REVIEW: Little Caesars Mtn Dew Mango Rush

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IT BURNS! MY MOUTH IS ON FIRE! CURSE YOU, LITTLE CAESARS, AND YOUR MTN DEW MANGO RUSH! I SWEAR I WILL SQUASH YOU TO MAKE YOU A LITTLER CAESARS AS PAYBACK FOR MAKING MY MOUTH HOTTER THAN YOUR HOT-N-READY PIZZAS!

The paragraph above is what I expected to scream after drinking Little Caesars’ exclusive Mtn Dew Mango Rush that features a blast of mango sweet heat flavor. But here I am, calmly wondering in mostly lowercase letters if there’s any heat. After drinking the entire 16-ounce can, there’s no spreading of spiciness or tingling that tickles the throat. I notice a little something in the aftertaste when I sip mindfully, but it doesn’t ring any fire alarms in my head. To be honest, I probably should’ve guessed this would be the case since the ballyhooed Mtn Dew Flamin’ Hot from a few years ago wasn’t necessarily Flamin’ or Hot.

This canned Mtn Dew doesn’t have any heat, but most interestingly, it doesn’t seem like it has much mango either. There has been a grove of mango Dew varieties, and what I taste here doesn’t bring any of them to mind. I don’t know if the “sweet heat” flavorings are messing with the natural and artificial mango flavors, but this tastes more like sweet orange than anything else.

While looking up the many tropical Dew variations, I came across a review on this website for a Mtn Dew Mango Heat Game Fuel from 2016 that I completely forgot about. In it, our reviewer, mentioned that it tasted “like Mountain Dew took a carbonated Ecto Cooler, added a splash of Sunny D, tossed in a dash of black pepper, and mixed it all together—by using a Mango Dum-Dum sucker as the swizzle stick.”

I never tried Mango Heat, so I can’t compare. But it does sound like the two flavors are similar. So it wouldn’t surprise me if this is a renamed version of it.

Little Caesars Mtn Dew Mango Rush doesn’t have a rush of mango flavor or heat. It tastes fine, but even though it’s available while supplies last, I don’t think it’s worth rushing out your door to pick up some.

Purchased Price: $2.99*
Size: 16 fl oz
Purchased at: Little Caesars
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 can) 210 calories, 0 grams of fat, 65 milligrams of sodium, 57 grams of carbohydrates, 57 grams of sugar (including 57 grams of added sugar), 0 grams of protein, and 72 milligrams of caffeine.

*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.

REVIEW: Burger King Frozen Strawberry & Nerds Candy

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If I were the King, Queen, or Royal Advisor of Burger King, I would’ve sprinkled Nerds candy on top of a vanilla soft serve cone and put it on the menu before a Nerds-topped strawberry slush. But, despite the ill-fitting BK Crown on my head as I type this, I’m not in charge, so we have Burger King’s Frozen Strawberry & Nerds Candy.

The simple concept puts Rainbow Nerds on top of a Frozen Strawberry Fanta. Honestly, I’m a little surprised BK chose the Rainbow version instead of the classic and best Nerds flavor — strawberry. But I guess using the Rainbow one is more visually appealing because it looks like my cup collected hail made from unicorn tears.

Actually, now that I’ve had time to think about it. Maybe Nerds sprinkled on a vanilla cone isn’t a good idea. Perhaps it should be Nerds Gummy Clusters topping the ice cream. Creamy ice cream. Crunchy candy pieces. Chewy gummy candy. Sigh. I NEED to be The King of Burger King.

And this dessert NEEDS to come with a spoon.

The candy-topped slush came with a regular straw. At first, I didn’t want to destroy the colorful layer by mixing everything, so I just poked my straw into it. That forced enough Nerds into the long cylinder so that I could get a bit of flavor and crunch with a straw sip. I did this a few times, but decided to finish the rest with a spoon to get different candy-to-slush ratios. It was a more satisfying way to consume this.

The Nerds enhanced the slush’s strawberry flavor with a nondescript fruitiness and tanginess. But the red slush stood out no matter what candy-to-slush ratio I dug out. Its tanginess also amped up the strawberry-flavored slush’s tang. I also liked how the candy’s crunch gave this a texture that was reminiscent of ice crystals.

Burger King’s Frozen Strawberry & Nerds is a fine sweet summery treat, but it’s not as mind-blowing as Nerds Candy was to me in the 1980s. Adding it on top of a slush is unique, but it’s not exciting enough to consider this a must buy.

Purchased Price: $2.29
Size: Small
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 160 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 45 milligrams of sodium, 43 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 42 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Sonic Unicorn Dreams Slush

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Have you ever wondered what it might be like to get brain freeze from a mythical creature? No, that’s just me? Well then, you’re going to find out anyway because Sonic’s magical new slush is definitely worth getting an ice cream headache for!

Sonic describes their newest slushtastic creation as: “A vibrant pink slush filled with magical flavor bubbles, crowned with a fluffy cloud of whipped topping, and finished with a sprinkle of shimmering sugar crystals.” While that is true, it doesn’t do enough to describe the truly ???: *???:* ??magical *:???*:? nature of this pink and blue drink.

