Perhaps it was my youthful obsession with "having it my way" which led me in my adolescence to choose Burger King as my favorite Fast Food joint. In those tender years, I suppose that my palate desired something saltier and more "rebellious" than the other FF options on the market. After all, Burger King insisted that I "hold the pickles, hold the lettuce-- special orders don't upset us..."; and doesn't any kid want to be told that it's completely cool to order your burger sans anything other than meat, cheese, and a triple serving of ketchup and mustard-- all piled high on a starchy bun? BK's M.O. was also very different from McDonald's and Wendy's of years past-- as even asking one of either's employees if you could sub mustard for mayonnaise was call for getting a thousand-yard stare from the whole cook-line. Of course, as I got older, I became more and more obsessed with my appearance and that, combined with the barrage of media attention that heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and obesity got, made it simple for me to pull back on how much of any FF I ate.
For a number of years, BK has been courting the younger male demographic-- aiming to please the single guy who desired the sort of burgers and other fare that they knew wasn't great for them, but were too young to care. Unfortunately, that tactic was not enough to keep the Miami-based company from dropping to the #3 Fast Food chain (being surpassed by Wendy's, which overtook #2 this quarter, while McDonald's held on to the Heavy-Weight title); not surprisingly, the decline in customers from their chosen demographic-- as well as any other-- had Burger King executives and their trusty researchers putting together a whole new plan for marketing to new customers-- most notably women.
Several months ago Will, Kenny, and I had gone to BK to try out their Chef's Choice Burger--which was passable-- and their new desserts. Will and I discovered that we were in love with the Peach Granola sundae, and have occasionally returned there to get it as a treat after dinner-- yet we didn't feel any inclination to have an actual meal in the joint. It wasn't until I read about the new marketing campaign and menu items that I decided to give BK a shot once more. Fascinatingly, many of the new menu items may look familiar to you, as some of them are very similar to the ones that McDonald's rolled-out years ago. Chicken wraps, fresher artisan salads, smoothies and frappes-- all new additions; and more interesting is that BK has lowered their prices slightly, while McDonald's appears to be in a race with Exxon to see who can overcharge more for their product. Despite the fact that McDonald's added such options to their menu several years ago, BK still has a shot at bringing in new business with their own versions of the very same dishes.
The plan was for Kenny and I to order things from the new BK menu which were analogous to those items which we've had at McDonald's; finding the dopplegangers wasn't difficult. I ordered the BK toppers Mushroom and Swiss (to compare to the McDonald's Angus Mushroom and Swiss) and Kenny ordered the 3 pc. Chicken Strips meal. Instead of fries, I asked for onion rings with my dinner, as I was curious if changes had been made to their formulation as well.
Kenny's Chicken Strips were very similar to the Chicken Select Strips available at McDonald's, but the difference that he noted was that the chicken was not stringy or dry. We both enjoyed the new fries they serve now, too, which are thick like Wendy's. They tasted of potatoes and stayed warm for much longer, yet still had a very crispy exterior, much like their old fries.
My BK topper sandwich was a Whopper patty on a standard bun, but with a Swiss-American blend cheese and mushrooms; I opted to forego the "grill sauce". The sandwich was enjoyable overall-- tasty and filling, with mushrooms which-- unlike McDonald's-- tasted like mushrooms, not dirty socks. The only thing which I find strange about BK's burger patties is that there is a seasoning in them which gives the final product a hint of sausage-like flavor which, while not too obtrusive or off-putting, is certainly noticeable and somewhat odd. Another point to make is that the portion is much smaller than one of the McDonald's Angus Burgers, which are too plentiful for me to finish. I'm not a fan of wasting food, so this works for me-- and I've been bitching about the obscene portion sizes of our food for ages now, anyway. The last thing anyone needs is to eat a sandwich so large that they need to grow a goatee to cover the stretch marks around their mouth. A pleasant surprise was that the onion rings, while still not reminiscent of anything having to do with onions, were reformulated to have more onion "inspired" flavor and a crispier exterior. ::pinches BK's cheeks:: I know some little restaurant which cleaned its oil recently-- goochie goochie goo. To finish off our meals we both had vanilla hand-spun milkshakes, which tasted of a warm vanilla, weren't too sweet, and had a great thickness-- which McDonald's shakes claim to have, but never do.
While we were enjoying the meal, I paid special attention to the new interior of our BK. Late last year it was remodeled to have a sleeker brushed chrome and dark wood motif. Now the bright and garish photos which donned the walls have been replaced with matte-black metal frames around large vignette arrays of lavish table spreads-- of course featuring beautifully prepared BK dishes, and one grouping on the back wall which depicts three women and two men, presumably friends, laughing and chowing down on their nummy BK food. These individuals were dressed in casual chic and were older than the people in the old BK art-- I would guess that the new photos feature people in their late twenties to early thirties. On top of it all, the employees were tidy and friendly in their new steel gray uniforms and aprons, and the tables, floors, and windows were very clean-- a landmark achievement for any of the FF places on our side of town-- and during the dinner hours, no less. It's safe to say that BK successfully composed itself after retreating to their corner and now have come out swinging.
