REVIEW: Burger King Ghost Pepper Chicken Fries

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Last year, I reviewed Burger King’s Ghost Pepper Whopper, which was one of the most memorable burgers I’ve ever had, especially with its beautiful orange and black bun.

BK brought that Whopper back this year but also introduced something new: the Ghost Pepper Chicken Fries.

These are fry-shaped chicken (and if you’re a reader of this site, you probably already know about chicken fries) with a spicy ghost pepper breading. They’re not as pretty as the Ghost Pepper Whopper’s bun, but they still are (subtly) orange and black.

I’ve never had an actual ghost pepper since I’m not a masochist, but I can guarantee that the Ghost Pepper Chicken Fries are nowhere close to the heat of the real pepper.

With that said, they are still spicy. I was on the verge of hiccupping as I made it through all twelve, but I didn’t. There was a steady burn as I munched, and I was glad to have the BBQ dipping sauce to cut through the heat. (I don’t think it did, but I told myself it was helping.)

But this item is not any spicier than many other fast food offerings. I didn’t think it was as hot as the Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich, a jalapeño burger, or the Ghost Pepper Whopper.

The chicken itself is just what I hoped it would be: moist, tender, not dried out or gristly.

I enjoyed eating these. They were a great vessel for the BBQ sauce, and they were spicy enough to keep it interesting without making me miserable. Spice-loving people will probably want them to be hotter, but they’re a good match for the general population.

I must return to BK to get the Ghost Pepper Whopper this year. I don’t like the Chicken Fries as much as the Whopper, but they’re a good option if you don’t want to commit to the calories of a full sandwich.

Purchased Price: $4.99
Size: 12-piece
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (12 pieces) 410 calories, 26 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 45 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,160 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 19 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Taco Bell Steak & Bacon Grilled Cheese Burrito

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The folks at Taco Bell have finally done something I didn’t expect: create a menu item that mostly doesn’t taste like it’s from Taco Bell. Several bites into the chain’s new Steak & Bacon Grilled Cheese Burrito, I wondered if my mouth was transported to a TGI Fridays, Applebee’s, or Ruby Tuesday because I tasted cheese and bacon potato skins. But after reeducating myself about what was stuffed into and grilled onto the flour tortilla, it all made sense.

The limited time menu item features marinated grilled steak, nacho cheese sauce, creamy chipotle sauce, potatoes, reduced fat sour cream, and a three-cheese blend wrapped inside a warm flour tortilla with more of the three-cheese blend and bacon grilled on top. Before eating it, I completely forgot about the spuds in there, so it was surprising when my taste buds noticed casual dining appetizer flavors instead of Tex-Mex fast food. As a fan of potato skins, I can get behind this.

While Taco Bell has been grilling cheese on the tortilla since 2020, including bacon is a novel addition that makes something unique on its own a little more special. But that bacon isn’t there just to be novel; it helps the menu item taste a little less Taco Bell-y with its porky and smoky flavors. Sure, the grilled bacon on my order makes the burrito’s exterior look scabby, but it also makes it taste not at all shabby.

But with those few bites that didn’t get any potatoes, the specter of Taco Bell flavors peeked out, thanks to the three ingredients that allow almost every Taco Bell menu item to have just two degrees of separation — nacho cheese sauce, sour cream, and the three-cheese blend. The tender steak, which has been used quite often this year in new products, adds its meatiness to the burrito, which also gives the menu item a bit of a steak and potatoes vibe. Finally, the creamy chipotle sauce added a smokiness that helped enhance the bacon’s smokiness and a mild kick.

I’ve had so many different steak burritos from Taco Bell over the years, but I can’t say many of them were memorable. But this Steak & Bacon Grilled Cheese Burrito will stick in my mind for a while because it was quite enjoyable, and I can’t get the road rash-looking exterior out of my head.

Purchased Price: $6.99*
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 700 calories, 39 grams of fat, 16 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 85 milligrams of cholesterol, 1730 milligrams of sodium, 57 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 5 grams of sugar, and 30 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: Sonic Trick or Treat Blast (2023)

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For Halloween 2023, Sonic is offering revamped Trick or Treat Blasts, which include Mini M&M’s, Heath candy pieces, and Oreo cookie pieces, all mixed together in soft-serve ice cream. They are available in vanilla and chocolate.

If you don’t have a lot of time, I’ll sum it up quickly: This is basically an M&M’s shake. There, now you can go to the pumpkin patch (or the haunted house or the apple orchard or whatever else you’re doing this time of year).

Instead of eating it in my car in the stall at Sonic, I opted to get the chocolate version in the drive-through, then took it home and enjoyed it in the autumn afternoon.

The Mini M&M’s were by far the most noticeable element of the Blast. Since cold M&M’s are crunchy, I was crunching my way through the entire treat. There were M&M’s in almost every bite, even when I took a small bit of ice cream in my spoon. I liked them, and I’m glad they were there, but sometimes I just wanted a moment without them. (Is that what it’s like having kids?)

The Oreo pieces were slightly softened from the soft serve. If you’re a reader of this site, you probably know what it’s like to have Oreo cookies in ice cream, so I don’t need to elaborate on what they were like.

