Author: Holly

REVIEW: Popeyes Blackened Chicken Sandwich

Holly 12 Comments

It is undeniable the impact the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich continues to have on the fast food landscape over three years since it first debuted. With its newest offering, Popeyes is looking at the unbreaded chicken sandwich options and raising the bar yet again. The Popeyes Blackened Chicken Sandwich starts with a 12-hour marinated filet that is finished with a unique blend of spices that give the item a signature blackened flavor. After frying it, it’s placed on a brioche bun with crisp pickles and mayo (or spicy sauce if you opt for the Spicy version).

While I am a huge fan of the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich, I was a little worried about this new version. Unbreaded (“grilled”) chicken sandwiches at fast food restaurants are usually awful in my experience. They are often a bizarre textural blend of wet on the outside but dry on the inside. I also wanted to find out how the blackened flavor would be as I’ve had some instances where it overpowered the protein it’s used on.

The aromatic smell of the spices was absolutely delightful as I took the sandwich out of its bag. In case you’re not familiar, blackened seasoning is a blend of spices that usually has paprika as the base with cayenne pepper, onion powder, oregano, thyme, and garlic. Popeyes’ version adds three types of pepper (red, black, white) and cumin to give it a unique flavor profile.

The blend that Popeyes developed for this sandwich was perfect. It’s well balanced to have a bit of the peppery spice but not cross into painfully spicy. There was even a bit of sweetness in the seasoning that really pushed it over the edge in terms of deliciousness. Since this was an unbreaded filet, I was incredibly curious about how it would come out. My worries about it being overly dry were immediately put to rest as I cut the sandwich in half.

The outside of the filet was crisp but not dry, and the inside was incredibly juicy and tender. The mayo and pickles work well with the blackened seasoning by supporting it and not competing with it. The brioche bun elevates the whole thing by adding a slight sweetness. The first few bites were nearly perfect, until the chicken’s succulence started to create a soggy mess. I think the person who made the sandwich went a little heavy on the mayo, and the bun wasn’t nearly toasted enough to stand up to the components as they sat longer.

There is no doubt in my mind that Popeyes continues to set the bar when it comes to chicken sandwiches. Even though it wasn’t made “perfectly,” my sandwich was incredibly delicious. The blackened seasoning works well, the unbreaded chicken filet is extremely tasty, and when you get that bite with all the ingredients, it’s just an enjoyable flavor experience. I will absolutely get this again and look forward to trying the spicy variation.

Purchased Price: $4.99
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 550 calories, 29 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 90 milligrams of cholesterol, 1900 milligrams of sodium, 41 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 32 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Cookie Butter Cold Brew

Holly 3 Comments

Dunkin Cookie Butter Cold Brew Whole

Did you know that cookie butter has been around since 2007? It was first pitched on a Belgium TV competition show (similar to Shark Tank) and caught the attention of Lotus Biscoff. The sweet, spiced spread is a unique blend of flavors that I wasn’t sure Dunkin’ could capture in its newest holiday offering — the Cookie Butter Cold Brew.

Starting with the slow-steeped cold brew coffee, the drink is then sweetened with a brown sugar cookie flavor, topped with cookie butter cold foam, and finished with cookie butter crumbles. Being a cold brew fan, I was happy that the newest holiday drink wasn’t a hot beverage. Don’t get me wrong, I will absolutely enjoy a hot peppermint mocha the week of Christmas, even when the weather is still in the 80s, but I like to stick with cold drinks most of the time.

I was happy to see it look fairly close to the promotional materials. The first sip was mostly a mouthful of the crunchy cookie butter crumble, but once the cold brew broke through, I got a better sense of the overall drink. Unlike a majority of Dunkin’ coffee beverages I’ve tried, the sweetness level was much more measured. The balance of the spice from the cookie butter crumbles and cold foam cuts down on the cloyingly sweet nature of most Dunkin’ drinks.

Dunkin Cookie Butter Cold Brew Foam

Dunkin Cookie Butter Cold Brew Top

The cookie butter cold foam was delicious from the bit I could taste. Unfortunately, on the 10-minute ride home, it had all but dissolved into the beverage. While it was no longer as strong, it blended well by adding a creaminess to the strong cold brew. The brown sugar cookie flavor wasn’t as noticeable, but when competing with a very loud taste like cookie butter, that’s not a shock. I can’t speak on its comparison to the much missed Starbucks Gingerbread Latte, but the strong cookie butter flavor certainly invokes a gingerbread-like taste.

