SPOTTED ON SHELVES – 1/2/2013

Here are some interesting new and limited edition products found on store shelves by us and your fellow readers.

Kellogg's Cinnamon Jacks

The Kellogg’s Cinnamon Jacks box may say it’s sweetened with brown sugar and cinnamon, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it just had a brown sugar flavor. Apple Jacks doesn’t taste like apples, so there’s a good chance Cinnamon Jacks won’t taste like cinnamon. (Spotted by Michael at Walmart.)

Breyer's Blasts Birthday Blast

Celebrate your birthday with a birthday cake and ice cream that tastes like birthday cake. On Second Scoop has a Breyer’s Blasts! Birthday Blast review. (Spotted by Adam at Walmart.)

Limited Edition Special K Chocolatey Strawberry

Kellogg’s Special K Chocolatey Strawberry is a limited edition cereal. But once it disappears you can get your Special K Chocolatey Strawberry fix by combining Special K Red Berries and Special K Chocolatey Delight cereals. (Spotted by Jarred at QFC.)

New Cereals

It’s raining new General Mills cereals! Actually, it’s raining new and possibly reformulated General Mills cereals! Honey Nut Cheerios Medley Crunch and Fiber One Chocolate are new, but General Mills introduced a Peanut Butter Toast Crunch in 2004. (Spotted by Heidi at Walmart.)

Skittles Darkside

Taste the upside down rainbow of Skittles Darkside which is made up of Midnight Lime, Forbidden Fruit, Pomegranate, Blood Orange, and Dark Berry. (Spotted by Kevin at Walgreens.)

Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new or limited edition product on the shelf (or really unusual), snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) 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.

NEWS: While Everyone Else Makes Greek Frozen Yogurt, Häagen-Dazs Makes Gelato

While almost everyone who owns an ice cream company has recently introduced Greek frozen yogurt, Häagen-Dazs has, so far, stayed away from the trend. However, instead of going Greek, Häagen-Dazs has decided to go Italian.

According to a post at The Ice Cream Informant, Häagen-Dazs has released a line of gelato. However, it isn’t Häagen-Dazs’ first gelato effort. A quick Google search found that they released a line of the Italian dessert in 2000.

The new Häagen-Dazs Gelato line comes in seven flavors:

Black Cherry Amaretto – Blends black cherries with amaretto, an Italian liqueur (1/2 cup serving has 240 calories, 9 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 26 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein)

Cappuccino – Combines cappuccino and sweet cream gelato (1/2 cup serving has 230 calories, 10 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 23 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein)

Dark Chocolate Chip – Mixes bittersweet chocolaty chips into dark chocolate gelato (1/2 cup serving has 270 calories, 12 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 24 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein)

Limoncello – Combines lemon gelato with vodka (1/2 cup serving has 240 calories 9 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 26 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein)

Sea Salt Caramel – Blends sea salt caramel ribbons with caramel gelato (1/2 cup serving has 270 calories, 11 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 29 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein)

Stracciatella – Combines chocolaty shavings with sweet cream gelato (1/2 cup serving has 270 calories, 13 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 25 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein)

Vanilla Bean – Do I really need to explain this one? (1/2 cup serving has 230 calories, 10 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 23 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein)

If you’ve tried the new (or old) Häagen-Dazs Gelato, let us know what you think of them in the comments below.

REVIEW: Sabritas Doritos Dinamita Chipotle Crema Rolled Tortilla Chips

Doritos Dinamita Chipotle Crema Rolled Tortilla Chips Bag

When I first heard about Dinamita Doritos, I was immediately curious. I was easily able to locate the two original flavors – Chile Limon and Nacho Picoso. However, I later learned about another flavor, Chipotle Crema, which I found even more intriguing than the other two. But the flavor was proving to be quite elusive.

I was starting to wonder if they even existed. Ghost Doritos.

When I finally found them, I was excited. Happy snack dance excited. It doesn’t take someone fluent in Spanish to know that “Chipotle Crema” translates into “Chipotle Cream”, which sounded like an odd flavor for a tortilla chip. Cream-flavored chips, combined with chipotle, one of my favorite but oft-misused flavors? Sounds like a recipe for disaster, and those are generally my favorite recipes.

Perhaps I was blinded by my excitement in finding these chips, because I didn’t notice until I got home that these are not just tortilla chips. These are rolled tortilla chips.

