Tropical Dots Gumdrops

Tropical Dots Gumdrops are another flavor of dots. I didn't know they came in flavors really. I thought Dots were Dots. These Dots are just a little more tangy that normal dots so I think they are, well, not that big of a difference.  

So, yeah, these aren't much to write home about. They're okay but not something you should look for. 

ICEE Blue Raspberry Creme Filled Sandwich Cookies

 In the world of 'someone had really good weed' we find  ICEE Blue Raspberry Creme Filled Sandwich Cookies. You know I had to try them as soon as I saw them. You can't taste the Blue Raspberry but they do taste just a little odd.

Eat enough of these an you wind up with a bad taste in your mouth. I was so glad for the ice coffee I had these with to wash the flavor away. 

Now, look, these are an anomaly and they are so dang odd that you should try them just to say you did. I like the cookie more than the cream but they will go just fine with milk I'm sure.

Jelly Belly Chili Mango Jelly Beans

I have never had Chili Mango but these Jelly Belly Chili Mango Jelly Beans are top notch. The chili had kick but didn't linger, and the mango was strong and sweet. It almost makes me want to try chili mango for real. 

I mean, almost. I never did care for real mango, but it's a texture thing.

 

Chef Boyardee Macaroni and Cheese

 Chef Boyardee Macaroni and Cheese is a thing. I mean, you look at it and think  "this is a joke, right, I mean, who would get this in a can?" but get it in a can they do and people eat it. 

They must be people who have no time or cooking ability, because this is flavorless. I can see someone stalking this in a cabin for a winter of solitude and writing, but not for feeding oneself or family. 

I mean, it's there, I can eat it, it doesn't bother me, but it is so removed from the joy of food. 

Panda Express Quinoa Brown Fried Rice

 Panda Express Quinoa Brown Fried Rice is palatable which is a big thing for Quinoa. I mean, it beats the heck out of most Quinoa I've had. It feels out of place among the other food I had at Panda Express but I will admit this is good Quinoa.

Jelly Belly Kiwi Jelly Beans

 Jelly Belly Kiwi Jelly Beans taste nasty. I don't remember kiwi tasting like this, but I Haven't had it  in years. This could be what dried kiwi tastes like.

Well, maybe whoever came up with this flavor mistook kiwi for something else. I mean, these were gross.

Jack in the Box Southwester Salad W/Grilled Chicken

 After the Garden Salad W/ Grilled Chicken didn’t wow me I wasn’t looking forward to the Jack in the Box’s Southwester Salad W/ Grilled Chicken.

 

The Southwestern Salad has cheese, corn, and black beans to make it a lot heavier and more filling than the garden variety. I do feel more full after eating one.

 

The odd thing was that they charged me two dollars more for the grilled chicken and it came warm and with all the cheese melted. They gave me the salad with a fork and knife and I had to cut up my chicken.

 

Still, the freshness of the chicken made this not bad. 

Poky Strawberry Cream Biscuit Sticks

 

My understanding of Japan is that a good number of their products don’t have the strength of flavor as American Candy. American candy is so supersaturated with sugar that it makes other countries candy taste bland. This is odd given that our protein is normally saturated with salt.

Strawberry Cream Poky Biscuit Sticks reinforce this idea by offering a mildly flavored strawberry experience that doesn’t remind me of the candy I used to eat as a dumb child.

The big thing about us Americans is that we so often want quantity over quality and these are a little more in the way of quality. The ones I got were stuck together which did detract from my experience but they went so well with coffee I had one of those nice food moments that doesn’t go away.

What I’m saying is that I liked these as much for their flavor a the moment of joy they gave me sitting in the kitchen, drinking my coffee, with a cat rubbing against my leg. These are a buy.

Boylan Bottling Co Shirley Temple

 A Shirley Temple is a cherry ginger ale, well, a grenadine ginger ale with a cherry at least. Anyway, this Boylan Bottling Co Shirley Temple is kind of just cherry soda. I couldn't taste the ginger but then I think the one I had was too old because it hat no fizz. 

This was fine. 

Carl’s Jr. Buttermilk Ranch Sauce

The Buttermilk Ranch you get at Carl’s Jr. is a little runny, and the green bits are of a duller color than one would like. It tastes like buttermilk ranch. I mean, it’s fine. I wouldn’t go looking for this but as ranch goes it is ranch.

