The Impulsive Buy

REVIEW: Goldfish Dunkin’ Pumpkin Spice Grahams

Sean / August 30, 2022 / Reviews / 13 Comments

When Pepperidge Farm opened the collaboration gates with its iconic line of Goldfish crackers last year, I was excited about the possibilities. Sure, Goldfish are known for “blasting” things and “extra crunch-ing” things but colliding with other established seasonings for a limited time is fun, especially when they’re done well. Both the Frank’s RedHot and Old Bay collabs were fantastic, but as someone closely watching for future Goldfish marriage partners, I never saw this one coming. The snack that smiles back has officially gone “basic” with Dunkin’ Pumpkin Spice Grahams.

I love that the bag is shaped and colored like a bag of Dunkin’ coffee, but also thrilled that the Goldfish are pumpkin spice-flavored, not pumpkin spice latte. Rather than go the PSL route, the cracker-cookies aim to mimic the chain’s Pumpkin Spice Cake Donut, which is great for me because I don’t need any more caffeine than I’m already consuming.

Immediately the aroma wafting from the bag is like a warm autumn hug with honey-kissed swirls of graham. This is my first pumpkin spice product of the season, and I’m giddy. The taste immediately hits me in all of my fall feelings — mild cinnamon and nutmeg back up a fantastic buttery sweet brown sugar molasses flavor accented by cloves. None of the spices are too aggressive, but they’re all accounted for.

The snack has a really great texture too. I would never call Cheddar Goldfish “dry” as an insult, but these are less so than your classic Cheddar variety. Like many crackers, normal Goldfish can build up to a salty paste when eaten quickly, and these carry a bit more moisture than their cheesy counterparts, crumbling with buttery ease. That gentle crumble makes them hard to stop popping into my mouth. It’s far too easy to down a 52-fish serving without thinking of closing the non-resealable bag.

The more I eat, the more the spices mellow, and the flavor fades to a mild but delicious graham that’s incredibly snackable. They’re like a more complex sibling to Cinnamon Teddy Grahams. The Goldfish don’t have the aggressive, in-your-face punch of Pumpkin Spice Cheerios, but I don’t think they need that. No matter how much they might like it, I’m not going to throw these fishies in a bowl to swim in milk, and I love how perfectly balanced the flavor is straight from the bag. When I take a break from the fish and return after eating something salty as a palate cleanser, the spice level is right back to being where it was — a mild but present mix of cloves and cinnamon with the subtlest touch of vanilla.

Dunkin’ Pumpkin Spice Grahams don’t really remind me of a donut, and they don’t taste distinctly like pumpkin, but they do summon the flavors of the sweater weather season wonderfully. Perhaps if Pepperidge Farm finished the fish with a glaze like the donut pictured on the bag, they would do better to channel that flavor. But I like these Goldfish more than Dunkin’s donut, so I don’t mind its absence.

Purchased Price: I paid way too much to get a two-pack shipped from Goldfish, but you can get them at Target for $2.39
Size: 6.6 oz bag
Purchased at: Online
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (52 pieces, 30g) 140 calories, 5 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 150 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Limited Edition 2022 Mtn Dew VooDEW

Marvo / August 30, 2022 / Reviews / 30 Comments

It’s specDEWlation time! It’s the annual Mtn Dew VooDEW Mystery Flavor Guessing Game! If the previous three years are hints, it’ll be candy. In 2019, it was candy corn. In 2020, it was Skittles-like. In 2021, it was Starburst-like. In 2022… it’s, well, let’s find out.

First off, this smells like Skittles. But there’s no way VooDEW will taste like original Skittles for a second time, right?

So it’s sour, and I taste lemon and some berry, which got me thinking it might be Sour Skittles. Or it could be Sour Patch Kids, although now that I think about it, it might not be because it’s not as sour, and the lemon and berry flavors don’t remind me of the candy. Um, kind of wondering if it could be Lemonheads and, um, Berry Lemonheads? Are berry Lemonheads a thing, and are Lemonheads considered a Halloween candy?

Sour and fruity. Kind of thinking it might taste like a roll of Smarties. It’s a standard Halloween candy because I remember getting it as a kid and putting it in the unwanted candy pile after a night of Trick-or-Treating. They’re usually given out by heartless people. That’s still the case, right? Let me think about what else this could be. Extra caffeine is needed beyond the 91 milligrams in this bottle to help me think. SweeTarts?

All right. After pondering, I will base my guess mostly on how it smells. I believe this year’s Mtn Dew VooDEW Mystery Flavor is…Sour Skittles. Oh crap! I forgot to hide my guess using primitive cryptography in the paragraphs above. Argh!

While I’m not 100 percent sure what this year’s VooDEW tastes like, I do know this is one tasty Dew. I love the 2020 version that tasted like Skittles and this one equally. I also love the sourness and how it reminds me of Mtn Dew Pitch Black (which is rumored to return this year).

I hope Mtn Dew never stops with the mystery flavors. It would sadden me if they did quit like other brands.

NOTE: This year’s VooDEW is also available in a Zero Sugar version.

Purchased Price: More than anyone should pay for a bottle of soda
Size: 20 oz bottle
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle) 270 calories, 0 grams of fat, 95 milligrams of sodium, 72 grams of carbohydrates, 72 grams of sugar (including 72 grams of added sugar), and 0 grams of protein.