Dunkin Cookie Butter Cold Brew Dissolve

While the cold foam blended in well as it melted, the cookie butter crumbles didn’t fare so well. By the time I got home, half sat at the top like cereal floating on the cold brew, and the other half had sunk to the bottom. Mixing just made them smaller and created a weird mouth feel to the sips that were like wet sand.

Dunkin Cookie Butter Cold Brew Bottom

Dunkin Cookie Butter Cold Brew Topping

Dunkin’s Cookie Butter Cold Brew is a unique offering that, with those initial sips, brings a fun flavor to the chain’s holiday lineup. Unfortunately, if you are a slow drinker like myself, you risk it melting into a less pleasant drinking experience, texturally speaking. The overall flavor is wonderful, but not good enough for me to ignore the gritty crumble that settled to the bottom of my cup.

Purchased Price: $5.09
Size: Large
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 390 calories, 19 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 160 milligrams of sodium, 56 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 53 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Pizza Hut Supremo Detroit-Style Pizza

Holly 8 Comments

Pizza Hut Supremo Detroit Style Pizza Box

It wasn’t a conscious choice on my or my husband’s part, but we’ve slowly slipped into a routine where every Saturday is pizza for dinner. When the targeted Pizza Hut ad came across YouTube advertising the return of the Detroit-Style pizza, I knew where our next Saturday pizza would be coming from.

First introduced in January 2021, this is the third release of this limited-time-only pizza from the chain. A departure from its standard circular offerings, the Detroit-Style pizza stands out with its rectangular shape, thick crust, extra cheese, and sauce strips on top. When it comes to toppings, you can choose from three recipes or build your own. We went with the Supremo, a new option that included Italian sausage, green peppers, and red onions.

I missed out on trying the item the first two times, so I was excited to get a chance to taste it for myself. While I am very much in the camp of NY Style pizza, I have a soft spot for the thicker pan-pizzas. I was shocked by the box’s weight when I picked it up. It’s certainly a lot of pizza in a smaller container.

Pizza Hut Supremo Detroit Style Pizza Top

When opening the box, I couldn’t help but immediately notice the sauce unevenly globbed on top of the pizza. I expected this and was ready to spread it more evenly across the pizza with my spoon. Visually, the green peppers and Italian sausage were there and well distributed throughout the item. The red onions were, unfortunately, substituted with their boring cousin: white onions.

Pizza Hut Supremo Detroit Style Pizza Slice Smothered

I went for a corner like the packaging recommended for my first piece. My first bite was overwhelmingly dominated by Pizza Hut’s sweet sauce, and I had never realized how sweet it was until this moment. In an effort to taste more than just the sauce, I scraped some off the top. My second bite was much more enjoyable without the mouthful of sweet red sauce. The focaccia-like texture of the crust was absolutely delightful. It was light but also had a denseness that held up to the toppings.

The toppings were present but got a bit lost in the sauce, so to speak. The Italian sausage brought an earthy savoriness, and the green peppers brought a bright crispness to the pizza when you got a bite not drowning in sweet sauce. The onions were barely noticeable both in flavor and visually. The cheese was the star for me with this item. The salty, gooeyness helped save the pizza from being completely overwhelmed by the sauce and greatly improved my enjoyment of it.

Obviously, this is a popular item to be on its third limited edition run in less than two years, but it was middle-of-the-road for me. I liked the base, cheese, and toppings, but the sauce was a huge negative for my personal tastes. If it was a less sweet sauce, it might have been a hit for me, but as it is now, it’s not something I’d get again.

Purchased Price: $12.99
Size: N/A
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 square) 290 calories, 13 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 570 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 12 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Nutty Pumpkin Coffee

Holly 7 Comments

Dunkin Nutty Pumpkin Coffee Cup

Fall’s kick-off has (unofficially) become August 1st as the product boxes slowly shift towards the warm orange/red/yellows of the season. My inbox becomes a flurry of messages from stores letting me know what date they will start offering their various pumpkin-flavored items. After last year’s strong showing, I was looking forward to this year’s Dunkin’ pumpkin menu. The Nutty Pumpkin Coffee immediately caught my attention.

Starting with Dunkin’s Original Blend coffee, they add in a pumpkin spice swirl and hazelnut flavoring with a cream of your choice; you also can get it hot or iced. I was intrigued by the drink’s simplicity, especially compared to its cousin, the Pumpkin Spice Signature Latte. I generally dislike the pure pumpkin spice drinks as I find them thickly sweet. I like the flavor, but the sweetness is too much after about half.

