REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Scoop-apalooza Ice Cream

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Kicking off the new year in XL style, Ben & Jerry’s is bringing the shareable scoop party to your home freezer with a new line of bigger ice cream containers in four new flavors dubbed Scoop-apalooza. The traditional Ben & Jerry’s pint has three 2/3 Cup servings and the new Scoop-apalooza 28-ounce jumbo-pints have five. The new flavors are designed to be simpler, more crowd-pleasing combinations that appeal to the broadest of palates.

In short, these Scoop-apalooza lack the usual mix-in variety and textural contrast associated with the B&J’s experience. If you’re a big fan of the brand like myself, this could initially be to the detriment of your expectations. But, if you’re a dad looking to serve something top-tier at your child’s birthday party, or a coffee freak looking to one-up your affogato profile, this is your moment.

Chocolate & Fudge Swirl

Chocolate with swirls of fudge.

I went into this scoop without much excitement, and boy, was I proved wrong. I enjoy Ben & Jerry’s straightforward bittersweet chocolate base but find it to be the most interesting when amplified by something else in the flavor’s composition, usually something salty. It is best in pints like Glampfire Trail Mix and Impretzively Fudged, and I was worried the bare-bones components here would let me down, which is not the case.

While there may not be any salt or crunch, the fudge swirl really came to play, big time. It is thick, rich, and ooey gooey, tasting like a premium jarred fudge from the grocery store. This simple but decadent double chocolate throwdown is perfect for scooping into a cone or topping with your favorite crunchy candy, nut, or sprinkle.

Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup, 129g) 330 calories, 18 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 80 milligrams of sodium, 36 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 33 grams of total sugars, and 6 grams of protein.

Strawberries & Cream

Sweet cream ice cream with tasty strawberry swirls.

This is the flavor that most resembles something you would find at a kid’s birthday party or in the back of your grandma’s freezer in a giant sleeve of small individually portioned cups. It’s a sweet and creamy base with a swirl of strawberry. No doubt the simplest ice cream I have ever scooped from Ben & Jerry’s (other than straight Vanilla, of course). It scratches that nostalgia itch but doesn’t do much else (although I’m not sure it needs to).

It’s tasty because it’s good ice cream, and the swirl, while a bit thin, isn’t icy in the slightest, which brings a respectable fruity flavor throughout most bites. As a little review bonus, January is my birthday month, and I had this alongside my double chocolate birthday cake. It was a fantastic combination, so I see the simplified palooza flavor vision.

Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup, 129g) 280 calories, 13 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 65 milligrams of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 35 grams of total sugars, and 4 grams of protein.

Vanilla & Fudge Brownie

Creamy vanilla ice cream with rich chunks of fudge brownie.

This is the flavor that I was the most excited for, and it delivered exactly what I had hoped it would. A great smooth and creamy vanilla base with lots of chewy, bittersweet brownie pieces. This is the classic Chocolate Fudge Brownie pint with a vanilla base, which allows for more contrast — simple but effective.

Ben & Jerry’s brownies are among my favorite mix-ins and letting them shine here does exactly what I want from a flavor as barebones but delicious as this. Even without the brownie chunks, the vanilla ice cream is the strongest of the four bases in this lineup and is one I can keep going back to with ease. Would it be even better with a salted caramel swirl? Sure! But that’s not the mission statement here, and I have no problem hitting a scoop of this with a nice caramel-y drizzle of my own at home.

Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup, 122g) 290 calories, 15 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 65 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 34 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 31 grams of total sugars, and 5 grams of protein.

Coffee & Fudge Chip

Coffee ice cream loaded with coffee fudge chips.

Ben & Jerry’s use the word “loaded” in the description and, yeah, no lies detected. This is a simple coffee-ified spin on a chocolate chip ice cream, and both flavors are prominent and strong. The base, made with BLK & Bold coffee, has an excellent, bitterly potent but sweet coffee flavor that plays seamlessly with the high-quality dairy. The texture is a bit less smooth and creamy than the others, possibly from all the coffee used, but I don’t mind it after a proper patient tempering session.

There are abundant coffee fudge chips in every spoonful, which taste like great, crunchy, semisweet chocolate, and the pairing is about as classic as it comes. This is another scoop that would be perfect in a cone but with a slightly elevated touch for the adults in the (party) room.

Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2/3 cup, 127g) 330 calories, 20 grams of fat, 14 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 70 milligrams of cholesterol, 60 milligrams of sodium, 34 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 30 grams of total sugars, and 6 grams of protein.

