Gigi-Reviews

Toppo 60th Anniversary Ghana Milk Chocolate

2009-07-14T21:18:00.006-04:00

Toppo is yet another candy stick confection from Japan, along with Pocky and Fran. And if Pocky and Fran are cousins, then Toppo is like the prom night dumpster baby of the two. (But I mean that in a respectful way!)

On Pocky/Fran sticks the candy coating is dipped on the outside of the biscuit. In the case of Toppo, the outside is a hollow biscuit, and the center is filled with the candy.

This Toppo is -- not surprisingly -- filled with milk chocolate made from Ghanaian cacao beans. The outer biscuit is crispy, but flaky. Tastewise, it reminded me more of a pretzel than it did the neutral biscuit of Pocky/Fran. If only it had really been a salted pretzel! That would have been amazingly good!

The Ghana chocolate is very cool on the tongue. The texture is smooth and almost fluid. It's a sweet chocolate, but not too sweet, as some cheaper, lesser quality milk chocolate can be. Actually, this was just as impressive as Pocky and Fran. I really have got to go looking for more of the Toppo flavors now!

PURCHASED FROM:
Kam Man Market, New York City.

I got mine at Kam Man in NYC, but my friends at J-List carry several of the different Toppo flavors!

Godiva Chocoiste Pearls: Dark Chocolate with Mandarin Orange

2009-07-14T02:57:00.005-04:00

I have gone through more than a few of the mint Godiva Pearls, and I knew that the orange existed, but hadn't spotted them. I found this tin at an airport kiosk, of all places!

The Godiva Chocoiste Pearls are small glossy spheres of flavored chocolate. This particular flavor is made with dark chocolate. As far as dark chocolate goes, it is pretty mild. There are faint coffee notes and the chocolate does have a slightly bitter edge. But it reminded me more of a semi-sweet chocolate chip than of Godiva's normal dark chocolate.

The orange is good. It's vibrant and so natural I was expecting...well, hoping, really..for little bits of candied zest. Sadly, there is no candied zest, but I think I knew better than to actually expect any. You can never have too much candied zest.

And we all know how much I love attractive packaging. I love the little tins the pearls come in. I have reused all of mine.

The only thing I didn't like about the pearls was the texture. Part of the problem is that the chocolate is waxy. It looks great; it does look like a shiny chocolate pearl, but it keeps the melt from being as smooth as it could be. Once you are past the outer shell it does smooth out a bit, but it's not what you would normally get with Godiva. If they could even out the texture issues and make the dark chocolate darker, these would easily rate a 9.

As is, however, they get:

PURCHASED FROM:
Random kiosk at LaGuardia Airport, New York City

X-Treme Fruit Bites: Lemon X-plosion

2009-07-10T05:24:00.004-04:00

Anything with overuse of the term "X-Treme" tends to give me flashbacks to 1997, when EVERYTHING was being marketed as "X-Treme."

Maybe I am just lazy and have never felt the need to kayak through a convenience store. Maybe I never felt the need to mix flannel and spandex (and no one else should either). In any event, lurking amongst the fruit leather at the store was this small pack of lemon jellies. I think they're intended to be one of those snacks that Soccer Moms feel less guilty about giving their little carpet sharks when they are begging for candy.

Each little disk is about the same size as a flattened M&M...or little lemon corneas. The color is a cloudy dark yellow (kinda like frat boy X-Treme pee). The texture is really interesting. At first it starts off almost feeling like a gummy. The outer shell is a bit coarse and it seems to be sugary (but it's not a sandy sugar). As soon as the heat of your mouth melts the outer shell off, the whole candy just dissolves.

Flavor-wise it starts off sweet (again, the outer shell), then the flavor quickly becomes more tart. I won't go as far to say that the lemon flavor is entirely natural, but it's not too artificial either.

I'm not sure what makes this "X-Treme," though. It's not super sour. I don't think it's any more sour than anything made with Tru Lemon. There's nothing really unusual in terms of texture, shape or color. But these bites are pretty tasty.

PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

Oreo Fudge Sundae Creme: Limited Edition

2009-07-09T05:53:00.005-04:00

There aren't nearly enough limited edition Oreos for my taste.

The possibilities are pretty much endless, flavor-wise. I would love to see a green tea (actually, Japanese Oreos are made in a huge variety of flavors... and Jim got to review a Green Tea Oreo Bar.) But Green Tea aside, Fudge Sundae sounds like a pretty good combo to me.

Once again, the cookie is simply the classic Oreo cookie. It's crisp, it's chocolaty, it's happiness with filling.

What's different is that filling. It's a mix of the classic Oreo "white" stuffing and a chocolate creme. The white creme doesn't really have a flavor beyond sweet.

