REVIEW: Milk Bar Candy Cane Chocolate Chip Cornflake Ice Cream

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Milk Bar Candy Cane Chocolate Chip Cornflake Ice Cream Pint

What is Milk Bar Candy Cane Chocolate Chip Cornflake Ice Cream?

It’s a mouthful in every sense! True to the Milk Bar standard, this ice cream loads in the flavors and textures to your heart’s content. Packed into the seasonal candy cane cookie dough flavored ice cream are crushed candy cane bits, chocolate-flavored chunks, a gooey marshmallow swirl, and the renowned cornflake crunch.

Milk Bar Candy Cane Chocolate Chip Cornflake Ice Cream Bowl

How is it?

The ice cream base was a perfect mix of sweet candy peppermint flavor and toasty, buttery cookie dough flavor. Really impressive and not at all overwhelming in mint, as some minty ice creams can be. Plus, despite having a reindeer line-up’s worth of inclusions, everything was noticeably present and accounted for upon the first scoop.

Milk Bar Candy Cane Chocolate Chip Cornflake Ice Cream Marshmallow

I quickly encountered a large swirl of gooey marshmallows and was surprised by how much marshmallow flavor it really had. You lose the marshmallow flavor somewhat when this swirl isn’t the majority of a bite, as it’s the most subtle flavor of the lot. That being said, I thought it was authentic and a fun texture change true to the gooey description.

The candy cane crunchies and chocolate-flavored pieces were pretty standard and added a nice crunch and sweetness without being too waxy. Nothing overly innovative there, but they balance out the other sweet and creative inclusions.

Milk Bar Candy Cane Chocolate Chip Cornflake Ice Cream Cornflakes

The real pay dirt of this ice cream is the cornflake crunch. Anyone who has attempted to bake the Momofuku Milk Bar cookies will recognize this golden nugget of an ingredient. I found a large pocket of cornflake crunch and dug right in. This was my favorite part of this ice cream by far, as it delivered crunch, cereal milk sweetness, and a buttery balance.

Anything else you need to know?

Just like its Gingerbread counterpart, this flavor is seasonal. So don’t cut it down to the wire like a Turbo Man shopping trip. Go find this flavor now while you still can.

Conclusion:

Despite a possibly overwhelming number of inclusions, this ice cream was balanced in sweetness and texture variety. The cornflake crunch stood out, while the candy cane crunch and chocolate-flavored pieces helped round out the standard expectations. One of the better iterations of a mint ice cream I’ve ever had.

Purchased Price: $5.99
Size: 14 oz
Purchased at: Whole Foods
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup) 380 calories, 21 grams of fat, 13 grams of saturated fat, 85 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 41 grams of carbohydrates, <1 grams of fiber, 33 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Popeyes Megan Thee Stallion Hottie Sauce

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Popeyes Megan Thee Stallion Hottie Sauce Container 1

Much like its quick service brethren, Popeyes has hopped on the celebrity endorsement train with its new Megan Thee Stallion Hottie Sauce.

But this isn’t just a launch it and leave it situation. Megan Thee Stallion has apparently been heavily involved in the development of the sauce, a co-branded line of merchandise, a philanthropic commitment to donate to Houston Random Acts of Kindness, and a franchise agreement with the intent to open as many as five new Popeyes restaurants. Now that’s a partnership. I hope they give her some artistic freedom to make her franchise locations road-trip worthy because I would definitely go to a Megan Thee Stallion Popeyes.

Alright, on to the sauce.

Popeyes offers the Hottie sauce on either its new(ish) chicken nuggets or its infamous chicken sandwich. I opted for the 8-piece nuggets because I wanted to be able to focus on the sauce. The order came with two dip cups, which I think is standard for an 8 piece, so that’s a strategic bonus if you’re looking to try the sauce and save one for later.

Popeyes Megan Thee Stallion Hottie Sauce Container

At first glance, this sauce looks an awful lot like Popeyes’ Sweet Heat sauce, a well-established sauce that’s basically diluted honey and hot sauce. Noting visual differences, the Hottie sauce is richer in color and has flakes of red pepper throughout, which made me hopeful it would live up to its “Hottie” name.

Still, there’s a lot of internet speculation going around saying that the two sauces are the same. Let me just Poindexter that one real quick by clarifying that, technically/legally they have different ingredient lines, which means that by definition they are NOT the exact same sauce. But, yeah, they are similar.