DISCLOSURE: I received complimentary product samples from Ben & Jerry’s. Doing so did not influence my review.

REVIEW: Hershey’s Harry Potter Butterbeer Kisses

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While generations of children were distraught that they never received an invitation to Hogwarts, my rejection from wizarding school was for the best. I would not have been able to concentrate on classes—or fighting villains—when the wizarding world had so many magical snacks to offer. While Harry Potter endured a high-stakes hero’s journey of good versus evil, you’d find me at Hogsmeade for the duration of all seven books, collecting Chocolate Frog trading cards and popping risky flavors of Bernie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans like shots at a frat party.

Luckily, Hershey’s newest limited-edition product offers a taste of the wizarding world without the threat of expulsion or bankruptcy. Inspired by the famed Hogsmeade beverage, Hershey’s Harry Potter Butterbeer Kisses are gold-colored crème Kisses filled with Butterbeer-flavored crème.

The Harry Potter books describe Butterbeer as a beverage that can be served hot or cold and tastes “a little bit like less-sickly butterscotch.” As someone who loves butterscotch enough to drink it, I would have devoted my time in Potions class trying to crack the code for the perfect Butterbeer, but I think these Hershey’s Kisses come pretty close.

The gold crème shell is sweet and smooth, with a white chocolate-like flavor similar to what you’d find at the base of a Cookies ‘n’ Crème bar. The shell does not seem as sweet as some cremes and carries a light buttery flavor. The creamy, fluffy filling is pure butterscotch: a perfect, very sweet combination of butter and brown sugar flavors. The frosting-like texture of the filling (versus a sticky caramel or similar) recalls the foamy topping of the Butterbeer in Harry Potter lore.

These Kisses are sweet, but not overly sweet. It’s not hard to keep eating them. They smell and taste like a butterscotch sundae, and I think the creaminess of the shell and center offset the sugariness. Fans of the Snickers Butterscotch Scoop bar will also enjoy these Kisses.

While Hershey’s has released milk chocolate Kisses in Harry Potter-themed packaging, Butterbeer Kisses is the first Hershey’s product to incorporate flavors from the franchise. It is worth noting that the Butterbeer variety also utilizes cute packaging, featuring foil wrappers printed with details from the Harry Potter series and a paper plume that reads CHEERS.

In the spirit of things, I lift my proverbial pint glass to Hershey’s Harry Potter Butterbeer Kisses for a flawless execution of the theme. I will never know the thrill of boarding the Hogwarts Express, but grabbing another bag of these Hershey Kisses while they are still available is good enough for me.

Purchased Price: $6.29
Size: 9 oz (255 g) bag
Purchased at: CVS
Rating: 10 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per 7 pieces)170 calories, 10 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 45 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

REVIEW: KFC Nashville Hot Loaded Fries Bowl

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I enjoyed KFC’s Nashville Hot Loaded Fries Bowl…without the chicken.

All right. All right. Let me back up a little bit. The chain’s newest thing with stuff dumped into a bowl features Secret Recipe Fries topped with coleslaw, pickles, cheese, Original Recipe Nuggets, and Nashville Hot Sauce, a Nashville Hot Mess, if you will.

However, I enjoyed the bowl more when my sporkfuls didn’t contain any of the C in KFC. I’ll get to that in a moment.

The Original Recipe Nuggets were just what I expected — meaty with a slightly crispy exterior and the flavor of the Colonel’s secret recipe of herbs and spices. The Nashville Hot Sauce gave the chicken a pleasant, sweet heat with a strong pepperiness that amped up the chicken’s flavor. Although not as coated in sauce as when Nashville Hot Chicken debuted at KFC, the nuggets were tasty.

(NOTE: The photos in the KFC app show an order is topped with five nuggets, but mine came with a bonus nugget. Yes, it happened again. )

But as much as I liked the chicken, and it tastes great with the other ingredients, after eating a sporkful without the poultry, my mind decided to push to the side whatever chicken nuggets were left and enjoy just the fries, cole slaw, pickles, and cheese mixed together. My tongue thought it was a more enjoyable and unique combination of flavors that the chicken’s meatiness got in the way of. I did consume them after.

I’ve never had cole slaw on any fries, and it sounds weird to bring the two together, but that combination, along with the seasoning on the fries, the cheese, pickles, and Nashville Hot sauce, works well and tastes delightful. I’m surprised how well the slaw and the sauce complement each other despite being kind of opposing ingredients. If you think about it, it’s sort of a vegetable salad with Nashville Hot dressing.