Truthfully, I was pretty pleased with the experience-- and I am readily willing to return there occasionally-- but what the whole thing comes down to is not, in fact, a battle between Mickey D's and the BK. The King's new line-up of entrees and desserts shall certainly contend for the attention of McDonald's fans, but I sense that both places are laboring against a foregone conclusion. With her ever-improving quality of food and service-- as well as a diverse menu-- Wendy, the freckle-faced red-head is steadily creeping up on her competitors, primed to hobble their weary legs and punch them in the kidneys.
That being said, give the new BK lineup a shot-- you may like their versions of McDonald's dishes better.
For many, beer is an acquired taste, and I am no different. My early drinking days were spent guzzling whatever I could find just as long as it didn't make me go blind. As my tastes became more discerning, and my self-destructive tendencies subsided, I began gravitating first to mixed drinks, than to spirits, and finally arrived at whisky. It took many attempts before beer began to grow on me, but once I began to appreciate the subtleties of a nice craft brew there was no stopping it.
A beer review with me and the regulars would be a tricky one, though. April would likely end up in the ER, and Kenny's review would read: 'The first tasted like ick, the second tasted like yuck.' I could do a solo review, but how entertaining would it be to read the opinions of just one part-time beer snob? Isn't drinking alone one of the signs of alcoholism? No, I would need help.
In true crossover fashion we began by exchanging power-packed blows and witty banter, before my good friend Mari over at Endless Craving and I joined forces to pursue our common goal. Her offering: Midas Touch from Dogfish Head's Ancient Ales series, my own offering: Samuel Adams' Thirteenth Hour.
We began with the lighter of the two, the Midas Touch. Pouring the beer produced an ample head that persisted to the very end. The color was a very light amber, even slightly yellow, likely from the saffron added during brewing. The smell was sweet and fruity, more like a wine than a beer or even mead. Taking my first sip I was a little surprised at its mild flavor. It is very light, and not at all bitter, like a Pilsner sans the hops. The aftertaste is where this ale became interesting though. The finish is very long and the saffron makes itself known with a nice weighty savory sensation that spreads over the tongue. I suspect this flavor would compliment a spicy curry very nicely.
We then moved on to the Thirteenth Hour. The first thing that you cannot help but notice is the bottle, with its wide base that tapers to the top it almost resembles a bell, and it is corked like a champagne bottle. Like champagne, it also emits a loud POP when opened, which startled some of the bystanders. The beer indentifies itself as a Belgian style stout, and it is apparent immediately in the pour: it is very dark and produces a nice thick head. The smell is impossible to mistake, roasted coffee and hints of chocolate. The taste does not stray from this impression, it tastes very toasty and coffee-like. To my surprise the ale was not very bitter, lacking the 'mouth full of pennies' taste non-stout fans often complain about. After the initial taste of coffee subsides a bit one gets the other subtler flavors: chocolate, oak, and a wine-like fruitiness. It finished just a bit sour, but this does not ruin the experience, rather it just adds another level to the overall profile. The Sam Adams site suggests pairing it with spicy foods, but I would drink this with a dessert myself.
If I had to choose, I would say I preferred the Thirteenth Hour, but the Midas touch was also very enjoyable and quite unique. I would suggest trying both of these to any beer fan.
I would like to give my thanks to Mari for helping out this week, check out Endless Craving for her restaurant reviews and other food musings.
For today’s review, since neither April or I can/want to have alcohol, we decided to give Burger King's new menu options a try. You’ve probably seen the recent commercials, saying that “Exciting Things” were happening at Burger King. While “exciting” isn’t quite the word I would use, there have been some change-ups to their usual menu, many of which I am quite happy with.
To begin, let’s take a look at some of the new items on the menu. First off, we have chicken strips, not to be confused with chicken tenders. These are moderately-sized strips of chicken, which you can purchase in either a group of 3 or a group of 5. Another new menu option are the Ranch Crunchy Chicken Wraps, a crunchy strip of chicken wrapped along with cheese, lettuce, and ranch dressing in a flour tortilla. Also new to Burger King are the Strawberry Banana Fruit Smoothies. Wait a minute…
Is any of this sounding familiar to anyone else out there?
I plan on doing this review solely on the food itself, but it was kind of strange walking into Burger King and seeing a bunch of menu items taken pretty much straight from McDonalds. The BK that we went to was also recently remodeled, replacing their old back-lit overhead menus with the LCD screens that many other restaurants have started to use. Unfortunately, our nearby McDonalds was remodeled about a year before, and have had the new menu displays for just as long. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the new menu items or the new look of the menus themselves, but due to the timing it just seems like BK is resorting to copycatting to remain relevant. Some of my friends have joked that this is just BK struggling to get back into the Number 2 spot after being ousted by Wendy’s, but I’m guessing changes like these would have had to have been planned long before that news came out. Time will tell whether these changes help BK reclaim their former position.
Now, back to the review--
Due to the similarities between McD’s and BK, April and I decided to each get something similar to what we would normally eat at McDonalds. Her meal consisted of a BK Mushroom and Cheese Topper (analogous partially to the new-ish Angus and Mushroom sandwiches at McD) with onion rings, while I ordered a 3 piece Chicken Sele—I mean, Chicken Strips meal with fries. For what she thought of her meal, as always, you can visit her section.
