Original Sixlets

A nut-free logo makes sixlets a likeable company, and the stupid little glasses caterpillar is also endearing to me. But honestly these don't taste that good to me ("I've had better"), even though I tragically don't have many other normal chocolate candy options (basically hershey-ettes at christmas). The reason these aren't great is that they're really malty. The orbs are cute, the candy coating is good, the size and everything is good, the only negative for me is the taste of the chocolate...which is a pretty big negative. It's really sweet, not creamy/milky, and very malty. Tastes like whoppers but with no crunchy bit. I appreciate that they kept the taste the same over the years, and I am vaguely nostalgic about them, but I still don't like them that much.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

2016 Nexo Rioja

Whew, this is a "high tannin" wine! AKA it feels really....dry? My wine terminology isn't quite up to snuff. Also, I'm still sick, but listen, we gotta live our lives at some point, you know? Anyway, I made the recommended ricotta toasts with garlic greens yesterday (they were good), but I'm too full to actually pair them with the wine. So who knows how the pairing goes down. But the wine is good, it's fine. At first I was hesitant to enjoy this wine, because it is fairly sharp(?) but it's also got a nice fruitiness to it, like cherry maybe. And that's with the sniffles! I also got a little cork in there by accident, but I don't think I can taste the difference. Anyway, this is a nice wine. The more I sip it, the more I like it - but I'm only having 1 glass tonight! Because I'm sick! Still, I look forward to tomorrow. And the tree on the bottle is super cute. And Chance the Rapper is pretty good paired with this.

Overall
Cost: 5/10 [18$]
Taste: 6/10

Chewy Sixlets Fruity Flavored Candies

I had no idea sixlets made a fruity version! That's fun, although the appeal of sixlets is really that they're like an allergy-friendly version of M&Ms (but not quite, since they're round and malty and not really the same at all). Anyway, a new candy is always fun. And these are so pretty, with shiny opaque coating. Unfortunately, I ate these in the middle of being sick, which meant that I couldn't taste them and also that eating so much sugar almost definitely made me get even sicker, whoops. So, I really don't know what these tasted like, although the different colors did seem to correspond to different flavors (and I think I liked red best). I thought the texture was good, they were very chewy and juicy, and the coating was a nice solid exterior that didn't melt or anything weird. They seemed very sweet, and I don't know if the flavor was weird or good. Since I've never ever seen these in a store, though, I don't think it really matters!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10 (?)
Intrigue: 8/10

MadeGood Granola Minis (Chocolate Banana)

Just like with the strawberry flavor I recently had, these were disappointingly dry and crumbly! I don't get it, because the first flavor I tried was so perfect. Maybe it's just rose-colored glasses. Anyway, these still had a good flavor and are convenient, I just wish they were moister and chewier. They could be truly great!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Idahoan Four Cheese Mashed Potatoes

So, I've had the flu this week (still do, bleh) and when I ate this, I was at the apex of sickness (or at least I hope so) and therefore couldn't really taste them enough to give an accurate review. From what I could perceive, they were not amazing but they were fine. I still paired them with brocco and they were still suuuuper filling for the calories. I think I liked the original flavor better, although it's hard to tell what I really thought of these. I hate bleu cheese, so the fact that that is one of the included cheeses makes me nervous, although I couldn't tell it was included. But maybe if I had control of my senses I would have noticed and disliked it. Anyway, this company seems pretty cool - they have a lot of products, everything is cheap, and they have a nice website with allergy info and recipes and pictures. I'm on board.

Overall
Cost: 9/10
Taste: 6/10

Idahoan Classic Mashed Potatoes

I wasn't sure what to except with these, as I find plain potatoes a little boring, and people talk crap on box (or bag) mashed potatoes. But actually, I thought these were really good, especially for the price and convenience factor. The taste was nice and buttery, with a nice creamy texture, and overall a fun experience. They were super easy to make, and I paired it with brocco for a full mean. I ate them all! But it was still less calories than a noodle pack, woohoo.