Using the mobile ordering, I went for the iced version and oatmilk as my “cream.” Immediately, I was pleasantly surprised to not see that ring of flavoring that sometimes sinks to the bottom of Dunkin’ drinks. I still gave it a quick stir to make sure the components were mixed. With my first sip, I was greeted by a very smooth and delicious drink.

Dunkin Nutty Pumpkin Coffee Top

The blend of the coffee, pumpkin spice swirl, hazelnut flavor, and oatmilk offered the balanced fall beverage I had hoped for. During my mobile ordering, I noticed that the hazelnut is an unsweetened flavor, and I think that makes all the difference. The hazelnut added that nutty, earthy component I feel is often missing in pumpkin spice drinks. In this iteration, the pumpkin spice swirl still brought sweetness to the drink but didn’t overwhelm. The Original Blend Dunkin’ coffee adds the perfect amount of richness to the drink. The oatmilk also played a part in bringing down the overall sugariness, and it added that creamy deliciousness I look for in an iced coffee.

For me, Dunkin’ tends to be a bit of a wild card when it comes to its offerings, so having this drink being such an enjoyable experience was awesome. The Nutty Pumpkin Coffee was a pleasant surprise and a great kick-off to pumpkin spice season. It hits all the fall notes and gives me that autumn-in-a-cup experience that I enjoy while still wearing flip-flops and tank tops in 95-degree heat.

Purchased Price: $2.89
Size: Medium
Rating: 10 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 260 calories, 9 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 130 milligrams of sodium, 39 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 38 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Little Caesars Old World Fanceroni Pepperoni Pizza

Holly 20 Comments

Little Caesars Old World Fanceroni Pepperoni Pizza Whole

“Over 100 crispy Old World Pepperonis.”

I muttered that to myself while wiping the grease off my fingers. Another 10 counted. Another tally mark. I certainly questioned my sanity a few times over the counting process. It looked to be over a hundred, so why not just make up some random number? Nay, dear readers. This site has the utmost integrity, and if Little Caesars claimed over 100 pepperonis, we’re going to fact-check it for you.

The Little Caesars Old World Fanceroni Pepperoni Pizza is the current specialty item from the pizza chain. Claiming to be covered in over 100 crispy old world pepperonis, this large pizza is a step up from the chain’s regular pepperoni pizza. Old world pepperoni is fairly different from the standard stuff in several ways. It’s cut thicker, which is one of the causes for its signature curl and cup shape after cooking. It’s also made with natural casings and a different fermentation process to give us a richer, spicier flavor. My introduction to them has only happened within the last few years, and I adore them.

Little Caesars Old World Fanceroni Pepperoni Pizza Slice

So it was a no-brainer that I would try Little Caesars’ take on my favorite little grease cups. At first look, the pizza didn’t quite get the “all the way to the edge” pepperoni coverage as advertised. In fact, it was a messy looking pizza. I tried a slice before the great count began (there were 11 of them) to make sure I tasted it as intended. The old world slices were perfect: a little spicy, rich, greasy, and crispy around the edges.

The higher quality pepperonis really elevated the entire experience. Little Caesars pizza tends to be a few levels above frozen pizza for me (sorry, devotees), but the higher-end topping made it feel more luxurious. I wouldn’t have guessed I was eating a Little Caesars pizza. The crust, sauce, and cheese don’t stand out as particularly good or bad. They’re merely a vehicle for the over 100 pepperonis.

Little Caesars Old World Fanceroni Pepperoni Pizza Mountain

Little Caesars Old World Fanceroni Pepperoni Pizza Bare

Now, the thing I’m sure some of you have been scanning for: The total I got was…(drum roll) 111! There is a margin of error of +/- 3 pepperonis thanks to my husband’s sneaky little fingers, but I’m confident in it being over the promised 100 slices.

Little Caesars Old World Fanceroni Pepperoni Pizza Total

While I enjoyed this offering from Little Caesars, I want to emphasize the old world style pepperoni is the predominant flavor and overshadows the rest of the pizza’s ingredients. The grease level is pretty high (I mean, 111 slices will do that), and it might be too much for some. I’m already planning to order it again (let’s see if I can get it on the Detroit-style crust), but my old world pepperoni quota will be fulfilled for a bit after that.

Purchased Price: $9.99
Size: Large
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1/8 pizza) 378 calories, 19 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 44 milligrams of cholesterol, 863 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 18 grams of protein.