REVIEW: Taco Bell Mountain Dew Baja Blast Pie

Taco Bell Mountain Dew Baja Blast Pie box

Fast food really isn’t about food. Really, it’s more like an edible form of pop culture. And nothing demonstrates that more than the existence of the co-branded Taco Bell Mountain Dew Baja Blast Pie.

It’s a 2,500-calorie-plus novelty dessert that nearly tips the scales at two pounds when it’s still in the box. It’s not really marketed as something you eat as much as it is an experience. That’s doubly reinforced by its steep $20 asking price; there may not be a vast market for something like this, but there’s definitely some kind of consumer demand for it. (Just so you know, I could still hear my local TB representative through the drive-thru speaker after I placed my order: “Hey, some [expletive deleted] is actually buying one of these things!”)

Taco Bell Mountain Dew Baja Blast Pie top

I’ve got a feeling people are going to pick these up just for the packaging alone. And to be fair, it is pretty cool looking. I can easily see the boxes fetching a pretty penny on eBay in about ten years.

But what about the pie itself? Well, all in all … it isn’t bad.

Taco Bell Mountain Dew Baja Blast Pie teal color

Probably the first thing you’ll notice about the pie is its rich teal color. It’s not quite the same color as the beverage it’s named after, but it’s pretty close to it. The instructions on the box suggest leaving the pie out to thaw for about four hours, with the explicit recommendation that you don’t microwave it. I can’t think of a reason why you physically couldn’t put it in an oven and bake it, though — but just to play it safe, I took Taco Bell’s advice and patiently waited for my pie to unfreeze itself.

The aroma of the pie is unmistakable. It’s Baja Blast scented, alright, with just a little sherbet ice cream smell in there. Even if you had no idea what the product was supposed to be, if you get a big whiff of it, you should automatically deduce that it’s a Mountain Dew derivative.

The pie has a nice, sturdy Graham cracker crust, with a couple of flourishes of whipped topping encircling it like a halo. It’s obviously not a rush job either, as somebody definitely took their time making the creamy border look as pretty as possible. Aesthetically, it’s a lot nicer than I anticipated.

Taco Bell Mountain Dew Baja Blast Pie slice

Now, the moment of truth: the taste test.

It’s a fairly unusual product, but I guess we all knew that heading into it. With the first couple of bites, all I got was a super tart, key lime pie flavor. But the more I chewed, the more the Baja Blast flavor made itself apparent. Granted, it’s not a perfect one-to-one replication of the Baja Blast taste, but it’s an impressive recreation all the same. The texture and mouthfeel of the pie filling kinda reminded me of a thick sorbet, or maybe an extra chewy gelato. And it syncs up shockingly well with the aforementioned crust and whipped topping. The co-branding gimmick aside, it actually IS a real pie, and a surprisingly pleasant one at that.

Objectively, you can’t tout the pie too much. It’s way too pricey even for a novelty product, and I probably wouldn’t want to eat one of these every week. But overall, I’d consider it an unexpectedly decent fast food dessert item — even if it does open the floodgates for an inevitable wave of cola-flavored comestible imitators.

Purchased Price: $19.99
Size: 30.4 ounces
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: One serving (eight servings per container) — 320 calories, 13 grams of total fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans far, 15 mg of cholesterol, 200 mg of sodium, 46 grams of total carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, 32 grams of sugar (including 26 grams of added sugar), and 5 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Dairy Queen Holiday Nog Shake

Dairy Queen Holiday Nog Shake cup

When ordering the new Dairy Queen Holiday Nog Shake, the initial facial expression the DQ employee gave me was one that I imagine the angels at the Gates of Heaven will give me when they have to tell me I’m not on the list. A grimace that’s part embarrassment and part should-I-tell-him.

After a moment of hemming and hawing, the employee asked me if I was sure I wanted it, since it wasn’t good. Customers complained that it tasted weird or had a light nog flavor. However, the words “it tasted weird” are catnip to me, so, of course, I had to try it.

The seasonal dessert is a nog-flavored shake topped with whipped cream and nutmeg, and it looks as unexciting as any nog. But I don’t expect anything fancy when it comes to DQ’s shakes; they’re all pretty much sauce, soft serve, whipped topping, and a sprinkle of something. If you want texture, get a Blizzard or a Dilly Bar.

Dairy Queen Holiday Nog Shake whipped cream and nutmeg on top

After trying it, with the Dairy Queen worker looking at me and preparing for the worst, I thought it tasted fine. There wasn’t any weirdness, but its nog flavor was noticeably more subdued than what you’d get with light egg nog. However, that might be a good thing, because the standard and light versions of the seasonal beverage can get too rich too quickly. If I drank the same amount of regular egg nog as this shake, I wouldn’t be able to finish it because it would be too much, and my stomach would punish me soon after. However, I had no problem finishing this with its mild flavor.

There’s nothing about Dairy Queen’s Holiday Nog Shake that makes it a must-buy. This time of year, there are a multitude of ways to get the nog flavor in your mouth. Actually, now that I think about it, egg nog-flavored ice creams (and frozen dairy desserts) I’ve gotten from the store have a stronger flavor than this.

