Fast Food

REVIEW: Sonic Red Bull Summer Edition Strawberry Apricot Slush

Holly / April 8, 2022 / Reviews

With the recent temperature increases in Florida, my slush cravings have hit hard. As if magic (or just a targeted ad), Sonic Drive-In’s new Red Bull Summer Edition Strawberry Apricot Slush was popping up on my feed. I’m already a huge Red Bull fan, so a chance to try the limited edition summer flavor in slush form seemed like an easy choice.

While Red Bull has been periodically releasing Summer Editions since 2014, it wasn’t until 2020 that Sonic started offering the limited edition flavors as part of its slush lineup.

As with most fast food companies, Sonic is very much pushing the use of its mobile ordering app. I bring this up only to note that if you order a drink through the app, they are all half price all day. I ordered a medium of the summer slush and raced it home. I had worried the 20-minute drive would cause it to lose some oomph. Luckily, the styrofoam cup kept it at the perfect temperature.

Before transferring it into my Tervis tumbler, I took a few sips of the light pink slush. Red Bull tends to have a very sweet start and a slightly tangy finish in the flavors I’ve tried. This one was sweet all the way through. In fact, had you not told me it was part of the Red Bull brand, I would have thought it was just any other sweet-flavored slush. The strawberry and apricot (which comes across as more peach flavored) are subtle but present and blending the energy drink with the slush ice made for a pleasant sipping experience.

I reached out to Sonic about the caffeine content (I couldn’t find it anywhere on its website). I was shocked when I was told a medium has only 40 milligrams. For reference, the 8.4-ounce can has 80. It would appear it uses half a can which explains why the flavor might be more subtle than if you drank it straight. Honestly, learning that it wasn’t even an entire can in the medium (20 oz) lowered my opinion of the item. If I’m getting a Red Bull drink, I’m looking for the caffeine that comes with a Red Bull.

While a fine treat, the Red Bull Summer Edition Strawberry Apricot Slush doesn’t deliver on what I feel a Red Bull slush should. The flavor in this form doesn’t stand out as uniquely as a Red Bull, and the lack of caffeine (in relation to what is expected from Red Bull) doesn’t have me racing back to get it again. If you’re curious, make sure to use the app to order so you get half off because I wouldn’t recommend it at the regular $3.99 price.

Purchased Price: $1.99 (half off via the Sonic app)
Size: Medium (20 oz)
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (Medium) 250 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 75 milligrams of sodium, 65 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 65 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Dairy Queen S’mores Shake

Karen / April 5, 2022 / Reviews / 6 Comments

What is Dairy Queen’s S’mores Shake?

DQ’s latest shake mimics the flavors of the classic campfire treat. It has vanilla soft serve blended with marshmallow topping, chocolate flakes, and graham cracker bits.

How is it?

The first thing I tried to figure out was what the little grainy pieces were. They were so tiny that I couldn’t discern much flavor. Were they chocolate bits or graham cracker bits? When I had drunk more of the shake and could see beyond the whipped topping, it was clear that the really tiny bits were the graham and the larger flakes were chocolate.

Flavor-wise, it’s a giant marshmallow-flavored kick in the face. There’s no subtlety here, not that I wanted any. The graham bits and chocolate flakes added enough texture to create a nice mouthfeel, but the marshmallow flavor of the product still overwhelmed the graham and chocolate notes. Strangely as I got deeper into the shake, the chocolate pieces were bigger, and it added more chocolatey-ness to the experience.

This is a thick shake, so thick that I sometimes had trouble sucking it up with my straw. This isn’t Wendy’s Frosty “Give up on straws, you need a spoon here” territory, but it’s getting there.

For some reason, this shake didn’t strike me as being as addictive as the shakes from Five Guys, currently my go-to for milkshakes. It’s good, but it just doesn’t have that same “OMG I have to shovel this in my face immediately!” quality. What’s the secret? Perhaps the quality of the base dairy product? Clearly, I need to do more research on this topic and drink many, many more shakes — for science.