The Hottie sauce has a sweet flavor up front, reminiscent of honey or sweet and sour sauce, and then builds a bit of heat in a nice balanced “oh this has hot sauce in it” gradual manner. I really enjoy spicy things, and I think the Hottie sauce falls into the same heat realm as the Popeyes “spicy” chicken tenders. That is, this could be hotter and I wouldn’t be mad.

Maybe Megan Thee Stallion was using the word “hottie” a la hot girl summer more so than an indication that the sauce was spicy. Oh well, a heat level to appease the masses isn’t entirely surprising from a major food chain. It definitely has a bit more kick than the Sweet Heat sauce.

Popeyes Megan Thee Stallion Hottie Sauce Closeup

I also thought the consistency of the sauce was spot on. I could dip a nugget or a chicken strip into this sauce and get a hefty amount of cling with limited drippage. Technical terms.

Popeyes Megan Thee Stallion Hottie Sauce One Sauce

Overall I’d say this sauce is delicious. It falls a bit short in the innovation space since it’s very similar to the Sweet Heat sauce, and with the word “hottie” in the name, I had expected it to be a touch spicier, but it’s certainly not bad. I don’t know if I’ll ask for this sauce again, but I hope to visit a Stallion franchise location someday.

Purchased Price: $4.99 for 8 Nuggets and 2 Sauce Packets
Size: 0.90 oz.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Not available online for the Hottie sauce.

REVIEW: Clif Cereal

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Clif Cereal Boxes

Have you ever thought about the relative aisle spaces allotted to the different categories within a grocery store? Who dictates that there only be, say, ten feet devoted to granola bars competing for the attention of shoppers’ gaze and wallets while cereal gets its own exhaustive full-length aisle of sometimes 20 feet or more?

Well, someone must think of these things, and I imagine at least one of those people works for Clif Bar. Because the red-shirted carabining brand has climbed its way out singular bar form and is expanding into cereals with four new Clif Cereal Flavors: Honey & Peanut Butter, Apple Cinnamon & Almond Butter, Chocolate & Peanut Butter, and Blueberry & Almond Butter.

I could only find three of the four, so this review will exclude the Apple Cinnamon & Almond Butter flavor, much to my chagrin.

Clif Cereal Inside Boxes(From L to R) Blueberry & Almond Butter, Chocolate & Peanut Butter, and Honey & Peanut Butter

Upon initial opening, these looked ehhhh healthy, brown, and not unlike granola with the surprisingly high number of whole nuts and clusters visible. But, to be honest, I was somewhat relieved to see some big pieces of inclusions because each box was just shy of $7, which seems like a lot for cereal unless it contains whole almonds.

Honey & Peanut Butter

Clif Cereal Honey Peanut Butter

I started with the Honey & Peanut Butter one, figuring it would be the most subtle. It appears all of the flavors have the same base multigrain flake, but this one also had plain dry roasted peanuts, granola-type clusters, and crunchy rice puffs covered in a peanut butter flavored coating.

The coating reminded me of that yogurt-type stuff on the bottom of some granola bars. When eaten dry, this cereal is rrroouuugh. The front of the box touts “40% less sugar than leading cereal brands,” and boy do I believe them. As someone who tends to enjoy cereal dry or with milk, I was concerned. But THANKFULLY, a little milk goes a long way here.

What happens is the milk sort of dissolves the peanut butter coating on the clusters and at the same time softens the “oh yeah, these contain fiber” multigrain flakes. The result is a more evenly distributed sweetness and almost creaminess in each bite. Really delightful and peanut-butter-like without being TOO sweet.

Purchased Price: $6.97
Size: 15 oz box
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 6 out of 10 (dry), 7 out of 10 (with milk)
Nutrition Facts: (3/4 cup) 240 Calories, 9 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 3 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 3.5 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 105 milligrams of sodium, 38 grams of carbohydrates, 7 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, 5 grams of added sugar, and 8 grams of protein.

Chocolate & Peanut Butter

Clif Cereal Chocolate Peanut Butter

The chocolate peanut butter variety, though, never really made the same comeback. This box had the same flakes, the same peanut-coated clusters (although for some reason, they were HUGE in this box), and granola clusters with unsweetened cocoa.

