REVIEW: Dairy Queen Strawberry Angel Food Cake Blizzard

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Dairy Queen Strawberry Angel Food Cake Blizzard with soft serve, strawberry topping and vanilla angel food cake

If it seems like there’s not much you can count on anymore, at least you know Dairy Queen will always deliver at least one new Blizzard every month. Sure, sometimes the “new” Blizzards are just Taco Bell-style rehashes of the same ingredients or repeats from the past, but for April, the fine folks at DQ did include something truly new in the “Countdown to Summer” Blizzard menu.

In addition to returning appearances for S’mores and Cotton Candy, the Strawberry Angel Food Cake Blizzard joins the party with, as you might have guessed, angel food cake pieces and strawberry topping mixed together with a whipped topping.

The not fluffy Angel cake pieces in the Blizzard.

Although this one is not quite accurately named, it is a pleasant addition to the lineup. If you are expecting the cake pieces to be light and airy, like angel food cake, you need to temper your expectations. Likely by necessity, as real pieces of angel food cake would probably crumble and get soggy in a Blizzard, these are more like vanilla pound cake chunks and have a fairly dense texture. They taste good and hold up well in their frosty environment, but they won’t make your taste buds think of angel food cake.

The strawberry topping has a few bits of fruit in it.

The strawberry topping is deliciously sweet with some occasional chunks of soft fruit. As someone who never passes up the chance to tilt up a can of Reddi-Wip and shoot some into my mouth, I also enjoyed having a bit of whipped topping on this, even if it did taste more like Cool Whip. Not that DQ would ask me, but I cannot offer any suggestions to make this one better. It’s about as good as it can be using cake pieces and strawberry flavor, but at the same time, it’s not something that will blow your mind.

The whipped topping adds a nice touch.

If you are looking for a true strawberry and angel food cake experience, I suggest buying or baking yourself a cake and adding some ice cream, strawberries, and whipped cream. But that’s a lot of work, and even though the cake texture of this is a bit different, it is still a tasty way to pass the time until the next new Blizzard flavor is announced.

Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: Small
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 540 calories, 17 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 45 milligrams of cholesterol, 410 milligrams of sodium, 84 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 68 grams of sugar, and 12 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Jack in the Box Dr Pepper Strawberry & Cream Shake

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Jack in the Box Dr Pepper Strawberry & Cream Shake topped with whipped cream.

Several fast food chains have offered Dr Pepper shakes, but I had yet to try one.

Whataburger, whose locations are thousands of miles away from me, is one chain that comes to mind because every time its Dr Pepper Shake returns, I’m reminded of it via many Facebook and Instagram ads. The regional chain also sold a Dr Pepper Blackberry Shake last year. Another chain that comes to mind is Burger King, which has a location three miles from me. It had a limited time Dr Pepper shake, but I missed it.

So I wouldn’t feel FOMO, I instantly took the opportunity to try Jack in the Box’s Dr Pepper Strawberries & Cream Shake, blended with Dr Pepper and strawberry flavors, then topped with whipped cream. While Jack in the Box isn’t the first to offer a shake flavored like the iconic soda, it is the first fast food chain to sell one flavored like Dr Pepper’s Strawberries & Cream soda, a permanent Dr Pepper variety.

With this being Jack in the Box, which loves to add Oreo crumbs to limited-time shakes, I’m surprised chocolate cookie crumbs didn’t find their way in here, too. I kid, but also not really, because Oreo crumbs really do find their way into a lot of Jack’s new shakes.

Jack in the Box Dr Pepper Strawberry & Cream Shake's tan-pink color that my phone's camera doesn't quite capture.

The menu item has a tan-pink color that my phone’s camera couldn’t quite capture, but it looks more appropriate at Sephora than in a sippable dessert. But I guess that’s what happens when you Bob Ross red strawberry syrup, brown Dr Pepper syrup, and white vanilla ice cream together.

As for its flavor, it initially tasted more like a telehealth appointment through my phone with Dr Pepper than a face-to-face office visit. The strawberry was stronger than the Dr Pepper most of the time. The difference was big enough that I could probably convince you it’s just a regular strawberry shake, if I could hide its Ulta Beauty foundation-like color. A light cream flavor was present, but I’m not sure whether it came from the whipped cream or the vanilla base.

When mixed, the shake tastes much better.