Oh, I get it! Dinamita! Dynamite! Spicy, red, tubular chips! If only my eyeballs had moved two inches below the logo. It all makes sense, now.

Sabritas/Frito-Lay/Doritos could have gotten away with just throwing some regular chile images in there with the dinamita-shaped chips exploding off the package, but they went with authentico-looking chipotle peppers, which are smoke-dried jalapeños. Hence the wrinkled look. Points for “graphics exploding off the package” accuracy.

In case you’re confused about all the different product names, Sabritas is a Mexican snack-food company owned by Frito-Lay. As such, they market some of their products under both the Sabritas brand and other popular Frito-Lay brands like Doritos and Ruffles.

Since I live close to the border, I have the pleasure of seeing Sabritas snacks almost everywhere. The fun part is that almost all Sabritas packaging has both Spanish and English on it, which makes it like a tiny lesson in a foreign language. This is much more fun than taking Spanish in high school, because there are no tests, the translation is right there, and I learn much more useful phrases than “pasar la aspiradora”. That means “to pass the vacuum”, in case you were curious.

Doritos Dinamita Chipotle Crema Rolled Tortilla Chips Bag Back Top

I now know the Spanish words for “dynamite”, “explode” and “boom”, which will surely come in much more handy than vacuum passing. Especially in airports.

Doritos Dinamita Chipotle Crema Rolled Tortilla Chips Bag Back Bottom

Highlighting my observational skills, if I’d read the back of the bag I would have known right off the bat that this is these are not chipotle cream chips. These are chipotle cream cheese chips. Dinamita Doritos just got 100 percent more appealing. While I was willing to take one for the team and eat cream-flavored chips, I now want to go out and buy a block of cream cheese and a can of chipotle peppers, mix them together, and dip tortilla chips into it.

Luckily, I have these chips that claim to taste like that right here!

You might think cream cheese-flavored chips would taste about as awful as cream-flavored chips, but it definitely works in these Dinamita Doritos. While the chipotle built up a nice heat, the cream cheese still managed to shine through, and they compliment each other nicely.

While I could taste the pepper behind the heat, there was an unfortunate lack of smokiness in the chipotle flavoring, which is part of what gives the peppers a distinctive and delicious taste.

Doritos Dinamita Chipotle Crema Rolled Tortilla Chips

These being rolled tortilla chips, they were crunchier and a little bit harder than regular Doritos. I liked the shape; maybe it’s just me and my dainty ladymouth, but the size and triangular shape of regular tortilla chips is just big enough to make cramming a whole chip in my maw awkward. These rolled chips were easy to shove in my mouth.

While the small surface area would not work well with a dip like salsa, the added sturdiness would be perfect to scoop up, say, a dip made of cream cheese and chipotle peppers. That would be so meta.

Here are a few other uses I thought up for Dinamita Doritos:

1. Makeshift blowdart gun to use on your roommate who always steals your chips

2. Straw for sucking up salsa con queso

3. Vessel for snorting something totally legal because I would never condone doing drugs (but at least you won’t notice the chipotle burning your nostrils, since the totally legal drugs will already do that)

4. Breathing tubes if you’re getting your head cast in silicone (will burn your nostrils unless you already snorted something completely legal beforehand)

I found Doritos Dinamita Chipotle Crema Rolled Tortilla Chips to be quite the enjoyable snack. The actual cream cheese flavoring was unique and played well with the heat without being overwhelmed, but I did miss the smokiness of real chipotle peppers. I also really liked the size and texture of the chips. Plus, they’re multitaskers!

(Nutrition Facts – 1 ounce/15 pieces – 150 calories, 80 calories from fat, 9 grams of total fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 0 grams of sugars, 2 grams of protein, and 2% vitamin A.)

Other Doritos Dinamita Chipotle Crema reviews:
Junk Food Guy
Chip Review
Original Borris (YouTube)

Item: Sabritas Doritos Dinamita Chipotle Crema Rolled Tortilla Chips
Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: 9 3/4 ounces
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Noticeable and enjoyable cream cheese flavor. Impromptu Spanish lesson. Builds up to a nice heat. Meta dip. Good size and texture. Multitasking snacks.
Cons: Missing chipotle smokiness. Ghost Doritos. Not fit for all dips. Getting tackled by TSA for trying out new Spanish words.

