REVIEW: Papa John’s Garlic Parmesan Crust

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Papa John s Garlic Parmesan Crust

Papa John’s makes my favorite chain pizza.

Before you @ me, hear me out: it has the perfect balance of flavors as the slightly sweeter pizza sauce is the perfect primer for the savory toppings and signature Garlic Sauce. Also, the texture of the pizza has the springy goodness of fresh bread. Since I’m a crust enthusiast, that’s pretty dang important to me.

So, when Papa John’s launched its new garlic parmesan crust earlier this month, my crust purist self was a little skeptical. Why ruin a good thing?! It’s the first time in company history that it’s taken a page out of Pizza Hut’s book and changed up the crust. According to the VP of the menu strategy team, the chain found inspiration from its glorious Garlic Sauce.

Papa John s Garlic Parmesan Crust Half and Half

For good measure, I deviated from my usual pepperoni order with a half pepperoni, half mushroom pie with the garlic parmesan crust. Why? Because I was worried the new addition would throw off the aforementioned perfect balance. I figured mushroom was the tastiest neutral pick.

Papa John s Garlic Parmesan Crust Closeup

The new crust passed the visual test; it looked pretty different from the standard crust. I liken the look and feel of it to Subway’s Italian Herb and Cheese bread because you can see the shredded parmesan-romano cheese baked into it.

Papa John s Garlic Parmesan Crust Closeup 2

Flavor-wise, I could taste the parmesan, and it didn’t throw off the balance at all! It was fine with both pepperoni and mushroom. The flavor was like eating cheesy breadsticks. It wasn’t garlicky or buttery enough for my liking, though. Especially if it’s supposed to be inspired by the signature sauce.

However, after dipping the garlic parmesan crust into the garlic butter, I had some seriously vampire-warding breath.

Overall, Papa John’s Garlic Parmesan Crust was average. It didn’t add or take away from my experience. I could see it as a nice way to jazz up a pizza order, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it.

Purchased Price: $10.00
Size: N/A
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: N/A.

REVIEW: Skittles Dips

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Skittles Dips Creamy Yogurt

What are Skittles Dips?

Skittles now come dipped in a creamy yogurt flavored coating.

How are they?

Do you enjoy “yogurt” coated raisins? Are you a Skittles fan? Well, that’s really all you have to ask yourself. If you answered “yes” to both questions like I did, then you’re in for a treat because I love these.

Skittles Dips Creamy Yogurt Package

The creamy yogurt dip is very similar to what you’re probably expecting. It has that sugary white chocolate flavor and texture, which interact well with each of the classic Skittles flavors – Strawberry, Grape, Green Apple (R.I.P. Lime), Lemon, and Orange. I think I liked Orange best, but they’re all great.

Skittles Dips Creamy Yogurt Closeup

There’s a nice thick layer of the coating that brings the size of each Skittle up from an M&M to slightly smaller than a peanut M&M.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Look, as with yogurt covered raisins, it’s best not to question the “yogurt” of all this. This “yogurt” isn’t turning your Skittles into a healthy snack. You hear “yogurt” and immediately think, “Wellll, look at me eating all healthy and responsible.” Still, we all know it’s essentially a sugar dip – an absolutely delicious sugar dip coating one of the greatest fruit-flavored candies in history.

Skittles Dips Creamy Yogurt Colors

Oh yeah, and I have to mention they look cool as hell, with little black “S’s” on the translucent white coating with each flavor’s color bleeding through. These rule on every level.

Conclusion:

If I have one dumb complaint, it’s that the Skittles seem extra hard and chewy after the coating melts away. They’re amazing, but I still prefer the textural experience of yogurt covered raisins or those Welch’s yogurt coated fruit snacks.

I’ve long questioned why there have never been Chocolate Covered Skittles, and with these being called “Skittles Dips,” and not “Yogurt Dipped Skittles,” it leads me to believe there might be plans to expand the product line.

If so, awesome, if not, I’m just pumped these exist. Make sure to pick these up.

Purchased Price: $2.98
Size: 11.20 oz. bag
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 oz.) 130 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 4 grams of sat fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 mg of cholesterol, 15 milligrams of sodium, 23 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 20 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: KFC Nashville Hot Chicken & Waffles

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KFC Nashville Hot Chicken Waffles Sign

Combining two of its regional rip-offs in one entrée – the tempting Nashville Hot Chicken and those doughy delectable waffles — KFC is determined to end the year on a high note and, for the most part, it succeeds.

The Nashville Hot Chicken has seemingly gotten better over the past year, this batch with very little skin uncovered in that smoking red sauce, allowing every bite to predictably burn. It’s something you really want and crave in any chicken, from Nashville or not, especially with the word “hot” in the header.

KFC Nashville Hot Chicken Waffles Sans Syrup

The waffles are still a well-crafted confection, thick and bready as ever, with a taste that’s more suited to a carnival midway than a KFC. But, here, its unapologetic sweetness almost makes up for a slight wish I’ve had for years that KFC would get off their behinds and make a breakfast menu, with this as their first item.

Regardless, the noble marketing geniuses, Southern gentlemen all, have decided to put these two rebel yells together in the fast food battlefield, brothers-in-arms fighting a common enemy: hunger.

KFC Nashville Hot Chicken Waffles Syrup

Thankfully, the doubled-up aggression towards your ever-lovin’ tastebuds are far more than a tasty skirmish. The spicy heat that envelops the Nashville Hot charges right onto the waffles, already a sweet treat that becomes an absolute tooth-terror with the heady addition of Mrs. Butterworth’s maple syrup drizzling over every inch of red and white.

