REVIEW: Krispy Kreme Pumpkin Spice Original Filled Cheesecake Doughnut

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Krispy Kreme Pumpkin Spice Original Filled Cheesecake Doughnut

What is the Krispy Kreme Pumpkin Spice Original Filled Cheesecake Doughnut?

Another two weeks go by and another filled doughnut has arrived. I could get used to this consistency from Krispy Kreme. To kick off the relentless (and glorious) season of the pumpkin spice, KK has blessed us with a Pumpkin Spice Original Glazed Doughnut filled with Cheesecake Kreme.

How is it?

As I noted in my 2017 review of the Pumpkin Spice Original Glazed, there isn’t a ton of true pumpkin flavor going on here, in fact, there’s barely any at all. But there is a ton spice, and even more so than I remember from the past.

The strongest flavors that jump out are nutmeg and ginger, followed closely by cinnamon. It’s an aggressive but respectable amount of spice that lets you know the season of the witch has arrived and the days of strawberries and elongated sunsets are in the rearview mirror.

The Cheesecake Kreme has the texture of custard as opposed to the usual Twinkie-esque KK aesthetic, and it holds its own against the dominant spice of the fried dough. It has an interesting lemon flavor to it that is more subdued than in the standalone NY Cheesecake doughnut but is still noticeable. The lemony-ness does well to add the expected tang you want from cheesecake. While I wish it was a bit more like cream cheese and less citrus-y, I do enjoy it and it helps get across the richness of a dense autumn cheesecake.

Is there anything else you should know?

Krispy Kreme Pumpkin Spice Original Filled Cheesecake Doughnut KREEEEME

I have excellent luck with my local Krispy Kreme, and this one was absolutely loaded with filling. There wasn’t a dry spot in sight, and its intense filling-to-cake ratio replicated cheesecake better than I had hoped or expected.

Conclusion:

If spicy and fall-scented with a nice hit of decadence is what you’re looking for to kick off the pumpkin season, then you’ll want to make it to Krispy Kreme for this.

Purchased Price: $1.89
Size: N/A
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Not available on website.

REVIEW: Burger King Chicken Caesar Sandwich

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Burger King Chicken Caesar Caesar Sandwich

What is the Burger King Spicy Chicken Caesar Sandwich?

With 2019 effectively serving as the Summer of Fast Food Chicken Sandwiches, did anybody expect Burger King to remain content sitting on the sidelines?

Indeed, BK has recently launched not one BUT THREE new Caesar Chicken Sandwiches, including both a grilled and crispy permutation. Today’s review, however, will focus explicitly on the spicy chicken variation, which comes with all of the usual fix-ins — lettuce, tomato slices, and bacon — with a couple of peelings of parmesan cheese and a proprietary Caesar sauce squeezed underneath the oily topmost potato bun. And oh yeah, I almost forgot — the crispy chicken filet is all breaded and battered with tongue-tingling spices. You know, with it being marketed as spicy and whatnot.

Burger King Chicken Caesar Caesar Sandwich 2

How is it?

At first glance, I was kinda’ taken aback by how small the sandwich appeared. And while the burger may be slightly more condensed than your regular Big King and Whopper offering, rest assured there is a LOT of content underneath this thing’s super greasy buns.

The chicken filet tastes slightly different from the chain’s other “spicy” patties, although I’m not quite sure what the new or tweaked spice itself may be (call it a shot in the dark, but maybe more paprika?). But it definitely gels very well with the rest of the ingredients. The bacon is super crispy, and the lettuce and tomato taste noticeably “fresher” than what you normally get out of a fast food hamburger.

Burger King Chicken Caesar Caesar Sandwich 3

But the two things that give this sandwich a unique identity are the slices of shaved parmesan cheese (which isn’t melted onto the chicken, thankfully) and the in-house Caesar sauce, which has a mild Creole seasoning flair to it. All in all, it doesn’t really taste like something you’d expect to find at Burger King — which, depending on your perspective, can either be a really good thing or a really bad thing.

Is there anything else you need to know?

Be forewarned; this is a very messy sandwich. Even small nibbles will produce quite a bit of Caesar sauce spatter, and the normal Burger King caveats concerning saltiness once again apply here. It packs a walloping 2,050 milligrams of sodium, so you’ll DEFINITELY need a beverage nearby to put this sucker down. Furthermore, at about $6 in the metro-Atlanta area, it’s far from a “cheap” on-the-go eat, especially considering the relatively small portion size.

Conclusion:

Well, the Spicy Chicken Caesar Sandwich certainly isn’t going to give the Popeyes Chicken Sandwich a run for its money, but that’s not really meant to be taken as a slight.

Overall, I’d consider this pseudo-premium offering from Burger King to be well above-average, and without question one of the more unique limited time only items to come out of the chain in quite some time.

The price point is problematic, but you could do much, much worse with deluxe edition fast food poultry burgers. Consider this a very good — although far from legitimately great — contribution from BK as the ongoing Chicken Sandwich Wars doth continue.

Purchased Price: $5.49
Size: N/A
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 830 calories, 50 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 95 milligrams of cholesterol, 2,050 milligrams of sodium, 59 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 37 grams of protein.

REVIEW: KFC Mac & Cheese Bowl

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KFC Mac Cheese Bowl

Ask any small child and they’ll tell you that KFC has not only always had mac and cheese on the menu, but has always had mac and cheese with bits of chicken cut up and tossed around in the bowl. It’s a hand-mixed taste sensation that’s usually left half-eaten and thrown away by a mom tired of fighting with a child that won’t cooperate with a lunchtime meal.

From these literal mouths of children comes Kentucky Fried Chicken’s latest bowl du jour, the Mac & Cheese Bowl, an easy-enough concoction that brings the famous side to the forefront and makes it a blessed entrée for any adult that needs their food in a somewhat compact form, available in both original and, of course, spicy.

