QUICK REVIEW: McDonald’s Signature Crafted Mushroom & Swiss

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McDonald’s Signature Crafted Mushroom & Swiss

What is the McDonald’s Signature Crafted Mushroom & Swiss?

It’s another Mushroom & Swiss version. This time it comes with seasoned mushrooms, a creamy bistro aioli, Swiss cheese, and crispy onion strings on an artisan roll with a 100% fresh beef 1/4 lb. patty.

How is it?

Upon opening the signature crafted box, the artisan bun and its golden brown fluffy appearance excited me. Off to a good start!

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After taking off the top to check out the toppings, I was immediately befuddled. There were multiple onion strings, some melted Swiss, a bit of the aioli, but the mushrooms? There were maybe two, three at most on my burger. My excitement sank again. I had reached mushroom patch rock bottom, so I decided to dig in and get it over with.

Chomping through, though? I was pleasantly surprised. All the components come together without one overpowering another. The bun is a tad buttery, the Swiss is sufficiently nutty, and while the drop of aioli tastes like a standard garlicky, peppery mayo, it does its job to add some creaminess to everything.

The standout though is the crispy onion strings. They were super crunchy and flavorful. Yum! I wasn’t wishing for more of the so-so mushrooms with the oniony topping present. They have a nice sweetness that comes through once you get through the coating.

Is there anything else you need to know?

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I ordered my sandwich with one beef patty, but if you are extra hungry, you can get two of those fresh bad boys, if you like. And, if beef isn’t your thing, you can also get it with buttermilk crispy chicken or artisan grilled chicken.

Conclusion:

This is another decent entry in the Mushroom & Swiss category that you shouldn’t go out of your way for if you are expecting Mushroom heaven. For a crispy onion string & Swiss burger, though? It’s pretty good for a fast food joint. Check it out if you are hitting up the Golden Arches anytime soon. For me, I’m definitely going to go with the double next time.

Purchased Price: $5.29
Size: N/A
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (Single) 660 calories, 36 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 1.5 grams of trans fat, 90 milligrams of cholesterol, 920 milligrams of sodium, 52 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of dietary fiber, 10 grams of sugar, and 33 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Wendy’s Bacon Maple Chicken Sandwich

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Wendy's Bacon Maple Chicken Sandwich

Why don’t more fast food chains utilize the croissant?

I mean, everyone loves croissants. From the buttery, flaky layers to that rich aftertaste and the feeling of international sophistication you get when rolling the “oi” to create what might pass as a French word, croissants are hard to hate on.

There is, it turns out, a lot of good reasons why croissants get shafted in fast food development. They smoosh easily, they’re incompatible with burgers, and their lineage is much more developed in the deli spectrum.

Perhaps that’s what makes Wendy’s new Bacon Maple Chicken Sandwich so intriguing. Not only does it capitalize on the popularity of the sweet and salty fried chicken applications – pairing a maple glaze with Wendy’s homestyle chicken breast and Applewood smoked bacon – but it also uses a “flaky croissant bun” as the anchor.

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Forgetting for a second that the artistic representation of Wendy’s croissant bun looks like the emoji for dog poop (SORRY BUT IT’S TRUE), the bun fails to make the sandwich. More like a spongy brioche than a flaky croissant, it lacks the rich croissant aftertaste or light, airy texture. Perhaps most telling, it doesn’t stand out when paired with the heavy ingredients.

And yeah, those other ingredients are heavy. It’s not that Wendy’s homestyle chicken breast is terrible, it’s that its spice blend, extra crispy texture, and saltiness dominate the sandwich. The bacon and swiss cheese are, as they usually are at Wendy’s, on point as individual ingredients, but as a whole sandwich, they come together in a salty, somewhat meaty, and weirdly sweet way that gives new meaning to ambivalence.

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Weirdly sweet is, I think, an apt description for the maple glaze. The sweetness is muted, cut by a bit of butter and a dissatisfying bite of apple cider vinegar. What you’re left with is a viscous fluid that doesn’t know if it wants to be a salad dressing, a baste, or drizzle-on-pancake maple syrup. If a sweet and salty sensation is supposed to awaken your taste buds, this is more like hitting the snooze 4 or 5 times before stumbling out of bed.

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Ultimately, Wendy’s misses the mark when it comes to the Bacon Maple Chicken Sandwich. Heavy, salty, and without any relief, it’s not so much a guilty pleasure as it is a slightly underwhelming representation of chicken and waffles. And, let’s be real — a fast food croissant “bun” ain’t no waffle.

Purchased Price: $5.69
Size: N/A
Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 680 calories, 34 grams of fat, 14 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 125 milligrams of cholesterol, 1450 milligrams of sodium, 57 grams of carbohydrates, 41grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar, and 38 grams of protein.

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REVIEW: Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Thin & Crispy White Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Thin Crispy White Chocolate Chip Cookies

As you can probably guess, Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Thin & Crispy White Chocolate Chip Cookies are just white chocolate chip cookies. No, reinvention of the snack wheel here.

But, these complete Pepperidge Farm’s Farmhouse chocolate chip cookie checklist. Well, unless there’s another chocolate I don’t know about. Last year, the brand introduced the line with milk, dark, and triple chocolate (milk, dark, and white) chips.

But now the bright white confection is getting a bright white spotlight with a cookie of its own. This is because Christmas and winter are coming up and companies love to use white chocolate this time of year because it’s snowman and Santa’s beard-colored.