When eaten dry, I couldn’t really discern any cocoa flavor at all. It was mostly just bitter and dry. When consumed with milk, the same peanut-butter-meldy thing took place, but I struggled to taste any chocolate because there was only unsweetened cocoa. I was underwhelmed, especially in a cereal world with a clearly dominant chocolate PB combo player.

Purchased Price: $6.97
Size: 15 oz box
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10 (dry), 5 out of 10 (with milk)
Nutrition Facts: (3/4 cup) 240 calories, 7 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 2.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 2.5 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 40 grams of carbohydrates, 8 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, 6 grams of added sugar, and 8 grams of protein.

Blueberry & Almond Butter

Clif Cereal Blueberry Almond Butter

The most visually impressive BY FAR was the Blueberry & Almond Butter. There were whole dried blueberries, whole almonds, pumpkin seeds, granola clusters, our favorite little almond butter cluster dudes — this had it all!

I skipped straight to trying this with milk, and it was fantastic. There seemed to be tiny little blueberry bits throughout the cereal and clusters, making the whole bowl have a sweet, cohesive, fruity flavor immediately. I noticed that the sugar claim is only “30% less” on this box, which means I found the variety with the most sugar to be the most delicious. Surprise! Surprise!

But I think there’s something to be said about the perfect balance of whole grain goodness and fruit-derived sweetness when enjoying a breakfast cereal (or a granola bar, for that matter). I did try this one dry as well for posterity, and it was quite a bit more like a trail mix than the others. The blueberries really carried their weight here.

Purchased Price: $6.97 each
Size: 15 oz box
Purchased at: WalMart
Rating: 7 out of 10 (dry), 8 out of 10 (with milk)
Nutrition Facts: (3/4 cup) 240 calories, 8 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 2 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 3.5 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 39 grams of carbohydrates, 8 grams of fiber, 7 grams of sugar, 5 grams of added sugar, 8 grams of protein.

Overall, Clif has launched cereals that stay true to the established brand expectations of Clif Bar. They are reasonably high in protein, as far as cereals go, and offer a decent amount of fiber and whole grains without nearly as much sugar as other options. They certainly fill you up without feeling like you’re actively creating cavities.

However, I think the Blueberry option, which had slightly more sugar and a blanket of fruity blueberry to meld everything together, reigns supreme. I imagine the Apple Cinnamon SKU would be decent for similar reasons. I would steer clear of the Chocolate Peanut Butter option.

REVIEW: Lay’s Summer BLT, Chile Mango, and Wavy Jerk Chicken Potato Chips

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Lay s Summer 2021 Flavors

Some industries are inherently more lighthearted than others. Not everyone can save lives every day; some people have to go to work and invent new potato chip flavors!

Okay, maybe “have to” isn’t the most accurate verbiage. But when I think of these industry professionals, specifically at Frito-Lay, my biggest hope and expectation is that somewhere within that company is a running list of EVERY variety they’ve ever commercialized. “The List” of everything from the all-star favorites like the day they stumbled upon Sour Cream & Onion perfection to the more recent cringe marketing stunts like Cappuccino…whuff.

Something about the idea of this compiled data set makes me grateful for humanity and our quirks. The latest additions to The List are the 2021 summer flavor line-up of Summer BLT, Chile Mango, and Wavy Jerk Chicken.

My first impression of this line is that the bags are gorgeous. Maybe a blend of food illustrations and actual images isn’t to everyone’s taste, but I thought they were vibrant. There were WAY more images of the ingredients on these bags than other Lay’s varieties which made me wonder if I should expect bolder flavor profiles overall.

Summer BLT

Lay s Summer BLT

I’m not sure a “summer” BLT is really a thing, but maybe this is Frito Lay’s attempt to designate between the Classic BLT chips of 2012, the BLT reboot of 2017, and this latest endeavor. Overall, I would categorize these as delicate. The flavor is light, and if I were eating anything else at the same time, I don’t think I’d taste much.

I was obviously expecting to taste bacon, but oddly there wasn’t really much of it or any smokiness. Actually, these chips tasted like mayonnaise and lettuce. There was a sweetness that might have been an attempt at tomato, but overall these were subtle and underwhelming.

