REVIEW: Taco Bell Milk Bar Birthday Cake Churros

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Happy 63rd Birthday, Taco Bell!

Happy 17th Birthday, Milk Bar!

I don’t know whose birthday we’re celebrating, but you can do it with Taco Bell’s Milk Bar Birthday Cake Churros by sticking candles in both ends of a churro and lighting them. Available in a 2-pack or just one and made in collaboration with Milk Bar, the festive dessert features crispy churros filled with birthday cake frosting and topped with sprinkles.

But I should warn you that the number you decide to purchase might depend on how much you enjoy cleaning because these suckers are meeeessyyyyy. Having had Disneyland churros recently, I can definitely say these Taco Bell churros are más messy.

The spherical sprinkles and pink sugar cling to the churros’ sides with as much adhesion as a hippo trying to walk up the side of the Empire State Building. So, if you don’t want to make a gigantic mess, I’d recommend eating them just above the box they came in to catch the sugar. Or maybe consume them over a dinner plate, sink, or somewhere you can hose down easily. Surprisingly, what doesn’t end up making a mess is the birthday cake frosting filling. It didn’t ooze out when biting into the sugary sticks.

However, these Taco Bell Milk Bar Birthday Cake Churros are as delicious as they are messy. The fried dough, sugar, and vanilla-y filling do an excellent job of hitting the flavors of cake, but without being as overly sweet as a birthday cake. Initially, I thought the pink sugar had some flavor because nibbling just the fried dough with the sugar also had a cake vibe. But after tasting a pile of pink crystals that lost to gravity, it turns out they taste just like sugar.

Milk Bar Birthday Cake Churros are exactly what I imagine Taco Bell would do to Taco Bell-ize regular churros. I loved these, and I hope they return. But I would like Taco Bell to add regular churros to the permanent menu for my birthday.

Purchased Price: $3.99*
Size: 2-pack
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (2 churros) 550 calories, 37 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 240 milligrams of sodium, 48 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 28 grams of sugar, and 6 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 Sauced & Loaded Waffle Fries

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Oh, no!

Does the introduction of Jack in the Box’s new Loaded Waffle Fries mean my beloved potato wedges will soon be gone?

If so, how can I appease the Big Ball-Headed Fast Food God? Must I give it my firstborn? Do I have to sacrifice a fresh Big Mac and/or Whopper by throwing it into a volcano? Please keep potato wedges on the menu, oh, mighty and strong (and handsome) Jack!

For those who aren’t keeping count, Jack in the Box, at the moment, offers FOUR types of fried potato sides — waffle fries, regular fries, curly fries, and the fabulous potato wedges. (Also, tater tots were once on the menu for a limited time.) However, waffle fries are only available sauced and loaded, while all the others can be ordered unsauced and unloaded.

This might just be Jack testing to see if there’s possible interest in making waffle fries a permanent item. Or it might be a plot to get rid of potato wedges for good? (Don’t do it, Mr. Box!)

Jack in the Box’s Sauced & Loaded Waffle Fries feature waffle fries topped with cheddar cheese, nacho cheese sauce, crumbled bacon, and buttermilk ranch. If you’ve had previous Sauced & Loaded products, this waffle fries version will taste very familiar since it has pretty much the same toppings as the loaded tater tots and potato wedges Jack has offered.

Despite being doused and plopped with toppings and enduring a four-minute drive, the waffle fries, surprisingly, still had a crispy exterior when I bit into the sauciest and load-est(?) fry. However, that fry was also quite salty because of all the toppings. So, I spread out the heap of meat, cheese, and sauces so things wouldn’t be so condensed. When I did that, there was a balance between the bacon, cheeses, and ranch, with the potato flavor still noticeable. The waffle fries almost taste like the potato wedges, but the spudsiness is milder.

If I had to rank Jack in the Box’s newest potato product, but naked, I’d put it ahead of regular fries because they taste a little better and are crispier, but behind curly fries and potato wedges. As for these Sauced & Loaded Waffle Fries, while everything tastes familiar, they’re still satisfying.

But it’s not as satisfying as potato wedges. Please don’t take them away from me again, Jack!

Purchased Price: $4.79*
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 540 calories. No other nutritional information is available on the Jack in the Box 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.

REVIEW: Starbucks Chocolate Hazelnut Cookie Cold Brew

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How many combinations of cold brew and cold foam do we think Starbucks has up its sleeve? The newest to the lineup is the Chocolate Hazelnut Cookie Cold Brew. This one has the Starbucks signature Cold Brew with vanilla syrup, plus a hazelnut cold foam and a chocolate cookie topping.

Dear reader, I’m not going to chocolate/hazelnut-coat it for you. This one just didn’t hit the mark in my book. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t amazing either. I find it easiest to break this review into a set of bullet points with my thoughts. Here goes:

  • The biggest thing missing from this drink was the hazelnut. I didn’t get a hint of it at all. I honestly thought the cold foam was chocolate versus hazelnut because the chocolate flavor was MUCH more prominent. That said, I did like the chocolate crumble topping. It got a little melty with the cold foam and was a nice treat to finish off at the end when it got to the bottom of the cup.
  • Despite the cold foam not having the flavor it should, it was its usual, nice foaminess with good volume on the top of the drink. It settled in nicely with the Starbucks Cold Brew, making the beverage smooth and easy to drink.
  • I will say the flavor got better as I went along. It took me about an hour or so to finish it, and I liked it a little more at the end. It could be attributed to that cold foam hitting the bottom of the cup, or it could be that I was warming up to it.