Starting out with the fries, I would have to say that they are definitely an improvement of BK’s previous fries. Now slightly thicker, you still get the crunch from the outer fry, but it is now accompanied by actual potato inside the fries! I’m not sure if it’s just me, but whenever I had their fries before, the crunch was there but the fries were so thin it seemed like that was all there was. Another thing that I had noticed with the fries, as well as an onion ring that I had tried, was that there was a lot less salt than I’m used to from fast food fries. They actually reminded me of what Wendy’s was doing with their fries, albeit not “naturally cut”, with a lot less salt. I’d have to say that out of the Big Three Fast Food places, BK has now taken the prize of the Best Fries. Hopefully this just wasn’t a better than usual batch.
Moving on to the Chicken Strips. I had tried the Chicken Selects a few times in the past, and have never been happy with them. The McDonalds Chicken Selects always seemed really stringy to me, with gristle in each strip somewhere. Besides that, I always felt that they were overpriced for the amount that you were given. I’m happy to say that the BK Chicken Strips had neither of these problems. The Strips were actually served warm and (most shockingly to me) juicy. The price for what I got was also very reasonable. Still a bit more than if I had gotten Chicken Tenders, but the quality of the Strips made up for the cost difference.
Heading out, April and I each picked up a Vanilla Milkshake. I would have tried a smoothie, but having never tried one from McDonalds, I would have had nothing to compare it to. The milkshakes are spun with what I believe to be a mix of Vanilla ice cream and milk. Nothing shocking, I know, but when it comes to fast food, this could have definitely been something pre-made. We were actually able to see them mixing our shakes, though. Again, out of all three competitors, BK has won me over. The Vanilla Milkshake tasted great, and had a perfect thickness to it. You could still drink it with a straw, but it wasn’t watered down either.
Do I think that BK’s new menu will help them knock Wendy’s back into third place? Definitely. I would go as far to say that if it weren’t for McDonalds overwhelmingly strong popularity and cultural significance, Burger King could have a shot at reaching number 1. In my opinion, BK is now beating McDonalds in taste, and Wendy’s in cost. I love going to Wendy’s sometimes, but the prices there are way too high for me. I’m not sure what BK’s prices were before the menu change, but taking a look at them now, it seems like they are lower all around than other fast food restaurants.
To conclude, I love Burger King's new menu, and feel that they can give McDonalds and Wendy’s a run for their money. There’s still a part of me, however, that kind of wishes they could have done it without coming so close to copying McDonalds.
A bit over eight years ago my mother was diagnosed with Celiac Sprue-- an auto-immune disease which affects the small intestine, in most cases causing chronic diarrhea, failure to thrive (in children), and fatigue. The trigger for this disease is gluten protein in wheat and also similar proteins in related grains (i.e. barley and rye). Consumption of these proteins causes an inflammatory reaction in the bowel, resulting in the aforementioned symptoms. As there is a genetic component, I was also tested due to the chronic sickness that I had dealt with for many years, but this ended up not being what was making me so ill.
After diagnosis, my mother was-- understandably-- very sad. To those unaffected by food allergies, sensitivities, and intolerances, complaining that you can no longer "eat bread" can seem melodramatic. While I do not have Celiac, there are plenty of things that I cannot eat because of food allergies and triggers for the condition I do have, so I can say from a place of understanding that it is not that simple. Firstly, gluten is in far more food products than those who don't pay attention might assume. Just like corn, soy, and dairy, gluten is pervasive in processed foods, and is also capable of contaminating nearby crops. As an example, oats do not contain gluten, but due to the way that they're processed, almost all oats that you can find on the commercial market are contaminated.
In the end, there are many foods which she and others like her had to give up almost overnight. Beer, pizza, bread, licorice, oatmeal, certain soft cheeses and yogurt-- all of these taboo following her diagnosis. There are many other examples, and as such it bothers me when people refuse to understand that food allergies, sensitivities, and intolerances are serious and quite real to the individuals whom they afflict. Are there worse things that could happen? Of course-- but that's a facile argument which I've often heard in order to undermine how sad that these food issues can make people.
To honor my mother and her struggle in finding affordable, tasty replacement foods (which she eats sparingly due to high cost and calories, opting instead to make most of her own food), we decided to cover a few of the items which she's tried-- in one case an item she hates-- to see what people who stick Gluten Free have for options. So for an entree item we tried:
De Boles Gluten-Free Corn Spaghetti:
This is the one that my mother hates-- the very reason that she chooses rice pasta every time that she makes a dish requiring pasta. In the box it looked innocent enough, but my mother swore up-and-down that great evil and vitriol lay within. Considering her reaction, of course we wanted to try this one first; what an adventure!
The ingredients were minimal-- just corn flour and water. The noodles were School Bus yellow. It was evident that this was not going to taste like traditional pasta (which we'd expected), but also that it wasn't really going to resemble pasta in any other way than its shape and moniker. It took a long time to soften in the water and by the time it seemed al dente, within seconds afterward it was overcooked and subsequently very gummy. In order not to obscure the flavor, Will tossed the noodles in olive oil and a bit of garlic, rather than using a tomato sauce.