But after mixing everything a bit more thoroughly, the Dr Pepper stood out a bit more, and the two main flavors had a better balance. The Dr Pepper syrup added a noticeable cherry note along with hints of the soda’s famous 23 flavors. I really began to enjoy it once that balance came together.

Jack in the Box’s Dr Pepper Strawberry & Cream Shake is a delightful, delicious treat. When mixed well, it gets across its Dr Pepper and strawberry flavors. It’s worth traveling a few miles to try it.

Purchased Price: $6.29*
Size: Regular
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 680 calories. No other nutritional information is available on the Jack in the Box website.

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

REVIEW: Burger King Peppercorn BLT Whopper

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Burger King Peppercorn BLT Whopper that came in a clamshell box, so it's not smooshed.

Holy Deadpool & Wolverine! What the peppercorn aioli is this?

Earlier this year, Burger King rolled out the Ultimate Steakhouse Whopper, featuring a 1/4 lb beef patty topped with onion rings, sautéed mushrooms, bacon, Swiss cheese, and peppercorn aioli, on a toasted sesame seed bun.

In my review, I noted that it was a derivative of 2025’s Steakhouse Bacon Whopper, which featured a quarter-pound beef patty topped with lettuce, tomato, crispy onions, A.1. Sauce, bacon, Swiss cheese, and peppercorn aioli on a toasted sesame seed bun.

In this review, I’m going to point out that the new Peppercorn BLT Whopper is a derivative of both — and really should’ve been called the Ultimate Steakhouse Bacon Whopper. It features a quarter-pound beef patty topped with lettuce, tomato, bacon, Swiss cheese, and peppercorn aioli on a toasted sesame seed bun.

Either other universes are sending peppercorn aioli-topped Whoppers to ours, or Burger King’s Whopper creations are now produced via AI using the following prompt: “I’m the fast food burger chain, Burger King, and accidentally purchased too much peppercorn aioli. Using toppings I always have in stock, come up with new Whopper variations.”

Despite their many ingredient similarities, the peppercorn aioli Whopper variants have had different taste profiles. The Ultimate Steakhouse Whopper had a mushroom & Swiss vibe, the Steakhouse Bacon Whopper had a Western burger vibe, and this new one has a less straightforward vibe.

Burger King Peppercorn BLT Whopper split view.

I didn’t notice this with the previous peppercorn aioli-topped Whoppers, but the sauce doesn’t really have a strong peppercorn flavor. Instead, I taste something that’s Caesar dressing-adjacent with most bites, and the crunch of the lettuce with it further convinces my brain that I might be eating a Caesar salad that was made in front of me at a high-end steakhouse by someone in a tuxedo.

Burger King Peppercorn BLT Whopper with bacon, bacon, bacon

But there are also times when the savory, porky bacon takes over and, along with the mild cheese, makes it taste like a no frills deluxe bacon cheeseburger, but with Swiss. While the beef patty offered a meaty flavor, I didn’t taste that usual flame-grilled-ness from it, which is a strange thing to miss in a Whopper.

Overall, it’s an okay tasting Whopper, and, if you’re from another universe, it’s not worth traveling to this one to try it.

Purchased Price: $10.19*
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 790 calories, 48 grams of fat, 18 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 130 milligrams of cholesterol, 1590 milligrams of sodium, 57 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 43 grams of protein.

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

REVIEW: Taco Bell Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider

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As someone who doesn’t love beef, I highly appreciate the touchscreens at Taco Bell that allow you to make substitutions seamlessly—no fear of a disapproving gaze as I sheepishly swap to chicken. The only thing I’d enjoy more would be if the good people of Taco Bell revamped a classically beef-centric dish to include chicken from the get-go… and wouldn’t you know it, that’s exactly what they did with the new limited edition Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider.

This isn’t the first Slider-ified Crunchwrap; it follows in the footsteps of last year’s Steak & Queso flavor. Where the OG Crunchwrap Supreme contains Nacho Cheese sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream, this new variant has crispy chicken as the main protein, plus a three-cheese blend, pico de gallo, and your choice of either Creamy Chipotle or Jalapeno Honey Mustard sauce. Being a slider, it’s also important to note that it’s smaller than the traditional Crunchwrap Supreme, making it ideal for a quick snack. (If you’re hungrier, you can even get it as part of the Discovery Luxe Cravings Box combo.)

