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/>

REVIEW: McDonald’s BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese

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After this McDonald’s Angel Reese Special Meal, I hope there will be a Caitlin Clark McCrispy Cheesy Special topped with a feverish chipo-trey sauce, three bacon strips, and three cheese slices on a half courtato bun. (Yeah, I shoehorned that into the word “potato.”)

The headliner of the Angel Reese Special is the BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese, or as McDonald’s also calls the meaty burger, the QPC, which is an acronym that has never crossed my lips. I don’t say it because I fear things could get confusing when I want to point out a particular Japanese mayonnaise on a burger, “It’s Kewpie, see?”

Speaking of condiments and toppings, Applewood smoked bacon, American cheese, pickles, onions, and a tangy, sweet barbecue sauce top the cheeseburger with a 1/4 lb beef patty and sesame seed bun. The meal also comes with a medium fries and drink. Because the Orange Hi-C is being promoted with the celebrity special (you can get any soft drink you like), and it’s been a while since I’ve had one, I ended up with the basketball-colored drink.

Peeling back the bun reveals a hodgepodge that, at first glance, could be mistaken for a skeleton driving a car with a pickle steering wheel and secured in the automobile with a bacon strip seat belt. (You don’t see it? Well, the HFCS in the Hi-C could be making me imagine things.) Despite the number of loose toppings, the steering wheel and skeleton, the BBQ sauce and cheese act as glues to prevent the vegetation from falling out. Also, with the onions, pickles, and BBQ sauce, I can’t but help think of the McBeloved/McDespised McRib.

Of course, this burger’s flavor doesn’t remind me of the McRib because the sauce is noticeably different. It tastes like something I’ve had from Sweet Baby Ray’s — sweet, tangy, and with a mild spicy kick. But its overall flavor is reminiscent of many other “bacon western BBQ” cheeseburgers I’ve had, which all have a flavor dominated by the sauce followed by the beef, bacon, and cheese. As for the plant-based toppings, the pickles make their sour sides known with bites that end up with them, and the onion slices are a bit muted when up against the sauce.

I wish the BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese was a permanent menu item. However, I’m not saying that because it’s a mind-blowing burger. It’s just good. But I really want to have the option of having a tasty bacon barbecue cheeseburger whenever I go to McDonald’s, which is something the menu will lack when this goes away.

Purchased Price: $12.99* (Angel Reese Special Meal)
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 630 calories, 35 grams of fat, 16 grams of saturated fat, 1.5 grams of trans fat, 115 milligrams of cholesterol, 1460 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 36 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 Steak Garlic Nacho Fries

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If you hope to keep vampires away with Taco Bell’s new Steak Garlic Nacho Fries, you better have the sun’s power in your pocket because the garlic isn’t robust. You won’t find the pungent ingredient minced on this menu item. Instead, it’s in a garlic ranch sauce that’s combined with seasoned fries, nacho cheese sauce, steak, pico de gallo, and cheddar cheese.

Also, what you’re not going to find at the top of this review is a photo of the chain’s Steak Garlic Nacho Fries. That is a photo of the Steak Loaded TRUFF Nacho Fries. Below is a picture of the newest loaded fries.

Look, I know, water is wet, Disneyland is expensive, streaming services will continue to raise their prices, and new Taco Bell menu items are usually slight tweaks of something that’s already been on the menu. I also know the photo above this paragraph isn’t of Taco Bell’s Steak Garlic Nacho Fries. It’s actually a photo of its Steak White Hot Ranch Fries.

I’m 99.5% sure the photo above this paragraph is the Steak Garlic Nacho Fries with its lacking garlic ranch sauce. I taste more ranch flavor than garlic, but it needs to be the other way around. It’s a good sauce, but it’s not garlicky enough for my taste buds or to create a pungent aura around me to prevent vampires from entering my personal space.

Other than the heat-less white sauce, everything else was what I’ve experienced with all the other loaded Nacho Fries. It’s a satisfying and tasty pile of potatoes, tender meat, and savory toppings. Although, I have to ask. Does nacho cheese sauce have to be on EVERY ONE of these loaded fries? Look, I know I can customize it to not have the gloopy orange sauce, but does it have to be a default? It adds flavor, but I imagine it also subtracts some of the flavor from the other ingredients, like the garlic ranch sauce, by overwhelming it.

With all that said, my enjoyment of Taco Bell’s Steak Garlic Nacho Fries was on par with the other loaded Nacho Fries varieties that look like it.

Purchased Price: $7.19*
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 490 calories, 31 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 1200 milligrams of sodium, 39 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, (including less than 1 gram of added sugar), and 14 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.

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