Right out of the gate, the corn flavor was obvious. One thinks, "Of course it tastes like corn!", but the issue was that it was very obtrusive and absolutely overpowered the garlic. It almost tasted like popcorn, and like popcorn it dried out your mouth. The texture wasn't bothersome, but it was unexpectedly analogous to a Soba noodle. What's interesting is that the taste was just kind of there-- in your mouth, clinging to your cheeks and tongue persistently, incessantly; a flavor which, over several minutes, morphed into what I can only refer to as the general taste of a dirty water hotdog, which is something I'm looking for when I go to Manhattan, not when I'm having a bowl of pasta. In the end, I would pass on this one if I were offered it again.
We also tried:
Ancient Harvest Corn/Quinoa Blend Pasta:
Will may have mentioned this in his review, but we love quinoa. It's nutty and fun-looking, and also completely great for you. We've eaten quinoa as a side for our dinners almost an entire week in-a-row before, and have been completely satisfied in doing so. The quinoa that we eat is the seed of the plant and is most closely related to beets, spinach, and tumbleweeds. Sounds gross, tastes awesomely.
This pasta was also Spaghetti-style, and was made up of corn flour, quinoa flour, water, and sea salt. It was easier to cook and had a similar color and texture to traditional pasta. We all found it to be more attractive right away. Will was able to cook it to a nice al dente, and it paired well with the garlic and olive oil. While the corn flavor was still there, you could also detect a slight grassiness from the quinoa, and they tempered one another nicely. I would gladly eat this in replacement of traditional pasta anytime.
For dessert we tried:
Udi's Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Muffins:
Not only Gluten-Free, the package boasted that these muffins were also soy-free, dairy-free, and nut-free. They were nice-looking muffins, with a dark chocolaty color and rich, warm scent. The texture was like a super-moist gooey brownie that had stiffened up a little bit, which wasn't a bad thing. The only issue that I had with these muffins was that they also had lemon zest in them and the lemony element overwhelmed the bitter-sweetness of the chocolate. I wasn't fond of that aspect, but otherwise I thought that they were good, and I would recommend them to someone else if they like a citrusy flavor with their chocolate.
Will and Kenny also tried:
Amy's Kitchen Organic Chocolate Cake:
My mother loves this cake, and in fact recommended that we try it for the review. Sadly, the cake smells strongly of alcohol from the vanilla extract they use, and while this wouldn't bother me in terms of flavor, I cannot have alcohol due to my condition, so I opted not to try it. I recommend reading Kenny's and Will's reviews for the low-down on this one.
At the end of the day, we all want to feel like we can eat the good things that others eat, but in the cases of individuals with food allergies, sensitivities, and intolerances, the only option for many years was to make-due with what there was available. Now there are new and tasty products which are created taking these limitations into consideration, and that is super cool.
For this week’s review we took a look at four different gluten-free foods. Two of which were pastas, and the other two were chocolate desserts.
For the past few years, due to a family member being unable to have gluten, gluten-free foods have been a staple of nearly every family get-together I’ve been to. Because of this, I have grown to like foods that have no gluten in them. Not that I favor them over gluten-filled foods, it’s just that I have no aversion to the normal substitutions these foods require.
The first pasta that we tried out was one made out of corn as opposed to wheat flour, by Deboles. Once again, Will prepared us dinner, serving the pasta with a simple mixture of olive oil and garlic. Looking at the pasta, what I first noticed was how yellow it was. I thought that this may have just been the olive oil, but then realized what the pasta was made of. After eating my dish, the only thing I could think of to say was that this pasta was just plain unremarkable. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t really shine either.
Next up was a corn and quinoa blend, brought to us by a company known as Ancient Harvest. (And as a personal side-note, I spelled quinoa right on my first try!) This pasta was a bit thicker than the corn-only pasta. April and Will both said that they could taste the quinoa in it, but I could not. I did notice that this dish had a bit more of a “chew” to it. During the test, Will mentioned how he was able to make this brand al dente, explaining what I was experiencing. He had tried this with the Deboles, but the pasta overcooked too quickly for him to achieve this goal.
I actually liked both of these pastas, and would not be opposed to trying either of them again. The olive oil and garlic really allowed me to get a sense of the pasta itself. Had we of gone with a thick red sauce, I don’t think I would have been able to discern a difference between the two pastas.
For the next part of our gluten-free review, we took a look at Udi’s Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Muffins and Amy’s Kitchen Organic Chocolate Cake.
Starting with the cake, we each had a thin slice. The texture reminded me of a brownie, and the taste of it was great. Seeing as how there is no gluten in chocolate itself, I wasn’t expecting the “chocolaty-ness” to be missing, but I know that some flour substitutes can have odd influences on flavors sometimes. This was one of those times.
My favorite part of this week’s review was the Double Chocolate Muffin. It wasn’t much to look at, though, and when I first saw it, it looked more to me like something I would find in a Tasty Cake box. The top of the muffin was almost completely flat, as if when the muffin had finished cooking it was immediately wrapped in plastic for preservation. Considering how the muffins were sold, I’m sure this wasn’t the case.
