NEWS: Jalapeno Jack SunChips To Brighten Your Day With A Flash of Spice and a Burst of Cheese…Ugh, I’ve Read Way Too Many Press Releases

Marvo

Big Sur - Into The Sun HDR

Hey, are you one of those people who buy SunChips because they’re a slightly healthier alternative to greasy potato chips or because you feel your Subway sandwich is lonely? If you are, I’ve got exciting news for you and your lonely Subway sandwich. Frito-Lay recently introduced their new Jalapeno Jack SunChips, which combines jalapeno spices and Monterey Jack cheese.

Just like other SunChips flavors, the Jalapeno Jack has 18 grams of whole grains per serving and is made with all-natural ingredients. Yeah, take that, greasy potato chips that I’m craving right now. Also, Jalapeno Jack SunChips don’t contain MSG, preservatives, and artificial flavors. And they will come in an un-compostable bag that will keep quiet as you eat through it and your Subway sandwich.

About 15 chips will provide 140 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 1.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 3.5 grams of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 135 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Wendy’s Spicy Bacon & Blue Chicken Sandwich

Jasper 5 Comments

Wendy's Spicy Bacon & Blue Chicken Sandwich

There is no mention of the Bacon & Blue anywhere on the Wendy’s website, Twitter feed, or Facebook fan page. I had to go back to my local Wendy’s the morning after eating this sandwich just to make sure I hadn’t dreamt up the whole thing. I even considered going back the next morning, too, in case I had made up the sandwich in a dream within a dream like my life was some kind of fatass version of Inception, but I decided against it because I didn’t want my ex-wife showing up and stabbing Juno and this review not making any goddamn sense at all after a while.

Don’t worry though, your buddy who took a philosophy course freshman year will gladly explain how you just don’t get it and that this review is, like, totally brilliant.

Anyway, I guess Wendy’s is test-marketing the Bacon & Blue Chicken Sandwich in the Boston area, and I couldn’t be more delighted.

Wendy's Spicy Bacon & Blue Chicken Sandwich Sign

The recipe is simple enough. They’ve added Applewood smoked bacon, crumbled blue cheese, and a slice of Swiss to the original Spicy Chicken Sandwich, which was already my favorite non-Chik-fil-A fast food chicken sandwich. For those of you who’ve never had it, the SCS contains a heavily-breaded, moderately-spiced chicken filet on a Kaiser roll with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. According to Wikipedia, the SCS itself started out as a promotional sandwich but was brought back full-time by popular demand, which I can only hope will be the fate of the Bacon & Blue.

As you can see from the picture, the bacon is pretty impressive-looking, with enough heft and crispiness to distort the angle of what should otherwise be a flat top bun. It was impressive-tasting as well, especially compared to what I’ve generally come to expect from fast food places (inclusive of Wendy’s… I can’t remember the last time I had a good Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger). The bacon was an excellent addition in terms of both texture and taste, as it struck a great balance between chewy and crunchy and contributed a noticeable sweetness to the sandwich.

Wendy's Spicy Bacon & Blue Chicken Sandwich Bleu Cheese

The blue cheese was surprisingly plentiful and not all that poorly distributed. Its tanginess played really well with the spices of the chicken filet, and there wasn’t a single bite that was overwhelmingly rich. My one small complaint would be that I wish the blue cheese had been better melted by the heat of the chicken, but I suppose it’s partially my own fault for taking my to-go bag and immediately stepping out into 10 degree weather for the four-block walk home. Or more macroscopically, it’s my own fault for living in the gray winter nightmare that is New England. But then again if I didn’t live here I wouldn’t have been able to try this sandwich and write this review. WHOA, did I just blow your mind, CHRISTOPHER NOLAN-STYLE? I can’t tell if this joke is working or not, so maybe WE JUST NEED TO GO DEEPER…into discussing the rest of the sandwich.

The chicken filet was sufficiently flavorful and juicy, and the roll, lettuce, and tomatoes all seemed reasonably fresh. On the downside, there was slightly too much mayo, and the slice of Swiss cheese was so useless that I had actually forgotten its presence prior to re-examining my photos of the sandwich. I also need to bring up the price. I have no idea how expensive blue cheese is, but $5.99 for a fast food sandwich feels a bit pricey. You could get 30 Wendy’s chicken nuggets for that money!

Still, if Wendy’s decides to roll out the Bacon & Blue Chicken Sandwich nationwide, you should absolutely try it. As for me, I’ll be returning to Wendy’s once more this week. If it turns out the test-marketing is still happening and I’m not in fatass Inception, I will definitely be getting this sandwich again.

(Nutrition Facts – Not available.)