The chocolate is the larger of the two portions of creme. I haven't had one of the chocolate filled Oreos since they came out, and I don't really remember what it tasted like--but I am working on the assumption that it is the same creme. What this does remind me of is the old school EL Fudge creme. It tastes more like the idea of what chocolate should taste like, rather than real chocolate. I say that because there is that distinct coconutty taste that cheap chocolate often has. When the two cremes are eaten together, the chocolate side completely overpowers the white side. Kinda of un-sundaelike, but it's a cookie so we'll just get over it.

Personally, I don't like the chocolate very much--which reminds me of why I haven't bought them in years. But if you are a fan of the chocolate creme, you will probably really like this flavor. Otherwise...eh, forgettable.

PURCHASED FROM:
WalMart*

Disneyland, Stage Door Café: Mozzarella Sticks

2009-07-07T13:57:00.002-04:00

Another visit to Disneyland, and another review!

I just wanted a fast snack--and who doesn't love cheese sticks? So I tried the Stage Door Café. The Stage Door is located next to the Golden Horseshoe, right at the end where Frontierland and Adventureland merge.

Sadly, this is the only picture we have to go with, because the rest of them just didn't come out.

The sticks come 5 to a basket and are roughly six inches long and a half an inch thick. The batter is a crumb batter and the cheese is mozzarella.

The batter's only flavor is "salty"...wait, actually the only flavor period is salt. It's crunchy enough, and surprisingly ungreasy, which was a plus.

The cheese itself is rubbery, and there is no flavor whatsoever. It's not even salty. It's just...well, it's just there.

I can't say these sticks are bad in any way. They are just extremely bland.

There are way better things to spend $8.59 on.

PURCHASED FROM:
Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, California

Jack in the Box: Sourdough Steak Melt

2009-07-06T05:14:00.003-04:00

Why can't L.A. be more like New York and have a relatively endless supply of 24 hour diners? While I know there are some, sadly none of them are anywhere close to me. But we do have Jack!

I decided I was up for something I could review, and instead of my standby, the oh-so-wonderful Sourdough Jack (no ketchup) I tried the new Sourdough Steak Melt.

The Sourdough Steak Melt has American, cheddar, Swiss-style cheese, grilled onions and peppercorn mayo on strips of marinated steak. Since I hate onions I didn't have any--although I am sure onions lovers would think they are the best part.

Honestly, I'd forgotten how much I dislike Jack's steak--after the beef bowls I am surprised I did that actually, but I did. While the pieces are reasonably bite sized and lean, the problem is two-fold.

First, the texture is just plain weird. It's rubbery at best. The second issue is the taste. If it didn't seem to be soaked in what must be Liquid Smoke and beef flavoring, it might have been okay in a low-budget Steak'umm kinda way.

But this is a version of steak that might come out of the Enterprise's earliest replicators. Y'know, back in their beta stage when you'd ask for a cup of coffee and you'd get something resembling fermented Romulan urine? (I am such a geek it even horrifies ME sometimes.) And just because you can doesn't mean you should.

I did like the three cheese blend. No, none of it is the best quality cheese, but it's hard to go wrong with those flavors. Also surprisingly good was the peppercorn mayo. It's just peppery enough that it adds some extra flavor but not any real heat or overwhelming spice.

If this sandwich had been made with a burger patty rather than the steak pieces, I would have really liked it. In fact, I am going to go and get one made with the burger instead. But since it's not normally made that way, we have to rate it as is...with that nasty, gnarly steak.

PURCHASED FROM:
Jack In The Box

Second Helpings 7-5-09

2009-07-05T03:40:00.000-04:00

Happy belated 4th! These are the reviews that lit my sparklers this week.

Cheap Eats wrote a really funny review of Yoo-Hoo. I am kind of cheating on this one because the review is older than a week...but I don't care. I just liked it that much.

Japanese Snack Review checked out the Japan-only version of Pepsi Shiso. Did you know Shiso is an herb in the mint family, and it smells like a mixture of pine and fennel? Me neither. But, since I am deathly allergic to pine (no real Christmas trees at Gigi's house!), just on the off chance that there are some aromatic oils in common, I will have to trust the Sumo rating scale.

Finally, Jim once again proved that Hotel Chocolat is awesome when he got to try the Hot Shots truffle collection. Did we really think it could be otherwise?

Trader Joe's Pumpernickel Pretzel Sticks

2009-06-30T02:26:00.003-04:00

I haven't seen pumpernickel sticks in years. I swear, they have everything at Trader Joe's!

My Dad used to like them. I remember he had what I still regard as a gross habit of "dipping" them in liverwurst or braunschweiger (another type of liverwurst). Actually, until I saw these rods at Trader Joe's, I had managed to suppress that memory fairly successfully for about 15 years... hmmmm,thanks, Trader Joe's!