Overall
Cost: 9/10 [1$]
Taste: 7/10

DiGiorno pizzeria thin Margherita pizza

Why do people like DiGiorno so much? It's such an inferior product to me! And so calorific! Anyway, this was fine. It just has tomatoes, cheese, and weird basil specks (not full leaves at all). It gave me heartburn after just a little, but what doesn't these days. In general it was inoffensive, it was fine, it's still pizza.






Overall
Cost: 4/10
Taste: 6/10

Bigelow Vanilla Chai Black Tea

I'm more of a coffee drinker than a tea-toter, but when I'm sick I prefer tea, so it's good to try some every now and again. Plus, I need the sweet caffeine any way I can get it! This stuff was fine; not super flavorful even though I steeped it forever, just vaguely spicy and warm. That's pleasant enough though, and I like that they actually list the ingredients, so I know there's no allergy issue.



Overall
Cost: 7/10
Taste: 5/10

Lean Cuisine Tuscan-Style Vegetable Lasagna

I was excited for this because I love lasagna and also veggies. But this was quite bad. It wasn't an offensive taste, per se, it was just no taste. Tasted like wet nothing. There were no distinctive flavors, from the sauce to the veg to the cheese. Just food product. At least it was low-calorie nothing with veg in it, so things could be worse, but I'd rather have a salad.




Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 4/10

Airheads

Airheads! What a classic and unique candy. These are nut-free, even with the little X-thru-a-peanut symbol on the packaging, so I'm predisposed to like them. Plus you get 5 individually wrapped bars here, so you can save them for however many servings you like, which is nice (I'd recommend 5). The flavors are fairly distinct, I think cherry is my favorite and blue (just blue) is my least favorite, as it's the sweetest with the least nuance. (I'm not sure what the White Mystery flavor is supposed to be - it tasted kind of like a mix of all of them, like a dumdum, and a cursory Google reveals that to be the case! Mine mostly was cherry flavored, which I like.) But there's not a ton of nuance to be found in all, they are mostly just firm rectangles of sugar with a weird gritty (hehe, gritty) texture. Very sweet and almost like gum that slowly dissolves and then you're like "did I eat gum?". So...yeah! Not the greatest candy in the world, but at least it's safe. :D?

Grape flavor: I'm kinda surprised this wasn't included in the 5-bar pack, it seems like grape is usually a base edition flavor! I also usually don't like the grape flavored candy (see: jolly rancher, popsicles, skittles), but I enjoyed this one.  It wasn't overly sweet like some of the other flavors, but still had a nice strong grape flavor, like a sweet candied juice. I enjoyed it. 7/10

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 5/10

Pepperidge Farm Confetti Vanilla Layer Cake

This is my favorite Pepperidge Farm cake! My family often gets it for our birthdays. Anyway, I can never find it at my store, but I think it used to be called "Celebration cake" - anyway, this is the same thing. But it didn't have very many sprinkles on it! And it was a little bit stale/dry, so I'm hoping I just got a bad batch. It's still delicious though, the frosting is just right and I like the two kinds of frosting (hard top and soft middle) and the cake is sweet and flakey and not too sweet, if you can believe it. Plus the layers are fun. It's not very healthy, but it's delish! And nut-free. Yay, confetti cake!



Overall
Cost: 7/10 [3.22$]
Taste: 7/10

Jersey Mike's

Sub time! Subs are pretty solid meals, usually not too greasy and solidly filling. Sadly, Subway isn't super tasty, Capriotti's is far away, and Primo's may contain nuts. Jersey Mikes seems pretty sweet just based on their website, because they have a comprehensive allergy menu (and that menu says that basically all the sandies are nut-free, too). Plus they have an enigmatic numbering system, which makes me want to be a completionist and try them all. We'll just have to get the boyf on board because there isn't one by me (yet?)!