If you like cotton candy-flavored things, you’ll love this. The flavor is very solidly cotton candy in all its sticky-sweet glory. The blue raspberry “flavor bubbles” (aka popping boba) are a nice change of pace, serving to highlight the cotton candy while adding a nuanced blueness all their own. The whipped topping is a lovely creamy addition, especially if you swirl it all together a la the Taco Bell Baja Blast Dream Freeze I reviewed recently (I wonder if that nomenclature is solely because “dream” and “cream” rhyme…”

If I have some constructive criticism, it’s that I wish the shimmering sugar crystals on this drink were more like the chunkier, more textured versions from the same chain’s LTO Strawberry Shortcake Snowball Slush Float. Hah, try saying that three times fast! In all seriousness, though, the crunchier sugar crystals that drink used would have made the Unicorn Dreams slush a 10 out of 10! So if anyone from Sonic happens to be reading this review, consider switching up the sugar crystals! As much as I enjoyed the aesthetics of the sprinkle of pink and blue fairy dust on top of the whipped topping, they brought nothing else to the party and pretty much just dissolved on contact.

As an UNEXPECTED BONUS, this drink also comes with A UNICORN HORN SHAPED STRAW!!! OMG WHAT!? I literally giggled when it was handed to me. It’s a great little perk of ordering the drink and definitely made the drinking experience a bit more fantastical. Unfortunately, the smaller side of the straw is too narrow to accommodate the blue raspberry flavor beads. So, unless you want to use the straw like a peashooter and spit the blue things across the car, you’ll need to ask for a separate boba-sized straw.

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: Medium (only size available)
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 430 calories, 5 grams of total fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 180 milligrams of sodium, 102 grams of total carbs, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 101 grams of total sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Iced Strawberry Lemon Loaf Cake

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With desserts and coffee on the same menu, Dunkin’ always compels me to eat cake for breakfast. That undeniable urge brought me back to the drive-thru for its new summer menu. The Iced Strawberry Lemon Loaf Cake cried out to my sweets-for-breakfast-loving heart, and it ultimately further encouraged my habit. How?

This loaf cake tastes a lot like Trix cereal. Thanks, Dunkin’. In my mind, cake that tastes like cereal = cereal = breakfast = a sensible morning meal. Right?

Ignore my flimsy rationalization for several moments, and let’s return to the cake. In smell and taste, the loaf’s fruity flavor is very similar to Trix, Fruity Pebbles, and any candy, snack, or sweet inspired by such sugary cereal icons. It’s definitely an enjoyable and nostalgic, although nondescript, flavor that pairs well with the cake’s rich, buttery taste. While I could discern lemon flavor (but very little strawberry) primarily in the aftertaste, I wish that the loaf tasted more specifically fruity as opposed to generically fruity.

The loaf lists lemon juice, strawberry puree, and natural flavors among its ingredients, so it’s funny that the resulting taste is so similar to products that lean on cocktails of artificial fruit flavorings. I wonder if sticking to one flavor would have yielded a result similar to the lemon loaf from Starbucks, which I haven’t had in years but still remember as tasting like lemon zest.

Despite the unexpected flavor, the Iced Strawberry Lemon Loaf Cake is not a bad bite. The slice is thick, moist, and dense in crumb—a perfect, filling pound cake consistency. The layer of strawberry-flavored icing coating the top is semisoft powdered sugar icing, neither crusty nor runny. It adds an extra touch of moisture and sweetness without being cloying, although the purported strawberry flavor is pretty mild. Bonus points for the cool marble swirl effect that paints the cake yellow and pink. In these respects, the loaf satisfies, rivaling similar products you’d find at other coffee or grocery store chains.

Pre-packaged for on-the-go convenience, Dunkin’s seasonal Iced Strawberry Lemon Loaf Cake is here for a limited time. For breakfast, snack, or dessert, it won’t serve up a slice of summer flavor, but fruity cereal fans won’t leave any crumbs.

Purchased Price: $3.29
Size: 4 oz (113 g) slice
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 450 calories, 21 grams of total fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 75 milligrams of cholesterol, 310 milligrams of sodium, 58 grams of total carbs, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 40 grams of sugar, and 5 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Baskin-Robbins Strawberry Tres Leches Ice Cream

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Pardon my mixing of languages, but Baskin-Robbins Strawberry Tres Leches Ice Cream is très bien. The sweet treat combines tres leches-flavored ice cream with strawberry pieces, white cake pieces, and strawberry swirls.

Although vanilla-looking, the tres leches base tasted nothing like any vanilla variety or sweet cream ice cream. Instead, there was a unique milkiness that did enough to convince me it was supposed to be three milk cake-flavored. While I believe it tasted pleasant, I wish its flavor had a bit more punch.

The same can be said about the strawberry swirls and pieces. While they had a noticeable berry flavor, they weren’t as sweet or flavorful as what I remember getting from a McDonald’s strawberry sundae. Fortunately, with the ice cream base and strawberry ingredients not being bold, neither overpowers the other, making it possible to taste both in every bite.

Much like the cake pieces in previous Baskin-Robbins offerings, the ones in this scoop were dense and chewy, which was what I expected. Because there is no way light and airy tres leches cake pieces could survive being mixed into an ice cream. As for their flavor, I think the base does a better job than the actual cake pieces at getting across the baked goods flavor.

Baskin-Robbins’ Strawberry Tres Leches Ice Cream is worth a try. However, it is not out of this world like TrES, the Trans-Atlantic Exoplanet Survey. Nor does it hit my taste buds as hard as Green Day drummer Tré Cool.

Purchased Price: $3.79
Size: 2.5 oz scoop
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 160 calories, 7 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 65 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 18 grams of sugar (including 14 grams of added sugar), and 2 grams of protein.

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