Biting into this muffin was one of the better experiences I’ve had all month. I think my eyes lit up while biting down and hitting an actual chocolate chip. (I get it now! Chocolate muffin with chocolate chips! Double Chocolate!) Without knowing beforehand that this was a gluten-free muffin, I would not have had any clue or reason to believe this wasn’t a normal muffin.
In the end, perhaps I’m not the best person to be reviewing gluten-free foods. I’ve been eating them on and off for nearly a third of my life, so to me there really is no distinction between gluten-filled and gluten-free. I’d like to think that I can tell the difference between good food and bad food, however, and I am happy to say that nothing that I tried with week fell into the bad spectrum.
These days it seems like you can't hang around the local supermarket swinging a baguette without hitting a Celiac anymore. I think we all know at least a few people with gluten intolerances: friends, family members, random passersby in the grocery store. So, with my loved ones in mind, and as an apology to those who got a little too close to me as I practiced my bread kata in the bakery aisle, I agreed to a series of mini-reviews of various gluten-free food options. Today I start my court-ordered community service with a couple gluten-free pasta options and a couple chocolate desserts.
First up was De Boles' spaghetti style corn pasta. We had heard from April's mother, who has been eating gluten-free for many years, that corn pastas were pretty gross, so my hopes were not high. Right off the bat, the bright yellow color is slightly off-putting, but this is to be expected from corn flour.
One benefit to cooking it was that it does not stick together, making stirring it unnecessary, but the benefit ends there. It takes much longer for corn pasta to soften up when added to water, leaving the ends of your spaghetti sticking out of the top of the pot longer, making cooking it evenly more difficult. This also makes the cooking time a bit longer than wheat pasta, but only by about 2-3 minutes. It seems that the corn pasta went from being under-done to over-done very quickly, as it was still fairly hard in the middle at 9 minutes, but a little soggy at its full 10.
Opting for simplicity, so as not to cover the flavor of the pasta itself, I served the pasta with only an olive oil and garlic sauce. The corn pasta did not 'drink up' the sauce as readily as a wheat pasta does, and left a pool of oil in the bottom of the bowl. The flavor was unremarkable, giving only a brief taste of corn meal that quickly receded. The texture was mealy, and had little bite to it. I don't know that I would call it gross, but it wasn't very pleasant. If I had no other option, though, I could see eating it on occasion.
Next up was Ancient Harvest Quinoa Spaghetti. I was very curious about this one. Quinoa has become a big staple in my diet; I love the flavor, the nutritional benefits, and how easy it is to cook.
In short, this was like night and day. The color was a more appetizing light yellow, and looked much more like wheat pasta. It behaved much more like wheat pasta in every way, softening quickly in the water, having a more predictable cooking time, and eagerly soaking up the sauce. The texture was superior as well, with far less of the mealy mouth feel than the corn. The slight grassy flavor of quinoa was present, but not overpowering.
Moving on to dessert I first tried Udi's Gluten Free Double Chocolate Muffins. The muffin was a light reddish brown, reminiscent of Dutch-process cocoa, and didn't smell too overpoweringly chocolaty. This was somewhat deceptive, however, as the chocolate was quite pronounced, and the texture was rich and similar to a fudge brownie. All this richness was not overpowering, though, due to a bright lemony flavor from the inclusion of sugared lemon zest. Aside from the distinctive chew that is evident in baked goods that use xantham gum for their structure, one might not know it was gluten free. I thought it was quite good for a gluten free product.
Lastly, we had Amy's Organic Chocolate Cake. This treat boasts to be not only gluten free, but also is dairy free and vegan. I would have preferred it to be soy free, a trait the muffins had, but you can't have it all. The color was much darker than that of the muffins, and it had a very rich chocolate aroma that was punctuated by a strong vanilla extract smell. It was also sticky to the touch, leading me to expect a decadent chocolate experience. Like the muffins, my initial expectations were wrong, as the taste was severely lacking: the promising aroma of chocolate was deceiving, and the vanilla extract tasted of poor quality. The texture was gritty, and much less chewy than expected. This one was very disappointing.
The winners here were clear. If you are in the market for a gluten-free pasta option, or even just want a healthy and interesting wheat pasta alternative, consider giving quinoa pasta a shot. And for dessert, you could do a lot worse than Udi's Double Chocolate Muffins.
This week, Will and I have chosen to review Fentimans Botannically Brewed sodas. Fentimans has a large selection of flavors, and we chose six of them to comment on. We’d have reviewed them all, but the store only had six.
One thing to note about Fentimans is the process of how the soda is made. Botanical ingredients and natural plant substances are boiled and fermented for seven days to create the beverages. Due to this process, there are trace amounts of alcohol present in the sodas. This added a bit of a challenge for me to this review, as I have never once tasted an alcoholic drink that I liked. Granted, there is so little alcohol in these sodas that the taste of it was barely there, but in a few of them the taste was noticeable to me.
The first soda that we tried was called “Curiosity Cola”. This may not have been the best one for me to start with, as it was the one that smelled and tasted most strongly of alcohol out of all six. Getting through that, though, the soda tasted very much like Coca Cola to me, and reminded me of the time that I had tried a rum and coke.
