Over the past couple of days, TIB has been having some outages due to its hosting provider. Everything seems like it’s back to normal. If not, I’m going to whine like a spoiled My Super Sweet 16 bitch who’s upset because she got a BMW instead of a Mercedes. TIB reviews will return next week.
Month: August 2007
McDonald’s Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap
The McDonald’s Snack Wraps are just like actors who’ve played James Bond — one of them defined it (Sean Connery, Ranch Snack Wrap), one of them not so much (Timothy Dalton, Honey Mustard Snack Wrap), one of them you’ve probably never heard of (George Lazenby, Salsa Roja Snack Wrap), and one of them was not bad (Roger Moore, the new Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap).
But unlike the James Bond movies, which are somewhat limited by the number of novels written by Ian Fleming and other authors, the expansion of the McDonald’s Snack Wrap is almost endless. Stuffed with either crispy or grilled all-white chicken breast meat, shredded lettuce and cheese, and a spicy sweet sauce, the McDonald’s Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap continues the evolution of this affordable burrito wannabe.
You could say about the Snack Wrap that McDonald’s is not only just lovin’ it, they’re also just milkin’ it. Slowly but surely, as they keep adding new sauces, Snack Wraps will reach a rare level of diversity that only Beanie Babies and Pokemon have accomplished, but unlike those two, Snack Wraps have horrible resale value on eBay.
But for now there are only three McDonald’s Snack Wrap flavors available nationwide, and if you’ve tried all three, congratulations, you’ve completed the Snack Wrap Gastrointestinal Triple Crown. Your prize? A possible slight raise in high blood pressure and making the lovable purple blob Grimace smile.
If you haven’t had the McDonald’s Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap, I’d suggest you try it, because it’s good. Although, I personally think the ranch dressing version of it is the best flavor. The sauce itself tasted like any barbecue sauce with a little spice and it meshed well with the crispy version, but not so much with the grilled one.
As someone who prefers to get my tongue kicked by spices so hard that I cry like a Miss USA contestant after she’s announced as the winner or sweat like someone trapped in a Geo Metro with Spongebob Squarepants and Urkel from Family Matters, I was hoping that the chipotle sauce would’ve been hotter. But if you’re a lightweight when it comes to spices, I’d suggest passing on this particular Snack Wrap because there is a little burn.
(Nutritional Values: The crispy version of the McDonald’s Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap has 320 calories, 14 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 780 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, and 14 grams of protein. The grilled version has 260 calories, 8 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, zero grams of trans fat, 45 milligrams of cholesterol, 820 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 1 grams of dietary fiber, and 18 grams of protein.)
Item: McDonald’s Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap
Price: $1.49 each
Purchased at: McDonald’s
Rating: 3 out of 5
Pros: Good. Crispy tastes better. Sean Connery as James Bond. Making Grimace smile.
Cons: Kind of small. Sauce not spicy enough for me. Grilled is not as good as crispy. Nutritional values are snack-like. Timothy Dalton as James Bond. Being trapped in a Geo Metro with Spongebob and Urkel.
Chicken of the Sea Mandarin Orange Salmon Cups
I take back everything bad I said about other things I reviewed, this is proof that the devil lives among us. And apparently the devil takes on the form of a blonde mermaid who hocks packaged fish products. Nice try, you sleazy merchant of lies. You don’t even really exist in nature, your origin came about when drunk and horny pirates mistakenly identified a seal. Maybe next time wear a clamshell bra like Ariel from The Little Mermaid if you want to win my trust and make me have a disturbing, sexually confusing crush on you.
How I came about stumbling upon this box of evil seemed innocent enough. I was minding my own business, shopping at the gigantic corporate mega mart that simultaneously fuels and ruins our country, when I had a sudden craving for tuna. I skimmed the aisles until I found the cheapest can I could and then noticed something beside it. Like a siren, it called to me. I picked it up and threw it in my cart. Little did I know I was in possession of a product that was more akin to Pandora’s Box than a can of tuna.
I related to the small sealed cup because like myself, it had a massive identity crisis. The label is a true orgy of bullshit that I had to wade through just to figure out what the damn thing was. First of all, it was from Chicken of the Sea, which I’ve been conditioned to believe sells tuna.