I should note that the shake is very sweet, but let’s be honest: I’m a person who reviews milkshakes from Dairy Queen. If “too sweet” were ever an issue, I probably would not be in the milkshake-review game.

Anything else you need to know?

Dairy Queen’s website tells us that “One sip and you’re sure to be left wanting s’more,” so you can be satisfied that no opportunity to make that old-as-the-hills pun was spared. It’s not a lie though; I finished my whole shake and I still kind of want s’more. Having any more at this point would probably make me sick, but I still want it.

Conclusion:

The S’mores shake is a very respectable attempt to turn the gooey, classic summer snack into a drinkable delight. It’s a little one-note, but fortunately it’s a tasty note.

Purchased Price: $4.79
Size: 8 oz (small)
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 640 calories, 32 grams of fat, 21 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 240 milligrams of sodium, 77 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 64 grams of sugar, and 12 grams of protein.

Dairy Queen Fast Food Ice Cream

REVIEW: Burger King Whopper Melt

Vin / March 25, 2022 / Reviews / 14 Comments

Before I stepped foot in the hallowed Home of the Whopper to try its new Melt, I took a quiz on the Burger King app to figure out which version was perfect for me.

Said app proceeded to tell me to get the regular Whopper Melt because I was “the anti-social one.”

Sure, I haven’t interacted with another human being since 2019, but I don’t need a burger joint to remind me. Here I thought I was a glutton for fast food, but turns out I was also a glutton for punishment.

Nevertheless, I was undeterred. I didn’t exactly appreciate that little jab, but I wanted to try the burger. You win, King.

The new Whopper Melt is a double patty burger smothered in melty cheese, “Stacker Sauce,” and caramelized onions layered between two pieces of toast.

I wouldn’t say mine was particularly “toasty,” but I love this style bun, and it was easily better than the BK norm.

For a burger called a “melt,” I was genuinely happy the cheese wasn’t as “melty” as I expected. I thought this thing would be extremely messy, but the cheese rested nicely between regular slice and nacho sauce, giving it a texture that fit the name, but also didn’t drip all over the place. It was perfect.

Speaking of perfect, Stacker Sauce was the star of the show. I know it’s been used in the past, but this was my first time trying it.

The caramelized onions sprinkled throughout the sauce gave it the flavor and texture of diced sweet pickle relish in a Thousand Island dressing. I think I may have found my new favorite burger sauce.

As for the beef, they’re not my favorite fast food patties, but they do the job. It’ll all depend on whether or not you like flame-broiled patties. I couldn’t help but wish this was a Wendy’s burger, as the entire concept and appearance felt more like its speed.

The Whopper Melt is basically a Whopper in name only. I hadn’t had a Whopper in years, but I know this was unequivocally better.

You can get your Whopper Melt with bacon, but it doesn’t seem necessary. There’s also a spicy version with jalapenos and a “creamy spicy sauce,” which I’m sure is good, but I loved the Stacker Sauce so much, I can’t imagine it possibly topping it.

If I have one minor complaint, this sandwich is somehow pretty… small?

I expected a behemoth, but was done with it in no time. There are two patties weighing 1/4 of a pound, but I don’t even think this stacks up to a regular Whopper in size. It’s like a double Whopper Jr., but ya know what, I didn’t get fast food fatigue, so that’s a plus.

The Whopper Melt might legit be the best BK burger I’ve had since, I don’t even know, the original Rodeo Burger from the 90s? It’s impressive.

My new plan is to get some actual friends together and try the Spicy Whopper Melt, which I assume is only for cool kids.

Purchased Price: $5.79
Size: N/A
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 604 calories, 35 grams of fat, 15 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 93 milligrams of cholesterol, 981 milligrams of sodium, 42 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 29 grams of protein.

Burger King Fast Food

REVIEW: Taco Bell Steak Nacho Fries Burrito

Marvo / March 14, 2022 / Reviews / 6 Comments

What is the Taco Bell Steak Nacho Fries Burrito?

It features the returning Nacho Fries with steak, tomatoes, reduced-fat sour cream, cheddar cheese, chipotle sauce, and nacho cheese sauce inside a warm flour tortilla.