Our second soda was the “Victorian Lemonade”. I liked this one very much. The soda had an incredibly sour lemon flavor, which was great. There was also very little alcohol flavor to this one.
Third on our plate was the “Ginger Beer”. Right off the bat, I wasn’t too fond of this one. The soda smelled strongly of ginger, but not in the good way like other ginger ales. The flavor did remind me of ginger ale, but it was much more bitter than any I had tasted before. This soda also made me realize what people meant when they said that a drink was “dry”.
“Mandarin and Seville Orange Jigger” was the next soda that we tasted. This one definitely tasted like an orange, but was so strong that I had actually recoiled when I tasted it. I know that April got a picture of my face when I did it, so I’m sure we’ll be putting that up on the blog somewhere. This was probably my least favorite of the bunch, just due to how strong the tartness of the orange was. The lemonade was sour, but this seems completely different.
Soda number five was the “Dandelion and Burdock”. I’ll come right out and say it, this was by far the best out of the entire bunch. As far as I’m aware, I had never tasted dandelion flavor, so I wasn’t sure what I was going to be getting into with this one. When I tasted it, it reminded me strongly of Bazooka Bubble Gum. It even had the same odor.
Our final soda to review was the “Cherry Tree Cola”. Out of all of the soda’s, this one had the lightest odor of the bunch. I had expected it to have a noticeable cherry smell, but if it was there I couldn’t sense it. Another thing that I had noticed was that this one did not seem to have any trace of the alcohol taste or smell. Either it wasn’t there, or I had grown acclimated to it from tasting all of the other sodas. Finally, this was the thickest of the sodas. Much like the Pepsi Next from a couple weeks ago, the “Cherry Tree Cola” stuck to my mouth like none of the rest. Fortunately, this tasted much better than the Pepsi Next did. (Side note: Since the Pepsi review, I have grown to like the Pepsi Next. Either that bottle was bad, or it was just something I needed to warm up to.)
Over all, I definitely enjoyed the Fentiman brand of sodas, and will probably have them again in the future. Definitely the “Dandelion and Burdock” flavor, at least. If you’re interested in finding out more about these sodas, visit www.drinkfentimans.com. There, you can see the other flavors available, and what stores nearby carry them.
I love trying foods and beverages that have fallen out of style. Maybe it's the feeling of delving into the past to find what forgotten treasures lie abandoned in the deep recesses of our history; like some culinary Indiana Jones. Or, is it the puzzle of it that interests me so? Why are these treats no longer commonplace? Are the ingredients scarcer, is the method of production no longer viable, or have our tastes really evolved so much that they are no longer desirable? Or am I just being contrary, like so much hipster, and enjoying these things simply because they are no longer in fashion? Regardless, I loves me some old-timey drinks.
For those unfamiliar with the process, sodas used to get their fizz the same way beer or sparkling wine does, not from the addition of carbonated water, but from fermentation. Yeast is added to the brew, and allowed to do its thing, which is to eat up sugars and produce alcohol and gas. In the case of sodas, though, the fermentation is cut off very early, preserving much of the sweetness while allowing only a very small amount of alcohol to be produced. This of course makes for a very different kind of drink than the sodas we enjoy today, most of which (though not all) contain not even this miniscule amount of alcohol.
I have tried a number of old style beverages in the past. I have gone so far as to make my own celery soda syrup, which is much better than it sounds. I even brewed my own ginger ale completely from scratch, an endeavor that was far less successful, as I think I allowed it to ferment a tad too long, and it tasted rather strongly of alcohol. This failure did, however, give me a good reference point for what to expect of classic brewed sodas. So, upon seeing six of Fentimans offerings at one of my local supermarkets, I couldn't wait to try them.
Curiosity Cola - We started off with quite a doozy on this one. The cola had the strongest alcoholic scent, similar to a whisky and cola, with a strong ginger smell as well. The taste was likewise gingery, and not unlike the bubble-gummy flavor of champagne soda. This was not one of my favorites.
Victorian Lemonade - Perhaps it was just the bottle I had, but I was initially assaulted by a skunky smell upon giving this one my precursory whiff. The taste, however, was a bit more pleasant, though the skunkiness persisted. Still the dry, sour flavor wasn't too bad, and would be nice as a drink mixer I think. It reminded me a little of a Mike's Hard Lemonade, with far less alcohol and much less sweet. Not bad.
Ginger Beer - As a huge fan of ginger beer I had high hopes for this one. The aroma was quite heady, and I happily inhaled deeply several times. The smell was slightly deceptive, however, as the ginger flavor was much milder than I expected. Perhaps I am just used to Jamaican ginger beers which tend to be sinus-searingly strong, but this one had only a slight kick to it. It is on the dry side, something I quite like, especially in ginger ales and beers. It was definitely superior to my own failed attempt. This was among my favorites and I highly suggest it.
Mandarin and Seville Orange Jigger - I am no fan of orange sodas, but this one is a nice exception. The smell was very tart and reminded me immediately of a screwdriver. The taste was equally tart, and not at all sweet. It tasted like a mimosa made with a cheap sparkling wine, but in a good way. This is another that would make a good drink mixer, though it's still enjoyable on its own.