Anyway... The TJ's Versions are roughly 4 inches long and half an inch thick. The slightly glossy outer shells are studded with rock salt. The rods are very crunchy and have a coarse texture.

In case you didn't know, Pumpernickel is a type of very dark rye bread. These pretzels, while seed free, do have a very strong rye flavor. They pretzels also have a really noticeable onion flavor (although since onion is listed on the ingredient list, it's not like we need Scooby Doo to solve the mystery). Looking at the rods you may worry they would be too salty because there are A LOT of salt crystals--but it balances out really well.

These would also be great dipped in onion dip or used as croutons. My Dad can keep the liver.

PURCHASED FROM:
Trader Joe's

Dannon Light & Fit Yogurt: Cantaloupe

2009-06-29T03:16:00.005-04:00

It has been really hot here in good old SoCal the last couple of days. And when it's this hot, I like my snacks to be light and refreshing (and usually ice creamy). Yogurt is always a good go-to snack, and there are enough flavors out there I could probably do an entire blog just on that. (But I won't, so don't worry).

Well, Dannon has added melon flavors to their Light & Fit line. Nice!

Color-wise, it reminded me of a chunk-free version of In-N-Out's burger dressing. In fact, just looking at it made me want a Double Double more than I wanted yogurt. A more poetic way to describe it would have be to say that it is a lovely orange chiffon shade. Kinda like something Blanche would have worn on The Golden Girls.

As for the flavor? I liked it. They actually did make it taste exactly like a sweet ripe slice of cantaloupe. It even has that vaguely banana/rose water taste that cantaloupe has. There is just a slight tang from the yogurt. (Come to think of it, this would make a fantastic smoothie base.) I was really impressed at how natural it tastes. I was worried that it would either taste like bad candy or have a vile after taste from the artificial sweeteners, but those fears were unfounded.

Thankfully, this is not a fruit-on-the-bottom type of yogurt. I love fruit on the bottom, but I can't imagine that cantaloupe would hold up very well. The texture is very smooth, but it's neither rich nor creamy...but since this is a fat free, low calorie yogurt, I didn't expect it to be. The only thing I didn't really care for is the consistency. It is very runny. (In that context, I definitely prefer Yoplait's low cal/fat options.) But even with the thinness of the yogurt, it still tasted pretty good and I would certainly get it again.

PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

Second Helpings 6-28-09

2009-06-28T13:30:00.001-04:00

Another week, another set of great reviews from other sites!

The first shout out has got to go to Marvo at The Impulsive Buy, and is a testament to both his sense of humor and the power of peer pressure. Yep, the intrepid Marvo actually reviewed The Comfort Wipe! And I have to give him special props for being the first person to really make me laugh in a week.

Cake Wrecks took us at light speed to the greatest Star Wars cakes in the Galaxy.

Jim reviewed Reber Mozartkuglen, which are a way yummy-sounding truffle that has my all time favorite marzipan.

Chocoblog reviewed some of the fantastic looking caramels Amella has to offer.

Possessed By Caffeine revealed the freaky Lighting Rod Beef Stick. Who would have thought of putting caffeine in a beef stick? (More importantly, can they get it in a cheese log?)

And lastly, speaking of cheese...

Snackeriffic reviewed Cheese Jerky (which sadly did not contain caffeine).

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Wedges

2009-06-27T19:07:00.005-04:00

What first caught my eye about this candy was the packaging.

I love pretty much any little tin/canister, and I have been known to buy things just to reuse the container. Isn't it still recycling if you sometimes didn't want the original contents? Besides, being the friend to the environment that I am, the other thing that caught my eye about this candy was that it also features ancho and chipotle chilis and Korintiji cinnamon. With that combination, the chocolate could have been wrapped in sweaty old socks and I would still be wanting to try it.

The chocolates themselves are just as cute as the packaging. There are two layers of wedge-shaped pieces. Each piece is roughly 2 inches long and about half an inch thick.

The chocolate is a 70% dark. The melt is not what I would call chalky, but it is not completely smooth either. It's rich with coffee notes and is just dark enough that the bitter edge comes through, but without making you wish you'd gone for something sweeter instead.

What I really liked about the wedges is that there is no mistaking that the spices are there. The cinnamon is the one that really stands out in terms of flavor, but there actually is a subtle and lingering mild heat. I tried to pick out the individual flavors of the chilis or the cinnamon, but to be honest, after several wedges I really couldn't.

While these wedges were really great to snack on, what I really want to do with them is try them melted over ice cream cream -- or used as an ice cream mix-in!

PURCHASED FROM:
Trader Joe's

Jack In The Box Taco Nachos

2009-06-26T15:37:00.003-04:00

I have had one of the worst weeks of my life. And let me tell you, it's kind of sad that one of the few highlights has been the Taco Nachos from Jack.