Purchased Price: FREE*
Size: Small
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 460 calories, 18 grams of fat, 13 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 180 milligrams of sodium, 64 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 56 grams of sugar, and 12 grams of protein.

*The employee was so unsure about whether I’d like this nog-flavored shake that they gave it to me for free. Christmas is early this year! Maybe the worker was Santa Claus?

4 Other Things I Consumed This Week: 11/7/2025

Huel Peach & Hibiscus Daily Greens

Never again. I don’t care that it has 42 vitamins, minerals, and superfoods. Even if I got it for free, I would not drink another Huel Daily Greens. The can says, “Powerful greens in every sip,” but it was a bit unpleasant to power through every sip for me. I couldn’t even get through one-fourth of the can. Let me tell you my horror story.

For the most part, this is one of those rare products that smells worse than it tastes, and that might be the nicest thing I’m going to say about this. A savory mushroom smell came out of the can the instant I opened it. While not at all pleasant, I thought it made sense since Lion’s Mane mushroom powder is one of the highlighted ingredients. However, that aroma later became an issue, which I’ll get to in a moment.

The number of juice concentrates in this drink would make you think they could overcome the mushrooms, and they do to some extent. Let’s see now, there’s strawberry, sour cherry, red raspberry, apple, carrot, cranberry, and blueberry.

But despite all that, the sip is like a roller coaster over a landfill. It starts with that savory mushroom flavor dropping onto your tongue, then the fruitiness rises above the less pleasant flavors, making things taste like a tolerable fruity and peachy mushroom soup, and then the aftertaste drops your taste buds back to Earth(y). Also, any burps will have you reliving the aftertaste. Better hope you don’t get hiccups at this time. Oh, here’s another nice thing I’m going to say about this drink: It’s still mostly unpleasant and I needed something to get rid of the taste in my mouth, but I didn’t gag.

But back to that aroma. I thought maybe things would be better after I let it sit in the fridge. Do not let it sit in your fridge! Better yet, do not buy this! That mushroom odor will spread throughout the air-tight box and make any open baking soda box in your fridge tap out, wishing it had been used for baking fruitcakes that will go uneaten instead. Even as I typed this, the open can was next to me, and its aroma silently assaulted my nostrils. So I dumped the rest of the can down the drain, and left the empty can in the sink. I thought that was the last I’ll have to deal with it.

However, minutes later, I could smell it again from the can, which was 15 feet away. Squirting some dish soap and filling it with water seemed to have corralled the odor problem for now. Not sure if I want to recycle the can or throw it in with the other trash so it’ll be burned.

Huel Daily Greens come in other flavors, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they have the same blech-ness. If you’re a Lion’s Mane mushroom fanatic, you should try this. And if you like it, you should wait until they’re on Target Clearance for 99 cents to buy them all. But please open them in the privacy of your own home. But for the rest of you, don’t even think about it. Just hurl your cart past these Huel drinks.

Nestle Tokyo Banana Kit Kat

This Japanese Kit Kat flavor has been around for several years, and I feel like I’ve had it before, but I didn’t document it on this site or in my camera roll. Bad food blogger! Not taking pictures of everything you eat!

My older brother gave me a variety of Kit Kat flavors he collected on a recent trip to Japan, and this was the one that stood out because I LOVE banana-flavored stuff, and it’s the only one I instantly recognized without having to read Japanese writing. Anyhoo, these are delicious, and I’m EXTREMELY sad my brother gave me only one.

If you’re not familiar with Tokyo Banana, you can read more about it here. Basically, think of it as an elegant Twinkie with a sponge cake-like coating and banana creme within it. This Kit Kat, though, has banana-flavored creme between the wafers with a chocolate coating. So I guess think of it as eating a chocolate-covered banana-flavored Kit Kat.

McDonald’s The New Buffalo Ranch

Tiffany recently reviewed the sauce and one of the McCrispy Sandwiches, but I finally got to taste it with the Chicken McNuggets in my $5 Meal Deal. (Pro tip: The Meal Deals come with small drinks, but when you go to the checkout page and edit your Meal Deal, you can change it to a large without an up-charge. Well, at least, I’ve been doing that.)

Anyhoo, back to the sauce. I’m having a hard time believing this is different from other Buffalo sauces I’ve had from McDonald’s. It might be creamier or something, but it still has a familiar vinegary and buttery flavor. Although, if my memory is correct, the previous Buffalo sauces were spicier. If there are notes of ranch, my taste buds didn’t notice them. With that said, it’s a tasty McNuggets sauce, but it’s not quite good enough to surpass my beloved Hot Mustard.

Clear Simple Eats Peach Mango Creme Clear Protein Water

It seems like I’m trying a protein drink every week. Well, what can I say? I’m like a moth to a light when it comes to protein drinks. Or maybe it’s all the influencers in my Instagram feed that tell me I need to consume more protein. This clear protein water from Clear Simple Eats comes in a variety of flavors, like Blackberry Vanilla, Raspberries & Cream, and this Peach Mango Creme. Why does Raspberries & Cream use “Cream,” while Peach Mango Creme uses “Creme”? Well, that’s not clear to me. You walked yourself into that one, those of you who thought that question.

