Lays Potato Chips Salt & Vinegar

 

 

Lays Salt & Vinegar Potato Chips are not as strong as some of the vinegar chips I've had but that's not a bad thing. I never did like vinegar chips but I used to have them with Subway sandwiches that I would have for lunch at work. 

When you've got a sub that's been sitting about for four hours it can be just a bit soggy and adding these vinegar chips will liven it up. The soggy bread will still be hard to swallow but the crunch will distract you from the bad mouth feel. 

The strong pungent flavor will mix in with all that neutral bread and give the sandwich life and character. 

Just remember to add the chips right before eating.  

McDonald's Mighty Hot Sauce 2026

 I don't know who asked for this McDonald's Mighty Hot Sauce but it's back along with the Spicy McNuggets that it came with. Frankly, I call this stink sauce because I found some in a refrigerator once and the stench never went away.

Anyway, it's not all that much to care about and the fact that they come with spicy nuggets makes me ask why this is a good idea. After all, the thing is spicy and then spicy sauced. Why not just have normal nuggets and spicy sauce. I guess it's a level of spicy thing. 

Anyway, this stuff is okay. I mean, meh. I meh at you sauce.   

ManSnacks Kernels of Knowledge

ManSnacks still sounds to me like some kind of thing you'd be called by the randy girl who drinks to much and smells off. I'm not going down on you, Gloria!

Their Kernels of Knowledge is corn nuts... I had ManSnacks corn nuts is a statement that sounds like you need to see a doctor and get tested.

Past the name. Things are okay. 
 

Caulipower Gluten Free Frozen Cauliflower Gnocchi with Savory Pesto Meal

This Caulipower Cauliflower Gnocchi with Savory Pesto was on sale more than a year ago at my local discount market and it sat in my freezer until I had little choice but to cook it as I had to clean out my refrigerator. There was almost no pesto in this and the gnocchi just doesn’t hold up well.

I ate the first one and tossed the second one into a stew where it dissolved down to the tomatoes. The stew was way better than the original meal.

I wouldn’t get these again because they didn’t taste that great but I guess they are meant to be healthy not tasty.

 

McDonald's Spicy Chicken McNuggets 2026

 

Spicy, Um "chicken" McNuggets are back at the house of the evil clown who would make Pennywise blush. They pop up every now and then. This is at least the 4th return of this item and I have to point out if it were that good it would come in more often.

They look and feel a lot like the normal McNuggets only a bit more orange, no Trump jokes please, I'm eating, and the heat is slow but persistent.  

I stopped eating McNuggets some months ago getting a lot that was so poor in quality that I just lost interest, but the spicy ones are at least as good as they were the last time they came around.  

I'm forced to say that McNuggets in general are a thing that will fill your gut but leave you wanting. Buying real chicken nuggets at the store would be a better idea health wise, but these are no worse than their blander brothers and a nice change. 

 

Land O Lakes Sliced Baby Swiss Cheese

 I don’t know what makes this Land O Lakes Sliced Baby Swiss Cheese baby, but I think it’s smoother than the grown up version. It has few holes but the same flavor of Swiss.

It’s good cheese. I mean, not life changing cheese but it’s good enough.

Mountain Dew Amp Energy Drink Original

Mountain Dew Amp Energy Drink Original tastes like bad Mtn Dew. I mean, it looks like normal Dew but doesn't have the same taste. It's watered down flavor wise and not as sweet. 

I'm no Mtn Dew fan but I do recall liking it, and I would drink more where it not so bad for me. This stuff isn't good so I wouldn't drink it for fun. I will drink it to stay up on a lat shift. 

Stuff is not good but not nasty.  
 

Lays Potato Chips Limon

 

Lays Potato Chips Limon are a bit much. The flavor is strong and pungent but taste a bit off like it's artificial.

They are the kind of chips that I like to add to a sandwich because it things out the flavor and gives the over all food a kick. Great way to give life to a soggy sandwich that has been sitting in a lunch bag.

They fall into the same class as vinegar chips. Not bad but not something I would have often. 

Reign Storm Guava Strawberry

 If you wanted to try every flavor of Reign Storm you would have  task on your hands. I mean, every time I get to the store I find a new flavor that I haven't tried yet and Guava Strawberry was there looking at me as if it was saying "try me" and I got a few cans. 

Anyway, it's more guava than strawberry but not a whole lot of either. It taste okay but don't go thinking that if will taste like real fruit.

Reign Storm is kind of a lesser energy drink, with Monster and Rockstar being the stronger versions. It's a solid drink that may need more than one can to keep you up before the big test, and this flavor will not change your life.    

Tast!ez Breaded Sweet BBQ Flavored Pork Triangles

Tast!ez Breaded Sweet BBQ Flavored Pork Triangles are like hush puppies. Hush puppies are fried batter often given to a dog to shut it up. 

