REVIEW: Dairy Queen Churro Dipped Cone

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Successfully purchasing Dairy Queen’s new Churro Dipped Cone involved facing my two biggest fast food fears. On my first attempt, Dairy Queen had run completely out of what I’d come all the way there to get. On my second, I endured several awkward moments of blank stares from an employee who’d never heard of what I was ordering and had to confirm its existence through a lengthy chat with his manager. Fortunately, I was ultimately able to claim my prize, a big (seriously, am I the only one who didn’t realize just HOW large Dairy Queen’s “large” size is?), beautiful, rust-colored confection.

After all that hubbub, the Churro Dipped Cone — Dairy Queen’s classically curvaceous vanilla soft serve outfitted with a new churro-flavored shell — tasted like victory. It also tasted like, well, a churro. Sort of? It was certainly sweet and cinnamon-y (an apple cider donut was actually the first baked good it reminded me of, though maybe it’s just because I’ve had one recently), with a particularly zesty aftertaste thanks to the smattering of actual cinnamon sugar that coats the coating. But since it’s just churro-inspired without featuring any actual churro pieces, the classic crunchy texture is lacking. Though that’s not to suggest that the churro coating doesn’t have a lovely texture of its own! It was so thick that each time I bit off a flake, I was rewarded with an audible THUNK, and the ensuing experience of chomping into each hefty shard and savoring the sweetness and hint of spice as it melted in my mouth was wonderful.

Aesthetics-wise, I also appreciate that my cone didn’t look too uncannily perfect. The method behind DQ’s dipping madness involves dunking a naked vanilla cone into a vat of liquid which then solidifies around it into the iconic crisp coating. That means that each Churro Dipped Cone is unique, like the snowflakes that were fittingly falling around me as I sampled my seasonally inappropriate dessert. Mine certainly didn’t have the most even application, alternating between visibly thicker layers and bald patches with no coating at all. Those had the side effect of making it particularly messy to eat since, as the ice cream melted, droplets started gushing out through the gaps and all over my hands. I’m thankful the Dairy Queen employee had way more foresight than I did and provided me with a large bundle of napkins, all of which got used!

Prying off a bit of churro shell or lapping up some stray ice cream dribbles is all well and good, but my biggest gripe is what happened when I ambitiously tried to capture both elements in the same mouthful. The coldness of the ice cream immediately overpowered the mild flavor of the coating, suddenly rendering the subtle churro notes more or less tasteless. Dairy Queen’s vanilla ice cream is top-notch – rich, sweet, and creamy. It hits all the notes you’d expect and about as well as you could expect it to, but it wasn’t what I intended or expected to be the star of the churro show.

All in all, this tasty treat is as good an excuse to make a Dairy Queen run as any, but I’m not sure it will satisfy any actual churro cravings.

Purchased Price: $4.08
Size: Large
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 630 calories, 28 grams of fat, 22 grams of saturated fat, 45 milligrams of cholesterol, 220 milligrams of sodium, 682 grams of carbohydrates (EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the number on the DQ website, the medium has 40 grams so it’s probably 68 grams), 62 gram of sugar, and 12 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Starbucks Cinnamon Caramel Cream Nitro Cold Brew

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Starbucks seems to be churning out new cold brews faster than Nick Cannon is having kids. All jokes aside, the newest cold brew to grace the Starbucks lineup is the Cinnamon Caramel Cream Nitro Cold Brew. (Note that there is also a non-nitro version, as not all Starbucks locations have nitro taps. Pro tip: The Starbucks mobile app will tell you which stores do in the location info!). A refresher for those not familiar, a cold brew on nitro means it’s infused with nitrogen and has a smooth texture.

The Cinnamon Caramel Cream Nitro Cold Brew has a cold brew coffee base with a new cinnamon caramel syrup, plus vanilla sweet cream cold foam and cinnamon dolce sprinkles (a.k.a. just cinnamon) on top.

Three observations right off the bat when I got my drink:

  1. SO MUCH FOAM… and I am here for it. If you look at my photo at the beginning, nearly half of the tall size beverage had foam, and I loved it. The vanilla sweet cream and cinnamon were delightful.

  2. You can also clearly see the pool of cinnamon caramel syrup at the bottom of my cup in the photo below… more on that later.

  3. I haven’t had a nitro drink in a while, so I forgot and then realized there is no ice in this drink! No ice helps create a smoother flavor. If you don’t love watered down coffee, this one might be for you!

