REVIEW: Popeyes x Hot Ones Smokin’ Rojo Chicken Sandwich

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I haven’t been into all these Hot Ones food products because, well, I’m scared.

I watch these Hot Ones clips on YouTube, and I see celebrities sweating and crying, and I wonder, do I want to subject myself to that because I don’t have a movie or TV show to promote? But a wise person once said, “Pain is a fleeting feeling. Oh, hey, that rhymes.”

So here I am with the Popeyes x Hot Ones Smokin’ Rojo Chicken Sandwich, featuring a crispy chicken fillet with a Los Calientes Rojo spread and pickles on a toasted brioche bun. Of the three menu items advertised, the sandwich falls within the middle range of spiciness. However, spiciness can be perceived differently by each person, so what Popeyes and Hot Ones consider spicy might be popping eyes out caliente to me. Fortunately, it was not that intense.

Before I get into how hot this sandwich was, I must say that the Los Calientes Rojo spread was indeed tasty. It’s smoky, tangy, and peppery with a hint of sweetness. That flavor pairs well with the Cajun spices in the chicken and tangy pickles. But while taking my first bite, all that flavor kind of took a back seat to the sauce’s spiciness. Actually, the bun, chicken, and pickles help soften the blow from the spicy sauce because when I tried the orange sauce on its own, it was noticeably spicier.

After taking a couple more bites, the heat was not relenting. It was also at this time that I could feel my head’s bodily fluids wanting to excrete from where they excrete from. My nose started running, and my scalp began sweating. While I was enjoying the sandwich’s flavor, it was at this point that I really felt the need for something to help combat the heat.

BONUS REVIEW!

REVIEW: Jack in the Box Monster Cookie Shake

A wise person once said, “With milk from mammals that go moo, spiciness can be soothed. Oh, hey, that rhymes.”

The limited time only shake features Chips Ahoy-flavored syrup and Oreo cookie crumbs blended with ice cream, finished with whipped topping and more Oreo cookie crumbs. My order didn’t appear to have Oreo cookies blended into it, but I didn’t really care at the moment because I needed to give my mouth some cooling relief. However, to make up for that, I pushed down whatever crumbs sprinkled on the whipped topping.

The Chips Ahoy-flavored syrup doesn’t remind me of the Nabisco-branded chocolate chip cookie, but it has an artificial brown sugar cookie dough taste that’s not bad. Whatever Oreo bits my straw sucked up, they added chocolatey hits to my tongue. It’s a fine-tasting shake, that’s a nice change of pace from a Jack’s Oreo shake, but it doesn’t shake up the shake world.

One last thing. I hate to nitpick about the shake that helped me weather the spicy storm known as the Popeyes x Hot Ones Smokin’ Rojo Chicken Sandwich, but if it’s a “Monster Cookie” shake, shouldn’t it have M&M’s? That is one of the definitive ingredients in a Monster Cookie recipe. Maybe the chocolate Oreo crumbs are the stand-in for the chocolate candy?

Thanks, Jack in the Box Monster Cookie Shake, for putting out the fire in my mouth.

Purchased Price: $7.99 (Sandwich), $6.29 (Shake)
Size: Regular (Shake)
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Sandwich), 6 out of 10 (Shake)
Nutrition Facts: (Sandwich) 620 calories, 33 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat (that can’t be right, but that’s what the website says), 80 milligrams of cholesterol, 1450 milligrams of sodium, 53 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 29 grams of protein. (Shake) 800 calories. No other nutrition information is available on the Jack in the Box website.

REVIEW: Cheez-It Hot Honey Crackers

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Swicy is everywhere these days. Sweet plus spicy makes the ultimate flavor hack. Heat tames the sweet, sweet rounds out the spice, and your taste buds ride the flavor rollercoaster.

Now Cheez-It joins the swicy chat with its new limited-time Hot Honey Cheez-It Crackers.

I’ll admit, I felt skeptical for two reasons:

First, Cheez-It cheese is distinct, and I didn’t know if hot honey could hold its own without being overtaken. On my charcuterie boards, hot honey usually pairs well with mellow cheeses like Gruyère – not cheddar.

Second, outside of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos or Takis, I rarely trust a snack’s “heat” claims. Spice levels usually disappoint.

Still, I stan Cheez-It. So of course I copped.

First impression: no real smell. Like most Cheez-It boxes, opening the liner just hits your nose with… cardboard. For a second, my brain swore it caught Italian seasoning (probably because I stared at those specks of seasoning), but nope – just cardboard.