The nachos consist of two of Jack's classic fried mystery meat tacos that have been cut into pieces on a bed of lettuce and topped with jalapenos and nacho cheese.

Let's be brutally honest: there is very little here that in reality should be remotely attractive. There is no grace to the presentation. It's greasy, it's congealed. AM/PM nachos look better.

Let's break it down layer by layer.

The lettuce on the very bottom is purely ornamental. It's a thin layer, and what is there is wilted.

The taco layer: The tacos are striped down to merely meat and shell. The meat, which is beef, is rather nondescript. It's ground beef, but there is no distinguishable texture, or even flavor. It's just vaguely meaty. The corn shells have been deep fried and soaked in the nacho cheese to the point they are soft and floppy.

The jalapenos are nice, crunchy and "raw." They add a good hit of heat without being too spicy for the masses.

The nacho cheese: Once again I am going to show my age. It reminded me of a less orange version of the cheese served on nachos found at roller skating rinks everywhere. You know, the kind that came in a big ass tin can and was simply marked "cheese."

All of these layers together should, by all rights, form some of holy union of suck. But by some weird wave of the Universe's magic wand, these nachos are actually about seven different kinds of awesome. I can't explain how it is all so good together. It's practically not even food. But somehow it just works.

Marvo also tried them- read his review HERE

PURCHASED FROM:
Jack In The Box

Thank You

2009-06-24T03:04:00.006-04:00

Last week, I shared with all of you the sad news of the untimely passing of my stepmother Mary.

Here we sit at the one week anniversary of that occasion.

I said at that time that when I was able to, that I would share a little about her with you. And there are about a million things I would love to say...but honestly, I am just not ready to really talk yet. There will come a time, but for now I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all of you.

I have gotten comments and emails from people around the world, and I am not sure I will ever be able to thank you all enough. Thank you to all of you for being there for me with kind words and virtual hugs.

Thank you for being patient since there have been no new reviews/Tweets, etc. Over the next few days I will be getting new posts and Tweets up, and things will start returning to normal.

Thank you all again! It has really meant more then I may ever be able to say.

Starbucks Raspberry Sunrise Lowfat Muffin

2009-06-19T09:46:00.004-04:00

What is it about muffins that make them so good?

Oh yeah...it's EVERYTHING about them! But why isn't the same true of low-fat muffins? It's not that they are necessarily bad -- kinda like the Ewoks at the beginning of Jedi. It's just that they don't always end up being good (kinda like the Ewoks at the end of Jedi).

The problem is usually that the cake tends to be far oilier than that of a normal muffin, and somehow, in my mind, greasy and low-fat shouldn't mingle.

The Raspberry Sunrise muffin is no exception to that rule, but it tastes so good that I have no problem overlooking it. The base batter is lemon flavored -- and we all know I love lemon anything. There is even a reasonably natural citrusy bitterness. The raspberries are what really make this muffin. The raspberries comes in via little patches that are actual whole berries.

The berries are great! Fresh and sweet. The seeds add a great little unexpected crunch. The fact that they used real berries over jam (or just raspberry flavoring) makes the whole thing hugely better than expected of a ready made, low fat muffin. And that's just the kind of surprise I like.

Fantastic muffin!

PURCHASED FROM:

Rachel's Cottage Cheese Cucumber Dill

2009-06-18T06:29:00.003-04:00

Cottage cheese is one of those foods that I think I should like, but I never seem to. And I'm not sure why that is -- I mean really, what's not to like? It's creamy, it's kinda-sorta cheesy. It's reasonably good for you. So what's the problem?

The problem is that it's...well, kind of gross. For one thing, it looks like scrambled brains. I imagine that cottage cheese is the preferred snack food of health conscious Zombies.

When I saw the Rachel's on the shelf, I thought that the flavor combination of cucumber & dill might help over come the 'eek' factor. I love tzatziki and, and since this actually did seem (remotely) similar, I thought it might just be the perfect snack.

I think I'd been expecting the cottage cheese to be studded with chunks of cucumber and shards of dill. But instead, all I found at first were large milky white curds.

After giving the curds a swirl, the excess liquid dissolved -- which is good. I really hate watery cottage cheese. I thought I gave the container a good stir, but as I got closer to the bottom I did find a very thin, layer of what I think was supposed to be the cucumber and the dill...but in reality, looked suspiciously like sweet pickle relish.

Even if you can't always see the cucumber and the dill, you can definitely taste them. The cucumber is the stronger of the two flavors. It's almost vinegary, and even though the label gives no hint to it, I have to wonder if there is not just a tiny bit of garlic. The dill is muted -- kind of like what someone envisions dill should taste like rather than what it really does taste like. It's not bad. It's not nearly as good as real tzatziki, but it's passable. I think I would like this better with something: maybe carrot sticks to dip, rather than just on its own.

