Author: Marvo

REVIEW: Jack in the Box Outlaw Spicy Chicken Sandwich

Marvo 11 Comments

Outlaw Spicy Chicken Sandwich

Over the past few weeks, something disturbing has been appearing in my dreams. No matter how hard I try, it’s an image I can’t get out of my head and it’s been causing me to wake up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat.

No, it’s not Nancy Grace’s nipple. Although, now that I’ve brought it up, it’ll probably start materializing during my REM sleep as well.

The image that’s been appearing regularly in my dreams, and turning them into nightmares, is the woman at the end of the Jack in the Box Outlaw Burger/Outlaw Spicy Chicken Sandwich commercial who yells, “Ride that spicy chicken!” If you haven’t seen the commercial, it’s embedded below:

There’s something about her that scares me. It could be her teeth. It could be her eyebrows. It could be the way she said her line in the commercial. Or it could be the way I think her mouth is going to unhinge when she tries to eat that Outlaw Spicy Chicken Sandwich in her hand. Whatever it is, it’s made me not want to try the Jack in the Box Outlaw Spicy Chicken Sandwich.

But I figured since I already reviewed the Jack in the Box Outlaw Burger, I should complete the fast food bifecta and also try the Outlaw Spicy Chicken Sandwich.

The sandwich is made using a spicy crispy chicken filet topped with onion rings, cheese, hickory smoked bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and bourbon BBQ sauce on a sesame seed bun. It uses the same chicken patty that comes with Jack’s regular Spicy Chicken Sandwich. I don’t consider the patty very spicy. To me, it has a very mild heat. It’s noticeable, but I don’t feel the need to have any cool liquids handy when I eat it.

Just like the Outlaw Burger I tried, there wasn’t a lot of BBQ sauce on my Outlaw Spicy Chicken Sandwich, which was disappointing since it’s the best part of the sandwich. The slices of bacon were a little crispy and added some flavor, the onion rings need to be improved, and the cheese provided very little flavor. But overall, the Outlaw Spicy Chicken Sandwich is good and I’ll be sad to see it go since it’s a limited time offer.

Actually, I take that back. I’ll be glad to see it go because that means I’ll won’t have to see the Outlaw Spicy Chicken Sandwich commercial anymore.

(Nutrition Facts – 1 sandwich – 771 calories, 294 calories from fat, 32 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 82 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,859 milligrams of sodium, 648 milligrams of potassium, 80 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 13 grams of sugar, and 37 grams of protein.)

Item: Jack in the Box Outlaw Spicy Chicken Sandwich
Price: $7.98 (combo)
Size: Medium combo
Purchased at: Jack in the Box
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Good chicken sandwich. BBQ sauce is good. It’s got vegetables. Has a nice heft to it. Good source of protein. Completing a fast food bifecta.
Cons: Spicy chicken patty not as spicy as I would like. Needs more BBQ sauce. Onion rings need to be improved. Nancy Grace’s nipple. The end of the JITB Outlaw Spicy Chicken Sandwich commercial.

REVIEW: Mountain Dew 2011 Game Fuel Tropical

Marvo 13 Comments

Mountain Dew Game Fuel Tropical

I’m so ready to get my hardcore gaming on now that I’ve completed my thumb stretching exercises and I have a bottle of the new Mountain Dew Game Fuel Tropical. The 121 milligrams of caffeine in the 20-ounce bottle is enough energy to get me through a few hours of a crazy all-night shooting and carnage marathon.

Mountain Dew brought back their Game Fuel line to help promote the upcoming game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. But since it’s currently October and the game doesn’t come out until November, my shooting and carnage marathon consists of playing Angry Birds: Episode 6: Mine and Dine.

The caffeine surging through my body is making me so amped about doing things to wood, ice, and stone that only karate black belts do to demonstrate their skills. And, I’m ready to do things to pigs that only magicians can do — make them disappear in a puff of smoke.

I’m not sure how long it’s going to take for me to conquer every single level, but I imagine I’m going to need every single milligram of caffeine Mountain Dew Game Fuel Tropical provides because Angry Birds is a total time sink and I could easily end up playing for six hours straight and not even notice the sun went down and I skipped two meals.

But who needs meals when I have Mountain Dew Game Fuel Tropical to sustain me. The 290 calories in each 20-ounce bottle is roughly the same amount I can get with a Lean Cuisine meal, so it’s like a meal in a bottle. Sure, it’s what all nutritionists call “empty calories,” but if they’re so empty, why do they make me fat?