#7 Turkey and Provolone: I got this on white bread because I panicked and didn't know if the wheat bread was safe. I also got it "Mike's way" which is LTO and oil and vinegar. The only perhaps odd thing is that usually I get turkey with mayo and not oil, but to be honest it's probably healthier and it ended up tasting pretty good. The turkey was nice and fresh, and the cheese was cut really thin which I liked. Tomato was juicy, the lettuce and onion was whatever (maybe too much lettuce). I got a regular size and it was plenty of food, and cut in half too. I think I'd get "mini" next time! 6/10

#16 Chicken Philly Cheese Steak: This was good! They didn't even offer a wheat roll or any customization (the guy who took my order kinda rubbed me the wrong way TBH) but it was tasty as it came, with pepper, onion, and white American cheese only. I had to cut it in half myself, but it was still a great size (regular size) for a filling meal and didn't make me sick. The cheese was great and the rest tasted good too. Noice. 8/10

Grilled Veggie Wrap: This was OK - I got it with a wheat wrap, which itself was good, very fresh/thick. The inside had ranch, which was OK for me taste-wise but my boyf hates the smell so it wasn't really worth it. There's only cheese, peppers, tomato, lettuce, and possibly onion inside. It was definitely good for a veggie wrap, but not really full of much veggie, and not very healthy or better tasting than the other things, so this wasn't my favorite random pick. Would try it without ranch if I get it again. 5/10

#31 California Chicken Cheese Steak: This was a chicken cheese steak with mayo, yet it was not bad! I liked the chicken a lot and the mayo didn't really stand out to me. The cheese was good and the flavor overall was good, although maybe not as good as #16. Not bad though. 7/10

#11 Stickball Special: This was fine; it was basically the same as an italian sub. Maybe a bit too much dressing on this though. 6/10

#55 Big Kahuna Chicken Cheese Steak: I got this at the airport, and I was so grateful to have normal food! Even if it was 10 dollars. I got the only size they had, regular, on wheat bread, and it was only 720 cals which is totally manageable for a cheesesteak! I think it was really good, cheesy and warm, and spicy because of the jalepenos. The mushroomy cheesey chicken bits that fell out were great. 8/10

#2 Jersey Shore's Favorite: Jersey Shore's Favorite is...Italian. Ham, cheese, and circle meat. I got mine without oil, which turned out to be a great choice -- it was fresh and filling and made me feel happy. It even made two meals. Good stuff. 7/10

#42 Chipotle Chicken Cheese Steak: Got this delivered in the quarantine times. They also did not do contactless delivery even though it said they would online. Maybe in a few weeks people will be better at this! Anyway, the sub was delicious as ever. I love Jersey Mike's and the peppers and the cheese and the bread (wheat!) and whatever else they got going on. Actually, this is a chicken cheesesteak much like 55 and 31 and 16, but I don't really like the Chipotle sauce they put on. It's not terrible, but it doesn't add anything and feels too oily or strong or something. Still a delicious sub but I prefer the other chicken sub options that don't have the sauce. 7/10

#13 The Original Italian: Got this delivered in the quarantine times. They AGAIN did not do contactless delivery even though it said they would online and it's been about 3 weeks! I think I probably shouldn't get Jersey Mike's anymore. :( But this was great as always, I got wheat bread and no oil, which is the best and makes it a little healthier too. I think they cut the cold ones in half, which is great. I only ate half and it was nice and filling, lots of classic italian meats and peppery lettuce. Just a few onions and a tiny bit of tasty, thin cheese. 7/10 

#3 The All-American: This is actually "The Ham and Cheese", but whatever you call it, it's a solid not-too-exciting sub. Just overall decent (with no oil), tastes fresh, filling, good ratio of meat+bread, not too unhealthy. And they actually succeeded in the no-contact delivery this time! 7/10

#43 Chipotle Cheese Steak: This is great, just like all the other cheese-steak varieties (chicken and steak). The chipotle sauce really adds nothing for me though; it's still tasty but I think it'd be equally (or even more!) tasty without the chipotle sauce. 7/10

#17 Jersey Mike's Famous Philly Cheese Steak: Feels like I've had this before, but I guess I've only had variations on the theme! Anyway, this is great. I guess the Kahunas are better because they have mushrooms, but I still like the "plain" cheese steaks a lot, and they taste pretty darn similar to each other anyway! Good with wheat bread too. 7/10

#9 Club Supreme: Roast beef and bacon (and turkey) at Jersey Mike's?! This is different! Unfortunately, I was a fool and got this without the mayo (and oil), so it was way too dry. They give you a lot of turkey and RB! It was still good though -- I like the taste of the bacon a lot, and the cheese and beef. But it needs mayo. Added mustard but that wasn't quite right. 6/10 for now.