What was interesting was the texture. It was much firmer than any other cottage cheese I have ever had. It was so firm it could almost be called chewy. I actually preferred it to the mushy stuff.

I also like the fact that Rachael's is free of artificial colors, flavors, HFCS, and is made from growth hormone free milk.

Cottage cheese is still not one of my favorite things, but I would have no problem having this one again in the future... And if I ever become a health conscious Zombie I will already have a go-to food.

PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

R.I.P. Mary

2009-06-18T05:07:00.003-04:00

My stepmother passed this morning. Mary was an incredible woman and once I can stop crying long enough to think clearly I would like to share a few thoughts about her.
For obvious reasons I will be taking a few days off, but I will be back.

Thank you all for understanding,
Gigi

Twizzlers Twizted Berry Pull-n-Peel

2009-06-17T09:03:00.013-04:00

Twizzlers! I love them. I can eat a truly scary amount of Twizzlers on my own in a very short span of time.

Seriously, Twizzlers -- the classic Strawberry flavor -- are one of the few things I don't keep in the house, because I will work through even the biggest bag in less than a night. That is, unfortunately, as guaranteed as death and taxes. (Maybe even more so, given the advances in cryogenics and the possibility of anonymous exile in an obscure corner of Uruguay.)

But those rules have yet to apply to any of the non-classic forms of Twizzlers. Not sure why, I have just yet to find one I like nearly as much.

I have especially not fallen for the Pull-n-Peel types. Pull-n-Peels are thinner ropes, often differently flavored, that are entwined around each other. The Twizted Berry ropes are made up of "Berry Cherry," "Blue Raspberry" and "Berry Grape" flavored strings. And they're very fragrant. Even before opening you can smell them right through the plastic packaging...and it smells like a blue Slurpee. Once you actually open the package, it's more like cherry cough syrup than Slurpee.

I got one of the single-serving packs that have 3 thick logs of Twizzler each. If nothing else, the Pull-n-Peel have a fun, edible Play-Doh sort of thing going for them. They are brightly colored, squishy and gummy. Oddly enough (or perhaps not so oddly), those are some of the qualities that ended up killing this candy. They are made with wheat flour, and as a result the texture is gummy...and not in a good, Gummi Bears sort of way. More like gummy in a overcooked pasta type way.

What about the flavor? Well, if after reading this you are still going to take the time to Pull-n-Peel, I'll give you a breakdown of each color:

BLUE:
Predictably, this is the Blue Raspberry. This was my favorite of the three. It tastes like every other blue raspberry candy you've ever had. Really sweet raspberry, with no bitterness. There does seems to be a pretty gnarly (the kids still say gnarly, right?) aftertaste from the food coloring -- but I doubt kids would ever figure it out.

PINK:
Is the so-called "Berry Cherry". It is indeed a VERY cherry flavor; if by cherry flavor you are thinking of cough syrup. Bad cough syrup, at that.

PURPLE:
Berry Grape. Tastes kinda like store brand grape soda. Store brand grape soda from the kind of store that sells the above-mentioned bad cough syrup.

All together:
In one bite, all three flavors blend together in one generic berry ball of goo. I can see where kids would love this candy. It's pretty colored, it's intensely sweet, and it has that all-purpose synthetic berry flavor that kids seem to flock to.

As an adult, minus the colors (I like bright things), those are pretty much all the reasons I don't like these Twizzlers.

My strawberry Twizzler addiction is in no danger of being replaced any time soon.

Lotte Plus X Cube Gum- Pinneapple Mint

2009-06-16T10:43:00.001-04:00

Once again, I have to repeat that Japanese products have the best packaging/product design.

I mean, look at those little cubes and the little 8 bit design on the box, and tell me that isn't the coolest thing!

Each little piece of gum is about half the size of a sugar cube. They are meant to be chewed by the handful. The outer layer of the cube is sweet and slightly crunchy (think of the old-school Cinnaburst gum).

The initial flavor is sweet pineapple. It actually tastes pretty natural; though more like dried pineapple slices than fresh. The flavor is strongest for the first three minutes.

There is also a mint flavor to the gum. I was worried that this was going to be a nasty combination, but it is surprisingly mild and pleasant and it worked quite nicely with the pineapple. Maybe because it's a subtle mint -- more of a menthol warmth that stays long after the actual flavor is gone, rather then a pungent, breath-freshening type mint.

The gum has a soft and non-sticky chew. I preferred just one cube at a time -- but then, I am not a fan of huge wads of gum.

