REVIEW: Wendy’s x Wednesday Meal of Misfortune

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My digestive system wondered how much misfortune Wendy’s x Wednesday Meal of Misfortune would cause it. Because the meal’s main highlights are the two spicy mystery flavor chicken nuggets dipping sauces included, my mouth, stomach, and digestive tract were concerned about how spicy they could be. Will they have to contend with digesting and processing Wendy’s Takis heat all over again? Well, there’s only one way to find out.

The Meal of Misfortune features:

  • Rest in 10-Piece Nuggets (just regular nuggets, but can be swapped for Spicy Nuggets)
  • Small Cursed & Crispy Fries (just regular fries)
  • Dips of Dread, which are four “inferno-inspired” mystery sauces. They include You Can’t Hyde, This Will Sting, Grave Mistake, and Nowhere to Woe. While there are four total sauces, two of them are added randomly with every meal.
  • A small Raven’s Blood Frosty, which is a
    Vanilla Frosty with a dark cherry swirl, served in a Wednesday-themed cup, and with a “Spoon of Gloom.” You can also get it with a Chocolate Frosty.

The limited time meal inspired by the hit Netflix show is supposed to come in Wednesday-themed packaging, but as you can see in the photo above, by pure mischance, mine didn’t, except for the paper bag my order came in.

Let’s start with the Mystery Sauces, which is an idea that every fast food chain should adopt. (Also, why weren’t these called “Mistery Sauces”?)

The first one I opened had an unexpected purple color that made me wonder if the demented person who runs Wendy’s social media accounts had melted Grimace to make the sauce. It had a Tabasco-ish flavor to it, and had a spiciness that I’d put at a 3-4 on my personal heat index.

The second one was a blood red, and spicy ketchup came to mind the moment I tasted it. It’s probably as hot as the purple one, which means my digestive system was misapprehensive. I enjoyed both a lot and I wouldn’t mind getting them randomly again.

If you’re not into spicy sauces, you can get the nuggets with ranch or whatever sauce on the menu that would make you dance like Wednesday Addams.

While the sauces weren’t as spicy as I was expecting, the Raven’s Blood Frosty extinguished whatever lingering heat quickly. While it’s supposed to be dark cherry-flavored, my taste buds thought differently because the sauce didn’t taste like anything cherry-flavored I’ve had before. I kept thinking it tasted more like mixed berries. I guess my taste buds were mistaken. Overall, it’s an okay Frosty Swirl, but it’s not as satisfying as other Frosty Swirl varieties, and I wouldn’t order it again.

I’m not sure Wendy’s x Wednesday Meal of Misfortune is a meal that’s worth misappropriating funds for. While my digestive system believes the Mystery Sauces are worth a try, it doesn’t feel the same about the meal’s Frosty.

Purchased Price: $10.19*
Rating: 8 out of 10 (Mystery Sauces), 6 out of 10 (Frosty)
Nutrition Facts: (Whole Meal) 1250 calories, 69 grams of fat, 16 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 120 milligrams of cholesterol, 2080 milligrams of sodium, 159 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 87 grams of sugar, and 36 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: Jack in the Box Pumpkin Spice Mini Churros

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Pumpkin spice season is upon us! Seeing pumpkin spice-flavored products in July/August is the notification reminder of all the things we might have to do when autumn actually arrives.

  • Finding space for a turkey in a freezer or fridge.
  • Bobbing for apples.
  • Rolling eyes at how many pumpkin spice-flavored products there are.
  • Harvesting the fields.
  • Explaining to children what cornucopias are.
  • Raking the orange leaves.
  • Eating pumpkin pies without hands.
  • Finding out the date when Starbucks’ PSLs return.
  • Scoring Reese’s candies at 30-50 percent off the day after Halloween.

Jack in the Box is reminding us that it’s pumpkin spice season with its new Pumpkin Spice Mini Churros, which are five bite-sized churros filled with sugary pumpkin spice filling and dusted with cinnamon sugar.

I wasn’t impressed with Jack in the Box’s Mini Churros when it debuted many years ago. It’s been on and off the menu, but I never gave them another try to find out if they’ve improved. But these seasonal ones are much more enjoyable than what I remember I had back in 2008.

If you’re hoping these have the same pumpkin spice punch as Jack in the Box’s Pumpkin Spice Shake or Basic Witch Shake, which are mysteriously not on Jack in the Box’s menu as I type this, you’ll be disappointed. Speaking of that excellent shake, it would’ve been awesome to have had the opportunity to dip these churros into that shake.

Missed opportunity, Jack.

The churros’ pumpkin spice filling has a mild flavor, but it has enough to let you know that there’s something different about these churros and that orange leaf season will soon be upon us. I’m a little disappointed that the sugary coating on the wonderfully crispy fried exterior didn’t also have a pumpkin spice flavor or a bold orange color. However, the cinnamon does enhance the same taste in the filling.

Jack in the Box’s Pumpkin Spice Mini Churros are pretty tasty and worth a try this pumpkin spice season. They’re not Disneyland churro-great, but I’d eat them again while explaining to my son what a cornucopia is or playing fridge Tetris to clear space for a heavy Butterball.

Purchased Price: $3.59
Size: 5 pieces
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 330 calories. No other nutrition numbers are available on the Jack in the Box website.

REVIEW: Dairy Queen Reese’s Caramel Craze Blizzard

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Reviewing Dairy Queen Blizzards is not easy. You might think I just go down to my local DQ, order a Blizzard, snap some photos, and write up a few hundred words about said Blizzard. OK, so that’s exactly what I do, and it’s pretty easy. The hard part is coming up with a rating. Because unlike some of the wild food items we review (the Archie McPhee Lobster Candy comes to mind), any mixture of vanilla soft serve and candy, cake, brownie, or other sugar-packed ingredients is going to be good. The question is: How good? Well, the new Reese’s Caramel Craze Blizzard might be the best of the best.