Purchased Price: $3.79
Size: 7 3/4 oz bag
Purchased at: Jewel-Osco
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (about 15 chips) – 150 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 150 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

Chile Mango

Lay s Chile Mango

These were certainly not lacking in flavor. The mango comes through bright and sweet, possibly too sweet for some, but definitely on the nose. These chips are TASTY. Usually, my biggest issue with spicy fruit combos is the heavy-handed use of lime, but that’s not the case with these chips. Could they be spicier? Definitely, but overall these are a fantastic blend of sweet mango and savory spice, and I intend to crush at least half the remaining bag while sipping a margarita in the sunshine.

Purchased Price: $3.79
Size: 7 3/4 oz bag
Purchased at: Jewel-Osco
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (about 15 chips) – 150 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

Wavy Jerk Chicken

Lay s Wavy Jerk Chicken

Last but certainly not least is the Wavy Jerk Chicken chip, and let’s just say there’s A LOT going on here. I tasted brown sugar, a floral spice, heat, savory garlic, and that smoky and brothy flavor that Lay’s has used multiple times to deliver the taste of charred chicken. They didn’t really meld together so much as each one shows up in a flash before the next comes barreling in.

The aftertaste is like I just ate jerk chicken, but I’m not sure the chips taste that way. They are full of flavor, though. Possibly so much so that I wouldn’t want to eat much more than a serving.

Purchased Price: $3.79
Size: 7 1/2 oz bag
Purchased at: Jewel-Osco
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (about 15 chips) – 150 calories, 9 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 130 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

Overall, I think these new flavors show a wide range of trendy complex flavors, but they each miss the mark by enough in their own way that I would be surprised if they stuck around longer than a single season. Not to worry, though, I’m sure Frito-Lay is already cookin’ up the next flavors to add to The List.

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Special Edition Krave Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cereal

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Kellogg s Special Edition Krave Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cereal Box

What is Kellogg’s Krave Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cereal?

Well, it’s NOT Krave cereal stuffed full of cookie dough so, sigh that breath of disappointment now. You probably should have been able to figure that out from looking at the box, though, so I’m not going to let you mope about it for very long. This new special edition Krave cereal has a cookie dough flavored outside and the signature chocolate inside that Krave enthusiasts, uh, crave.

Kellogg s Special Edition Krave Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cereal 2

How is it?

For a cereal to attempt to be cookie dough in a world where there are literally cereals made of tiny little cookies is pretty brave, Krave. The sugar saturated air that escapes when you open the box is familiar, expected, and isn’t unlike cookie dough aroma. The little cereal pieces themselves have tiny chocolate freckles on the outside sugar coating, which is unique to this flavor and appreciated by this reviewer for the appetite appeal when trying to convince me that this tastes like cookie dough.

Kellogg s Special Edition Krave Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cereal 3

Trying the cereal plain, the crunchy pieces are definitely chocolatey, and the sweet sugar coating adds a different flavor, but it’s not overwhelmingly cookie dough-like. The biggest challenge is that the taste of cookie dough goes hand in hand with the texture of cookie dough. These cereal pieces are yummy, but I’m not getting very much of the raw flour, raw vanilla, gooey butter flavors of cookie dough.

Kellogg s Special Edition Krave Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cereal 4

How is it with milk, though?

It’s a pretty remarkably different experience when you eat this with milk. The cereal buoys take on milk like a sponge, and the texture shift makes each bite so much closer to the texture of cookie dough. The flavor is still not spot on, but there are hints of eggy doughy notes that come through. Like most Krave cereals, it’s sort of a race to eat it before the whole bowl turns to one amalgam of soft, but who isn’t up for a speed challenge in the morning, right?

Kellogg s Special Edition Krave Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cereal 5

Kellogg s Special Edition Krave Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cereal 2

Anything else you need to know?

Upon reviewing a cross-section, I’m sure it’s no shock that the chocolate insides definitely don’t “ooze” out of the cereal the way the image on the box depicts. Maybe if you microwaved it? Don’t do that.

Conclusion:

All in all, I’m more convinced than ever that the taste profile of cookie dough is elusive and complex. This special edition Krave is grasping at straws trying to hit that flavor if you eat it dry. But try it with milk and I think most people will think to themselves, “Yeah, okay, sure,” while merrily gobbling down these sugar nuggets.

Purchased Price: $3.79
Size: 16.7 oz box
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 5 out of 10 (dry), 7 out of 10 (with milk)
Nutrition Facts: (1 cup dry) 170 Calories, 4 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 135 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 16 grams of sugar (includes 15 grams of added sugar), and 2 grams of protein.

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