Finally, there was one little extra that came with the gum that left me scratching my head...until I read J-List's product blurb. And that is a little tiny Post-It style pad included in the pack. Since I spend a rather embarrassing amount per year on Posties (as I like to call them) I thought this was pretty neat, but I had no idea why they were there. (Is it customary in Japan to scribble little notes to oneself while chewing gum? No? I didn't think so!) Actually, what the pad is really supposed to be is something to wrap your piece of gum in when you are done chewing it. That's a pretty nice add-on, since the gum itself is unwrapped in the box. Failing that, you could just use them to write notes on.

I loved this gum and will definitely be getting more. Because the label is entirely in Japanese, I have no idea if it is sugar free or how it is sweetened -- if you know, please comment! (I tried to Google, with no luck.)

I bought mine from Kam Man in New York City, but J-List does carry this gum -- along with lots of other Cube flavors and Lotte products, so check them out!

PURCHASED FROM:
Kam Man Market NYC

Kellogg's Corn Flakes Touch of Honey

2009-06-15T05:05:00.001-04:00

It was Marvo who brought the existence of these new corn flakes to my attention when he posted about them back in May .

As Marvo pointed out, corn flakes are boring. It's not that they don't taste good. But let's be honest; there is no "wow" factor. Yes, there is Frosted Flakes. And while I am a fan, on some days they are just too sweet for me.

Touch of Honey adds a welcome middle ground. To make life simple, the corn flakes taste like corn flakes. Nothing new, nothing interesting. The honey, however, adds a little something. I can't say that if I didn't know for a fact that honey was used, that I would recognize what was used as the sweetener.

The flakes are a little sweeter than regular corn flakes, but not nearly as sweet as Frosted Flakes. I can see this being a good alternative for people who want something sweet but not that sweet, or for parents who don't want to give the full-on sugar rush that is Frosted Flakes.

PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

Second Helpings 6-14-09

2009-06-14T12:39:00.002-04:00

It's that time of the week again!

I am starting to think The Impulse Buy is obsessed with hippies...

Once again, Japanese Snack Review has made me jealous. I wanna try Coke with Green Tea!

Cybele reviewed some classic Adams gum. (I LOVE the Blackjack flavor!)

Jim got to try Zotter's Cheese, Walnuts & Grapes bar, which sounds surprisingly good!

Fran Whipps White Chocolate & Caramel

2009-06-13T10:03:00.005-04:00

The Japanese stick candy wars -- Pocky vs. Fran -- are sort of like the Coke vs. Pepsi battle. Both are tasty and equally as bad for your teeth, but very good for your dentist.

Fran is the "number two" stick candy product, after the powerhouse that is Glico's Pocky. Pocky may be the better known and more popular of the two, but don't let that fool you. Fran definitely holds her own.

Fran's Whipps line have been among my favorites. They have thicker, more decadent coatings and some interesting flavor combos. As I am sure you already know (because, clearly, you can read), today I reviewed the White Chocolate & Caramel sticks.

This Fran certainly takes the prize for being the most fantastic smelling. The moment you open the wrapper, you get this wonderful warm,sweet, milky scent. If you have ever been lucky enough to be in the same room with caramel that's still cooking, it smells exactly like that.

The cocoa stick is enrobed first with a layer of white chocolate, then wrapped in caramel. Starting from the inside out:

The stick:
It's fairly neutral tasting, although it looks like a really dark chocolate biscuit. It adds just enough chocolate flavor that you know it's there. On its own, it would be bland but with the toppings it works very well.

The White Chocolate:
I am not a white chocolate fan as a rule (if you want some great white chocolate reviews from someone who is a fan, check out Jim's Site) but here it adds some good contrast. It's sweet, and has that vaguely vanilla taste that white chocolate is known for. Texture-wise, it's quite smooth and cool on the tongue.

The Caramel:
While this is the thinnest layer, it is also the most flavorful. The burnt sugar just makes everything better. It's milky and it adds just a slight graininess to the texture -- yet it's not sticky in the least.

On their own, each layer is good -- but together they are terrific. My favorite Fran to date!

I got mine at Kam Man in New York City's Chinatown, but my friends at J-List carry lots of Meiji products, including Fran -- so check them out!

PURCHASED FROM:
Kam Man Market, NYC

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Cold Stone Creamery Jell-O Chocolate Pudding Ice Cream

2009-06-12T11:44:00.011-04:00

If there are two things I love in life, they are Cold Stone Creamery ice cream and Jell-O pudding.

Well, it's as if the fine people at Cold Stone read my mind and made my own little food fantasies come true! Cold Stone and Jell-O pudding in one cup?! That phrase is almost as dear to my flinty little heart as "New Barry Manilow Album!"