The soda’s green color is slightly darker than regular Mountain Dew and its color also makes it look like I can use it to clean my toilet, floors, and countertops, which I wouldn’t recommend, unless you love ants or are curious about what it feels like to be standing in a roach motel, if you use it as a floor cleaner.

The bottle says it has a “charge of tropical flavor,” which, before I drank it, hoped it didn’t mean lime, because that would be super silly since they currently have a lime-flavored Dew with their Taco Bell-exclusive Baja Blast and had a limited edition lime-flavored Dew called Distortion. Well, it turned out to be lime, but not as strong as the other two flavors I mentioned. Its lime flavor was so light that at times, while drinking it, I thought it kind of tasted like regular Mountain Dew. So it’s really not a “charge of tropical flavor,” it’s more like a light petting of tropical flavor.

Mountain Dew Game Fuel Tropical isn’t horrible, but it tastes as if not a lot of effort was put into it. If Mountain Dew put in the same amount of effort I put into completing every Angry Birds level, perhaps they would’ve come up with something better than Mountain Dew Game Fuel Tropical.

(Nutrition Facts – 20 ounces – 290 calories, 0 grams of fat, 110 milligrams of sodium, 77 grams of carbohydrates, 77 grams of sugar, 0 grams of protein.)

Item: Mountain Dew 2011 Game Fuel Tropical
Price: $1.50
Size: 20 ounces
Purchased at: 7-Eleven
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Not horrible. 121 milligrams of caffeine per 20-ounce bottle. Code under the bottle cap can be used to to double XP while playing Call of Duty: MW3. My mad Angry Birds skills.
Cons: Despite its color it’s not good for cleaning floors. Tastes like not a lot of effort was put into the flavor since it tastes similar to others. Doesn’t taste like it contains “a charge of tropical flavor.” Sore thumbs from mashing buttons for hours.

REVIEW: BK Chef’s Choice Burger

Marvo 23 Comments

BK Chef's Choice Burger

Smokey the Bear taught me only I can prevent forest fires. Bell Biv DeVoe instructed I should never trust a big butt and a smile. And, Chef Boyardee made me learn to not have high expectations when it comes to foods with the word “chef” in its name. So I’m a little skeptical about the new BK Chef’s Choice Burger from the Home of the Whopper.

Burger King’s latest burger is constructed using a flame-broiled 5.5-ounce burger patty, American cheese, thick hardwood-smoked bacon, romaine lettuce, red onions, tomatoes, BK’s original grill sauce, and a Brioche bun.

It looks and sounds good, but, to be honest, so does a big butt and a smile. Speaking of things that are round and juicy, perhaps the most interesting part of the burger is the beef patty, which, according to the BK website, is made using United States Department of Agriculture-certified ground chuck and is seasoned with salt and pepper.

The USDA certification kind of worries me, but not about the BK Chef’s Choice Burger. I’m worried about everything else on the menu. I might be mistaken, but it’s the first time Burger King has ever used the USDA card to describe their meat. So it makes me wonder if their other beef, like the flame-broiled patty on the Whopper, is USDA-certified.

The BK Chef’s Choice Burger was smaller than I thought it was going to be. It’s roughly the size of a McDonald’s Big Mac. Just like the recent BK Toppers, the BK Chef’s Choice Burger has a thick patty. The seasoned ground chuck was a good choice because it created a flavorful meat disc. The puck of ground chuck was a little dry and I couldn’t taste the salt and pepper, but it was good nonetheless.

The BK grill sauce had a really tasty peppery parmesan flavor. It reminded me of a caesar salad dressing. Just like the use of ground chuck, I thought it was a good choice to put on the BK Chef’s Choice Burger. The Brioche bun was soft, pleasant, and held together as my mouth made its way through the burger. The use of romaine lettuce was surprising and it’s definitely a step up from the pale, pathetic lettuce they use on their other burgers. But the tomatoes were the same old tomatoes and the cheese was the typical cheese. As for the red onions, they had a nice mild flavor that complemented the flavor of the ground chuck patty.

You might be wondering why I haven’t mentioned anything about the thick hardwood-smoked bacon. Well, let’s just say that little piggy didn’t go wee wee wee all the way into my burger, thanks to a Burger King cook. Am I disappointed there wasn’t any bacon? Of course. But even without the bacon, I think the BK Chef’s Choice Burger is really good.

