REVIEW: Ritz Crackers (Garlic Butter and Honey Wheat)

Ritz Crackers (Garlic Butter and Honey Wheat)

Through my experiences, I’ve learned if you’re at a party that’s serving Ritz crackers as hors d’oeuvres, you should walk out as soon as possible. Because it’s probably going to be either a party filled with people spitting crumbs while they talk about things that bore you or you’re about to watch a timeshare presentation.

Let’s face it. Ritz Crackers have never lived up to their name. If you live in a wealthy, gated community and you offer Ritz Crackers to your haughty guests, you will probably be punished by the neighborhood association and banned for life from any ritzy activities, like dinner parties, hunting endangered species, orgies, or whatever rich people in gated communities do for fun. They’re a step above saltines and oyster crackers, but many steps below any cracker found next to the Stinking Bishop and Neufchâtel cheeses.

Not even serving the new Ritz Cracker varieties — Garlic Butter and Honey Wheat — could prevent rich folks from getting banned from their neighborhood polo match or losing their opportunity to be a part of a human hunting expedition on a private island in the Bahamas.

Honey Wheat Ritz Crackers appear to be “healthy” because it has the word “wheat” in its name and each cracker provides one gram of whole grain, which allows eaters to physically count the number of whole grain they’re consuming. So if you want to get the daily recommended 48 grams of whole grain by eating nothing but Honey Wheat Ritz Crackers, you’ll have to eat one and a half of the four sleeves in the Ritz box.

Or, if eating 48 crackers in one sitting isn’t your thing, you could also eat six bowls of Lucky Charms.

The Honey Wheat Ritz Crackers have a decent sweet and salty flavor, but I thought the honey flavor could’ve been amped up a little. Its sweetness is light enough that I don’t think a bee would touch it with a 10-foot stinger. I think it tastes like another Nabisco cracker, but because they produce enough cracker varieties to dry my mouth if I were to either eat them all one after another or say their names one after another, I’m not sure which one it is. Also, the whole grain is a little noticeable in the cracker’s flavor and texture.

I think the Garlic Butter Ritz Crackers taste slightly better than the Honey Wheat. Although, at times, the cracker’s garlic flavor confused my tongue into thinking I was eating something slightly burnt. But then again, maybe me tasting something burnt could just be a symptom of a rare medical condition.

Or maybe I watch too much House, M.D..

The pleasant garlic flavor is mild and does linger in your mouth after eating them, so I’d recommend having a mint or piece of gum afterwards.

Or stop being a mouthbreather.

(Nutrition Facts – 5 crackers – Garlic Butter – 80 calories, 4 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat*, 2 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 1 gram of monounsaturated fat, 110 milligrams of sodium, 10 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and less than 1 gram of protein. Honey Wheat – 80 calories, 4 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat*, 2 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 0.5 grams of monounsaturated fat, 110 milligrams of sodium, 10 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.)

*Uses partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil

Item: Ritz Crackers (Garlic Butter and Honey Wheat)
Price: $3.00 each (on sale)
Size: 15.1 ounces
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Garlic Butter)
Rating: 6 out of 10 (Honey Wheat)
Pros: Garlic Butter has a pleasant garlic flavor. Honey Wheat has a decent sweet and salty flavor. Honey Wheat provides 1 gram of whole grain in each cracker. Funny cheese names.
Cons: Uses partially hydrogenated oil. Honey flavor could’ve been amped up a little. Self-diagnosing yourself. Can’t stare at Dr. Cuddy’s cleavage on House anymore. Gated communities.

PRIZE DRAWING: Because I Impulsively Purchased A Gift Card While Waiting In A Slow Checkout Line

I'm Lovin' It

While waiting in the checkout line, some people impulsively buy candy, gum, or a copy of the National Enquirer with an unflattering picture of some celebrity. I didn’t buy any of that. Instead, I impulsively purchased a $25 McDonald’s gift card and now I’m giving it away to a lucky Impulsive Buy reader.

If you happen to win the gift card, don’t thank me. You should thank the mother in front of me in the checkout line who requested two price checks and didn’t have her coupons out when she reached the cashier. If I didn’t have to wait in line for as long as I did, I wouldn’t have seen the gift card hanging above the checkout line’s gum and candy shelves, and the idea of a prize drawing wouldn’t have popped into my head.

To enter The Impulsive Buy’s McDonald’s gift card drawing, leave a comment with THIS post. I don’t really care what you say in your comment, but it would be nice if you told me which McDonaldland character you would most want to party with in Las Vegas. For those of you who need a McDonaldland refresher course, Wikipedia has a list of McDonaldland characters.

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, September 30, 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. U.S.-only because the gift card can only be used in the U.S.

There’s one more thing. If you have a Twitter account, you can get an additional entry if you tweet the following before Friday, September 30, 2011 11:59 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time:

@theimpulsivebuy I’d like to party with (insert here the McDonaldland character you would like to party with the most) in Vegas. BIG MAC 4 LYFE!