These things are all batter. There are a few fragments of pork in there, but for the most part these are just batter molded and fried. They have a solid flavor but are heavy and lacking in quality.  

I picked these up at the discount store, but you can find these at WalMart. I picked them up for a project because I felt they were interesting but I'm sorry I did. They were two dollars a box, and over priced at that. I would never get these again. 
 

Burger King Marinara Sauce

 I didn’t know Burger King had Marinara Sauce but they do and it came with my cheese sticks here. It was runny, tasted like crap, and I hated it so much I tossed it out before I finished eating.

You could say that I like red gravy better and that’s why this thin smooth slop bothered me, but I also like my marinara smooth so texture wasn’t the problem. It just tasted bad.

Jack in the Box Forbidden D’oh!Nut Holes

 Crusty the Clown has taken over Jack in the Box to sell you some low quality food this spooky season and these Forbidden D’oh!Nut Holes are part of that. This is a reference to a Simpsons 'Treehouse of Terror' episode where Homer sells his soul for a doughnut and gets it turned into his head.

You get four of these bread testicles covered in pink stuff with some sprinkles and cinnamon. The bread itself is bland and bad for you. It collapses under pressure like food grade plastic bread. Jack is known for low end food but this is a bit much.

The stuff has a few round sprinkles but not enough to make this worth having and the best part is the cinnamon. I found this to taste good but disappoint.    

Sabra Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Hummus

Sabra Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Hummus is about as hot as any other hummus. I mean, it tasted like hummus for the most part. I didn’t see much difference from this and other hummus it really should have had more kick. I’ve never had Frank’s but I’m sure it taste like something as opposed to this which was just orange hummus.

 

Monster Energy Orange Dreamsicle

 Monster Energy Orange Dreamsicle is part of Monster's Reserve line and made with real sugar. I still waited to find it at a dollar store, not that they charge a dollar any more, to buy some. 

I'll admit I got a good number of them but would have gotten the lot had I know how good they are and were made with real sugar. I guess I really like orange cream soda. I never knew that, but then orange cream soda is not common in southern California. 

In any case, this is one of the best Monster Energy drinks I've had and I've had a whole lot of Monster. 

I mark them a buy.   

ManSnacks Outdoorsman Grub

 

ManSnacks Outdoorsman Grub comes with peanuts, raisins, sunflower seeds, carob chips, and pumpkin seeds. I had to look up what carob is because I didn't remember the natural substitute chocolate, but it works okay for this trail mix. 

I'm not impressed with ManSnacks so far. I mean, the name is funny, but the food is average. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing stands out. 

Horchata 7-Eleven Slurpee

People say it's hot as the devil's bung hole and I ask them not to tell me about the things they've done with my sister. Where as staying away from my sister is always a good idea but in the heat a Slurpee  wouldn't be a bad idea. 

This brings us to the Horchata 7-Eleven Slurpee which was offered at my local gas station.

Now, Horchata is cinnamon and toasted rice, I think, it's a milky sort of thing with a strong taste of cinnamon. The thing is cold and refreshing in the summer heat and these are really great if something else. 

I'm going to say this is kind of on the rich side. I would say it's more of a drink to have a night after the worst of the heat is gone. I would still say try it.  
 

Fritos Honey BBQ Twists

 Fritos Flavor Twists are a way to make the Fritos have for places to put seasoning and give you a stronger taste. They are made of the same thing the old Fritos were made from and are just as satisfying in that regard. 

The Honey BBQ flavor is something worth trying. I don't think it's better than Fritos, but it's not worse.

I'd say this is a solid version of a classic if not that popular snack.   

Not bad really.  

Integrity Farms Organic Normandy Blend

 In the grander scope of things, frozen vegetables are one of the best things you can buy. Long lasting, versatile, needing little preparation, and good for you frozen vegetables are a great addition of your inventory unless the power goes out. 

That's why I saw this Integrity Farms Organic Normandy Blend and figured it would be good for dinner tonight. I didn't look much at it and didn't notice that it had squash. Squash does not freeze well, or rather it doesn't cook well once frozen. 

Let's not forget that it has broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots along with that zucchini and yellow squash.  It's a good mix of colors and so good for you, but the squash gets squishy. 

Anyway, I would have been happier with this if the cuts had been smaller letting me crisp them up a bit more but the vegetables taste like vegetables. What else would you expect?

A&W Root Beer

A&W Root Beer strikes a chord with me because it was my jam through most of my childhood. I didn’t switch to cola until my mother died and the old man wasn’t as interested in buying me soda or taking me to nice places where I could get soda.

When you think of root beer A&W is the gold standard. Better root beer tends to cost more and other root beer just isn’t as good. 