If you’re wondering what’s the deal with the “Farmhouse” label, it’s Pepperidge Farm’s way of making products without unnecessary ingredients that you may not know how to pronounce or recreate in a lab. These have nine components: white chocolate, enriched wheat flour, butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, baking soda, vanilla extract, and salt.

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When I smell what’s in the bag, it’s as if I’m snorting a vanilla milkshake. While straws make it easy to do so, literally inhaling the dairy dessert through one’s nose isn’t pleasant, but the aroma that comes out of this bag is. Their delicious smell also translates into delicious cookies. The vanilla extract and brown sugar in the dough combined with the white chocolate creates a heavenly combination that pleased my taste buds.

Sometimes white chocolate can get cloying (I’m looking at you M&M’s), but I didn’t find that to be the case with the chunks in these treats. Because they’re thin and crispy, they have a nice crunch and crumbability. So eat them over a plate, the sink, or, do what I do, munch on them over the bag they came in so that the crumbs get collected, which I can use as a yogurt or ice cream topping. You know how some cuisines encourage eating every part of the animal? Well, I’m like that with cookies.

Look, I could end this review by writing, “Pepperidge Farm’s Farmhouse White Chocolate Chip Cookies are a great option for your kids to leave out for Santa.” But we have done the “leave out for Santa” thing way too many times on this site.

So I’m going to end with this: These are just white chocolate chip cookies. There’s nothing truly unique about them. But if you’re looking to get Santa-sized, these crunchy treats are a tasty way to do it.

Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: 6.9 oz.
Purchased at: Target
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2 cookies) 150 calories, 8 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 150 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

QUICK REVIEW: Limited Edition Snickers White (Japan)

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Limited Edition Snickers White 1

What is Snickers White?

I’m in Japan – the mecca of novelty junk food! Of course, I sought out some new and quirky offerings. The traditional Snickers candy bar gets a paler makeover with white chocolate coating and lighter nougat filling. When I spied these on the shelf, they seemed so familiar, but I hadn’t seen or tried them before.

How is it?

When I unwrapped the candy bar, I didn’t know whether to bite into it or spread it on my toast. It looked like a stick of butter.

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Once righted, I noticed the white chocolate coating was thin enough that I could make out individual nuts through it. ?
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The caramel and peanuts here are the familiar and delicious Snickers taste combo, but the nougat is different. It’s slightly lighter in color and taste. I couldn’t tell if it was vanilla flavored or just generic “sugar.” It faded away behind the caramel, peanuts and white chocolate. I’m usually a big nougat fan, so this was a bummer.

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The white chocolate in this candy bar was the dominant flavor, and very sweet. Cloyingly sweet to me. I found it a little off-putting. It also melted much quicker than the regular chocolate coating, so I ended up with white fingerprints all over my airline seat.

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Is there anything else you need to know?

Staging an impromptu Snickers bar photo session on a plane will most certainly garner odd looks from the stranger sitting next to you. Be warned.

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Conclusion:

Snickers White comes off as a too-sweet, washed out photocopy of an actual Snickers. Not as exciting as Snickers’ other recent innovations.

Purchased Price: 140 yen (approx. $1.24 US)
Size: 49 g bar
Purchased at: Family Mart, Shibuya, Tokyo
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per bar) 249 calories, 12.9 grams of fat, 4.9 grams of saturated fat, 280 milligrams of sodium, and 24.7 grams of sugar.

QUICK REVIEW: Sonic Fritos Chili Cheese Jr. Burger

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Sonic Fritos Chili Cheese Jr Burger

What is the Sonic Fritos Chili Cheese Jr. Burger?

Surely you’ve had a Sonic Jr. Burger at least once in your life, right? The Fritos Chili Cheese variation is precisely how it sounds: a small Sonic burger topped (or bottomed, I guess) with crunchy Fritos and mild chili, delicately ladled in a most un-Texas-like fashion for a moderately tasty burger.

How is it?

Growing up in the Lone Star State, just about every ballgame, birthday, and baptism had the opportunity to down a Frito pie or two. So it’s one of the rare things on this Earth that, sadly, I know all too intimately. And while yes, this is Sonic’s attempt to mimic it and call it its own, it isn’t quite there yet, at least when it comes to the whole burger thing.

Sonic Jr. burgers are always a delicious pick me up for just a couple of bites, and the Fritos and chili certainly don’t take anything away. But once you get a good look at how chintzy they are with the cheap chili con Fritos, you might ask why Sonic even bothered.

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Lightly dripped on the bottom bun with a small handful of Fritos, you’d do better to just order at Sonic Jr. Burger and go across the street to the convenience store and add a quarter bag of Fritos and some free cheese from the dispenser.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Even though the Sonic Fritos Chili Cheese Jr. Burger is a slightly delicious dud, the chain is also offering, for 99 cents each, a small Fritos Chili Pie and a Fritos Chili Cheese Jr. Wrap. While they look a bit more suitable for the Frito/chili/cheese product, due to their low price point, it’s probably more than likely they’ll have about as much junk (or lack thereof) as the burger.

Conclusion:

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For a $1.99, it’s mostly alright for the sparseness that you get. Sure, it’s something they’d kick you out of Texas for if the good ol’ boys in Austin ever find out, but until something with more Fritos and even more chili comes along, I guess it’ll have to do, partner.

Purchased Price: $1.99
Size: N/A
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Not available at press time.

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