Tag: Good Humor

REVIEW: Good Humor Viennetta (2021)

Mike 22 Comments

Good Humor Viennetta Box

What is the Good Humor Viennetta?

After an absence of almost 30 years, Good Humor has reintroduced the Vanilla Viennetta to American grocery store shelves. Back in the ’90s, you couldn’t watch an episode of Murphy Brown without seeing a commercial featuring a sophisticated dinner party with a Breyers Viennetta served in elegant crystal champagne coupes. It was the classy ice cream dessert for people who knew the difference between a champagne flute and champagne coupe.

How is it?

Good Humor Viennetta Whole

The rectangular ice cream cake looks exactly as I remember, with layered waves of ice cream interlaced with thin chocolate ribbons. I feel the chocolate crack as I slice into it and then lay a slice onto my plate. I’m impressed the thinness of the chocolate layers allows the portion to retain integrity.

Good Humor Viennetta Cross

I fondly remember the times my parents decided to get something a little special for dessert and picked up a Viennetta. Nostalgia firmly in place, I take a bite.

It’s ok.

Good Humor Viennetta Chocolate

The vanilla ice cream (frozen dairy dessert according to the packaging) is pleasingly light and soft, but has an unremarkable flavor. The thin chocolate layers provide a delicate texture to the dessert, but leaves a waxy residue in my mouth. Overall, this is a disappointment.

Anything else you need to know?

Here’s something I didn’t know until I watched an old Viennetta commercial on YouTube: this product used to be produced by Breyers, and was said to be made with premium ice cream, not the current frozen dairy dessert. Perhaps my memories aren’t at fault, and this version of Viennetta is a poor knockoff? Does this mean that my pair of light up sneakers really were just as cool as I remember?

Conclusion:

If nothing else, Good Humor’s Viennetta is a testament to marketing and design. At its core, the dessert is nothing more than mediocre ice cream laced with waxy chocolate ribbons. But it looks very fancy, and a very effective marketing campaign 30 years ago means there’s a generation of people who will want to try it.

Purchased Price: $5.49
Size: 21.9 fl oz (650 ml)
Purchased at: Pick ‘N Save
Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/6 cake/54 grams) 130 calories, 7 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 15 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 11 grams of sugar (including 9 grams added sugars), and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Good Humor Reese’s Bar

Vin 5 Comments

Good Humor Reese s Bar

Who is this Good Humor Man I always hear about?

Growing up, my neighborhood had a Good Humor truck, but the man inside looked like he hadn’t smiled since the Carter administration. His icy demeanor definitely matched the goods he was peddling. Despite the awkward interactions, his sweet siren song never failed to boost my adrenaline levels to Herculean heights. Besides, as unfunny people like myself will always tell you – good humor is subjective.

Good Humor Reese s Bar 2

Now while I was usually a WWF Superstar bar, candy cigarettes, Pixie Stick, and Warheads kid, I did get the occasional Good Humor ice cream bar.

Strawberry Shortcake always seemed to be the popular choice. My mother used to buy boxes of them from the supermarket, and while they’re classics, my choice was always Toasted Almond. (Chocolate Éclair was great, but a distant third and I’ve never had Cookies and Cream.)

I haven’t had one of those babies in ages, so when I saw Good Humor had a Reese’s bar on the market, it was like hearing the Good Humor truck song all over again.

Good Humor Reese s Bar 3

These certainly look the part of a Good Humor bar. I was excited about the prospect of the chocolate and peanut butter crumb exterior, as that was always my favorite part.

I plucked a few crumb pieces off and tasted them individually. They weren’t bursting with the Reese’s flavor I was hoping for, but no big deal. I trudged on and went for a bite.

Good Humor Reese s Bar 4

The look of the ice cream itself was a bit uninspiring. It has a very light khaki color, that resembled cake texturally.

As for the flavor, the ice cream was not nearly as peanut buttery as I had hoped. Not only that, I felt the chocolate almost took a bit away from the already weak peanut butter.

The crumbs enhanced the experience a bit but weren’t as crunchy as I remember them being back in the day. They almost added a “stale” element to the bar to be honest. My memory could just be off here, but the bites felt less satisfying.

Look, you slap the name “Reese’s,” on anything, and I’ll enjoy it. I’d brush my teeth with Reese’s toothpaste if they felt inclined to make it. The Reese’s brand has never let me down, until now.

These aren’t very flavorful. They’re boring – I mean, pretty good boring, but boring.

These bars are one step above eating those healthy ice creams that people on diets pretend is good but actually tastes like ice you chip off the wall of an old freezer.

I’m disappointed a Reese’s product didn’t live up to my standards. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll probably still enjoy these, but I see no reason to recommend them. They’re middle of the road but aren’t better than the Good Humor OG’s. They’re not better than any other Reese’s products, and they’re probably not better than any other peanut butter item in the frozen section, so really, why bother?

(Nutrition Facts – 1 Bar – 180 calories, 100 calories from fat, 11 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 105 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 13 grams of carbohydrates, and 3 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $4.49
Size: 6-pack box
Purchased at: Stop & Shop
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Taste like Reese’s light. Still a decent ice cream bar. Ice Cream Truck music. Good Humor memories.
Cons: So many better options out there. Lacking that Reese’s punch. Miserable Ice Cream Men. Subtle phallic box imagery.