#56 Big Kahuna Cheese Steak: Much like the chicken version, this was very good. A little unhealthy, maybe, but the taste can't be beat. I also currently have a stomachache for Gordon/Pat's related reasons, so I'm blinded by that, but JM's is always solid. 8/10

 

#5 The Super Sub: I got this because I guess the number 4 isn't on their menu by me. This seems similar to the 4 that I wanted though -- basically it tasted like slightly spicy ham, a little provolone, taste and fresh. I got it with white bread and no oil, and I enjoyed it! 7/10

 

#12 Cancro Special: It occurs to me now that I probably should have ranked these by number and not by recency. Oh well! This was really solid, especially with vinegar only. Very nice. 8/10

 

#66 Portabella Cheese Steak: Surely this is the devil's sub, as it took me two tries at ordering it and I'm still not convinced I've had it properly. The first time it had no mushrooms at all, and the second time, I think there were maybe 2-3 tiny mushroom pieces. I can't imagine what the meatless version is like if this is actually right. It was still tasty because the cheesesteak is tasty, especially the cheese, but I don't think it's worth the extra price/stress of trying to add mushrooms! 7/10

#26 Bacon Ranch Chicken Cheese Steak: I'm not really a fan of ranch dressing or ranch sauces, but this was not bad. Better than the chipotle mayo that JM has, I think. The sub I got has wrapped kinda messily, but it tasted decent, and was more refreshing than the other hot subs just because of the lettuce and tomato. I think it'd taste way better with mayo (or no sauce even) but I'd still eat it again. 6/10

#4 The Number Four: This was off-menu, but they made it with no trouble! For once I didn't tip though because it took a long time for someone to help me and it made me feel like a loser. Anyway the sub was fine, basically ham and cheese and maybe 1-2 Italian meat. Like a peppery ham and cheese. Solid. 7/10

 

Overall
Cost: 6/10 (20$ for two people)
Taste: 7/10

Q says: It was pretty good. I was also hungry though. Slow. 6/10

RCI's Anthem of the Seas Main Dining Room

This is a nonconventional review, but I just got back from a cruise, so I have to review it!!! We (see QT boyf at left) took a 5 day cruise to Bermuda on Anthem of the Seas. It was very fun, and one of the funnest parts for me is the dining room because they take allergy info down and make sure your food is safe. In the past I've had some amazing meals, but sadly this time the quality of both the food and the service was down a bit. There were still some highlights, though! I'll just give a brief overview of all my dinner choices and tell you that overall I definitely recommend cruising RCI. But I do suddenly understand people who pay extra for the fancy restos, too.

Night 1: I had the fruit plate - some melons, a little kiwi, and some grapes, and it was big and fresh (7/10), the chicken marsala - good taste, good sides (I think potato and asparagus), a little spongy texture but I'd repeat it I think (7/10), and the sugar-free pear and blueberry compote - so gross, what happened here? Terrible texture, taste, and temperature, with weird oat crumble on top, ack (3/10). No drinks tonight either, we were rushed a little.

Night 2: Formal night! I had the mushroom soup - really good, great size and taste and nice and warm (8/10), the duck - quack! duck is always fun, but it comes with bad sides for me - 2 peapods and weird purple pickled cabbage, plus two tater tots (those are fine). This was OK but I might go elsewhere in the future (6/10), and the apple pie - I was so excited for apple pie, but mine was literally the worst pie I've ever had. It was not hot OR cold, it was chewy crust, tiny squishy inside, no sugar or seasoning or anything. It tasted like a sugar free, gluten free pie that was sitting out for a few weeks. I was so sad because I love pie. I think this can't be the regular people pie (2/10). I got a glass of champagne though!