The hot meat and the cakey sweet do a well-timed promenade in your mouth, both tastes mixing swell and working well with each other. It’s nice to have these here chicken and waffles perfectly complement each other and, while they’re not the best I’ve ever had, still, for KFC, they do a darn good job that I can highly recommend.

The only real war-wounds here? The $6.49 price for a basket as well as the outrageous count of 1000+ calories.

Purchased Price: $6.49
Size: One waffle/leg and thigh
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (Numbers are for the sandwich version, basket nutrition numbers are not available on website) 1010 calories, 61 grams of fat, 16 grams of saturated fat, 100 milligrams of cholesterol, 1510 milligrams of sodium, 83 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 21 grams of sugar, and 33 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Breyers Limited Edition Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate Ice Cream

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Breyers Limited Edition Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate Ice Cream

What is Breyers Limited Edition Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate Ice Cream?

‘Twas the month before Christmas, and all through the store
No one craved ice cream, and even Dubba Scoops did not want any more;
The freezers were stocked to the brim with care
In hopes for warmer weather to soon be there;

But the folks at Breyers had all these ideas dancing through their heads
With visions of mint and frozen cocoa leading their team through winter’s dread;
Combining dark chocolate and peppermint ice creams, throwing in chocolatey chips, and everything else in sight
They thought, what more could one want to cap off a perfect Christmas night?

How is it?

Very chocolatey!

Breyers Limited Edition Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate Ice Cream Top

Alright, maybe that’s something to be expected of a treat modeled after hot cocoa, but let me be clear, this stuff is way more cocoa-forward than I was expecting. I couldn’t even see the peppermint ice cream when I lifted the lid off this sucker, and it took a few inches of hardcore chiseling with a heavy-duty spoon to even find a thin seam of peppermint buried within all the chocolate slag.

The ice cream’s flavor is similarly disproportionate. Although the chocolate ice cream is good, it covers up what little presence the peppermint has in this tub. Eating slowly and intentionally, I could barely taste it, but, I mean, who usually eats ice cream mindfully and methodically? I’ll bet most people will plow through this container without ever noticing any peppermint.

Breyers Limited Edition Frozen Peppermint Hot Chocolate Ice Cream Closeup

As for the chocolatey chips, they’re abundant and yummy, but I can’t help but feel as though they’re a bit misplaced. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I don’t typically have solid chunks of chocolate in my hot cocoa. Instead of doubling down on the chocolate, Breyer’s could have brought this limited edition flavor home by mixing in miniature marshmallows or even crushed peppermint bits. Anything that could have helped the mint stand up to the chocolate’s overwhelming presence.

Is there anything else you should know?

For the Frozen Dairy Dessert haters out there, never fear, because this is actual ice cream. Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, this flavor isn’t too different from Breyers’ 2017 Chocolate Mint ice cream. Oh well, at least this version has festive packaging.

Conclusion:

I wish this had had more peppermint to balance out all the chocolate, but, overall, it’s a decent ice cream. If you like your hot cocoa frozen, and you don’t mind crumbling a few candy canes on top, I’d say this is a solid choice if you’re looking for holiday-themed ice cream.

Purchased Price: $3.98
Size: 1.5-quart container
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 of a cup) 200 calories, 10 grams of total fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 25 milligrams of cholesterol, 80 milligrams of sodium, 25 grams of total carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 21 grams of total sugars, 16 grams of added sugars, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Merry Mocha Mint Signature Latte

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Dunkin Merry Mocha Mint Signature Latte 1

Peppermint and chocolate make a magical team. Their combination is my most treasured flavor of the holiday season and one of my favorites year-round. Nothing makes me feel like everything is as right with the world as peppermint and chocolate when they’re doing their thing.

After taking a year off, Dunkin’ has brought back their peppermint mocha with a new name: The Merry Mocha Mint Signature Latte. It’s a peppermint mocha topped with whipped cream and chocolate syrup, dusted with hot cocoa powder. It’s available hot or iced, and since it was nearly 90 degrees when I ordered it, I opted for the iced version.

Dunkin Merry Mocha Mint Signature Latte 2

Being that it’s been a couple of years since I’ve had Dunkin’s peppermint mocha, I couldn’t remember if it always came with a sprinkle of hot cocoa powder on the whipped cream. This sounded really promising to me, but, unfortunately, the one I received had such little powder that it didn’t impact the taste of the whipped cream in any noticeable way.

Dunkin Merry Mocha Mint Signature Latte Top

The chocolate in the latte was decadent, with a sweetness level was on par with semi-sweet chocolate. The syrup on top tasted exactly as I hoped it would. It was just as rich as the what’s in the drink and didn’t have that typical synthetic chocolate syrup flavor.

The peppermint level was perfectly balanced. It danced around with the chocolate and delicately enhanced the drink. It was strong enough to be prominent, but it didn’t feel like I had ravenously sucked down an entire tin of Altoids.

All this positivity aside, I was disappointed for one very important reason: I could not taste any form of coffee in the latte at all. The drink tasted like a delicious minty chocolate milk on ice, but not any type of legitimate mocha or latte.

I can’t be certain if the Merry Mocha Mint Signature Latte was supposed to taste like this or if I got a dud. Judging by the simple discrepancy between the cocoa powder on my drink and the promo photographs, I’m leaning towards the latter.

This time around, Dunkin’ failed to give me the full “warm and fuzzy” experience that I was craving. Taking a year off from the peppermint mocha has clearly made them a little rusty.

Purchased Price: $4.29
Size: Medium
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 340 calories, 5 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 190 milligrams of sodium, 62 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 56 grams of sugar, and 11 grams of protein.

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