Digging in, the crackers looked inconsistent. Some carried a heavy dusting, others barely any. The cracker itself also looked lighter, which made me wonder if this was a white cheddar base – or maybe lighter meant “honey” and darker meant “heat.” The plot thickened.

Then I popped one in my mouth. Skepticism: shattered. These deliver.

Sweetness lands first, heat follows, and it all layers over that familiar Cheez-It cheese that wedges itself in your molars (it’s glorious, don’t come at me). The balance works, and together they hit eat-a-whole-box-in-a-sitting level of snackable.

Using white cheddar as the base? Boss move. The person who made that call knew precisely what they were doing. The heat doesn’t reach Flamin’ Hot Cheetos or Takis territory, but it’s real and builds into a warm, satisfying kick.

It doesn’t matter if the cracker looks lightly seasoned, pale, or the usual Cheez-It orange. If every piece carried maximum seasoning, the flavor might overwhelm, but the mix keeps you reaching back. This limited time flavor smashes.

Final verdict: Run, don’t walk! Hot Honey Cheez-It earns a spot, at least a trial run, in your snack rotation.

Purchased Price: $3.77
Size: 12.4 oz
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (27 crackers – 30g) 150 calories, 7 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 210 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Mountain Dew x Trolli Cherry-Lemon

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Every year since 2019, Mtn Dew, no, sorry, Mountain Dew (they decided to spell it out again) has unleashed a spooky-themed mystery flavor under the name VooDEW. The freaky flavored opaque grey bubbly liquid ranged from the inaugural candy corn to “fruit candy chews” to 2023’s official collaboration with Airheads candy for a branded cherry flavor. But now Mountain Dew VooDEW is a ghost of the past, at least for 2025. Skipping over the frightful mystery contest in favor of a straight-up co-branded candy collab, this year’s newest Dew is a Trolli Cherry-Lemon gummy, available in only zero sugar.

While this absurdly vibrant red soda may lack the suspenseful surprise of the VooDEW branding, what it doesn’t lack is a punch when it comes to flavor. The cherry lemon gummy presence is just as bold as the coloring, with a strong cherry that verges on syrupy without ever going into the “not good” territory. It’s a big pop of cherry followed by lemon and the classic Dew flavor, which is already lemony in its own right.

The taste of this Trolli collaboration reminds me a lot of the early 2000s fan (and personal) favorite Code Red, with just a touch more citrus flare than I recall from Code Red, which favors the cherry. I imagine that side by side, there may be some additional nuance that comes out, but I’m not sure how much more gummy flavor can be injected into an already potent sweet mix like the foundation of Dew. In the same breath, it does taste remarkably like the yellow and red Trolli gummy worm, so it’s also quite accurate.

Regardless of whether this is a sneaky re-skin or not, it’s a close enough and tasty enough comp for a SKU whose zero sugar version is nowhere to be found in my area. As someone who tries to avoid full sugar drinks, I’m really enjoying this zero sugar Trolli Dew. It is a super sweet, almost-too-much-but-just-enough type of soda that is unique but familiar enough that I can absolutely see myself buying a 12-pack of cans and having no issue finishing it over the course of spooky season.

Purchased Price: $2.99
Size: 20 ounces
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 Bottle) 15 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 85 milligrams of sodium, 1 gram of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 0 grams of total sugars, 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Papa Johns Papa Dippa with a 4 Sauce Flight

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I am not great at naming things, but I think I can come up with a better name than the new Papa Johns Papa Dippa with a 4 Sauce Flight. Using “flight” is probably too fancy a word for a fast food pizza chain. So my suggestion is Papa Johns’ Papa Dippa GaGarlicfiesta.

Noppa? Gotcha.

The Papa Dippa is a three-cheese pepperoni pizza cut into 16 dippable strips and comes with four sauces, three of which are new: Roasted Garlic Parmesan, Creamy Garlic Pesto, and Garlic Hot Honey. The fourth one is the standard Special Garlic Sauce, which I’m not going to cover in this review.

Before I get to the sauces, which this review will focus on, I have to talk about the cutting of the pizza into strippas. I understand it’s necessary to make dipping easier, but it leads to four non-optimal pieces that are 60-70 percent crust. Yes, those pieces will be dipped into sauces, but, much like me when playing pickup basketball or dodgeball, they will be picked last. I feel sorry for me, I mean, them.

Now let’s get to the three new sauces.

Roasted Garlic Parmesan

With its appearance, smell, and taste, there’s a strong Caesar dressing vibe to this. The garlic doesn’t go as hard as Papa Johns’ standard garlic sauce, despite containing a good amount of minced garlic in it, and it definitely doesn’t take away the helm of this flavor train from the parmesan. Of the three new dips, it is noticeably the thickest and sticks to the pizza sticks well. It works as well as ranch dressing does with pizza, and it’s my favorite sauce of the bunch.