Ingredients peeking out of the Taco Bell Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider

While the Slider shares the same iconic hexagonal shape as the original Crunchwrap Supreme, mine wasn’t folded quite flawlessly, so I could see some sauce-coated bits of tomato peeking out. The small size came in handy here, since I was able to grip the Slider fully in one hand and keep the other ready to catch any fillings that might tumble out. My first bite was remarkably solid, which made sense when I realized I had bitten directly into one of the nuggets of crispy chicken. (“I see, it’s like a chicken nugget wrapped in a tortilla,” remarked my husband, who, I guess, had never heard of a Crunchwrap before? Technically, there were three chicken nuggets in there, but his observation was more or less accurate.)

Taco Bell Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider chicken nugget plumpness

I enjoyed the plumpness of the nugget and the tasty fried coating, even if it was a bit dry. That problem was mitigated by mouthfuls that had more mustard, though I still couldn’t help but think that shredded chicken would have been a better fit. I know, the whole reason this item exists is to promote the fact that Taco Bell sells chicken nuggets these days, but still! It also didn’t help that my Slider came out a bit lukewarm, and my suspicions that it hadn’t been properly heated all the way through were supported when I unwrapped it to see an abundance of unmelted cheese shreds.

It kind of looks like a taco Salad with the tortillas peeled back.

The pico de gallo was mild, mostly sweet from the tomatoes, which obscured the onion’s bite. And speaking of “sweet with a bite,” the jalapeno honey mustard was a bit strange. I mostly tasted the acridness of the jalapeno, which was a tad too vinegary for my liking, though my very last bite somehow tasted like pure, classic honey mustard, so it wasn’t the most consistent sauce.

While the Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider didn’t knock my socks off, I enjoyed it enough to try it again if the opportunity arises. Maybe my Taco Bell was just having an off day! Maybe I would fare better with the Creamy Chipotle! And if all else fails, I can always do a little more customizing on my beloved touchscreen.

Purchased Price: $2.99
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 320 calories, 12 grams of fat, 860 milligrams of sodium, 36 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of sugar, and 16 grams of protein.

REVIEW: McDonald’s Derpy McFlurry

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McDonald's Derpy McFlurry Derpy Cup

There are two animal characters in KPop Demon Hunters — Derpy and The Bird.

Well, that’s what my wife said when I asked her the animal characters’ names, since she watched the movie and I didn’t. I don’t know what’s worse: someone who watched the movie not knowing your name, or not getting your own McDonald’s menu item. Sorry, Sussie (The Bird’s name). But Derpy is cuter and, as luck would have it, has a name that rhymes with McFlurry.

The Derpy McFlurry features McDonald’s soft serve with wildberry-flavored sauce and popping pearls. And because this is KPop Demon Hunters, it naturally has to have purple in some way — though Derpy is apparently blue, so why isn’t this dessert blue too? But again, I’m coming at this as someone who has only read the movie’s Wikipedia entry, so maybe I’m missing something.

Wildberry sauce and popping pearls sitting on top the soft serve

One thing worth knowing before you dig in: the wildberry sauce and popping pearls all sit on top of the soft serve, so if you want that flavor throughout, you’re going to have to mix it yourself. I know, I know — it’s a McFlurry, and they’re supposed to do that for you. But can you imagine sticking this into the McFlurry mixing machine? All those purple pearls would pop.

McDonald's Derpy McFlurry Derpy popping pearls up close

While it’s wildberry-flavored, if you love raspberry, you’re going to love this — though at times I thought I detected a hint of blueberry as well. The fruity flavor is bold and present with most spoonfuls once mixed, and the popping pearls do exactly what they’re supposed to, exploding in your mouth and enhancing the flavor with every pop. Its fruitiness reminds me of raspberry yogurt, minus the seeds — which, thankfully, aren’t here, because I’m not a fan of raspberry seeds in yogurts or Jamba Juice smoothies.

The wild berry sauce is purple and not blue like Derpy.

McDonald’s Derpy McFlurry is quite satisfying with its berry flavor and fun with its exploding spherical inclusions. Along with the Demon Sauce from the HUNTRIX Meal, this was another highlight of McDonald’s current limited-time menu, and a dessert I’d happily go back for.

Purchased Price: $5.69*
Size: Regular
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 400 calories, 8 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 150 milligrams of sodium, 72 grams of carbohydrates, 62 grams of sugar (including 52 grams of added sugar), and 9 grams of protein.

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

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