A final random musing: I do not know if this is part of the Starbucks revamp we’ve been hearing about in terms of its products and customer service, but I could NOT get the lid off this cup. Did the cups change? Someone, please let me know in the comments to make me feel better about my apparent hand weakness. This lid was absolutely locked. It made me feel better about driving with it and carrying it up three flights of stairs to my office, but apologies for not getting a photo with the lid off, internet friends.

This drink was okay but definitely not knock-your-socks-off good. We’ll see how long this one sticks around!

Purchased Price: $4.95
Size: Tall
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 180 calories, 10 grams of total fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 35 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 19 grams of total sugars, 2 grams of protein and 145 milligrams of caffeine.

REVIEW: Starbucks Midnight Drink

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Starbucks’ latest winter launch is all about cozy vibes—think mixology-inspired flavors with a touch of hygge. This new limited-time lineup includes the Blackberry Sage Refresher, Blackberry Sage Lemonade Refresher, and the Midnight Drink.

According to Starbucks’ development team, the inspiration came from customers looking for something refreshing and soothing during the colder months, as well as the growing mixology trend of pairing fruit and herbs together.

Visually, they designed the drink to have a deep violet hue with hints of red to evoke a winter sunset or the warmth of a cabin retreat.

I was all in on the concept, as I’m all about interesting flavor combinations and cozy winter vibes. So, I decided to try the Midnight Drink. I usually go for Refreshers with coconut milk, such as the Pink Drink or Dragon Drink. This one features the Blackberry Sage Refresher base with coconut milk and blackberry inclusions.

From the first sip, the flavor felt well-balanced—sweet but distinctly herbal, almost savory. The savory note might just be my brain associating sage with Thanksgiving turkey, but it definitely added depth. Unfortunately for me, it’s peak cold and flu season, and I’ve been eating a lot of elderberry-flavored lozenges, which have a similar flavor — fruity but herbal.

The more I sipped, the more I appreciated the flavors, but it definitely tasted medicinal. That might be some people’s jam, but it’s not mine. I can’t have orange-flavored things without thinking of liquid Motrin or most grape-flavored things without tasting Dimetapp.

Like all Refreshers, I love how the freeze-dried fruit rehydrates in the drink. It adds a nice texture, and I always enjoy eating the fruit pieces. It was my first time having blackberry like this, and it worked well!

I love the bold innovation and strongly believe Starbucks should keep it up. But this particular fruit-and-herb pairing isn’t for me.

Purchased Price: $5.75
Size: Grande (16 fl oz)
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 140 calories, 3 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 65 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 24 grams of sugar, 1 gram of protein, and 55mg caffeine.

REVIEW: Little Caesars Bacon & Cheese Crazy Puffs

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When Little Caesars debuted its Crazy Puffs in 2024, initially available in just Pepperoni and 3 Cheese & Herb flavors, I was genuinely gobsmacked by how much I enjoyed them. The compact, dense, yet satisfyingly snackable size, novel cupcake-y shape, a textural masterpiece of the crispy edges, gooey cheese, and doughy interior, and even the amount of food that came in each order for a surprisingly reasonable price were all thrilling.

The only thing faster than me pouncing on the opportunity to review the new Bacon & Cheese flavor was the employee who handed them to me in a cute miniature box only about five seconds after I ordered them, really living up to that “HOT-N-READY” tagline! (Okay, it was more like “LUKEWARM-N-READY” in this case, but I actually didn’t mind that, as I could appreciate the flavor and texture more without a burnt tongue.)

At first glance, these Puffs really didn’t look different from the original pepperoni-less ones since, in terms of size, color, and texture, the small, craggy bacon bits happen to look a lot like burnt bits of cheese. But, unexpectedly porky and salty for its modest quantity, the taste of the bacon actually reminded me a lot more of ham. This was an interesting change from the original flavor lineup, and the difference was solidified even further when I made it to the middle of my first Puff and encountered the sharp taste of the small, slightly congealed poof of cheddar-forward filling.

It had a nostalgic school lunch quality, reminding me of a rounder, less-likely-to-scald-the-roof-of-your-mouth Hot Pocket. While that was fun, the cheddar’s taste was harsher than I would prefer. It was noticeably different than the cheese on top of the Puff, which seemed to be Little Caesars’ usual familiar blend of mozzarella and muenster, forcing me to realize that when it came to my enjoyment, the cheese on top stayed on top.

That being said, the things I loved so much about the original generation of Crazy Puffs persisted here. The interior had a delightful chewiness (my order was slightly dry, but I’m willing to chalk that up to the natural hit-or-miss nature of chain restaurants), and those edges were still crispy, this time so pronounced that they made the center of the Puffs look dramatically sunken in, which made them even more fun to eat.

I ultimately preferred the original flavors, but that wasn’t so shocking or disappointing since they set such a high bar: in the grand scheme of pizza products, the Cheese & Bacon Crazy Puffs perform nicely, and if my local-ish Little Caesars was more conveniently located, I would love to try them again. It’s not easy to find something that combines portability, a solid portion, a reasonable price, a short wait time, and a delicious taste on top of all of that, so these are nothing to roll your eyes at. (They may, however, be something to roll your eyebrows at, at least if you’re Eugene Levy—go watch his fun Super Bowl commercial for these and you’ll see what I mean! Little Caesars is not liable for any eyebrows that escape in a flurry of zany adventures while consuming their products.)

Purchased Price: $4.34
Size: 4 Puffs
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 740 calories. Other nutritional numbers are not available at the time of writing. < p/>

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