Dandelion and Burdock - This is the one I was most looking forward to trying, as I had no idea what it would taste like. I have had dandelion wine, and steamed dandelion greens, but never burdock. It smelled very similar to a grape soda, tea, and most oddly, a bit like cough syrup. The flavor was very complex, but reminded me most of horehound candy and tea. This was not only the most interesting and complex of the lot, but also hands-down our favorite. Try this one.
Cherry Tree Cola - There is no subtlety with this one, the cherry smell hits hard, like a cherry hard candy left to melt in the sun. The flavor is much the same, so strong that it tastes artificial. It's viscous body and overall sweetness reminded me of cherry syrup. Again, this would be a nice mixer, but I couldn't think of having more than a sip on its own.
Overall, I enjoyed Fentimans line of Botanically Brewed Beverages, even the ones I wouldn't race out to buy again. I feel an additional shout-out is in order regarding the Dandelion and Burdock, which I give my whole-hearted endorsement to. I imagine I will be having the occasional uncontrollable craving for one from now on. All of these flavors are well worth trying, and I hope to have the opportunity to try the remaining Rose Lemonade and Shandy flavors listed on their site.
Though I have a number of other food allergies, I consider myself to have won the jackpot in NOT being allergic to nuts. There are a number of people who are either sensitive or anaphylactic to tree nuts and/or peanuts, and that really does suck because nuts are an excellent source of vital nutrients, fat, and protein. For this review I decided to try two nut butters and an alternative nut-free spread, none of which I had tasted prior to now. I will not be covering the old-fashioned soft drinks with Will and Kenny because I cannot have anything which contains any alcohol, even if that amount is very small. And moving onward we have--
Betty Lou's Just Great Stuff Organic Powdered Peanut Butter:
If there is one thing that any reader should know about me, it's that I'm a complete whore for anything containing peanut butter. I love it in my milkshakes, on my waffles, even in my homemade chili-- and now, thanks to Betty Lou's, I have it in convenient, snort-able form for when bolting a tablespoon or two just isn't quick enough.
Boasting a significantly reduced fat content (85% in fact), BL's Powdered PB is also Gluten-Free, non-GMO, and contains no preservatives-- in fact, the only ingredients are Organic Peanuts, Organic Coconut Sugar, and Sea Salt. It is prepared by mixing 2 tbsp of the powder with 1 tbsp of water (less water if a thicker consistency is desired).
The back of the label really plays up the fact that the product is made with Coconut Sugar, stating: Coconut Sugar is produced from the sap of the coconut palm flower, and does not taste like coconut. This 100% organic, sustainably harvested natural sweetener has a lower glycemic index than cane sugar and contains essential vitamins and minerals. Checking into this claim, I found that coconut sugar, as opposed to brown or refined white sugar, contains higher concentrations of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Chlorine, Sulfur, Boron, Zinc, Manganese, Iron, and Copper. It is also considered to be safe for diabetics and can be used as a traditional sugar replacement at a 1:1 ratio.
When mixed with water, the resultant spread does have the look, smell, and taste of natural peanut butter, but slightly sweeter and with a hint of fruitiness. The suggested proportions for mixing the powder and water produce a very thin spread, so if you want it to be analogous in thickness to traditional peanut butter, I would suggest using less liquid. The flavor is light and disappears from the palate rather quickly, which in some cases (i.e. using the powder to make a sauce for a dessert) would cut the richness from a popular peanut butter treat, but in others (i.e. making a peanut butter sandwich) would create an underwhelming experience.
To sate my curiosity, I put some of the powder into a glass of organic milk and was pleased to find that it made for a yummy treat, though the powder did not dissolve completely. However, that didn't bother me at all.
From here, I wanted to taste a type of nut butter that I'd never bothered to try, so I picked up--
Artisana 100% Organic Raw Walnut Better with Cashews:
I sort of hated walnuts when I was a kid-- the shells were hard work for me to open, the flesh looked like brain matter, and the flavor was bitter. In essence, walnuts formed the trifecta of "no-frigging-way-I'm-eating-that-not-ever-nawthanks-'k-bye". At some point in my twenties I started to like them-- perhaps it was my palate maturing; perhaps I was replaced with a Pod Person. No matter-- the important part is that I eat them now and I'm lucky to do so. Walnuts are rich in Omega and other essential fatty acids, as well as fiber, certain vitamins, and protein. Despite how much I now like them, I had yet to try a walnut butter, so I grabbed this one at random from the Wegman's Nature's Market when I chose the other two products for this review.
The spread comes packaged in a little pouch, meant as one serving, and only contains walnuts and cashews. To use it, one simply need smush the contents of the package around until it softens, rip open a corner, and squeeze the walnut butter onto the desired walnut-butter-vehicle. In my case, I didn't put the product on anything-- wishing to avoid affecting the actual flavor.