The drink is clear and colorless, but there’s some stuff floating on the surface, which I assume is the grass-fed whey protein that provides 20 grams of protein and gives it a slightly grainy texture you’d expect from a whey protein drink. It has no sugar; its sweetness comes from stevia leaf extract. There’s no juice, but it has a lovely peach mango flavor, with the peach standing out just a tad more. However, I’m not sure about the “creme” part.

Click/Tap here for our previous Other Things I Consumed posts.

REVIEW: Dairy Queen Peppermint Bark Blizzard

Dairy Queen Peppermint Bark Blizzard in a cup

Just in time for Thanksgiving, Dairy Queen gives us the new Peppermint Bark Blizzard. Sure, December might have been a more logical time to introduce this flavor, but I am glad that DQ only loosely follows the calendar because this is a delicious early Christmas gift.

I can’t give DQ any points for creativity with the straightforward name of this Blizzard, and it has an equally uninspiring look, as the peppermint bark pieces have a lot of white, which helps them hide in the vanilla soft serve. But once they get into your mouth, they deliver a wonderful flavor.

Dairy Queen Peppermint Bark Blizzard top

The DQ website says the peppermint bark has “white and milk chocolatey layers sprinkled with peppermint candy cane pieces,” and I truly could taste all three components. The white chocolate was a nice addition, as that’s not a typical Blizzard ingredient, and the candy cane pieces added a pleasant crunch despite being quite small. The milk chocolate was perhaps the least noticeable of the three, but it provides some contrast and a familiar flavor.

Dairy Queen Peppermint Bark Blizzard  mix-ins

I don’t mean this in a bad way, but this Blizzard is kind of like a Liam Neeson movie in that you pretty much know exactly what you are going to get. No, this Blizzard does not have giant plot holes or gratuitous violence, and it won’t threaten you in a deep, guttural voice, but it delivers what is promised. It’s just vanilla ice cream with peppermint bark. There are no surprises, but if you like ice cream, candy canes, and chocolate, well, then you are going to like this. Yes, it’s rather simple, but that’s OK. In fact, this one is more than OK.

This is a splendid Blizzard, and unlike Neeson’s latest flick “Ice Road: Vengeance,” which is somehow both predictable and unbelievable, I highly recommend it.

Purchased Price: $4.49
Size: Mini
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 350 calories, 13 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 110 milligrams of sodium, 54 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 47 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Baskin-Robbins Pistachio Chocolate Bar Ice Cream

Baskin-Robbins Pistachio Chocolate Bar Ice Cream scoop

I can’t say I’ve ever had Dubai-style chocolate because it’s not Dubai-gas-cheap. Seriously, I understand why gas is cheap in Dubai, but why is Dubai chocolate so expensive? Is it also expensive in Dubai, where gas is cheaper than bottled water here? Baskin-Robbins’ Flavor of the Month – Pistachio Chocolate Bar – is inspired by the pricey chocolate bar that’s gotten more lasting attention than ruby chocolate.

The scoop features a mix of pistachio and chocolate-flavored ice creams, pistachio pieces, and chocolate crunch swirls. Sadly, no kadayif (finely shredded filo pastry). But with the green pistachio ice cream and the dark-ish chocolate swirls, it brings Dubai chocolate to mind.

Baskin-Robbins Pistachio Chocolate Bar Ice Cream spoonful

Eating just the two swirled ice creams in one spoonful didn’t have a good balance; the pistachio dominates. The nut pieces included only made the pistachio flavor stronger. It’s only when the stronger-tasting chocolate crunch swirls came into play that this had a better balance, and that’s when I truly loved the scoop. I spent the rest of my time with my scoop making sure I got a bit of swirl with every spoonful. Thankfully, they were plentiful. I also loved its gritty and crunchy texture.

Baskin-Robbins Pistachio Chocolate Bar Ice Cream swirl

The pistachio pieces, which there are a lot of, didn’t have as hearty a snap as those in a bag of Wonderful Pistachios, but they did have a nice crunch. Honestly, the swirls had a more pleasing texture.

As a fan of pistachio ice cream, I thoroughly enjoyed this scoop with its great flavors and textures. It’s definitely worth a taste if you’re into pistachio ice cream. While it’s also not Dubai-gas-cheap, it’s about half the price of many Dubai chocolate offerings.

One last thing. While Baskin-Robbins Pistachio Chocolate Bar Ice Cream was extremely pleasing, I’m a little disappointed there wasn’t a Thanksgiving-themed flavor for this year’s November Flavor of the Month after last year’s Brie My Guest and 2023’s Turkey Day Fixin’s.

Purchased Price: $5.07*
Size: 4 oz scoop
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 330 calories, 21 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 130 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 22 grams of sugar (including 16 grams of added sugar), and 6 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. Also, I purchased this at a Baskin-Robbins in a high-rent mall.

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