REVIEW: Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Ice Cream

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Ice Cream

You see, Ben & Jerry’s? You see what happens?

Oh, I know how you think. “Old dependable Drew, he’s always around. We can just release new flavors anytime and anywhere we please, and he’ll go out of his way to track them down. So predictable.”

Well, guess what?

Now you have a new flavor out, and I couldn’t find it. And instead of driving to twelve different stores chasing it, I looked right in front of me and saw something else: Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Ice Cream. And I chose it instead.

Sure, now you’ll realize your mistake and try to fix it. “We’ll release it to the grocery store closest to your house, Drew, we promise!” Sorry, Ben & Jerry’s. Too late. In this analogy, you’re the blonde cheerleader, and I’m Michael J. Fox, and Starbucks ice cream is the girl next door I always took for granted.

And also, I’m a werewolf.

So, to business. The carton bills this as swirled coffee and pumpkin spice ice creams. That’s not a typo, by the way — apparently the plural of ice cream is “ice creams.”

On the other hand, I’m a little suspicious about this container — the bar code is stamped over with a label reading “Sales Sample Not For Retail Sale,” although it still scanned at the self-checkout. Above it is more iffy spelling, “There’s a Starbucks in your freeze.”, followed by several sentences of what might be Latin or Italian or possibly Elvish.

I don’t know, I’m afraid to read it aloud for fear of invoking a demonic presence like Mephistopheles or Beetlejuice. (In all seriousness, it’s standard dummy text used in the printing industry. Though still possibly necromantic.) The whole thing is so damn weird that I’m including a picture, just so you don’t think I’m high as a monkey:

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Ice Cream 2

Right? After comparing it to pictures I’ve seen online, it certainly seems like they sold me a rough draft of this flavor, which hopefully is limited to the packaging, not the ice cream itself. (Oddities aside, the carton is cleverly designed to look like a Starbucks coffee cup, including little boxes with check marks through the “Pumpkin” and “Coffee” boxes.)

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Ice Cream 4

When you open the lid, you’re confronted with ice cream that’s a uniform beige color. It may be the least visually exciting dessert ever, but digging down a little deeper will reveal actual swirls of off-white mixed with the beige. I’m just guessing the off-white part is the pumpkin spice and the beige the coffee ice cream, but really, the whole thing could’ve used some orange food coloring. It’s pumpkin, guys, make it look like it.

And since that’s bound to be a question, yes, the pumpkin spice taste IS quite prominent, though not overwhelming. I enjoyed it without feeling like it was dominating my palate, though I did find that a little went a long way — this is an ice cream to have a few bites of every night for a week, rather than polishing off the entire pint in an evening. And while many products use the two terms synonymously, you’ll find there’s more of the spice flavor than of the pumpkin in this ice cream.

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Ice Cream 3

As for the “latte” element, the coffee ice cream component was noticeable and roughly as pronounced as the pumpkin spice. Personally I like the balance, but considering this is a Starbucks offering, if you’re looking for a bold coffee ice cream that’ll put you in your place, this isn’t it. I didn’t have any on hand, but I suspect some chocolate sauce would go really well with this dessert, for what that’s worth. There’s not much of an aftertaste — the flavor hits your taste buds immediately and then fades as soon as you swallow it, with just a tiny trace lingering. It also tastes sweet but not overly so; those of you turned off by excessive sugary flavor needn’t worry.

Overall, this is an enjoyable ice cream, though I wouldn’t really call it a “must try.” As the holiday season winds down, if you see a carton in the grocery store, go ahead and pick it up. (Assuming you have the cash to spare, anyway… at five bucks for a pint, this stuff ain’t cheap.) But no need to go out of your way to pick it up, since the holidays will be a distant memory before you’ve even finished with one pint.

(Nutrition Facts – 1/2 cup – 210 calories, 100 calories from fat, 11 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol, 50 milligrams of sodium, 23 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 21 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.)

Item: Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Ice Cream
Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: 1 pint
Purchased at: Acme
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Beta-testing ice cream. Good spice flavor mixed with decent coffee taste. Not overly sweet. Cool packaging. You won’t want to eat it all at once. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.
Cons: Description possibly written in ancient Sumerian. Looks incredibly bland. Like everything Starbucks makes, way too expensive. Cons ligula eget arcu hendrerit blandit.