There’s an overwhelming cinnamon flavor right at the first sip, which I liked. I definitely got some cinnamon roll flavor vibes, which is perfect for the Midwest where I live. It’s like a hug in a drink married to a cold beverage, so whether it’s 70 degrees one day or 35 the next (this really happened last week), this one suits the weather.

My only knock on flavor was the caramel was pretty non-existent. This is likely due to the syrup at the bottom, so I’m eager to try the cinnamon caramel sauce in an iced latte to compare.

On another note, I might never go back to regular cold brew because the nitrogen makes it so smooth. It cuts the bitterness the cold brew can sometimes bring and feels like a morning indulgence. Despite no ice, it stayed cool as I sipped.

This cold brew is a winner in my book, and I’m happy it’s available year-round. After my not-so-excited review of the Pistachio Cream Cold Brew back in January, I was delighted with this one.

Purchased Price: $5.25
Size: Tall
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 180 calories, 10 grams of total fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 70 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 22 grams of total sugars, 1 gram of protein, and 185 milligrams of caffeine.

REVIEW: McDonald’s Bacon Ranch McCrispy

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The McCrispy is a rebranding of McDonald’s Crispy Chicken Sandwich, and it’s a much better name than the wordy and generic Crispy Chicken Sandwich. If you missed it, the name change occurred a few weeks ago, but the first new addition to the renamed line is the Bacon Ranch McCrispy.

It features a crispy chicken filet, applewood smoked bacon, crinkle cut pickles, buttermilk ranch sauce, and a toasted potato roll. There’s a Deluxe version that also includes Roma tomatoes and shredded lettuce.

Full disclosure: I thought the Crispy Chicken Sandwich was a mediocre, bland offering, so read this review with that in mind. So why am I reviewing this? Because I wanted to know if bacon can truly make everything better. With that said, this new variety is slightly better in some ways and slightly less so in others.

The fillet is noticeably skinnier than what I had with the Crispy Chicken Sandwich. That one put the “fill” in fillet. But the one in this makes the sad McChicken patty look substantial. While it was thinner, the meat was tender and somewhat juicy. Also, despite sitting in its foil bag for several minutes and under lights for several more minutes while I took the photos in this review, the breaded exterior still had some crispiness. While this fillet’s thickness doesn’t match what I experienced with the original Crispy Chicken Sandwich, they share a common attribute — blandness. It’s the reason why I was so disappointed with the original.

So thank the fast food gods for the pickles, ranch, and bacon because they compensated for the fillet’s lack of flavor. The pickles and ranch combination is a winner, with the pickles adding a tanginess that complements the creamy ranch sauce. As for the bacon, some were crispy, and others were chewy, but all provided smoky, porky goodness. Also, my order came with enough slices to almost blanket the chicken. Bacon does make this sandwich better, but the pickles and ranch sauce do more to accomplish that.

Overall, I liked McDonald’s Bacon Ranch McCrispy, thanks to the toppings. It’s decent enough that I’d probably order it again or try the Deluxe version.

Also, there’s one last thing about the name. I’m disappointed that McDonald’s used the name McCrispy for a chicken sandwich because it hurts my idea of having a product called McCrispies, which would be a clamshell container of those short crunchy French fry shards that end up at the bottom of fry sleeves that could be used as a sandwich or dessert topping.

Purchased Price: $6.89*
Size: N/A
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 650 calories, 36 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 80 milligrams of cholesterol, 1610 milligrams of sodium, 49 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 11 grams of sugar (including 8 grams of added sugar), and 33 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 BBQ Chip Seasoned Tots

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A BBQ chip is a unique flavor proposition. There’s something underneath the tangy/zesty/spicy/sweet/smoky flavor you get with a normal BBQ sauce or rub. It’s something more buttery, I think, or at least that’s the best way I can describe it. And really, I’m not explaining it well, which, for a guy who gets paid to write about food, is pretty sad. But I feel like I’m trying to describe how a rainbow sounds or a leprechaun smells — it’s just impossible.

But what I’m trying to say is that the BBQ of a BBQ chip doesn’t taste like the same BBQ of a BBQ rib.

To better explain this, I tried to get help from ChatGPT, the internet’s hottest new chatbot, and this is what it said: “I’m sorry, but as an AI language model, I cannot make subjective claims about taste or food preferences. However, I can suggest a possible way to express the idea that BBQ chips and BBQ ribs have different flavors: One possible equation could be: BBQ chips ? BBQ ribs.

The future is now, people!

With all of this in mind, the real question is, can the folks at Sonic replicate the taste of a BBQ chip in tot form?

