REVIEW: Sonic Trick or Treat Blast (2023)

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For Halloween 2023, Sonic is offering revamped Trick or Treat Blasts, which include Mini M&M’s, Heath candy pieces, and Oreo cookie pieces, all mixed together in soft-serve ice cream. They are available in vanilla and chocolate.

If you don’t have a lot of time, I’ll sum it up quickly: This is basically an M&M’s shake. There, now you can go to the pumpkin patch (or the haunted house or the apple orchard or whatever else you’re doing this time of year).

Instead of eating it in my car in the stall at Sonic, I opted to get the chocolate version in the drive-through, then took it home and enjoyed it in the autumn afternoon.

The Mini M&M’s were by far the most noticeable element of the Blast. Since cold M&M’s are crunchy, I was crunching my way through the entire treat. There were M&M’s in almost every bite, even when I took a small bit of ice cream in my spoon. I liked them, and I’m glad they were there, but sometimes I just wanted a moment without them. (Is that what it’s like having kids?)

The Oreo pieces were slightly softened from the soft serve. If you’re a reader of this site, you probably know what it’s like to have Oreo cookies in ice cream, so I don’t need to elaborate on what they were like.

The Heath pieces were least noticeable to me. Since the M&M’s were already crunchy, it was hard to notice if I was crunching on toffee instead. I did have one bite where I thought, “Oh yeah, I can definitely taste the toffee here!”

As for the soft serve, it was enjoyable but unremarkable. The abundant M&M’s really overpowered the flavor. My Blast wasn’t very well mixed, and I didn’t notice much difference between the vanilla (before I mixed it) and the chocolate (after I mixed it).

I enjoyed the Trick or Treat Blast, but I just didn’t find it that interesting. It was too similar to other products. And as a sucker for anything holiday related, I wished it had a stronger seasonal connection. I don’t think I ever got a Heath bar or Oreo cookies in my trick-or-treat pillowcase. And if Sonic wasn’t going to add any flavors more interesting than chocolate, it at least could have added some spooky colors somewhere.

The Trick or Treat Blast is, well, not much of a blast. It’s tasty, but I don’t think it’s worth going out of your way for it.

Purchased Price: $5.43
Size: Small
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (small) 670 calories, 26 grams of fat, 16 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 80 milligrams of sodium, 630 milligrams of sodium, 103 grams of carbohydrates, 85 grams of sugar, 2 grams of fiber, and 12 grams of protein.

REVIEW: McDonald’s Sweet & Spicy Jam Sauce and Mambo Sauce

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McDonald’s Hot Mustard is my default sauce. I’ve dipped my Chicken McNuggets in them for the past, um, I can’t remember how long. It’s extremely rare for me to deviate from that, although there was that brief dark moment when McDonald’s discontinued it and brought it back. My sauce swaying also happens when the Golden Arches offers new dips. The latest are Sweet & Spicy Jam and Mambo.

According to McDonald’s, the Sweet & Spicy Jam is a jammy red pepper sauce with a Szechuan peppercorn kick and extra heat from cayenne pepper, and finished with apple cider vinegar. It’s McDonald’s first-ever breakfast-inspired dipping sauce in the US. While the chain recommends trying it with various breakfast menu items, it’s available all day. Mambo is a tomato-based, sweet, spicy, and vinegary. It’s inspired by the popular condiment found at many Washington DC restaurants.

The first thought that came to mind after trying the Sweet & Spicy Jam was Panda Express, probably because of the Szechuan peppercorns. And at the same time, I thought it tasted like a spicier version of something else McDonald’s has offered. It’s sweet, peppery, spicy, and a little something else. It warmed the back of my mouth but didn’t become anything more than mild. After scraping whatever I could from the container with a rigid French fry, proving that I enjoyed it, I thought about it and realized it’s like a spicy sweet & sour sauce.

As for the Mambo Sauce, I should start with a full disclosure: This is my first experience with it (it’s also known as mumbo sauce) since I live on the opposite side of the country from where it’s famous. But Mambo is instantly the most fun Chicken McNuggets sauce name to say. It’s much spicier than the Sweet & Spicy Jam and has a slight fruitiness that I think might be pineapple. But it tastes like a sweet and peppery barbecue sauce that happens to make my head sweat a little.

I wanted to end this review by typing that the Sweet & Spicy Jam is my new jam, but I’d be lying because Hot Mustard is still my jam, er, mustard. Both new sauces are tasty takes on the pairing of sweet and spicy, and I enjoyed them equally. They’re definitely worth a try if you enjoy that flavor combo.

Purchased Price: Comes with 10-piece Chicken McNuggets
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Sweet & Spicy Jam – 80 calories. Mambo Sauce – 60 calories. No other information is available on McDonald’s website.

REVIEW: Jack in the Box Angry Monster Tacos

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I’m angry that Jack in the Box’s new Angry Monster Tacos don’t have jalapeños. Okay, I’m not irate, but I’m confused by their exclusion because they would’ve made these truly angry. When monsters get angry, like Godzilla, they may burn things down, so why not attempt to burn my mouth with these.

An order of Angry Monster Tacos comes with two spicy seasoned tacos with shredded lettuce, American cheese, and taco sauce inside “angry” red shells that are in neat monster-themed sleeves. Looking through the Jack in the Box app, ordering just one is impossible. But if you want to feel the anger without committing to two, you can order a pair with one regular Monster Taco and an Angry one.

