SPOTTED: Starbucks Tripleshot Energy Dark Chocolate
Another Starbucks Tripleshot flavor, joining Caramel, French Vanilla, Caffe Mocha, and Dark Roast. (Spotted by Leonard G at Dollar General.)
REVIEW: Sweet Corn Pringles
What are Sweet Corn Pringles?
If you’re reading a review on this website, you probably like junk food and the creativity behind those products. And, as a result, you’re prepared to try some weird products, like pumpkin spice hummus or cheeseburger-flavored crackers. But the latest Walgreens-exclusive Pringles seem even more of a head-scratcher — corn-flavored potato crisps.
How are they?
It should be noted that these aren’t just imitating corn, but rather, sweet corn, which is a flavor much more popular in Japan than in the United States. As such, I have not had much experience with this outside of one comically-shaped gummy.
These are weird. They smell mostly like your average can of Pringles, but the flavor is wild. The taste lands somewhere between a SunChip and a buttered popcorn Jelly Belly, with a hint of garlic and onion lingering in the background.
It’s buttery and slightly sweet with a bizarre aftertaste that reminds me of something fluffy and sugary like cotton candy. They carry a solid balance of sweet and salty without steering too prominently in either direction to give the impression of salty butter on a vibrant yellow corn on the cob.
Anything else you should know?
Pringles are already the most Frankenstein’d of all potato chips, not actually being chips but crisps, so this makes this green can of dried and pressed together potatoes seasoned like corn all that much funnier.
Conclusion:
I said it once, and I’ll say it again — these are weird. But it doesn’t necessarily mean bad. When I first tried them, I ate 15 straight trying to wrap my head around what I was tasting. But the more I ate them, the more the flavor mellowed, and I enjoyed it.
I can’t say I would crave these when they’re done with their limited run, but it’s a fun snack that does an impressive job at corn impersonation.
Purchased Price: $1.99
Size: 11 ounces
Purchased at: Walgreens
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (15 Crisps) 150 calories, 9 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.
SPOTTED: Life Cuisine
Life Cuisine, brought to you by the folks who brought us Lean Cuisine, have a new line of frozen entrees for different lifestyles — low carb, meatless, high-protein, and gluten free. There are a whole lot more besides these three. I’d list them all, but I’m super lazy. Click here to go to the Life Cuisine website that shows all the products I’m too lazy to list. Is there a Life Cuisine for the lazy? Oh wait, I guess the entire microwaveable Life Cuisine lineup could be for those who live the lazy lifestyle. (Spotted by Julie R at Wegmans.)
SPOTTED: Bantam Bagels Egg Bites with Bacon or Sausage
Oooh, Bantam Bagel Egg Bites with meat. Was the previous sentence sarcastic? Perhaps by typing the previous sentence, it gives away that the sentence before it could’ve been sarcastic. But was it sarcastic? Nooo, it wasn’t. (Spotted by Leonard G at Giant.)
REVIEW: Carvel Tie-Dye Specialty Shake
What is the Carvel Tie-Dye Specialty Shake?
Carvel has channeled Ben & Jerry’s hippy-inspired flavor formula with its Limited Time Only Tie-Dye Specialty Shake.
How is it?
Right out of the gate I was impressed by just how many squares of pound cake they managed to fit in the cup. Not only that, they weren’t frozen solid like I assumed they’d be. I probably ended up eating almost a full slice of cake if you factor in the tiny bits that were mixed in with the ice cream.
Despite the shake flavor being cake driven, it wasn’t very cakey. I found the Cake Mix-flavored ice cream to be pretty similar to regular vanilla, so it just kinda tasted like a vanilla shake with bits of mushy cake and sprinkles.
With that said, Carvel’s soft serve vanilla is, in my opinion, the best vanilla ice cream on Earth.
It will always hold a special place in my heart, because I love the New York Mets (sad life, huh?) and every spoonful reminds me of my childhood sitting at Shea Stadium with a little plastic helmet full of Carvel Vanilla Ice Cream.
Anything else you need to know?
I’d be remiss not to compliment the jerk (isn’t that what they used to call ice cream parlor employees?) who made this shake because it almost looked like the press photo. Rarely does the visual reality of a product like this meet the expectation, and he claimed it was his first time ever making it.
I’d also like to criticize the jerk (actual jerk) for asking, “Do you want the food coloring? You sound like an adult?”
You believe that? I just want a Tie Dye shake, why you trying to harsh my mellow by asking that?
I immediately fired back, “Damn right I want the food coloring! That’s the whole point of the shake, bro! Why you judging me? Who’re you?!”
Ok, in reality, I semi-panicked and said, “Uhhhh, yeah ya know what? Go for it.” It’s because I’m a massive coward who is afraid of an ice cream man. It’s the Mets fan in me.
Oh, and yes, it’s just food coloring. Don’t get excited expecting a Roy G. Biv of flavors, because the tie-dye inspired swirls are just for show. They look cool though, no?
Conclusion:
If you’re lucky enough to live by one of Carvel’s 400 locations and want a fun five-minute distraction, this is definitely worth a shot. I’d actually love to see what your shake ends up looking like, because I feel like there’s very little margin for error.
Purchased Price: $5.99
Size: Small
Purchased at: Carvel
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (Unavailable, but here is a standard Vanilla shake) 650 calories, 240 calories from fat, 27 grams of fat, 18 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 290 milligrams of sodium, 89 grams of total carbohydrates, 79 grams of total sugars, 11 grams of protein.