Night 3: Italian night! I had the french onion soup - my first time, but I enjoyed it! There's nice warm onion broth, and lots of it, plus a ton of gruyere cheese which is hard to eat but I forked my way through. There's also brown soggy bread at the bottom which I was scared to eat, but I didn't die from the adjacent soup so perhaps it was fine (8/10), the eggplant parm - not what I expected, this was essentially a rectangle of eggplant lasagna, with eggplant as the noodle and then red sauce and ricotta/mozz on top. It was rather small but ultimately tasted good and was satisfying, though it could use a breadstick or something (8/10) and then strawberry cheesecake, which was also bad although sadly the best dessert so far - but very warm and fake, like a bad oreo cheesecake mix but with no oreo and also worse than that (4/10). I got a glass of white wine though!

Night 4: Random secret other formal night, AKA lobster night! I had the strawberry soup, yessssssss! I love fruit soup and this is a great one, basically like a melty strawberry ice cream. There's mint swirl they say but you can't taste that. It's great (9/10). I got the prime rib which I usually like, but the fat on this one had a weird chemical/storage taste that I didn't love. The meat itself was OK but a little bit cold. The sides were mostly good (gravy, potato, carrot) but there were also weirdly bitter broccos, which my BF also noticed tasted super off and weird. So not the greatest but hopefully just a bad night (5/10). Then the dessert was the saving grace, it was the molten chocolate cake and it was supposed to have caramel sauce but mine didn't, I guess 'cause I'm allergic, but OMG the cakie was like a real cruise ship dessert - dense, sweet, choco, so good (9/10). And I had some noice red wine!

Night 5: A bad finish for both my and bf, topped off by the fact that the waiter was like "Oh, you didn't finish it.....but it was good though right??? Yes" but it wasn't, though, waiter! Anyway, I got the french onion soup again, that was still good, and then the pappardelle carbonara - much worse than any carbonara I've had, like they just dumped old cream and bacon bits into a large, large portion of soggy noodle. A very sad finish (4/10) and then the dessert was creme brulee, which I either hate or they royally fucked up, the inside was cold cold chunky "cream" that was of no discernable flavor, and the top was like charred ember. WTF? (2/10). More white wine though! And the wine guy is super friendly.

Other comments: they put bread baskets on the table, but there was always a weird dark seedy/nutty bread so I never got to have any, and I didn't feel comfortable eating the bread and they didn't make me comfortable about it either. Especially because when they noticed I wasn't eating it they were like "Oh, do you need gluten free bread?" - what!? Anyway, a little weird.

Other food on the ship: the dog house and the pizza were both solid but not amazing. The buffet was really variable, I liked the mac and cheese and breakfast grapefruit. The drinks were strong and plentiful, and bartenders never fucked you over on pricing. I liked the starbucks lattes.

Overall
Cost: 8/10 (Great deal on food, honestly you can eat as much as you want)
Taste: 7/10 (If you pick right)

The Dubliner Restaurant and Pub

Sometimes I take the train to DC for work, leaving very early in the morning. But then the train back isn't until 4.30 and I often have hours to kill. Luckily DC is a pretty cool place and there's plenty of restos near the train station (Union Station) or even inside it. I saw this place on a list of good places and they said Obama goes to it! Pretty cool. I also like Irish pubs because they are casual, rare-to-have-nuts, and have beer I like. Plus, outdoor seating! So this place had all those nice properties, and it was also good food. I got the Irish Beef Stew, which was really great - it had massive chunks of beef, potato, and carrot all in beef gravy. Super filling, no peas, amazing. Also came with a little bread and butter, and I also ordered a nice Yuengling (I'm not really a Guinness girl). It was really nice - the waiter was even Oirish (or fake Oirish) which was endearing. I enjoyed the stew a lot and thought the place was great.