Well, the first thing they’ve got going for them is that a tot is a kin to chips, what with both coming from the potato. And Sonic’s tots are arguably its best side. The tots in my order — as they often are — were perfectly cooked, with a pillowy, steaming hot inside and a crisp golden exterior. What was interesting and unexpected to me about the BBQ Chip Tot was that this wasn’t a dry seasoning.

Instead, the tots are tossed in a BBQ chip seasoning sauce. (But not a BBQ sauce, get it?) The sauce — which is orange-red in hue — tastes exactly like a BBQ chip, almost to a disturbing degree. It’s delightful, though, and really what we hoped for, right? For the thing to taste like the thing it was trying to taste like? It was a little sweet and a little smoky, with that maybe-buttery undertone that smelled like a freshly cracked bag of whatever your favorite BBQ chip is (and nothing like a leprechaun’s odor, which I think is an earthy-minty smell, Aqua Velva, and the sour BO of a drunk uncle). This tot understood the assignment.

My only complaint is that, unless you get good coverage from the sauce applicator, you’re gonna end up with some dry tots. And my order had a lot. In fact, I felt like only a quarter of my order was adequately covered. If I get back to Sonic before these are gone, I’ll ask them to be more liberal with their sauce gun.

Although we’re still months away from Summer, it’s never seasonally inappropriate to have some BBQ. And if you’re looking for an interesting vehicle with which to imbibe, Sonic’s got you covered.

Purchased Price: $3.39
Size: Medium
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 460 calories, 29 grams of total fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 1130 milligrams of sodium, 47 grams of total carbs, 4 grams of dietary fiber, 4 grams of total sugar, and 3 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Dunkin’ Caramel Chocolate Cold Brew

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You know that Coke commercial where people from around the globe gather to sing about how they’d like to buy the world a Coke and teach everyone to sing in harmony? Well, I would like to buy everyone (or at least those who enjoy sweetened iced coffee) a Caramel Chocolate Cold Brew from Dunkin’.

It features cold brew mixed with caramel chocolate syrup that’s topped off with a layer of chocolate cold foam and cocoa caramel sprinkles. I’m repeating the word cold, but this drink is firing on all cylinders. It’s so harmonious and an excellent example of a sweet coffee drink that still tastes like coffee and not a cup of sugar that may have coffee in it somewhere.

Taking it from the top, the cocoa caramel sprinkles are not traditional sprinkles. It looks like the drink has been scattered with pebbles, and this was no more apparent than when I set mine on a stoop to take a picture and it camouflaged perfectly. They’re sort of like the coating on those chocolate eclair ice cream bars but less solid. If you eat them at first, they feel a bit crunchy, like an ice cream topping, but I let some melt into the drink and found no trace of them at the bottom.

This tasty rubble is being admirably held up by a thick layer of chocolate cold foam that’s surprisingly stable. I’m often disappointed by drinks with cold foam because they’re great for the first sip or two, but then the foam just disappears. I was shocked that this foam held up while I walked with it for several blocks and maintained a presence on top for most of the time it took me to finish the drink. It was chocolatey and sweet without being overly so with a nice whipped consistency.

The majority of the drink is cold brew with a caramel chocolate syrup, and somehow despite all the additions here sounding like the makeup of a candy bar, this isn’t saccharine. The chocolate and caramel flavors accentuate and don’t overwhelm the cold brew. It tastes like drinking coffee but a sweeter and more indulgent variety than my everyday cup. Often the specialty drinks at Dunkin’ can feel more like dessert, but this one was smooth and coffee-centric with a pleasant bitterness that plays well with the cocoa and caramel notes.

As someone who usually takes their coffee less adorned but sometimes likes to have a sweeter version, this really struck a perfect balance. I have a terrible voice and could never teach anyone to sing, but if I had the funds to get everyone who likes iced coffee a Caramel Chocolate Cold Brew, I think I’d please people across the coffee consumer spectrum, and we’d all get caffeinated in harmony.

Caveat: I tried this a second time from a different Dunkin’ to totally different results. The cold foam was still great, but the cocoa caramel gravel was replaced with cinnamon sugar. The drink tasted disappointingly like straight chocolate syrup with little to no caramel or coffee. I would not want to buy anyone that, including myself.

Purchased Price: $5.19
Size: Medium
Purchased at: Dunkin’
Rating: 10 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 220 calories, 4 grams of total fat, 2.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 10 milligrams of cholesterol, 90 milligrams of sodium, 46 grams of total carbs, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 44 grams of total sugar (44 grams of added sugar), and 1 gram of protein.

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