Jelly Belly Plum Jelly Beans

 Jelly Belly Plum Jelly Beans are the kind of jelly beans that I eat last. They are fruity and may taste like plums, but I don't eat plums so I wouldn't no. 

They have one of the most dynamic flavors I've tasted in Jelly Belly but they start out tasting bad. They get better but they are still not great. 

Nissin Top Ramen Bowl Shrimp Flavor

With the hangovers of summer upon us many will reach for Nissin Top Ramen Bowls, because they have spent all there money on alcohol. There is a wisdom to this, because the Top Ramen will help with that hangover.  

The Shrimp Flavor is without shrimp, it only has the flavor, and so sounds fancy but isn't. I couldn't taste any shrimp in mine but you know that's okay. 

I wouldn't care what flavor of these I had were I suffering from a hangover. I've never had one, but am told they make you not care about things, and I know the stuff in this would make me feel better.

Drop in a can of low sodium V8 and you'll be right as rain.

Jelly Belly Strawberry Daiquiri Jelly Beans

 Jelly Belly Strawberry Daiquiri Jelly Beans are one of the few flavors I would say no to even if I wasn't a diabetic. They are fruity but old and fruity really. The real thing can taste this way, but these just don't have the charm. They remind me more of jam.

Panda Express Grilled Teriyaki Chicken

 I think Grilled Teriyaki Chicken is considered a premium item at Panda Express. It's sad and under cooked with a very light teriyaki flavor. If this is grilled it wasn't grilled long and the meat never got seared. 

On the up side you get a lot of meat, but meat isn't the only thing your body needs. I can't say this was bad, but it could have been so much better. Had I taken it home and cooked it longer it would have been.

Kool-Aid Sour Gum Watermelon

Sour watermelon? Who was smoking pot and how can I get some of that good stuff. That must have really turned your head. On second thought, I better not have any because food tastes too good to me now.

Anyway, this Kool-Aid Sour Gum Watermelon wasn’t as bad as the other flavors and in fact got better as I chewed until it lost its flavor and became almost nothing. This is still better than the Green Apple which was so bad I wanted to spit it out.

If you have your choice of Kool-Aid Sour Gum this is the one to try. It still loses its flavor fast but the end result is the most tolerable.

 

Panda Express Watermelon Mango Refresher

 Panda Express Watermelon Mango Refresher is something of a meh item for me. I love watermelon so I wanted to try this as soon as I heard the word watermelon, but it wasn't very watermelon to me. I don't know why you would add mango to watermelon but in this case it was fine. 

On a hot day this wouldn't be bad, but remember that it isn't as good as plane old water in real heat. 

Yum Yum Donuts Chocolate Iced Bar

 

Of the four or five Yum Yum Donuts Chocolate Iced Bars left at a party at my work this was the best one. The chocolate had melted off all of them and I had this back in December of last year so it was not a hot day.

Anyway, like most Yum Yum things, once you get past the icing then you have nothing worth eating. The bread part is not something one should eat on its own. The way to eat this thing is to rip the top off and trash the bottom unless you’re really hungry.

Fail, soooooo fail.

Jelly Belly Toasted Marshmallow Jelly Beans

 Jelly Belly Toasted Marshmallow Jelly Beans are a poor facsimile of the real thing. Then again they don't get all over your fingers or shirt. 

I would say, your kids will love these, but they don't remind me of toasted Marshmallows.

Jack in the Box Creamy Avocado Lime Sauce

The Creamy Avocado Lime Sauce at Jack in the Box is creamy, I detected some lime, but I could taste no avocado. I live in California, and I think I'm legally obliged to have avocado every few days.

In any case, this tasted like diluted mustered with a little bit of lime tossed in. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t all that either.

Rip It Melon'Hi G.O.A.T. Watermelon Energy Drink

 Rip It Melon'Hi G.O.A.T. Watermelon Energy Drink has a dumb name. I mean, Melon'Hi sounds like pot to me. I guess I wouldn't know what pot should sound like but that's what would come to mind. 

The whole 'G.O.A.T.' thing is also funny. I thing it stands for Greatest of All Time but shouldn't that be G.A.T.? You can drop the 'of'.

Anyway, this has seventy Calories, is mildly sweet and tastes a good deal like watermelon. I would never mistake it for the real thing but it would do well on a hot day and has less sugar than a soda.