KFC Mac Cheese Bowl Top

Despite the trouble ordering just the bowl at my area franchise — my server told me it’s only available as a “fill up” and I did not feel like arguing — when it arrived quickly on my tray, I immediately noticed it looked far less plump than the advertisements hung all around the store made it seem. While the pictures depict the bowl as a heightened foodscape of chicken and cheese dreams, in real life, it is just a low-lying valley of flat nuggets and buried cheddar.

Popping the plastic top and letting the scented heat waft upwards though, the smell was a peppy delight of warm Nashville hot sauce and melty cheddar cheese. There was a decent enough ratio of chicken to macaroni, always a plus. The spicy chicken popcorn nuggets seemed to cover the top, my fork gently stirring the mac and cheese from the bottom, like a perverted variation of yogurt.

KFC Mac Cheese Bowl Mixed

While the spicy Nashville flavor of the chicken overpowered the well-meaning mac and cheese, it still worked here. The underlying cheesy taste is a heavenly layer of yellow deliciousness that manages to break through the thick wall of clucky goodness. It’s a taste that combines very well and, honestly, probably something that many of us already did before this even came out.

KFC Mac Cheese Bowl Closeup

Sadly, as tasty as this is, I don’t think it makes a better combination than the typically perfect chicken and mashed potato Famous Bowl, which seems like more of a natural dish, one that has a sprinkling of cheese on it already, along with a few bits of corn. Still, if you’re ordering a Mac & Cheese Bowl, you know what you’re getting and, in that case, you’re going be mighty happy.

But, you know, if this meal doesn’t make you happy, chances are you’re just a fussy four-year-old with great reading skills.

Purchased Price: $5.00 (Fill Up Meal)
Size: N/A
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Unavailable at post time.

REVIEW: Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew

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Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew

What is the Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew?

A cousin to the beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte, the new Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew features Starbucks’ tried-and-true Cold Brew with vanilla sweet cream and a pumpkin-flavored cold foam with pumpkin spice on top.

How is it?

I fully embrace pumpkin spice season, even when it makes its debut in August. And OH MY GOSH, you guys, this Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew is a real winner. I *might* even break up with the PSL this year and stick with the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew. It’s that good.

Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew 2

The biggest takeaway from the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew is that it’s not as sweet as the PSL. It tasted like a piece of pumpkin pie – just enough of a hint of flavor without an artificial taste. The Cold Brew itself, sweetened with vanilla syrup, is smooth and easy to drink. And while I typically have to be in the mood for Cold Foam, I LOVED this one. I liked that it stayed nicely as the top layer without sinking too much into the Cold Brew.

One thing to note, I tried this drink twice. Once I got it with the straw-less lid. The second day, my Starbucks was out of those, so I got lid and straw. While it didn’t affect the flavor too much, I do prefer drinking it out of the straw-less lid because you get equal parts Cold Brew and Cold Foam.

A grande packs a decent caffeine punch at roughly 185 milligrams, so it got me through my day, both productive and excited about wearing scarves again soon.

Is there anything else I need to know?

Points to my mom for doing the recon on this one: The Cold Brew already has the vanilla syrup added in, so you can’t customize with sugar-free vanilla. Embrace the full sugar, my friends – it’s worth it.

Conclusion:

When can I go back and get another?

Purchased Price: $4.45
Size: Grande
Purchased at: Starbucks
Rating: 10 out of 10
Nutrition Facts:: (Grande) 250 calories, 12 grams of total fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 55 milligrams of sodium, 31 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 31 grams of total sugars, 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Signature Latte

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Dunkin Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Signature Latte

What is the Dunkin’ Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Signature Latte?

Well, if you’re not quite ready to jump Ugg first into Pumpkin Spice Season, Dunkin’ has a tweak on the old recipe that basically tastes like pumpkin spice!

How is it?

Ok, in fairness, “Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin” is probably better than that boring glory hog pumpkin spice.

I’m not positive what Dunkin’s recipe is, but a quick search indicates that cinnamon is usually the predominant spice used in pumpkin spice. I don’t think that’s new information to anyone with taste buds, but this latte seems like someone screwed up the pumpkin spice recipe and a happy accident occurred.

Test Kitchen chef, Ralph (I’m naming him Ralph), accidentally threw double the cinnamon in a pumpkin spice batch and Dunkin’ decided it tasted good enough to make the menu.

Cinnamon sugar is delicious, so why wouldn’t you want more of that in your coffee?

Is there anything else you need to know?

Despite an abundance of cinnamon sugar, it wasn’t as sweet as expected. Maybe I lucked out with a good batch, but I expected this to be cloying and over the top. The inclusion of more cinnamon helped mellow out the pumpkin flavor that Dunkin’ sometimes ramps up to ten.

Dunkin Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Signature Latte Topping

The whipped cream sprinkled with cinnamon was a nice touch, but eat it first, or it will sink to the ice cubes. Whipped topping is definitely better suited for blended drinks.

I’m an iced coffee guy, but I have no doubt this will be a perfect hot coffee flavor too. I’m gonna try that on the first truly cold September morning.

Conclusion:

Dunkin Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Signature Latte Fun in the Sun

Despite the “fun in the sun” cup, this was the first moment I really felt like fall – or “autumn” for you pretentious readers – was about to smack me in the face.

If this drink proves anything, it’s that pumpkin and cinnamon are a winning combo. We might not even need all those other spices. Thanks, Ralph!

Purchased Price: $3.29
Size: Small
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 310 calories, 100 calories from fat, 11 grams of fat, 7 grams of sat fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 mg of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 42 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 36 grams of sugar, and 7 grams of protein.

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