What I'm going to say about it probably seems counter-intuitive, but I mean it in the best way possible; this walnut butter is remarkable in how very unremarkable it is. It does what it should: satisfies and tastes like walnuts. The cashew flavor was mild and barely noticeable, letting the happy walnutty flavor shine right through. There were no added sweeteners, nor anything done to alter the flavor; the spread was just plain delicious and honest.
And now, in consideration of those with nut allergies, we have--
NoNuts Golden Peabutter:
I was pretty eager to try this one out, since I had no clue what the flavor would actually be. In the case of many "replacer" foods, the separate ingredients can add up to something that tastes a completely unexpected way. Pertaining to this particular item, there is only one thing listed in the ingredients that I can definitely pick out from the profile for exactly what it is: Icing Sugar. If that sounds weird, it is-- and also it isn't.
The peabutter consists of brown peas, canola oil, icing sugar (contains cornstarch), palm oil, mono- & diglycerides, and citric acid; it's safe to say that the icing sugar is there to provide both sweetness and a peanut-butter-like consistency. What you get is more akin to the lovechild of Jif and Duncan Hines frosting. That doesn't make it bad-- just slightly different than I was expecting.
The spread has a mild, sweet smell (but you can certainly sense the icing sugar) and an attractive golden color. This combination of ingredients has coalesced into a complex flavor profile, with a warm nuttiness and an interesting first wave of sweetness and brazil nuts-- but the aftertaste, sadly, is where the icing sugar dominates, and I've forgotten the safe-word apparently because the assault of bitter-sweetness on my tongue will not relent. It has seriously been over an hour and I can still taste it. Combine this with some pretty unimpressive nutrition stats, and I would say that I'm not super-fond of NoNuts Golden Peabutter, though I certainly wanted to be. That being said however, if I were unable to have peanuts and treenuts, and I wanted a product which could offer a similar taste to a nut butter and that is manufactured in a facility which is completely nut-free, I would certainly use NoNuts Golden Peabutter for the occasional fix.
For this week’s review we have chosen to eat scrapple. Here’s a little backstory to the evening this decision was first made.
A few weeks before we actually started the blog, we were hanging out with a couple friends, talking about what kind of foods we could eat that would be interesting enough to write about. Somebody then said, “Oh! I know! You guys should eat scrapple!”
The others all agreed that this would be a good idea. I then said, “Scrapple? What’s that?”
Then, almost in unison, the group said, “Nobody Tell Him!”
Well, that sure got me excited for the inevitable scrapple review. I went a few weeks playing along with the idea of going in blind. Every time I went to Google something, the thought of googling scrapple popped into my head. I remained strong for as long as I could, and refused to look into it.
Finally, about a week ago, Will told me that he had found a place to buy scrapple in the area. The scrapple was purchased, and a date was set for our review.
It’s not that I was worried about what I would be eating, but I have always been the type of person who liked having things spoiled. I keep up to date on all of my favorite TV shows to find out what’s going to happen later in their seasons. I have only played half of Mass Effect 1, and yet I know the entire plotline and ending for the trilogy. Plain and simple, I like knowing what I’m getting into before doing something.
Because of this, while on the phone with my mother a day before the tasting, at the end of our conversation I asked, “By the way, do you know what scrapple is?”
“Oh yeah, Grandma use to like it! It’s kind of a mixture of meat and fat, I think.” She replied.
Meat and fat? That didn’t sound too bad. What was the big deal about that?
The next day, I told April that I had discovered what scrapple was, and that it didn’t seem like it was that strange. She then told me that while yes, it was meat and fat, it wasn’t just any meat. It was organ meat.
Oh.
Again though, was this really information that needed to be kept away from me? I mean, I eat hotdogs, and who knows what goes into those. (Nobody tell me, I have a good enough idea.) Now knowing the full meaning of the word scrapple, I decided to go into the review with an open mind, as one always should.
For the actual meal, Will wanted to make a traditional breakfast consisting of eggs over-easy, hash browns, and fried scrapple. I have to say that the meal overall was excellent, with the eggs cooked perfectly (and only one accidently broken yolk, which wasn’t on my dish anyway), and the hash browns having a perfect crunch. I hate soggy hash browns.
The scrapple itself was a bit odd. It was fried, so it had the crunch that I really like in food, but besides that it didn’t really seem like anything that weird. In fact, while eating the meal, I had a hard time knowing if what I was eating was the scrapple or the hash browns. This is perhaps a downside to liking my food crunchy, as stuff that’s cooked that much starts to taste like carbon as opposed to their original flavor.
Focusing on a piece which I was sure was scrapple, I have to say that it wasn’t that bad. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t eat it alone, but it was a great addition to the eggs and hash browns. I’d go as far as to say I would rather have this for breakfast instead of bacon and eggs, mostly because it’s easier to mix the scrapple with the eggs than it is the bacon with the eggs. (I love mixing my food together.)
As a stand-alone item, however, I don’t think I would want to eat a meal consisting of nothing but scrapple. It tasted very iron-y, which was a consistent reminder of just what it was I was eating.
I guess it’s pretty telling that most of this review was more about the buildup of the scrapple, than the scrapple itself. It was made out to be this weird food that I wouldn’t eat if I knew the truth, but in the end it was just a decent breakfast item with nothing that remarkable about it.
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