The Impulsive Buy

SPOTTED: Coca-Cola Cherry Vanilla

Marvo / February 11, 2020 / Spotted on Shelves / 5 Comments

I like Cherry Coke and I like Vanilla Coke, so this must be good, right? (Spotted by Robbie at Dollar General and Circle K.)

Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if the product is old, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

If you’ve seen the product, help out your fellow readers by letting them know in the comments what city and store you found it in.

REVIEW: Reuben Pringles

Ann / February 11, 2020 / Reviews / 3 Comments

There are people out there who reject rye bread, cold-shoulder corned beef, swear against Swiss and sauerkraut, and “thank you next” Thousand Island dressing. But those people can’t deny that when these ingredients come together, the result is a delicious Reuben sandwich.

Given its flavor complexity, I was eager to see how it would be executed with the new Reuben Pringles.

First things first, this package stays true to the hilarious anthropomorphized Pringle format by featuring a lone crisp sitting at a deli counter with bib affixed and ready to snarf down a Reuben, which is larger than the Pringle itself. In case anyone was wondering, my second favorite anthropomorphized Pringle artwork is the Dill Pickle flavor.

When you pop (the fun don’t stop) the top off this Pringles tube, the first thing you’ll smell is rye bread. It’s an overwhelmingly spot on caraway rye aroma. Glancing inside the container, the crisps appear lightly seasoned, but at closer inspection, they look that way because one of the two visible powders is white. Because the other powder was a maroon color, I was hoping this meant these would have a unique corned beef taste.

The flavor is really interesting. First, I got an oniony kraut, then a savory nuttiness that I guess is a blend of corned beef and Swiss. Then it was THOUSAND ISLAND TIME as the dressing taste comes through STRONG. If Pringles could partner with McDonald’s to do a Big Mac variety, I think they’d nail it by combining this Thousand Island seasoning and its previous cheeseburger item. The lingering aftertaste is pure caraway rye, and then this flavor roller coaster is over.

Overall, I was slightly let down by the sauerkraut and corned beef not being more distinct and thought the overall flavor could have been stronger. For this reason, I think being “Limited Edition” is appropriate for this crisp. I liked it once but probably wouldn’t add it to the standard rotation.

I definitely don’t think Pringles did anything wrong by the Reuben in making this crisp! In fact, the flavors they were able to pack in are pretty impressive. If you like Thousand Island, you’ll like this. The sauerkraut wasn’t completely distinct, but they didn’t miss the mark, so if more kraut varieties show up, I’ll be hunting them down.

Purchased Price: $3/5 (sale)
Size: 5.2 oz. can
Purchased at: Walgreens
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (15 crisps/28 g) 150 calories, 9 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 180 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 – 2/11/2020

Marvo / February 11, 2020 / Spotted on Shelves

Here are some interesting new products found on store shelves by your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of the products, share your thoughts about them in the comments.

Frank s Red Hot Thick Sauce Buffalo N BBQ — *Frank’s Red Hot Thick Sauce Buffalo ‘N BBQ*

Frank s Red Hot Thick Sauce Buffalo N Ranch — *Frank’s Red Hot Thick Sauce Buffalo ‘N Ranch*

There’s also an Original flavor. (Spotted by Leonard G at Giant.)

Kellogg s Special K Raspberry Cereal — *Kellogg’s Special K Raspberry Cereal*

(Spotted by Robbie at H-E-B.)

*Sargento Snack Bites Rustic Gouda and Mild Yellow Cheddar*

*Sargento Snack Bites Sharp White Cheddar Mild Yellow Cheddar*

There are also varieties that feature Colby with Monterey Jack and Fiesta Pepper Jack with Asadero. (Spotted by Leonard G at Giant.)

*Theo Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups*

Theo Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Jelly Cups — *Theo Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter & Jelly Cups*

Theo Milk Chocolate Coffee Cream Cups — *Theo Milk Chocolate Coffee & Cream Cups*

(Spotted by Rachel C at Good Earth Natural Foods.)