Mountain Dew Mtn Dew Mystery Flavor Soda

SPOTTED: 8/29/2022

Marvo / August 29, 2022 / Spotted on Shelves / 7 Comments

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

*John Soules Foods AmaZings Buffalo Style*

*John Soules Foods AmaZings Honey BBQ Flavor*

*John Soules Foods AmaZings Lightly Seasoned*

(Spotted by Amanda Y at Walmart.)

Campbell s Chunky Old Bay Clam Chowder — *Campbell’s Chunky Old Bay Clam Chowder*

(Spotted by Tommy at Hannaford.)

Good Gather Buttermilk and Original Pancake Waffle Mixes — *Good & Gather Buttermilk and Original Pancake & Waffle Mixes*

(Spotted by Amanda Y at Target.)

Simple Truth PB J Dippers Peanut Butter Wafers and Strawberry Jam — *Simple Truth PB & J Dippers Peanut Butter Wafers and Strawberry Jam*

Simple Truth PB J Dippers Peanut Butter Wafers and Grape Jelly — *Simple Truth PB & J Dippers Peanut Butter Wafers and Grape Jelly*

(Spotted by Amanda Y at Kroger.)

*Simply Organic Madagascar Vanilla Bean Paste*

(Spotted by Sarah R at Sprouts.)

Sprouts Salt Vinegar Almond — *Sprouts Salt & Vinegar Almond*

*Sprouts Banana Nut Bread with Cinnamon Walnuts*

Sprouts Smokin Sweet Hot Cashews — *Sprouts Smokin’ Sweet & Hot Cashews*

Sprouts Wasabi Soy Almonds — *Sprouts Wasabi & Soy Almonds*

Sprouts Kick n Cowboy Walnuts — *Sprouts Kick’n Cowboy Walnuts*

(Spotted by Sarah R at Sprouts.)

SPOTTED: Ruffles Ridge Twists

Marvo / August 29, 2022 / Spotted on Shelves / 1 Comment

SNAKES!!! Watch out, Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson!!! Oh, they’re just two ridges twisted together. (Spotted by @PeteyKirch at Food Lion.)

REVIEW: Sonic Chophouse Cheeseburger

Brandon / August 29, 2022 / Reviews / 8 Comments

Thanks to Patrick Mahomes, King of Kansas City (with all due apologies to Roger Miller [and props to the eight readers who will get my archaic reference]), my city and its surrounding suburbs are now home to several Whataburger restaurants.

Now, because there isn’t a particularly close one (yet), and the lines are still at the “OMG OMG OMG, WE’VE GOT A NEW _____” stage, I still haven’t had it. But from what I can tell, it’s like a lot of these things in that people either swear by it, or they don’t think it’s anything too special. What both camps seem to do, however, is compare it to Sonic. (Maybe it’s an Oklahoma/Texas bitter rivalry thing?)

Anyhow, I’ve had Sonic all my life, and in the chain burger hierarchy, I think they’re in my top 3. (Or maybe top 5. I’d probably have to give it some deeper thought.) And while Sonic tends to knock it out of the park on their standards — the chili cheese coney, the bacon cheeseburger, the tots, and the onion rings — its LTOs are much more hit or miss.

It’s my sad duty to report that the new Chophouse Cheeseburger is in the latter camp.

It features Sonic’s beef patty topped with “Chophouse aioli,” fried onion strings, and two slices of American cheese, all situated on a toasted brioche bun. Now, some collateral I came across in my research suggests that the patty is seasoned with “Montreal steak seasoning,” but other things — including the app — don’t mention this. Did I notice a different seasoning on the patty I consumed? I mean… eh? I thought I noticed something, maybe, but it’s hard to tell if I was willing myself into tasting a deviation from a standard Sonic patty or if there was actually something there. In either case, it wasn’t enough to make much of a noticeable difference.

The same is true of the “Chophouse aioli,” a lackluster, oily substance that added absolutely nothing. It barely registered, giving me no sense of what I was supposed to be experiencing. What is chophouse aioli, anyway? Fancy steak mayo? To be fair, and as evidenced by the picture, the burger technician had a very light sauce hand.

What this burger had plenty of, however — too much, in fact — is cheese. Honestly, one slice would have sufficed, as the standard melty Americanness overwhelmed everything except the meat. The fried onion straws added a nice textural element and a welcome sweet component to contrast the saltiness of the proceedings. The brioche bun — which Sonic has used on multiple other burgers — was pedestrian but held up well, as it typically does.

While I appreciate Sonic’s regular efforts at giving customers something new, the Chophouse Cheeseburger doesn’t feel like it’ll create any long-lasting memories, nor will it convince any Whataburger die-hards to switch allegiances.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, maybe I’m finally ready to go sit in a drive-thru for 45 minutes to see if “spicy ketchup” is worth it.

Purchased Price: $5.49
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 980 calories, 69 grams of fat, 18 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 110 milligrams of cholesterol, 1610 milligrams of sodium, 57 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 32 grams of protein.

Fast Food Sonic

REVIEW: Goldfish Dunkin’ Pumpkin Spice Grahams

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REVIEW: Limited Edition 2022 Mtn Dew VooDEW

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SPOTTED: 8/29/2022

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SPOTTED: Ruffles Ridge Twists

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REVIEW: Sonic Chophouse Cheeseburger

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