The downside was that I was there with my dad, who got fish and chips (his review: fish good, cole slaw bad) but then he noticed a small piece of plastic on the plate. So of course as parents do he complained to the waiter and promptly stopped eating it. I would have just kept eating, but whatever. The waiter apologised and took it off the bill and said it might have been fish skin or packaging. It did look like packaging, but the fish was def fresh, so whatever. Anyway, that made my experience less good, but mostly due to awkwardness about the fact that we complained. I left a big tip though. I think this is an interesting generational divide, because parent-agers ALWAYS complain about food quality, plastic, hair, etc, and people my age really rarely do. Sometimes if I get the wrong order and I'm allergic to it I will complain, because that's deadly, but it's weird, right? I wonder why.

Anyway! A COOL PLACE!

Overall
Cost: 7/10 (Good for DC, average for a pub, ~$18 per person entree+drink)
Taste: 8/10

Pepperidge Farm Montauk Cookies

Yum. I was deeply craving cookies after I was given two huge moist chocolate chunk cookies that I couldn't eat because I have allergies. I thought to myself "ugh, PepFarm can't compare to something like that, sadface" but actually these hit the spot for me pretty nicely. They are chewy in that weird fake way like chewy chips ahoy, so they're no ReAl cookie, but they're still soft which is very nice, and also are a cookie and taste good. Can't be too mad when I have these around.





Overall
Cost: 6/10 [2.50]
Taste: 8/10

DiGiorno Original Rising Crust - Supreme

Sorry, DiGiorno, this tastes nothing like delivery. Too puffy and not oily or spicy (garlic? red pepper anyone) enough. Also, each 1/6 slice is 330 calories?! What are we doing with this pizza, America. Thin crust from Dominos is cheaper, tastier, and healthier. Yikes. Anyway, this is very big, and the crust does indeed rise. It also has olives, which I hate, and onions, which I don't like on pizza, but I mean I guess I could get a different flavor. The roni and sausage are OK, they didn't make me ill, and the cheese and crust are very nondescript. The sauce is interesting - it's not like a typical pizza sauce, but it's almost TOO atypical. It's not too sweet, which is good, but it doesn't have much flavor in itself either. Like tomato-less tomato paste. I don't know, I want more spice and less rising crust I guess.

Overall
Cost: 4/10
Taste: 6/10 (It's still pizza)

Enjoy Life Crunchy Vanilla Honey Graham Cookies

Shockingly, these were actually crunchy!  And crumbly too, lots of mess to be made here. These do still have the weird gluten free flavor that comes with pretty much all of the enjoy life cookies I've had, but they also have a nice vanilla flavor and a slight butteryness to them (although it's obviously not butter is it), and those notes go a long way towards making this decent. Kind of like a weird Lorna Doone knockoff cookie, which is not terrible.





Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

PopCorners - Kettle Corn

I'm used to seeing these in a purple bag instead of red, but I guess that's a thing of the past! Anyway, I've had these before, and they're pretty solid. There's only 4 ingredients, so they're super allergy-friendly and fairly "clean" in that sense. The kettle corn flavor is light, it's tasty but it's not overly sweet or buttery or salty. The combo of the slightly puffed texture and the light flavor kind of reminds me of the puffed rice quaker snack cakes my mom always used to get when I was a kid, but these are better than those for sure! A nice sweet snack.




Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

Campbell's Chunky Classic Chicken Noodle

This is in a very handy microwave container, and only takes 1 minute to heat up and only has 190 calories! I also thought it tasted pretty decent, there were a lot of noodles and chicken chunks and the carrots were nice, and of course the broth was comforting on my vaguely sore throat. So I was eating this and thinking "ah, I should get more of these". A good endorsement, right? But then, when I finished, I felt that itchy-lip allergy feeling, a tightness in my throat, and general weirdness. I think beyond it just being anxiety, I'm actually mildly allergic to this. I don't know why, or what it is - I always guess it's the soy protein, but I don't have trouble with other soy-containing foods nearly as much, so it's a bit of mystery. That said, I learned not to get this again, even though it seems otherwise good. So if you have allergies like me, be cautious - otherwise, go for it!

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste with fear: 4/10