Item: Wendy’s Spicy Bacon & Blue Chicken Sandwich
Price: $5.99 sandwich, $7.29 small combo
Size: N/A
Purchased at: Wendy’s
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Bacon was chewy, crispy, and hefty. Blue cheese was plentiful and tasty. Filet was sufficiently flavorful and juicy. Wendy’s chicken nuggets. Christopher Nolan not getting a “Best Director” nod at the Oscars.
Cons: Pretty expensive for a fast food sandwich. Swiss cheese was useless. Too much mayo. Blue cheese not really melted. New England winters. No Chik-fil-A in Boston. Your buddy who took a freshman year philosophy course. Living in the fatass version of Inception. My apparent vendetta against Christopher Nolan when I actually liked Inception.

NEWS: MiO Turns Boring, Flavorless Clear Water Into Slightly Less Boring, Flavored Colored Water

Marvo 1 Comment

Turning water into something other than water hasn’t only been done by Jesus, it’s been done by Crystal Light, Gatorade, Kool-Aid, and Tang. The problem with these mixes is that they come in powder form, which means I’m either going to have to deal with tearing off the tops of little packets or possibly choke on a cloud of fruity powder that rises out of a container of Kool-Aid I accidentally dropped and then opened before everything inside could settle.

But, soon, we’ll have another choice to turn plain old water into flavored plain old water with Kraft’s MiO. Unlike the previous mixes I mentioned, MiO isn’t a powder mix, it’s a liquid water enhancer. Or a liquid flavor concentrate, if you will.

All it takes is few droplets from MiO’s pocket-friendly water droplet-shaped container to turn Mother Nature’s tears into flavored Mother Nature’s tears. Or if you’re like me with a bottle of chocolate syrup and a glass of milk, you can put as much of it as you want in your water. MiO has zero calories and no artificial flavor, but it does contain artificial colors, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives.

MiO will launch nationwide on March 7 and come in six flavors: berry pomegranate, fruit punch, mango peach, peach tea, sweet tea, and strawberry watermelon. It will retail for $3.99 and one bottle can make 24 8-ounce servings.

NEWS: Ben & Jerry’s Continues To Prove They’re Nothing But A Bunch Of Fun-Loving Hippies With Their Bonnaroo Buzz Ice Cream

Marvo

Bonnaroo '08 183

Bonnaroo Buzz was originally a flavor only available at Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops, but, recently, they’ve packed all that coffee and malt ice cream, toffee chunk, and whiskey caramel swirl goodness into a pint sized container you can buy at your local grocery store.

The ice cream is named after the annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee. (Side note: My future first child, whether it’s a boy or girl, will also be named after the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, since Bonnaroo sounds like a great uni-sex name.) Just like Bonnaroo Buzz ice cream combines a variety of flavors, the Bonnaroo event brings together musicians from a variety of genres, like rock, hip-hop, jazz, country, folk, gospel, and reggae. Sadly, Bonnaroo Buzz ice cream won’t let you experience the sounds, sun, sweat, stank and skunkweed smoke at the Bonnaroo Festival.

A half cup of Bonnaroo Buzz has 280 calories, 14 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 25 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

NEWS: Experience Hard Versions of Your Favorite Soft Baked Goods With Rold Gold’s Bakery-Inspired Pretzel Flavors

Marvo

Bagels

When I worked in an office setting, soft baked goods were consumed on a regular basis at the mandatory morning work meeting. You’d think the carbohydrates in the baked goods would give me the energy to power through the mandatory morning work meeting that I felt was completely unproductive, but they did the opposite. I guess eating a Costco chocolate muffin the size of my head would put most to sleep.

Although I don’t work in an office setting anymore, I wonder if I would’ve been able to stay awake in those meeting and not repeat over and over in my head “This is a waste of time” with Rold Gold’s Bakery-Inspired Pretzels, which take the flavors from our favorite soft baked goods and encapsulates them in a hard pretzel form.

The new line of Rold Gold pretzels come in three baked goods-flavored varieties:

Cheesy Garlic – Pretzel nuggets with cheddar and garlic.

Cinnamon Raisin – Pretzel twists with the flavor of raisins and cinnamon sugar.

Everything Bagel – Pretzel rings with sesame and poppy seeds, garlic, and onions.

A one-ounce serving of the Cheesy Garlic has 110 calories, 2 grams of fat, 390 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar and 2 grams of protein. The Everything Bagel has 120 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 1 gram of monounsaturated fat, 390 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar and 3 grams of protein. Finally, the Cinnamon Raisin contains 110 calories, 2 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 290 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein. All three varieties have no artificial flavors, preservatives, MSG, or trans fat.

Source: Frito Lay Snacks Blog