REVIEW: Jack in the Box Blue Cheese & Bacon Ribeye Burger

/ / Reviews / 3 Comments

Jack in the Box Blue Cheese Bacon Ribeye Burger

Blue cheese is known for its funk. But for those of you in the “Ow, we want the funk. Give up the funk. Ow, we need the funk. We gotta have that funk” crowd when it comes to blue cheese, Jack in the Box’s Blue Cheese & Bacon Ribeye Burger might not satisfy your funkadelic taste buds.

The burger features blue cheese crumbles, a blue cheese sauce, grilled onions, hickory-smoked bacon, and a 100 percent ribeye beef patty on a soft potato bun.

Jack in the Box Blue Cheese Bacon Ribeye Burger 2

I’m not in the plentifunk group because I’ve had burgers and salads that had so much blue cheese that, to make them palatable, I had to do some fast food surgery to extract some. But that’s not the case with the burger I received, which had the right amount of funk that allows the other ingredients to come through.

The white crumbles add a noticeable creaminess and saltiness but don’t add an overpowering blue cheese flavor. Because of the lack of a strong funk, the bacon and blue cheese make a wonderful couple, but not because the two headlining ingredients start with the letter B and not because both can make people smile. Their different flavors and saltiness meld together to create a pleasantly balanced savoriness that I like eating.

The grilled onions also enhance the burger’s flavor and add a slight vegetable snap to go along with the cheese’s creaminess, the bun’s fluffiness, the patty’s soft chew, and the bacon’s, um, I can’t say crispiness because it wasn’t. Um, I’ll say well doneness.

Jack in the Box Blue Cheese Bacon Ribeye Burger 3

I know it’s a premium burger with a premium price. But when I took it out of its clamshell box and paper wrapper, I couldn’t help but think I overpaid for it because it’s on the small side. Also, to be honest, I don’t know what’s so special about these Ribeye patties. I had a Ribeye Burger when it debuted last year, and I felt the beef wasn’t better than the usual meat Jack in the Box uses for its Jumbo Jack. The patty in this burger didn’t change my feelings. Maybe it’s just me.

Overall, Jack in the Box’s Blue Cheese & Bacon Ribeye Burger is tasty. Of course, your results with the blue cheese may vary. You may get one made by someone who’s a little overzealous with the distribution of the crumbled cheese, making the funk freaky. But, of course, you can fix that with some fast food surgery.

(Nutrition Facts – 650 calories, 40 grams of fat, 14 grams of saturated fat, 1.5 gram of trans fat, 100 milligrams of cholesterol, 1220 milligrams of sodium, 39 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, and 35 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $6.89*
Size: N/A
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: My burger had a nice savoriness thanks to the one-two punch of blue cheese and bacon. Not overly funky. Soft bun.
Cons: Well done bacon. Kind of small for the price.

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

QUICK REVIEW: Burger King Crispy Chicken Tenders

/ / Reviews / 3 Comments

Burger King Crispy Chicken Tenders

What are Burger King’s Crispy Chicken Tenders?

The newfangled Burger King Crispy Chicken Tenders boast of “whole muscle white meat chicken” in a “home-style seasoned breading.” Which means, yeah, they’re pretty much the same thing — conceptually — that you’d get at

How are they?

BK’s latest menu addendum isn’t going to win any awards for creativity, but it makes up for its lack of originality by being a plain tasty offering.

Burger King Crispy Chicken Tenders 2

First off, the tenders themselves are pretty big (I’d say they’re about the same size as Zaxby’s Chicken Fingerz) and the breading has a nice — dare I say KFC-esque? — smoky flavoring. The white meat is quite chewy, and for those of you who dislike the prospects of a torched tongue, rest assured that while these tenders have a little bit of heat to ‘em, they’re by no means a “spicy” product.

Is there anything else I need to know?