Not to be confused with the Summer Blizzard menu that has two new concoctions, the new Reese’s Caramel Craze is the August Blizzard of the Month. It contains Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, along with salty caramel-filled truffles and chocolatey shavings.

I’m going to assume you know what a Reese’s PB Cup Blizzard tastes like. For me, it’s a solid 8, maybe even approaching a 9 if the DQ mixologist goes a little overboard with the PB cups. What makes the difference here is the truffles. They are truly glorious. I guess the truffles are added at the end of the mixing process, because while the PB Cups in my Blizzard were pulverized, the delicate truffles were all perfectly intact. When you bite into one, you can taste the chocolate coating and then the luscious caramel oozes out with just the right touch of saltiness. It might not look like much in the close-up photo of a single truffle, but that little thing is packed with goodness (and according to the DQ ingredient list, soy lecithin, whatever that is).

DQ has used salty caramel truffles a few times in the past, including with the Caramel Cannonball Blizzard back in 2019. I gave that one a 10, and I’m giving this one a 10 as well. Since I barely remember last week, much less six years ago, I can’t tell you which is better. But what I can tell you is that if you like peanut butter cups and caramel, then you should make a trip to DQ sometime this month. I’ll also be asking you to sign a petition I’m working on to have DQ pledge to use salty caramel truffles in more Blizzards.

Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: Small
Rating: 10 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 770 calories, 37 grams of fat, 24 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol, 340 milligrams of sodium, 97 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 83 grams of sugar, and 16 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Baskin-Robbins M&M’s Monster Cookie Ice Cream

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Baskin-Robbins’ Flavor of the Month for August 2025 is the M&M’s Monster Cookie Ice Cream, which should not be confused with Baskin-Robbins’ blue Cookie Monster Ice Cream. The limited time only scoop features brown sugar ice cream with M&M’s Minis milk chocolate candies, cookie dough pieces, and peanut butter cookie swirls.

First off, let’s start with the brown sugar ice cream, which wasn’t as satisfying as the brown sugar base I’ve had from Ben & Jerry’s. Something was lacking from it to make the brown sugar stick out and convince my taste buds that a cookie inspired the Flavor of the Month.

What sticks out are the peanut butter cookie swirls. They were sweet, salty, and had a satisfying, gritty, and crunchy texture. Some might find them to be too salty, and that might’ve happened because of the ice cream base’s lack of flavor, but I enjoyed that salty kick, and I found these to be the highlight of the scoop.

Unfortunately, due to the luck of the scoop and that mine was the first drawn from the tub, I ended up with just four M&M’s Minis in my order. I wish there were as many of them as there were in the store window’s poster because the chocolate added a sweetness that cuts through the peanut butter cookie swirl, making things a bit more balanced between sweet and salty. But I felt like that job should’ve also been done by the base.

Finally, the cookie dough pieces were another lowlight. They added a weird, mild savoriness that reminded me of Japanese rice crackers. However, they had a chewiness that gave the scoop another textural dimension to go along with the creamy ice cream, crunchy and gritty swirls, and crunchy M&M’s.

After trying the Baskin-Robbins M&M’s Monster Cookie Ice Cream, I kind of wished I had accidentally ordered the Cookie Monster one. The new flavor isn’t awful, but parts of it were unsatisfying or weird, and I wouldn’t order it again.

Purchased Price: $3.79
Size: 2.5 oz scoop
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 200 calories, 10 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of sugar, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 19 grams of sugar (including 16 grams of added sugar), and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Lay’s Argentinian Style Steak Potato Chips

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Lionel Messi, one of the most celebrated and decorated soccer (ahem, football?) players of all time, has a new collaboration with one of the oldest and most celebrated chip brands, Lay’s. Paying homage to Lionel’s home country of Argentina, which he helped win the most recent FIFA World Cup for in 2022, the newest limited edition creation from this power duo is Argentinian Style Steak.

When I think of Argentina and steak, I think of chimichurri, and the bold graphic of perfectly vibrant medium-rare steak covered in chunky green goodness on the bag lets me know my brain has gone in the right direction. For those unfamiliar with chimichurri, it is a delicious uncooked sauce made up of olive oil, fresh herbs, and garlic. I love chimichurri. Unfortunately, I don’t love these chips.

The chips aren’t bad by any means, but they don’t deliver the flavors I want and enjoy from steak with chimichurri. What the chip gets right is the beef flavor, as it’s certainly there and notably meaty from the first salty bite to the last. Where it goes wrong is in the lack of complexity and vibrancy of the chimichurri.

When I think of a good chimi, I think first of garlic, then maybe some parsley and a hint of basil, all enrobed in a velvety smooth fatty olive oil. The seasoning on these chips leans into the beef first, followed quickly by an aggressive onion flavor. I like onions and onion powder, but being the dominant flavor here is far from satisfying. The end result is a chip that tastes more like beef and onions than Argentinian Style Steak, which isn’t bad, but disappointing. Sour cream and onion, hold the sour cream, feels closer to home than a spiced-up steak.

In their purest form, this new limited edition chip reminds me of fast food French fries that sit in a paper bag on the drive home next to a juicy burger with onions on it. The fries absorb a bit of that beef and onion aroma, but still mostly taste like potatoes. I don’t mind fries with some beef and onion juice on them, but I certainly can’t put that kind of profile into the Messi-inhabited GOAT conversation.

Purchased Price: $2.69
Size: 2 1/2 ounces
Purchased at: 7-Eleven
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (15 chips, 28g) 160 calories, 10 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 140 milligrams of sodium, 16 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 0 grams of total sugars, and 2 grams of protein.

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