Lantana Black Bean Hummus

 

Lantana Foods Black Bean Hummus tastes a little like a southwest salad at Jack in the Box. Once you eat the flavor in the middle that kind of falls away and you don’t have all that much more flavor than normal hummus. However, I can say that it was not hard for me to finish off both packages of this product.

I will grant that you really don’t want to go carrots with this because it needs more body to make carrots work but tortilla chips make this some really good hummus. I could have used some whole black beans and corn to give this texture and flavor but it’s worth buying again.

Aidells Teriyaki & Pineapple Chicken Meatballs

 Aidells Teriyaki & Pineapple Chicken Meatballs sound like something that is either really good or very nasty. They sit in the middle and are okay rather than being one or the other. 

Heat these at a low temperature because they tend to brown fast but not heat in the middle. They also have the elastic texture I have come to dislike in meatballs. The teriyaki wasn't very strong, and I could taste no pineapple. I thought they would be sweeter. 

I would give these a pass for the most part, but I wouldn't walk away from them if they are a good deal. Add some teriyaki sauce and they may just work on a toothpick.

Jelly Belly Berry Blue Jelly Beans

Jelly Belly Berry Blue Jelly Beans taste like blue raspberry. I would call these strong and tart. I think the flavor is a little over used in the modern day but if you like strong and tart this is your thing.
 

Fruity King Orange Soda

Fruity King Orange Soda is orange soda. I mean, it's too sugary for most sodas and being a knock off I wouldn't want to drink it as I can get the real thing with less sugar per ounce and just as much flavor.

In the California heat I normally recommend drinking water and saving the soda for what it was intended for when it was invented and that is dessert.  Soda is candy and this candy goes down faster than the normal candy you get as a liquid.
 

McDonald's Strawberry Preserves

 

McDonald's Strawberry Preserves came with one of the larger breakfasts that they serve, and I think they taste like nothingness. Well, let's be clear that they are mostly sugar and if you eat them with pancakes the syrup may interfere with the flavor. 

I still have to say that this didn't add much to my meal. It was just more sugar and I don't need that at all. 

Jelly Belly Chocolate Pudding Jelly Beans

 Jelly Belly Chocolate Pudding Jelly Beans very much taste like chocolate. I'm not sure on the pudding part, but the chocolate is very strong.

Why you need chocolate pudding jelly beans I can't figure when chocolate would do just as well. However, if I could eat jelly beans all day I would get to these at some point.

Del Taco Chicken Cheddar Quesadilla

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Del Taco Quesadillas, but just for you I tried the Chicken Cheddar variety. They’re okay. I don’t think they gave me any of the tangy green sauce because I couldn’t taste it but the chicken didn’t taste marinated as the ad claims. 

I've had a few that were way more drippy than this, so the chicken isn't as greasy as some Del Taco Quesadillas.

I could take this or leave it, but I would get it again without complaint.
 

Mighty Swell Rocket Pop Spiked Seltzer

Rocket Pop Spiked Seltzer by  Mighty Swell doesn't taste like rocket pop, but I don't want to dump it out so that's a win. This stuff was on sale last year at my local discount market and unlike most hard seltzer I didn't hate it. It didn't get me drunk, but what does?

Faygo Firework Soda

 Faygo Firework Soda doesn't taste like fireworks. I can't say that's a bad thing because fireworks kind of taste like burnt rotten eggs. Anyway, I would say it's a little like raspberry. 

I can't say this is the flavor you should get from Faygo when their cotton candy is better. I mean, this will make a fun talking point, but past that it's nothing to go looking for.

Jelly Belly Watermelon Jelly Beans

 Jelly Belly Watermelon Jelly Beans taste like overly sweet watermelon. The flavor is strong and hangs in your mouth just a bit. I love watermelon and these beans are totally killer. 

I wish I could eat them all, but I'm a fat pig.

Miyoko's Creamery Vegan Butter with Hint of Sea Salt

 Miyoko's Creamery Organic European Style Vegan Butter Hint of Sea Salt has a name that makes me want to kick someone in their vegan balls. As butter goes it's not bad. I mean, it's very butter like which is good for vegan butter. Why it need so long a name I really don't know, but I guess the longer the name the more you know about the product. 

Just reading this name makes me feel like I had a lecture about how meat is murder. 

If you want vegan butter than this is not bad at all. I don't know if I want vegan butter, but I would hardly know this is not the real thing.