Burger King isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel here, and that’s ultimately the best attribute — and biggest weakness — of the product. Although quite yummy, they don’t have an idiosyncratic feel to them, and the lack of an especially pronounced herb or spice does make the breading taste a bit too mild. Honestly, there isn’t anything about these plump, juicy tenders that you haven’t already experienced, and likely at a lower cost than the $5 price point.

Conclusion:

Burger King Crispy Chicken Tenders 3

All in all, the Burger King Crispy Chicken Tenders are a solid — if not utterly predictable — addition to the BK lineup. Thankfully, its robust assortment of sauces gives the product a longer lifespan (naturally, I’d vouch for the Buffalo Sauce), and for a fairly small amount of food, the four-piece deal, surprisingly, filled me up.

Still, it would’ve been nice to have received a unique, proprietary sauce (how great would a Jalapeno queso have been here?), and one can’t help but be gobsmacked by the sodium content on these suckers — with a walloping 2,200 milligrams, eating these are equal to downing a full teaspoon of salt.

Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: 4-piece meal
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 630 calories, 31 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 100 milligrams of cholesterol, 2,200 milligrams of sodium, 52 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 36 grams of protein.

QUICK REVIEW: Krispy Kreme Coffee Glazed Doughnut

/ / Reviews

Krispy Kreme Coffee Glazed Doughnut

What is the Krispy Kreme Coffee Glazed Doughnut?

The latest glaze-makeover from Krispy Kreme in celebration of National Coffee Day pairs two of the culinary world’s best friends. There’s no longer a need to dunk your doughnut in coffee with KK’s Limited Time Coffee Glaze.

How is it?

I gotta tip my hat to Krispy Kreme for the super obvious but fresh innovation at play here. Because for as many times as I’ve had a cup of black coffee alongside a doughnut (90 percent of all the time) I’ve never had a doughnut flavored like the bitter beverage.

Krispy Kreme Coffee Glazed Doughnut 2

Like most alternative KK glazes this one is subtle and does a good job of tempering the usually hyper sweet wash of sugar that defines the experience of the OG. The coffee flavor is there but doesn’t hit you in the face like a bold coffee ice cream or candy like the recent

The coffee flavor is a bit more pronounced on the finish, as it leaves a taste in my mouth like I had coffee three minutes ago. The fluffy texture of the yeast doughnut is amazing as always, and I enjoy eating this even if it is a bit underwhelming.

Is there anything else I need to know?

Krispy Kreme Coffee Glazed Doughnut 3

Popping the Krispy Kreme Coffee Glazed Doughnut into the microwave for the suggested six seconds is never a bad idea, and the result with this one is pretty damn good. The coffee flavor doesn’t intensify, but the bitterness is a bit more subdued. The warm, soft texture is much more like doing an actual doughnut dunk, and the overall experience is incredibly satisfying.

Conclusion:

This is yet another limited Krispy Kreme glaze that’s good but nothing mind-blowing. The OG is so strong on its own that slight variations still yield a delicious doughnut, but nothing so extreme that you should go out of your way for it.

Purchased Price: $1.29
Size: N/A
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 200 calories, 10 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 85 milligrams of sodium, 25 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 13 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

QUICK REVIEW: Starbucks Cold Foam Dark Cocoa Nitro

/ / Reviews / 2 Comments

Starbucks Cold Foam Dark Cocoa Nitro

What is the Starbucks Cold Foam Dark Cocoa Nitro?

I’m convinced the reason Starbucks keeps coming up with new cold foam beverages is to drive home the idea of the strawless lids. I don’t hate it! The latest is the Cold Foam Dark Cocoa Nitro, which adds cocoa cold foam on top of the tried-and-true Nitro Cold Brew. In the in-app description of the drink, Starbucks says the cold foam is “bringing out the coffee’s natural chocolate notes.”

How is it?

Two words: Slam Dunk.

I usually prefer my cold brews to have a little cream in them, a la the Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew. That’s why I love cold brew on nitro – it adds a creaminess to the drink. This Dark Cocoa Nitro does not disappoint in terms of creaminess and flavor.