So how angry are these? They’re definitely spicier and more peppery than a regular Jack in the Box Taco, but they’re not hot enough to make me wish I’d ordered a cold Coke product to go along with them, even after eating both. If you’re a fan of Jack’s regular tacos and not spice-adverse, you’ll probably like these because they pretty much taste like them but spicier. Nothing about them makes me like them more than Jack’s regular offering, and they’re flavorful enough that you don’t even need the taco sauce packets that you’ll probably be given. Although I wonder what flavor they would have if dipped into a container of Good Good Sauce or Creamy Avocado Lime Sauce.

But now let’s end on that red shell. It’s all color, no calefaction or flavor. I’ll admit its dark red hue does look cool, and much like wearing dark colors makes one look slimmer, its color makes the obligatory oil-soaked center available with all Jack in the Box tacos look less noticeable. It’s neat enough that I wouldn’t be angry if Jack used the same shell for Angry Santa Tacos or something in a few weeks.

Purchased Price: $3.00 for 2
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 440 calories – other nutritional info is unavailable on Jack in the Box’s website.

REVIEW: Taco Bell Wild Strawberry Creme Delight Freeze

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I have been deep in the pumpkin spice trenches since mid-August and usually try to take a “fall flavors” break around the end of September. It’s easy to burn out quickly by Thanksgiving and want nothing to do with anything pumpkin spiced or cinnamon apple. When I got the push notification from Taco Bell about its new Wild Strawberry Creme Delight Freeze, it was serendipitous.

Over the years, I’ve had varying degrees of enjoyment with the different frozen offerings from Taco Bell. Some I’ve enjoyed (Baja Blast Freeze) and others reminded me of kids’ medications (Blue Raspberry Freeze). My first, unmixed, sip of this gave me a mouthful of Wild Strawberry that took me back to my ear infection days. The Wild Strawberry flavor had a strong artificialness that isn’t unpleasant, but certainly isn’t something found in nature. I decided to wait until I got home to try the drink again.

During the short three minute drive home, all of the vanilla creamer had sunk to the bottom of the cup. I took that as a chance to try it on its own and feel like the descriptor of “vanilla creamer” does it a grave injustice. I was expecting an International Delight-type product, but instead it was more akin to the sweet cream from Starbucks. After a hearty swirl to blend the two flavors, I took another sip.

With everything blended together, the drink was absolutely delicious. The sweet vanilla cream softened the strawberry flavor in a truly enjoyable way. The blending in of the cream also solved a problem I tend to have with slush drinks: it never got icy from uneven syrup sips. It did require me to keep swirling to keep it well blending, but thanks to an iced mocha habit I have a good swirl system.

The sweet, frosty blend of strawberry and cream felt like that random day in September when the weather shifts to summer one last time. It was a nice treat and break from the fall flavors.

Purchased Price: $3.29
Size: Regular (16 oz)
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 200 calories, 1 gram of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 45 milligrams of sodium, 50 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 48 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Ruffles Flamin’ Hot Queso Cheese Potato Chips

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Do you like a “Groundhog Day” movie premise as much as I do? You know, the movies centered around a character who relives the same day over and over again. You’d think once they’d done the Bill Murray classic, it would be ironic and un-original to make it again. Yet, we still have fantastic films like “Edge of Tomorrow” (the action version), “Happy Death Day” (the thriller version), “The Map of Tiny Perfect Things” (the romcom version), and of course “Palm Springs” (the Andy Samberg version). All of these movies are pretty great in their own unique twist of a classic theme. In much the same way, I come to you today with a review of Flamin’ Hot Queso Cheese Ruffles. Sure, you’ve probably had a really similar chip, but now these also exist.

They have the same distinct color found on other Flamin’ Hot line extensions. The flavor is overwhelmingly cheesy and balanced very well with the heat from the pepper. In fact, I’d almost say these don’t quite live up to the spiciness of other Flamin’ Hot varieties launched recently, but I think that’s a good thing in this case. It makes them much more addictive.

I was curious how these differed from the Flamin’ Hot Cheddar Sour Cream Ruffles (the LeBron bag) currently on shelves and could only dig up one or two minor discrepancies. First, the ingredient lines between this and the LeBron version are nearly identical. Apart from a few items being in different sequential order, the Queso chips have a few extra spices (onion and garlic powder) and no sour cream or butter. If you’re thinking that difference doesn’t sound enormous, I agree with you. These chips taste A LOT like the standard Flamin’ Hot Sour Cream and Cheddar Ruffles, but these are much more cheese-forward and the heat packs less of a punch.

The second difference is that these have the lil’ smiley guy in the corner, designating them as a Sabritas item (also owned by Frito-Lay and largely distributed in Mexico). I don’t think this necessarily makes a difference except to possibly justify why such a similar chip could launch with a different balance of cheese and heat.

I also decided to try the original Queso Ruffles against the Flamin’ Hot Queso Ruffles. The OG lacks heat and red color but has the same strong savory cheese flavor. I think heat lovers might be slightly let down by the heat offered in the Flamin’ Hot Queso version, but I’ll double down and say again that I prefer this balance. It makes the chips far more enjoyable overall.

If I had to live one day repeatedly, I wouldn’t be upset if it included these chips. I’m docking a point for lack of originality since the formulas look to be nearly a replicate of a chip that already exists, but I can’t deny how tasty these are. Did I already say that? Oh well, déjà vu.

Purchased Price: $5.99
Size: 8 oz bag
Purchased at: 7-Eleven
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (13 chips) 150 calories, 10 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 140 milligrams of sodium, 15 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

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