Cold Stone offers two Jell-O pudding flavors: Butterscotch and Chocolate. Maybe it was just lazy of me, but I went with the chocolate (although I did have a taste spoon of the Butterscotch, and I will get a real portion and review it soon).

I decided to get the signature creation that was made for this flavor: it's called "Chocolate-y Goodness," and it is made with peanut butter, caramel and fudge.

The problem with most fantasies is that if they do come true, they tend to let you down...kinda the way most new Manilow albums turn out to be covers rather than new material. (Barry, I swear, if your next album is "Songs of the 90s," I will do something horrible enough to make the tabloids.) And sadly, this isn't an exception.

Just for a moment, let's forget the mix-ins and focus only on the ice cream itself. I loved the flavor. It does taste exactly like frozen chocolate Jell-O pudding. There is a very strong dairy flavor, and it's sweet. It's everything you would want a Jell-O ice cream to be. Good so far, right?

Wrong.

But, Gigi -- I hear you say -- if it tastes so good, then what is the problem?

The problem, my friends, is the texture. Of all the things I will go to my grave believing, high on the list will be the firm conviction that ice cream should NOT be chewy. And by chewy, I mean should not have the texture and consistency of an especially sticky booger. Laying in wait, hidden in the chocolaty depths, is something evil and unholy that causes the ice cream to have this bizarre, almost gelatinous texture. No real pudding, not even Jell-O brand, contains gelatin. So, unless Cold Stone altered the recipe and added gelatin, I can't begin to explain what could possibly account for the chewy, lumpy, snotty texture.

The Cold Stoner who made my pint for me told me he'd heard that if you let the ice cream warm to room temperature, it will become more like actual Jell-O pudding. Being the little amateur Alton Brown that I am, I could not resist performing that experiment in the name of pure science...and I can tell you he was right! If you do allow the ice cream to come to room temp, it does in fact seem more like pudding, and the texture evens out a bit. Of course, by that point, why would you go through the trouble when you could buy or make pudding a lot easier and cheaper than seeking out and buying the Cold Stone version? Kinda defeats the purpose.

I do want to say that the mix-ins in the Chocolate-Y Goodness were in fact pretty good with this flavor. Admittedly, I may be biased because I have recently fallen in love with "fresh" peanut butter in ice cream. But all three toppings, simple as they were, tasted pretty darn good. It's just not good enough to make up for that hideous garden slug texture.

This is another of those items that was initially hard to rate, because the flavor was just so good, despite the shortcomings otherwise. But in the end, it's impossible to ignore that nauseating mucus-like consistency, and that is what ultimately killed any chance for a decent rating.

Edited to add that Marvo reviewed both flavors and seemed to like them much more then I did- and he took the Alton Brown angle to a much cooler extreme!

PURCHASED FROM:
Cold Stone Creamery

Okami Sushi Rolls

2009-06-11T11:50:00.010-04:00

Sometimes you just want sushi.

And sometimes, you want sushi on the night that you have just accidentally dyed your hair a rather Princely shade of purple, and you have to spend the time you were planning on spending at a leisurely sushi dinner re-dying your hair back to a shade that is reasonably close to "normal"... not that I am bitter. C'mon, tell me this wasn't a cool color, though! (And it GLOWED in sunlight.)

In any event, thankfully, Trader Joe's had my back. I was able re-dye my hair AND have sushi! (Yes, I probably just could have gotten take-out from where I was planning to go to dinner...but then we wouldn't have a review, would we?)

Because I very, very seldom do ready-made sushi, you are also getting a bonus 3-in-1 review!

CALIFORNIA ROLL:

So far...eh. The outer rice is studded with toasted sesame seeds in contrasting colors -- nice touch. The inner nori (seaweed) wrapper is visible but not huge or thick (also good). The surimi (aka fake crab, which is often normal for a California roll) is of the "salad" type rather than a stick of "crab" meat (I like it either way). What I have noticed is glaringly missing is cucumber and avocado, both of which are a big part of what makes a California roll. Minus the lack of avocado and cucumber, for ready-made it was pretty good. The crab flavor was mild. The rice was sticky but not too gummy (well, it was a little, but for ready-made sushi I am cutting some slack). The nori was just right -- I hate when it won't rip easily in the teeth.

For a fast meal or quick snack I would get it again.

SPICY CALIFORNIA ROLL:

As with the "regular" California Roll, the outer edge is lined with sesame. The crab filling is the salad type and there is no avocado or cucumber. Oh, and the center is a happy shade of orange. The filling appears to be studded with little red specks. To me the difference seems to be that the filling tastes as if Sriracha sauce (you know, the squeeze bottle with the rooster on it) was mixed generously into the filling. And just like the other California Roll, for something ready-made I really liked it.