 

Lenny & Larry's Chocolate Chip Complete Cookies

 Lenny & Larry's Chocolate Chip Complete Cookies have everything you would want from a cookie but the flavor. How do you screw up a chocolate chip cookie? I think you make it vegan or something like that. I never knew how important eggs and butter are to cookies until I had one of these and felt the odd texture making it feel like it wasn't cooked right or like something was missing.

I've heard of the cookie diet, which sounds like a fun if terrible idea, but when you look at the cookies for that diet you understand. I mean, these look like cookies but they just don't taste the same. 

If I had to eat nothing but these for a week I'd still be fat, but I'd also be sad.  

RightRice Risotto Basil Pesto

 I was cleaning out my dining room when I found a box that had these RightRice Risotto Basil Pesto bags that I got years ago now but never tried. I mean, I kept reviewing the original, don't remember if I liked it, and never got on to the other flavors. 

The idea is kind of off. Let's take something simple like rice and complicate it by making it out of something else.  It should be better for you than normal rice and be about as good. 

RightRice is not as good as normal rice. The texture and mouth feel isn't that great. It tastes fine but the basil pesto flavor is too mild and generic. I would have never said "this is pesto" after eating this.

I believe this runs about the same as real rice, tastes fine, and doesn't feel like the real thing. I'm not sure what the point is but RightRice isn't bad, it just isn't all that great.  

Campbell's Chunky Spicy Mexican-style Chili With Beans Bowl

Off the Campbell's Chunky line we have Spicy Mexican-style Chili With Beans that is about as Mexican as Taco Bell. For those of you who don't know, in Mexico a Taco Bell taco is called a "thing" because they aren't taco enough. 

This is a hearty stew to be sure, with lots of beans and plenty of fiber.  If not for all the salt it would be healthy in all true respects. 

All in all, I would call this bland and edible. It's the kind of thing you can drop in your lunch and not think to much about. Not great to distinctive but fine.  
 

Upperdeckys Rippin' Rootbeer

 Upperdeckys is a play on words that describes putting tobacco in the area of your upper lip. They are not made of tobacco but are caffeine bast stimulants.  The Rippin' Rootbeer flavor was so bad that I couldn't keep it in my mouth. 

All in all, the flavor just kept getting worse and worse until I spit it out, but it was so bad that it did wake me up. I mean, it was like a cold splash of water on a hot day.

I would never get this again, but keeping it in my work bag may just keep me up on a long shift. 

Nasty.  

Jack Link's Original Chili

 First try a chili dog and this is what I make. More chili than dog at this point but is that really an issue? I don't know. 

I ran into some hot dogs at a discount and, because I don't like hot dogs, figured I'd have a chili dog to make them worth eating. 

Jack Link's Original Chili was the first option I ran into and, I mean, chili isn't what I thought it was.

Look, when I was a kid, around five or six, my mother used to make Six Gun chili for some pot luck think we used to go to and it was hot. Not like super hot but hot enough to get the old nose running. I thought chili was called that because it had chilies in it.

This chili is almost without chili. I mean, tastes good, don't get me wrong. It has a meaty texture to it and I like it a lot better than some of the mush chili I've had, but it's kind of bland. 

Stuff is good, to be honest, but not as hot as I would think chili should be.  

5 Hour Energy Extra StrangthTroppical Burst

5 Hour Energy Extra Strength Tropical Burst is the kind of thing you really want to add to ice. I mean, it tastes way better with more of a dilution and the stuff in there will go better if you have more water in your body.

I had my first can of this and found it almost intolerable, but the second I added way more ice and it wasn't that bad.  

I classified 5 Hour Energy as a Monday things as in you should only drink them on a Monday because you need to get into thing fast and it's hard. 
 

Langers LyteAde Lemon-Lime

Langers LyteAde Lemon-Lime is a sport beverage that is hard to find in Southern California. I can see why as flavor is second to impact and it tastes watered down.

I will admit it's none offensive and so a solid product. I have to point out that this isn't meant to taste good. It's meant to keep you in the game and I figure it will do that.

I've spend a good number of shifts working in the California sun, and this would have gotten me going well enough.  
 

Western Bagel Bagels Sesame

Sesame Bagels from Western Bagel are one of those products I think so little of that I didn’t know I hadn’t reviewed. This is partly because I normally eat the bagels too fast to review them, I’m a big fat dude, and partly because what does one say about bagels?

How about that these were cut poorly and you still needed a knife to get them apart if you wanted to fry them. Frying bagels is a thing I’ve done since I was a kid.

Past that these are just fine. They are not good cold, fine warm, and best toasted. I heat them up on  a frying pan because the eat I have with them needs that.

Okay, just bagels.