The Heath pieces were least noticeable to me. Since the M&M’s were already crunchy, it was hard to notice if I was crunching on toffee instead. I did have one bite where I thought, “Oh yeah, I can definitely taste the toffee here!”

As for the soft serve, it was enjoyable but unremarkable. The abundant M&M’s really overpowered the flavor. My Blast wasn’t very well mixed, and I didn’t notice much difference between the vanilla (before I mixed it) and the chocolate (after I mixed it).

I enjoyed the Trick or Treat Blast, but I just didn’t find it that interesting. It was too similar to other products. And as a sucker for anything holiday related, I wished it had a stronger seasonal connection. I don’t think I ever got a Heath bar or Oreo cookies in my trick-or-treat pillowcase. And if Sonic wasn’t going to add any flavors more interesting than chocolate, it at least could have added some spooky colors somewhere.

The Trick or Treat Blast is, well, not much of a blast. It’s tasty, but I don’t think it’s worth going out of your way for it.

Purchased Price: $5.43
Size: Small
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (small) 670 calories, 26 grams of fat, 16 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 80 milligrams of sodium, 630 milligrams of sodium, 103 grams of carbohydrates, 85 grams of sugar, 2 grams of fiber, and 12 grams of protein.

REVIEW: McDonald’s Sweet & Spicy Jam Sauce and Mambo Sauce

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McDonald’s Hot Mustard is my default sauce. I’ve dipped my Chicken McNuggets in them for the past, um, I can’t remember how long. It’s extremely rare for me to deviate from that, although there was that brief dark moment when McDonald’s discontinued it and brought it back. My sauce swaying also happens when the Golden Arches offers new dips. The latest are Sweet & Spicy Jam and Mambo.

According to McDonald’s, the Sweet & Spicy Jam is a jammy red pepper sauce with a Szechuan peppercorn kick and extra heat from cayenne pepper, and finished with apple cider vinegar. It’s McDonald’s first-ever breakfast-inspired dipping sauce in the US. While the chain recommends trying it with various breakfast menu items, it’s available all day. Mambo is a tomato-based, sweet, spicy, and vinegary. It’s inspired by the popular condiment found at many Washington DC restaurants.

The first thought that came to mind after trying the Sweet & Spicy Jam was Panda Express, probably because of the Szechuan peppercorns. And at the same time, I thought it tasted like a spicier version of something else McDonald’s has offered. It’s sweet, peppery, spicy, and a little something else. It warmed the back of my mouth but didn’t become anything more than mild. After scraping whatever I could from the container with a rigid French fry, proving that I enjoyed it, I thought about it and realized it’s like a spicy sweet & sour sauce.

As for the Mambo Sauce, I should start with a full disclosure: This is my first experience with it (it’s also known as mumbo sauce) since I live on the opposite side of the country from where it’s famous. But Mambo is instantly the most fun Chicken McNuggets sauce name to say. It’s much spicier than the Sweet & Spicy Jam and has a slight fruitiness that I think might be pineapple. But it tastes like a sweet and peppery barbecue sauce that happens to make my head sweat a little.

I wanted to end this review by typing that the Sweet & Spicy Jam is my new jam, but I’d be lying because Hot Mustard is still my jam, er, mustard. Both new sauces are tasty takes on the pairing of sweet and spicy, and I enjoyed them equally. They’re definitely worth a try if you enjoy that flavor combo.

Purchased Price: Comes with 10-piece Chicken McNuggets
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Sweet & Spicy Jam – 80 calories. Mambo Sauce – 60 calories. No other information is available on McDonald’s website.

REVIEW: Jack in the Box Angry Monster Tacos

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I’m angry that Jack in the Box’s new Angry Monster Tacos don’t have jalapeños. Okay, I’m not irate, but I’m confused by their exclusion because they would’ve made these truly angry. When monsters get angry, like Godzilla, they may burn things down, so why not attempt to burn my mouth with these.

An order of Angry Monster Tacos comes with two spicy seasoned tacos with shredded lettuce, American cheese, and taco sauce inside “angry” red shells that are in neat monster-themed sleeves. Looking through the Jack in the Box app, ordering just one is impossible. But if you want to feel the anger without committing to two, you can order a pair with one regular Monster Taco and an Angry one.

So how angry are these? They’re definitely spicier and more peppery than a regular Jack in the Box Taco, but they’re not hot enough to make me wish I’d ordered a cold Coke product to go along with them, even after eating both. If you’re a fan of Jack’s regular tacos and not spice-adverse, you’ll probably like these because they pretty much taste like them but spicier. Nothing about them makes me like them more than Jack’s regular offering, and they’re flavorful enough that you don’t even need the taco sauce packets that you’ll probably be given. Although I wonder what flavor they would have if dipped into a container of Good Good Sauce or Creamy Avocado Lime Sauce.

But now let’s end on that red shell. It’s all color, no calefaction or flavor. I’ll admit its dark red hue does look cool, and much like wearing dark colors makes one look slimmer, its color makes the obligatory oil-soaked center available with all Jack in the Box tacos look less noticeable. It’s neat enough that I wouldn’t be angry if Jack used the same shell for Angry Santa Tacos or something in a few weeks.

Purchased Price: $3.00 for 2
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 440 calories – other nutritional info is unavailable on Jack in the Box’s website.

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