Creamy Garlic Pesto

This dip is similar to the Roasted Garlic Parmesan in that the garlic doesn’t stand out much, even though there’s minced garlic floating in it. It’s pretty much a pesto party, which I don’t mind since it adds another tasty level on top of the pizza’s pepperoni and cheese. However, the pesto doesn’t pop as much as the cheesiness in the Roasted Garlic Parmesan. Also, it has a surprisingly watery texture that doesn’t seem to cling to the pizza as well as the previous sauce.

Garlic Hot Honey

Finally, we have my least favorite of the bunch, and I feel like it’s going to be the least favorite for a lot of eaters. It’s sweet with a spicy kick, which is what you’d expect from hot honey, but there’s also a sour twist to it that may cause your face to grimace like it would if you had to pick me last for a pickup basketball game. With that said, yes, the sourness is weird, but at the same time, I don’t completely hate it, and kept dipping pizza sticks into it. One last thing, this is the most watery sauce of the bunch. So don’t use this dip while wearing your finest band tour t-shirt.

While the name Papa Johns’ Papa Dippa GaGarlicfiesta is not a good idea, Papa Johns Papa Dippa with its four sauces is. I really enjoyed two of them, liking them more than the standard garlic dip, which I find too rich. In fact, I liked them so much that they made me go gaga…rlic.

Sorry.

Purchased Price: $19.99*
Size: Large pizza with four sauces
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Roasted Garlic Parmesan), 7 out of 10 (Creamy Garlic Pesto), 5 out of 10 (Garlic Hot Honey)
Nutrition Facts: Creamy Garlic Pesto – 60 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 95 milligrams of sodium, 0 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein. Roasted Garlic Parmesan – 60 calories, 6 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 110 milligrams of sodium, 1 gram of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein. Garlic Hot Honey – 25 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 50 milligrams of sodium, 6 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.

REVIEW: Taco Bell Mountain Dew Baja Midnight Freeze

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Update: It appears, as of early September 2025, this is no longer on the menu. I had it mid-August, but didn’t get a chance to write a review until later, and didn’t realize it was gone. I’ll post this review anyway, in case it comes back.

Here we are in Autumn 2025, and there’s no sign of my beloved Mountain Dew Pitch Black. Instead, the only dark purple Dew available during this Halloween season is Taco Bell’s Mountain Dew Baja Midnight. Boo! Not ghost “boo.” Disapproval, “boo.”

Unfortunately, both times I went to Taco Bell to try the new exclusive Dew, there was no syrup available. The Baja Midnight soda spigot just spewed clear carbonated water, and I had to settle for Baja Blast to wash down a Crunchwrap Supreme and my sadness that was as dark as the Baja Midnight I was supposed to have in my cup. However, as a consolation prize, I ended up with Taco Bell’s Mountain Dew Baja Midnight Freeze.

Looking at the purple slush made me sad about not having Mountain Dew Pitch Black. Or maybe I’m experiencing some SAD (Slushie Affective Disorder) that’s caused by having to get the slush form of a Dew I wanted. Whatever I was feeling, this Freeze didn’t thaw my mood.

Baja Midnight is a Dew with passionfruit flavoring, which, if you’re keeping track at home, sounds precisely like Baja Passionfruit Punch that came out in 2023, which was also purple in color. Looking back at my review of it, I gave it a solid 7 rating. I can’t remember what it tasted like, which means it was either forgettable or I’m getting forgettable.

If Baja Midnight and Baja Passionfruit Punch are identical twins separated at birth, then maybe I didn’t care for Baja Passionfruit Punch as much as I thought I did. It had a decent tart passionfruit flavor with hints of citrus. But there was also a weird, floral-like aftertaste with the citrusy punch at the back end. But that floral flavor eventually went away the more I drank it. But whatever I was tasting didn’t wow me, and if given the choice between it and Baja Blast to wash down my Taco Bell meal and sadness, I’d prefer Baja Blast.

I guess it’s safe to say Taco Bell’s Mountain Dew Baja Midnight Freeze is not my cup of MounTEAn Dew. Oh, it’s not safe because I shoved “tea” in Mountain Dew, and you’re not impressed with that wordplay? Well then, you have now experienced the same disappointment I had with this Freeze.

Purchased Price: $3.99
Size: Large
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 200 calories, 0 grams of fat, 55 milligrams of sodium, 51 grams of carbohydrates, 51 grams of sugar, 0 grams of protein, and 60 milligrams of caffeine.

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