BelGioioso Burrata Minis

On balance, I'm glad I live alone right now (for both allergy and noise reasons), but there are a few major downsides, and one of those is burrata. This is a set of 4 "mini" balls (each being a 2 serving 2-ouncer, so not actually that mini at all), and as the packaging warns you, you better eat it within one (1) day or you will suffer the most horrible agony. One of these is great on pesto pasta, or with olive oil and tomatoes, or whatever you have going along those lines. Two is a little much, but maybe doable if that's all you're eating that day. That leaves 2 burrataballs that solo-you simply cannot eat or you will suffer intense agony, either from overeating fatty cheese (a lesson I've learned a few too many times) or eating very smelly expired milk product (a lesson I only needed to learn once). You can't freeze it, either. The only choice is to waste food or to never buy it. Or, I guess, to have friends?? 

Anyway, as I said, it's very good. Mozz outside, wet mozz-goo inside. Good temperature contrast to hot food. Fun. Makes me think of Alyssa always getting burrata at trivia and me being jealous and also scared because it came with walnuts. And it is for those reasons that I made the sad choice to buy it...  just this once. 

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10 

Kennedy Creek Growers Basil

I really need to get my herb planting situation sorted. Buying fresh herbs is like one of the dumbest wastes of money in my tightly-controlled life (cofe and snacks don't count because those aren't wastes ty), and yet!! There's always something more urgent to do (like write this blog post? Hmm). Basil's one of the worst culprits because I go through a ton of it (more now that the only cheeses I eat are fresh) and, as this exemplar showed, it only lasts 1 day (IF THAT) when you buy it from the store and live in the fiery pits of hell. Anyway, I sprayed it with hourly cold water and it survived just enough to produce the 1.5c of basil I needed for my nut-free pesto, which was fresh and delicious. And the company is at least local to me, so I guess it could be worse. We did it, basil! 

Overall
Cost: 5/10 [3.50, fair but demoralizing]
Taste: 7/10 

Dunkin' Double Original Iced Espresso Can

Oh Dunkin... the things I do for you. Calling this espresso is such a stretch. It's just creamy sugar coffee water with a special weird "can" ingredient (metal?) that makes my throat feel tight. Maybe that's just what 30g of sugar (not an exaggeration) does at once in liquid form, I don't know. Sugar was not made to be done so dirty!! It's not that it tastes horrible, but it definitely doesn't taste good. Same as all those bottled Starbuckses, I guess. Ugh. Why don't they make, like, non cream-and-sugared versions of these things? What happened to Health Conscious Consumerism? And why does every can coffee drink taste like full can?? Ah well. 2 more flavors to go. 

This has 140mg of caffeine (someone), by the way, which is about 1 kcup or 1/2 an actual dunkin medium drink. So that's fine. But you really have to suffer to get it, which is surely the opposite of their intention. 

Wait, one more thing: "original flavored with other natural flavors"? Be so for real.  

Overall
Cost: 4/10 [4$!?]
Taste: 5/10 

village farms heavenly villagio marzano TRIO

These guys are the jelly belly of tomatoes. Maybe. Well, I don't know. You'd think the three-color (red, yellow orange, orange yellow) would be better than the straight red version of these marzanos, but - and I suspect this was just a one-time thing - they tasted a little bit off. Like floral or chemical or plastic or something. Usually that'd make me think they'd gone bad, but they looked in fine shape, and the weirdness didn't increase over time, so I'm not sure. Anyway, they do look pretty, and they didn't kill me, but I've had heavenlyer. 

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10 

Jelly Belly Signature 20 Collection

Didn't I review this already!? Well, no. I did review *a* 20-flavor Jelly Belly mix, but since buying the company in 2023, Ferrara has embarked on a brand refresh, changing everything you thought you knew about Jelly Bean. (Hopefully not the nut free thing, although they have a meek mill allergy FAQ and already took the "made in a peanut free facility" text off the packaging, which is a horrible sign >:(). 

 On the plus side, check out this silly line from the PR machine:
 I do have that desire. Although IDK if I'd call jelly beans gummies. 

Whatever, anyway, this is a NEW mix of 20 flavors, and the upside is that it no longer has licorice. So I can eat them all without even looking (although I probably should look just in case a rogue bean gets in there, which has happened before). It has a lot of loser flavors, but as always, some winners too. Here is my current ranking from best to worst, which is liable to change with the weather:

Tops
Sizzling Cinnamon - I must be in a mood for it!
Lemon 
Juicy Pear
Orange Sherbet
Cotton Candy/Tutti Frutti - Not only are these indistinguishable from Bubble Gum, they are indistinguishable from eachother!
Grape Soda 

Mid
Wild Blackberry - This one is so dark I would never risk eating it if licorice were in the mix. Tastes like jam.
Vanilla Bean 
Berry Blue 
Tangerine 
Watermelon 
Strawberry Jam 
Toasted Marshmallow 
Blueberry
Very cherry 
Pink Grapefruit 

Bad because they taste like allergens or peach rings, depending
Buttered Popcorn
Top Banana 
Sweet Peach 

Overall
Cost: 5/10 [4$... getting pricy]
Taste: 7/10 

Tostitos Tortilla Chips - Mexican Street Corn

I like [street corn] as a noun, but apparently, not as an adjective. The hint of lime on these is way too heavy to be felicitously considered a hint, which as always has the effect of making them taste like Trix cereal. They are a little spicy which is nice, there's a minor cheese taste as well as a minor "bean paste" vibe (scary), and a serving is 6 chips (although they are very big chips). IDK, man, it's not my vibe. My parents both liked them, although my analysis there is that my dad just likes that weird lime flavor and my mom just likes anything new. At least the bag didn't go to waste!

 

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10  

Green Giant Restaurant Style Veggie Sides: Tri-Color Roasting Potatoes

Ah yes... restaurant style. As opposed to peasant home-chef style, I guess. Restaurant style seems here to mean "covered in butter and seasoning", which I guess I do like. Or maybe it's the tri-color of it all (aesthetically pleasing). Why did I buy this if I'm such a hater (and neutral on potato)? It was on sale, my friends. Also, I do like purple potatoes and also butter. The package recommends cooking in an air fryer, which I do not have, so I ovened it -- hardly restaurant style -- but the texture ended up just fine (vaguely crispy outside, smooshy innards). You can't really taste the butter though, which is sad - they're very dry. And the spice is only vaguely noticeable, feels like light pepper/rosemary/salt(?)/oregano(??). Anyway, I ended up resorting to ketchup as if they were a humble french fried potato, and that was better. Potatoes, man, they just aren't that good. No wonder I never got in to Lord of The Rings. 

Overall
Cost: 6/10 [3$ normally]
Taste: 6/10