Jordan s Skinny Syrups Keto Syrup Mocha Vanilla Bean and Salted Caramel — *Jordan’s Skinny Syrups Keto Syrup (Mocha, Vanilla Bean, and Salted Caramel)*

(Spotted by Sylvia at Home Goods.)

*Divine Chocolate Dark Chocolate with Mint Crispy Thins*

(Spotted by Rachel C at Good Earth Natural Foods.)

We covered three other flavors in December. I guess there were more. (Spotted by Bob K at Giant Eagle.)

*Yoplait Original Starburst Lemon Yogurt*

We covered other flavors in December. I guess there were more. (Spotted by @goatheadjp at Walmart.)

If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you’ve tried the product, share your thoughts about it in the comments.

Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if the product is old, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

REVIEW: Pizza Hut Mozzarella Poppers Pizza

Marvo / February 10, 2020 / Reviews / 5 Comments

I once had a dream that Pizza Hut here in the U.S. offered a pizza with large crispy mozzarella sticks as the end crust. When I woke up and wiped away the drool from my mouth, which ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT happen all the time, I realized it was all a dream, and the bodily fluids stopped coming out of my mouth and started rolling down from my eyes.

Pizza Hut’s Mozzarella Poppers Pizza is not the pizza of my salty dream. Instead of edges that are entirely made of crispy, breaded cheese sticks, the large pizza has 16 1.5-inch mozzarella-filled squares plopped onto and baked with the regular crust, and spaced out so that there will be two of them on each of the eight slices. The menu item also comes with two containers of marinara sauce for dipping.

It doesn’t take much effort to pop off the poppers from the pizza, which doesn’t have the iron grip that’s shown in promotional photos. Their breaded exteriors are seasoned with garlic, onion, parmesan, parsley, basil, and oregano, and they have a subtle crispiness. Thanks to the seasonings, I could eat them without dipping them into the sauce, but they taste better with it.

The cheese wasn’t gooey, and it tastes similar to what’s in the chain’s original Stuffed Crust. If you’ve had a mozzarella stick, you know what you’re getting here.

Now, you could eat the poppers and end crust separately, leave them attached and eat them with the rest of the crust, or, if you don’t eat that part of a pizza, remove the cheese-filled squares and let the remaining bread rot forever in the hell where all the other discarded pizza crusts go to burn into charred lumps that’ll never be eaten. Sorry, remembering another dream I had.

If you like to eat crusts, I’d recommend leaving the poppers on to make it a little more tolerable, because the bread directly underneath them gets a little moist, probably due to the heat between them.

I have to admit the dough the poppers are sitting on with my pizza looks a bit undercooked when compared with the golden brown mozzarella poppers, but its texture and taste was fine while eating. Okay, the taste was super dull, but thankfully the two marinara containers have enough for the poppers and most of the remaining end crust. But it would be less boring if the poppers are left on.

As for the non-crust side, I ordered a modified Supreme, and it tasted like a…Pizza Hut Supreme Pizza. SURPRISE!

Overall, Pizza Hut’s Mozzarella Poppers Pizza is a bit ho-hum. The poppers themselves are a nice appetizer when dipped in marinara, but if you do that to all of them, you’re left with a crust that’s more bland than usual.

Of course, that could’ve been avoided if the edges were only mozzarella sticks or if the poppers were a topping. Yes, poppers as a topping was from another dream.

Purchased Price: $21.99* (Supreme)
Size: Large
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 slice – Supreme) 460 calories, 23 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol, 990 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 20 grams of protein.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.

Fast Food Pizza Hut

SPOTTED: Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked Chunks

Marvo / February 10, 2020 / Spotted on Shelves

There’s also a Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough variety that came out the same time as this one. (Spotted by Rachel C at Smith’s.)

Also, if you want to send in photos and are wondering if we’ve already covered something or if the product is old, don’t worry about it. Let us worry about it.

If you’ve seen the product, help out your fellow readers by letting them know in the comments what city and store you found it in.

SPOTTED: Coca-Cola Cherry Vanilla

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REVIEW: Reuben Pringles

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SPOTTED – 2/11/2020

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REVIEW: Pizza Hut Mozzarella Poppers Pizza

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SPOTTED: Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked Chunks

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