However, it is addressed as a salmon cup, which is neither chicken nor tuna. To make matters more complicated, the words “Mandarin Orange” are included in a big box as if to indicate that this was indeed a fruit cup and that everything else was included for the sole purpose of pissing me off.
After my head exploded and the minimum wage worker lazily wiped the remains off the floor, I checked out. I mentioned to the cashier, “You do realize that this is fucking ridiculous, right?” but only received a puzzled look in response. I took the cup home and decided to give it a shot.
This is by far the most vile thing I’ve ever attempted to consume. The scent is somewhere between orange scratch-n-sniff and demon breath. I am convinced that if Syracuse University’s orange mascot died in a football celebration gone terribly awry, this is what he’d smell like after two weeks. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think this thing came straight out of an H.P. Lovecraft novel.
By this point I had confirmed that it was indeed salmon in some type of mandarin orange sauce. My first taste was one of bewilderment and disgust. “I don’t recall salmon tasting like syrup, orange liquor, and charcoal,” I thought to myself.
Needless to say, I quickly spit it out and burned the plastic bag just in case it decided to return and make me eat it in my sleep. I ran into the garage seeking sandpaper to lick so I could get rid of the taste.
They say that which does not kill you makes you stronger, but those people apparently never tasted mandarin orange salmon cups. The sadist in me wants you to try it with your family and share in the pain that I’ve felt, but the Jesus complex in me wants to save you from this horrible wreck.
It’s your call, but don’t come back crying when your spouse leaves you and your oldest daughter becomes a broken emo girl that I may or may not try to sleep with at a party.
Item: Chicken of the Sea Mandarin Orange Salmon Cups
Price: 85 cents
Purchased at: Wal-Mart
Rating: 1 out of 5
Pros: Hot animated mermaids. Hermetically sealed packaging.
Cons: Dead orange mascots. Smell from said dead orange mascot. Abominable taste. the shame of shopping at Wal-Mart. Confusing labels. Salmon officially losing all of its dignity.
Happy Third Birthday!!!
Dear TIB,
Today, you turn three years old. Imagine, in eighteen years you can drink legally and have a decent job so that you can move out of the house. In fifteen years, you can vote and watch Rated R movies without a legal guardian. In thirteen years, you can drive a car. In seven years, you’ll lash out at me after I punish you for not doing your homework. In one year, I hope you stop calling me mommy.
I know at the beginning I didn’t really take care of you, putting up whatever crap came to my unemployed mind, but over the years I’ve matured and so have you. It’s no longer about Chinese sweatshop quantity, it’s about Japanese auto plant quality…with a few lemons. I wish I could post more reviews and I wish you could write your own reviews, but if you could write your own reviews, it would probably eventually lead to artificially intelligent cyborgs hell bent on destroying all humans.
I have to admit that you were really ugly when you were first born. I didn’t know much about bringing up a blog. I would change your colors often and make you look like other blogs because we all used the same default theme. Now you’re cute, but you’re definitely going to need braces…and probably glasses…and eventually liposuction.
I honestly can’t believe that you came from my loins. I would’ve expected a blog about my love of The Snorks, whining about my job, or something about kittens, but instead I ended up with you and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Hopefully, someday you’ll grow up to be a Pajiba, an Engadget, a Post Secret, a Kottke, a Go Fug Yourself, or an Icanhascheezburger. But until then, I’ll watch over you, be a little overprotective, ensure you don’t date boys until you’re 14 or 15, and make sure you are never influenced by the MTV show My Super Sweet 16.
I also just want to let you know that I’m p-p-proud of you…
Sorry. I’m getting a little vaclempt.
Talk amongst yourself.
I’ll give you a topic. The orangeroot is neither orange, nor a root.
Discuss.
Okay, I’m fine.
Again, I’m proud of you.
So we’re going to celebrate your birthday by giving away gifts to those who have watched you grow. They say it takes a village to raise a child, or some bullshit like that, so we should thank some of those villagers who helped raise you. We will give away three $25 Threadless gift certificates, three 3-month subscriptions to eMusic, and three $30 gift certificates for iTunes.