WASABI SHRIMP & AVOCADO ROLLS:

This roll simply has nori on the outside, and a thick layer of rice. The inner filling is a sort of shrimp salad with a nice little chunk of avocado...and it comes from the seventh level of hell. Have you ever had ready-made tuna salad that makes you think of cat food? Well, that would still taste better than this roll. I know it says "wasabi," but I sure didn't taste any. I gotta be honest: I couldn't make it past a slice and a half. I'm sorry. I love you guys, really I do, but I don't love you that much.

Even with the failure of the last roll, I again have to say that for ready-made sushi these rolls made a nice little snack. No doubt it's not in the same ball park as made-to-order, but for a fast option it really hit the spot.

PURCHASED FROM:
Trader Joe's

Carl's Jr.: The Portobello Mushroom Six Dollar Burger

2009-06-10T09:40:00.007-04:00

Back in the day, when I was somewhere around five or six years old, Carl's Jr. was the fast food I would beg for.

Because it was also the only place we ever lived within walking distance of, my grandmother, who watched us during the day (and didn't drive) would often break down and take me there; mostly to shut me up. Nowadays, I am less of a fan than I used to be -- sorry, guys, it's hard to compete with the legendary In-N-Out -- but I do like their Six Dollar Burger. And every now and then, I just have to have one. Also, as I love mushrooms on pretty much anything, it seemed as if this burger should be a slam dunk.

The burger itself is doesn't disappoint. The meat has a nice grilled taste. They don't go overboard on the mayo, and the cheese is serviceable. Yeah, they do put somewhere around half a head of lettuce on it, but that seems to be the new standard.

The problem with this burger is the mushrooms. They're slimy. Really slimy -- like snail trail slimy. They taste good enough -- by probably-canned, highly preserved, not-fresh standards. You can definitely taste that at some point in their lives they had been earthy and meaty, just a little chewy, and all the things that a good mushroom should be. Oh, what a thing it might have been if not for the fact that somewhere down the road, something evil turned them into the blackish puddle of muck that floats in a grease river on top of the burger. And in a final insult upon injury, there were even herbs added to the mushrooms to add further flavor. But, like the 'shrooms themselves, the herbs don't have any life left either, and in fact I can't tell you which herbs they once were.

But for some reasonably fresh mushrooms, this would have been a terrific fast food burger. It's actually hard to rate this one because the burger itself is damn good...but, since it is advertised as a Portobello Mushroom burger, we have to give the sorry mushrooms their due. Thus, in the end, I can't rate this one highly at all.

PURCHASED FROM:
Carl's Jr

Cibo Express Black & White Cookie

2009-06-09T09:11:00.004-04:00

Somehow, I managed to go through my entire New York City trip without a single Black & White cookie! I don’t know how that even happened, but it surely did.

Luckily, one of the few kiosks in the United terminal at LaGuardia Airport had a large and tasty looking specimen. The Cibo cookie is roughly 4 inches wide and thick enough that it feels spongy and cake-like (as a good B&W should). I also discovered that purchasing a large soft cookie to review right before you get into a small cramped space may not have been the smartest thing I ever did.

When I try a Black & White cookie, I like to taste the two sides separately, making little ratlike nibbles down the joined ebony and ivory living together in perfect harmony center (that is SUCH a bad song). I always think I am going to prefer the chocolate side, but it is usually the vanilla that wins me over.

I am sorry to tell you that I got really hungry on the first leg of my flight and sacrifices had to be made. Thus the cookie never made it to the connecting flight home, and all we have for posterity is the one single picture. Oh well. Trust me when I say you did not miss much.

The Chocolate Side:
The icing is in fact thick, but it is waxy. Since the "chocolate" side contains cocoa powder but no cocoa butter, that pretty much explains both the texture and the taste. It's mockolate hell. Think Palmer candies, only cheaper, and with a really funky 4 hours in a dry plane bad breath kind of aftertaste... only less good.

The Vanilla Side:
As expected, I did prefer the vanilla side to the chocolate side. But it was kinda like choosing between Milli and Vanilli -- neither is real, and in the end you kind of feel cheated, even if they really looked the part. The vanilla icing tasted EXACTLY like someone had melted down Candy Korn and spread it on top of the cookie. (Well, to be honest, that did taste better then it sounds. But once again, only in the same way that "Blame It On The Rain" is a slightly less crappy song then "Girl You Know It's True.")

The Cookie:
At first it tastes merely like a knockoff version of a knockoff version of a Twinkie -- only more oily. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, for reasons I could not begin to explain, the cookie portion tastes oddly like cornbread. Cookies should NEVER taste like cornbread! How does that even happen?

You should be glad I ate it and you didn't. But I willingly make such sacrifices nonethless, because, y'know, I'm a giver that way.

PURCHASED FROM:
Random food kiosk, LaGuardia Airport, New York City