I imagine if Colonel Sanders found out about how I had pushed aside his Secret Recipe seasoned chicken, he would be rolling in his grave like a rotisserie chicken. Then he’d want to pull out my bones to flatten me like a spatchcocked chicken and then shove a Coors Light container in one of my orifices like a beer can chicken. But his Secret Recipe does play an important role in how much I enjoyed KFC’s Nashville Hot Loaded Fries Bowl, although it was on the fries and not the chicken.

Purchased Price: $7.00*
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 910 calories, 60 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 80 milligrams of cholesterol, 2530 milligrams of sodium, 63 grams of carbohydrates, 8 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar (including 0 grams of added sugar), and 26 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 Dream Freeze

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A small chunk of my misspent youth was… well, spent in an area of the western US known for dirty soda. If you’re not familiar with it, a dirty soda is basically soda with cream of some sort mixed in, kind of like a less frozen version of a float or an ice cream soda. Similar vibes. We usually made ours with Dr Pepper and coffee creamer.

Anyway, as of late, it seems like variations on dirty soda have been spreading beyond the area they originated from, and the Baja Blast Dream Freeze feels in line with that trend.

If you haven’t had Baja Blast, it’s a lime-forward Mountain Dew flavor created for and available at Taco Bell in both standard soda and freeze/slushy versions. The new “Dream” versions incorporate “vanilla crème.”

I actually liked this freezy, cool concoction a lot! The vanilla crème brings out the lime flavor in a really pleasant way, reminiscent of lime sherbet. It mellows out the sharper notes and rounds out the overall citrusy edge of the Dew nicely, and finishes with a nice sweet aftertaste.

The vanilla crème doesn’t change the consistency at all, which I found surprising. I expected that adding the cream in would make it, well, creamier or at least somewhat richer the way adding coffee creamer to Dr Pepper does. However, it still has the same texture as any other Taco Bell Freeze but with a nice complementary flavor enhancement.

I hope this one sticks around for a while because I’ll definitely be ordering it along with my Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Taco Supremes for as long as it’s available.

Purchased Price: $3.69
Size: Large
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 230 calories, 1 gram of total fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 59 grams of total carbs, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 57 grams of total sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Jack in the Box Smoke Show Crispy Boneless Wings

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Jack in the Box’s newest Crispy Boneless Wings variety comes tossed in Jack’s Smoke Show Sauce, which pleases my tongue in two ways — its flavor and its alliteration. I surely savor saying Smoke Show sauce.

However, the Crispy Boneless Wings themselves are a little disappointing. While I loved the chain’s bone-in chicken wings because of their crispy exterior and surprisingly juicy interior, these look less satisfying, mainly because of their size. When I look at the photo above, I can’t help but think they look more like premium chicken nuggets than boneless wings, which I think should be more substantial. They look less like wings and more like eggs. Even though I did get a seventh piece (6-, 12-, and 18-piece orders are available), it wasn’t enough to overcome my size disappointment.

The 100% all-white meat pieces are tender and slightly still juicy, and their breading is crunchy and thick. Although some exterior sections without the sauce felt particularly dry-ish and a little crumbly.

But back to the Smoke Show sauce, which Jack describes as “a smoky sweet BBQ serenade for your tastebuds that you won’t soon forget.” Well, it’s been 30 minutes since I finished eating these “wings,” and I haven’t forgotten about the sauce because it’s very tasty. The best way I can describe it is to call it a smoky honey mustard BBQ sauce because there’s a notable mustard-y tang with a bit of sweetness. If I remember correctly, one of the Carolinas is known for a mustard-based barbecue sauce. I’m going to say, um, “South Carolina” because it starts with the letter S.

While I love the sauce, I wish my premium chicken nuggets were tossed with more because roughly a little more than 50 percent of the chicken didn’t get to experience the Smoke Show. I desperately tried to scrape as much of the brown sauce as I could from the sides of the container they came in, but that was futile. My order was supposed to come with a side of ranch, but I didn’t receive it. But if you do get the white tangy sauce, use it for a salad, pizza, or whatever the kids on social media are dipping into it nowadays because I surmise its taste would ruin the Smoke Show experience, which is a show I think is worth the price of admission.

Purchased Price: $7.99*
Size: 6 pieces
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 480 calories. No other nutritional information is available on Jack in the Box’s website.

*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.

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