piece orders and is served in an Addams Family-themed box with a section where you can put your chocolate sauce container, similar to the Chicken Fries bawk-s. I got an eight-piece order because four didn’t seem like much, and I expected these to be awesome.

However, they were disappointing.

Before dipping a churro into the sauce, I had to try it sans sauce. That was a mistake because it tasted plain, just fried dough with a hint of sweetness. I could taste more oil than anything sweet. I wondered if mine were tossed in cinnamon sugar because it didn’t taste like it. When I smelled the others in the box, I got a faint sweet scent, and after eating the first one plain, there was an accumulation of seasoning on my fingers, which had a light cinnamon sugar flavor. So maybe mine didn’t get tossed with enough seasoning?

The chocolate sauce helped my order taste better. There was more than enough of it in the container for all eight pieces with double dipping. The dark sauce covered up most of the oiliness, but that also meant it masked whatever hint of sweetness the churros had. Sure, the chocolate’s sugariness made up for it, but if these had a more robust cinnamon sugar flavor, they would’ve been excellent with the sauce. (Side note: I also dipped Burger King’s fries into it and enjoyed it more than the churros.)

Because of my disheartening experience with the churro fries, I decided to get another order from a different location. The cinnamon sugar flavor with my second order may have been slightly better, but they needed more seasoning.

Gomez’s Churro Fries had the potential to be great. They have a pleasant crispiness and are a decent size, but like the number of Addams Family references in this review, the cinnamon sugariness is lacking.

Purchased Price: $6.59*
Size: 8-piece order
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 300 calories, 18 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 270 milligrams of sodium, 34 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar, and 2 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.

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