So just copy, paste, insert the McDonaldland character you’d like to party with, and tweet. Only one tweet per Twitter account.

Good luck!

Fine Print: McDonald’s is not affiliated with this prize drawing. The Impulsive Buy promises your email address will not be used to send you email in Arabic. The Impulsive Buy also promises your mailing address will not be used to send you letters to encourage you to switch your car insurance over to State Farm. Bribes will not be accepted. The Impulsive Buy will not be responsible for lost mail, damaged mail, or anything you do in Vegas.

Image via flickr user Ricardo Ricote Rodríguez / CC BY 2.0

NEWS: Domino’s Artisan Pizza Is Perfect For Those Who Have a Fear of Circles

Update: Click here to read our Domino’s Artisan Pizza review

Our friends over at Grub Grade broke the news last month about the new Domino’s Artisan Pizzas, and now they’re available nationwide.

The new pizzas come in three varieties:

Spinach & Feta: Alfredo sauce, feta and parmesan-asiago cheeses, fresh baby spinach, and onion toppings on an artisan-style crust.

Italian Sausage & Pepper Trio: Parmesan-asiago cheese and sliced Italian sausage with a trio of roasted red, green, and banana peppers on an artisan-style crust topped with a dash of oregano.

Tuscan Salami & Roasted Veggie: Salami, spinach and onions, roasted red and banana peppers, and a dash of oregano, all over a garlic parmesan sauce on an artisan-style crust.

Grub Grade also posted a review of all three Artisan Pizza varieties.

The rectangle-shaped pizzas serve two and measure 13 inches by 9 inches. They also bring back memories of the rectangle Little Caesar’s Pizza and the rectangle-shaped pizza they served in the cafeteria when I was in grade school.

In Grub Grade’s review, the Artisan pizzas are cut up into six slices, but according to the nutrition facts there are eight servings per pizza. So you’re gonna have to do some math to figure out how many calories and grams of fat each slice provides. I would do it for you, but I’m an Asian who sucks at math, but is awesome at lovemaking.

The nutrition facts for a serving of the Italian Sausage & Pepper Trio has 160 calories, 7 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 330 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein. A serving of Spinach & Feta has 150 calories, 7 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 250 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 6 grams of protein. Finally, the Tuscan Salami & Roasted Veggie has 150 calories, 6 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 280 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

NEWS: Popeyes Rol’n Out Dip’n Chick’n

This week, Popeyes, a place most of you have probably never eaten at, launched their new Dip’n Chick’n for a limited time. The new menu item is made up of chicken breast medallions marinated in Louisiana herbs, breaded, and fried.

Dip’n Chick’n follows Popeyes’ August limited time offer menu item, Rip’n Chick’n, which were partially cut chicken breasts marinated in a blend of chilies and peppers and served with a ranch dipping sauce. If Dip’n Chick’n becomes successful, we might see other boneless chicken breast variations with dipping sauces later this year or next year.

Using my rhyming ability, which I gained from reading a lot of Dr. Seuss and listening to my favorite hip-hop group of all time, A Tribe Called Quest, I going to guess future variations could be Chip’n Chick’n, Drip’n Chick’n, Strip’n Chick’n, Trip’n Chick’n, Grip’n Chick’n, Clip’n Chick’n, Flip’n Chick’n, or Tip’n Chick’n.

Popeyes’ Dip’n Chick’n also comes with a double-sized portion of blackened ranch dipping sauce, Cajun fries and a biscuit. It has a suggested price of $3.99.

NEWS: Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. Adds Steakhouse Burgers With Blue Cheese, Onion Strings, Swiss Cheese, Mayo…and I Just Gained A Pound From Typing That

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Today, Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s announced their newest meat, cheese, and bread creation, the Steakhouse Burgers.

The new Steakhouse Burgers are available in a Six Dollar version or 1/3 lb. or 1/4 lb. sizes and feature a charbroiled, 100% Black Angus beef patty with A.1. steak sauce, crumbled blue cheese, crispy onion strings, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and mayonnaise all on a seeded bun.

Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. burgers are known for being, um…calorific fatirific sodiumrific substantial and these burgers are no different.

A Six Dollar Steakhouse Thickburger 1,170 calories, 83 grams of fat, 28 grams of saturated fat, 2,240 milligrams of sodium, 68 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 41 grams of protein.

A 1/3 lb. Steakhouse Thickburger 1,010 calories, 66 grams of fat, 20 grams of saturated fat, 2,260 milligrams of sodium, 68 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 38 grams of protein.

A 1/4 lb. Steakhouse Thickburger 740 calories, 52 grams of fat, 15 grams of saturated fat, 1,580 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 28 grams of protein.

The Steakhouse Thickburger is available now at Hardee’s and will be available at Carl’s Jr. tomorrow (Wednesday, September 21st).

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