Starbucks Cold Foam Dark Cocoa Nitro 2

There’s a slight cocoa taste when you get your first sip of cold foam and the cold brew, and it is just enough to sweeten it without being overpowering. The subtleness of the cocoa is a delight. I also got a whiff of cinnamon – it smells like fall in a cup. (Don’t tell the Pumpkin Spice Latte I said that!) And the caffeine is strong enough to power you through your afternoon or snoozefest of meetings at work.

Is there anything else I need to know?

If you go searching for this puppy, make sure your friendly Starbucks has the nitro tap. Not all of them do, so I suggest checking your Starbucks mobile app to see which nearby locations carry the drink.

Conclusion:

The Cold Foam Dark Cocoa Nitro is officially my favorite cold foam beverage from Starbucks. I can only hope it sticks around long enough for me to get my fill!

Purchased Price: $4.45
Size: Tall
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Tall 12 fl oz – 60 calories, 0 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 15 milligrams of sodium, 13 grams of carbohydrates, 13 grams of sugars, 1 gram of protein, and 215 milligrams of caffeine.

REVIEW: KFC Hot Honey Chicken

/ / Reviews / 3 Comments

KFC Hot Honey Chicken

With an adorable new Colonel mascot in the form of a sweet ol’ honeybear, the indubitably fine, mostly Southern kinfolk at Kentucky Fried Chicken (or Kitchen Fresh Chicken, if you do so prefer) continue their sauce-filled fried chicken domination of America with the tasty-enough Honey Hot flavor now on the KFC dinner table.

Ordering a three-piece Extra Crispy Tenders Meal complete with mashed potatoes, a biscuit, and one lonesome lil’ pickle slice, the Honey Hot variety is the stickiest mess of a sauce yet, soaking everything in its vicinity with a mouth-watering, eye-stinging clarity. The red-staining bit of generic honey was drenched all over the chicken tenders, seeping to a peppery puddle underneath them, creating a delicious dipping sauce as that famous KFC crust stayed undoubtedly firm and harmonically crunchy.

By the second try, I twirled my chicken tender in the settled sauce to get a little more of that Hot Honey taste. Like a Kentucky Fried shock to the system, the sweetness is almost immediate, cooling your taste buds with the much-loved taste of nothin’ but honey. Give it a few seconds though, because that hot comes rushing down the track like a peppery freight train, doing itself a grand service of providing a nice little burn that goes down easy enough.

But, even better, even with more sauce to soak it in, the extra crunchy skin continues to stay remarkably extra crunchy while the sauce manages to get deep into the tasty sinews and musculature of the beast, making almost an edible massage oil that, greasy bite by greasy bite, holds up with a tightly tangy fervor.

With plenty of the Honey Hot drainage left on my plate — even though the delicious Extra Crispy Tenders were a thing of dusty memory now — I used my remaining biscuit to selfishly sop up the sauce, to great effect. The pepper had made a suspended section unto itself in the sweet goop, giving me a nice headrush as I ate a thick, sticky sliver on my breadstuff. You’ve got to sell this stuff as a dipper, KFC!

Feel free to take a sip or two of water, just in case though, but not because of the heat, mind you. Once the sweet has passed and the hot is long gone, you better prepare to get a mildly weird aftertaste that is best described as taking a shot of soy sauce, swishing it around and swallowing it deep. It’s not a bad thing, just generally surprising and a little off-putting. Though great if you love soy sauce shooters.

Aftertaste aside, this might be KFC’s best chicken experiment yet, finally finding the perfect balance of one thing that people routinely screw up so often and so royally: the sweetness of the honey and the heat of the pepper. Cómpralo ya!

(Nutrition Facts – 570 calories, 36 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 75 milligrams of cholesterol, 1460 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 30 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $5.49
Size: 3 Extra Crispy Chicken Tenders
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Perfect balance of sweet and heat. Doesn’t make the chicken crust soggy.
Cons: Alarming “soy sauce” aftertaste.

Scroll to Top