However, I do have a problem with its price. I understand that it’s being marketed as a premium burger and it should have a price that matches, but when I look at the size of the burger, I can’t help but feel kind of ripped off. As I mentioned earlier, the BK Chef’s Choice Burger is about the size of a Big Mac, which in this day and age of Angus Third Pounders is kind of small. I paid $6.49 for just the sandwich, but even if I paid a dollar less, I would still feel like I’m not getting my money’s worth.

(Nutrition Facts – 650 calories, 40 grams of fat, 15 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 100 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,330 milligrams of sodium, 40 grams of carbohydrates, 7 grams of sugar, and 33 grams of protein.)

Other BK Chef’s Choice Burger reviews:
Grub Grade

Item: BK Chef’s Choice Burger
Price: $6.49 (sandwich only)
Size: N/A
Purchased at: Burger King
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Really good burger. BK Grill Sauce was really good. Ground chuck patty was good. Getting to quote Bell Biv DeVoe. Romaine lettuce is a step up from the usual pale lettuce BK uses.
Cons: Pricey for the size of the burger. My burger didn’t come with bacon. Never trust a big butt and a smile. Typical BK tomatoes. USDA certification for the meat in this burger makes me wonder about their other burgers.

NEWS: Keep Santa Jolly By Leaving Him Frosted Sugar Cookie Pop-Tarts On Christmas Eve

Marvo 6 Comments

Sugar Cookie Pop-Tarts on Shelf

Update: Click here to read our Frosted Sugar Cookie Pop-Tarts review

Over the past few years, Kellogg’s has been producing their Limited Edition Printed Fun Gingerbread Pop-Tarts for the holiday season. These Pop-Tarts have images of what appears to be spray tan addicted folks skiing and snowboarding.

This holiday season, Kellogg’s is not only re-releasing Gingerbread Pop-Tarts, it’s also introducing the Limited Edition Printed Fun Frosted Sugar Cookie Pop-Tarts. According to the Kellogg’s website the limited edition Pop-Tart is, “Topped with white icing and fun, wintery pictures of decorated cookies, these pastries have delicious sugar cookie dough baked inside a sugar cookie crust.”

The “wintery pictures” on the Frosted Sugar Cookie Pop-Tarts don’t consist of spray tanned skiers or snowboarders. Instead, they have slightly less creepy images like a polar bear ice skating and a penguin wearing earmuffs and a scarf.

A Kellogg’s Printed Fun Frosted Sugar Cookie Pop-Tarts have 200 calories, 50 calories from fat, 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 2 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 1 gram of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 14 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein, and a bunch of vitamins and minerals.

Source: Kellogg’s website

PRIZE DRAWING: Because I Love Target, Even Though They Have Slightly Higher Prices Than Other Big-Box Stores

Marvo 279 Comments

Target has plastic carts

I go to Target a lot.

I know my nearest Target store so well that you could tell me a product to find, blindfold me, and I’ll bring that product to you within 10 minutes, while causing hundreds of dollars in damages and probably accidental groping as my hands feel what’s in front of me.

I have a deep fondness for Target because I can almost always find something new to review, I love their clearance shelves, and they have sexy, curvy red carts. Sure, Target is a little pricer than other big-box stores, but it’s the only place I can buy Hello Kitty Duct Tape.

So to celebrate my love of Target, The Impulsive Buy will be giving away a $25 Target gift card to one lucky reader.

To enter The Impulsive Buy’s Target gift card drawing, leave a comment with THIS post. I don’t care what you say in your comment, but it would be nice if you tried to convince me I’m wrong about Target by saying something bad about it or support my belief that Target is 1,000,000 times better than Kmart.

Please don’t forget to fill out the email field because I’ll be emailing the winner for his or her mailing address. The Impulsive Buy will stop accepting entries on Friday, October 28, 2011 11:59 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time. Only one comment allowed per person, and it’s only open to U.S. residents who are at least 18 years old.

For those of you who have a Twitter account, you can get an additional entry by tweeting the following by Friday, October 28, 2011 11:59 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time:

@theimpulsivebuy I wonder if Kmart stores dream about being Target stores.

So just copy, paste, and tweet. Only one tweet per Twitter account.

Good luck!

Fine Print: Target is not affiliated with this prize drawing. The Impulsive Buy promises your email address will not be used to send you email asking if you’d like female enhancement. The Impulsive Buy also promises your mailing address will not be used to send you AARP mailings. Bribes will not be accepted. The Impulsive Buy will not be responsible for lost mail, damaged mail, or you having to shop at Kmart.

Image via flickr user Collin Anderson / CC BY 2.0