To enter the drawing, villagers will have to leave a comment for this post with the words, “Happy Birthday TIB” in their comment because this day is all about you, TIB. They should fill out the email field, because I’ll be emailing the winners their prizes.
We will start accepting entries for the drawing on Thursday, August 9, 2007 and stop accepting entries on Thursday, August 16, 2007 (11:59 Hawaii Standard Time). Only one entry allowed per person. The drawing is open to everyone, but the iTunes gift certificates can only be won by those in the United States.
The winners will be determined in a way that has not been decided. It will probably be messy.
Fine Print: The Impulsive Buy promises your email address will not be used to send you spam about spam. Bribes will not be accepted. The Impulsive Buy will not be responsible for lost mail, the Spice Girls getting back together, or artificially intelligent cyborgs hell bent on destroying all humans.
So TIB, I hope all your birthday wishes come true. If not, I just want to let you know that I will always support you, except I won’t pay for the psychologist sessions you go to because your birthday wishes didn’t come true.
Love,
Papa
REVIEW: Wendy’s Baconator
The Wendy’s Baconator has a name usually reserved for those college students who fully take advantage of the all-you-can-eat breakfast bar in the dormitory cafeteria or the wingmen who takes home the fat chicks.
It’s a simple burger that doesn’t have any secret sauces, fancy breads, exotic cheeses, special meats, or vegetables. It’s just two lightly salted quarter pound patties of ground beef, six strips of bacon, two slices of cheese, ketchup, and mayonnaise in between a bun.
In this day and age of Ciabatta bread and chipotle peppers, the Baconator’s simplicity is comforting, like freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and milk or nestling my head in between the voluptuous bosom of a woman.
Of course, what’s not comforting about the Baconator is its nutritional values, which makes the Big Mac’s seem small, like a penis after being dunked in the cold water.
While the Baconator has 830 calories, 51 grams of fat, 22 grams of saturated fat, 2.5 grams of trans fat, 170 milligrams of cholesterol, and 1,920 milligrams of sodium, the Big Mac has the less artery-clogging values of 540 calories, 29 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 1.5 grams of trans fat, 75 milligrams of cholesterol. and 1,040 milligrams of sodium.
With all that meat and its nutritional values, the Baconator is not a burger that you would want to eat often or during your recovery from triple bypass surgery or in the middle of a Weight Watchers meeting or in the lion’s den at a zoo or at a PETA protest. But if you can eat several of these in one sitting, you should be given the nickname, “Baconator-tor.”
Despite its unhealthiness and fugliness in the picture above, the Baconator a pretty good burger. It was smaller than I thought it would be, but it’s a pretty dense burger. As a matter of fact, when I was carrying the paper Wendy’s bag it came in, it kind of felt like it was going to fall through the bottom.
As for its taste, the smokiness from the bacon complimented well with the juicy ground beef patties and the two slices of cheese. The ketchup and mayonnaise added a nice creamy tomato flavor to it. All together, it created a simple, classic taste, like something I would’ve gotten from a drive-in restaurant from the 1950s.
But all is not perfect with this burger. Wendy’s claims the Baconator has six strips of bacon, and it technically does, but those strips were awfully short. I know bacon shrinks significantly when cooked, but it would probably take two or three strips from the Baconator to equal one strip of bacon from a package I bought from the store and fried on my own.
Overall, it’s a really good burger. Although, after eating one, I feel like my lifespan has shortened a little bit. Again, it’s simple with a classic taste, which I really like.
I wish I could say the same for the type of women I like, which is high-maintenance, high heels, and with a high tolerance of me.
Item: Wendy’s Baconator
Price: $6.49 (Small Combo)
Purchased at: Wendy’s
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Simple burger with a classic taste. Heavy burger. Half pound of beef. Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and milk. Resting my head in between the voluptuous bosom of a woman.
Cons: Six strips of bacon were small. Bad nutritional values that make the Big Mac’s look healthy. 2.5 grams of trans fat. Eating meat at a PETA protest. Eating a Baconator at a Weight Watchers meeting.