Annie's Bunny Fruit Snacks - Berry Patch

I thought these were pretty good for gummies! They had that nice firm, pliable texture that I like, even though they were a little sticky and stuck together. Really eatable. The taste was fine, berry-esque, but the texture is the star here. Also they're cute bunnies.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Raindrops Candy Taco

This was weird. I once had a bad experience with a gummy burger, so I was nervous, but really this is just a bunch of types of gummies in one package. The shell isn't gummy. I enjoyed the little shoestring gummys on top, they tasted like pliable wheaty twizzlers (or like red vines, but not red). I also liked the skinny circle disc gummies because they had a nice texture, like a chuckle. However, the gummy bears and avocado looking pieces were way too firm/chewy, like a larger Haribo. It was a cute product and had a lot of candy in, but to eat it wasn't that great.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10

The Beer Shoppe

This place is very near Haverford, where I teach, and they also have trivia on Monday nights (7-9pm) so sometimes I go with my friend Jane. They have a little bar/table area in the back, and it's a chill atmosphere, but they also have a TON of cans/bottles of beer in fridges (very PA). Lots of fun sours and things to try. I like the Troegs Boysenberry Sour (nice pink color), the Sam Adams Cherry Wheat, and of course Wells Banana Bread beer. Plus more! And they're fairly priced, too, around 2-4$ each. Food wise it's not a good scene for me, since they have lots of (bagged) packs of nuts available, but also bags of chips and other food I've seen people order but I don't think I would order. Chill place to drink though! And sports on TV!
Overall
Cost: 8/10
Taste/Beers: 6/10

SweeTarts Hearts

The spelling of Sweetarts is very unintuitive. Anyway, I had these in a little Valentine's day gift pack, which was just the right size. Sweet-Tarts (I spell how I want!) have never been my favorite candy, but they're allergy-safe so I appreciate that. The taste is, as you might expect, very sweet and a little bit tart. The texture is firm but also a little chalky. The different colors are distinct flavors, but only barely distinct. Nice to have as a little snack pack.

Overall
Cost: 7/10
Taste: 6/10

Mrs. T's Garlic & Parmesan Pierogies

More pierogy? I guess so! It is really nice to have a safe, dependable food. This garlicy flavor is one of favorite iterations so far, although maybe I was just really hungry (but I usually am hungry when I reach for pierogi). It's very garlicky and just a little cheesy. Nice!

Overall
Cost: 7/10
Taste: 6.5/10

Haribo Goldbears (Valentine edition)

This wee Valentine's packet of the classic Haribo gold bear only contained raspberry and pineapple flavors, so it looks all red and white. They're totally nut free, but they're just so firm/chewy I really don't see the appeal. It's like a job to eat these. The taste is unoffensive; I did find it a little bit weird or plastic-y but it might just be these particular packets, since Haribo usually tastes vaguely fruity but nothing amazing.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 5/10

2014 Fount Grenache

This was a nice wine, basically a classic red but perhaps a little sweeter and tarter. No complaints.

I paired it with the suggested sticky maple butter chicken legs, which were actually supposed to be turkey legs but I couldn't find those. Because they were smaller, the dish got a bit burnt, so maybe I ought to have held out for turkey or used more stock or something. But the butter/syrup sauce was tasty, and it smelled like molasses candy. Fun experience, I basted the sauce on with a little brush every so often and it really gave that holiday-roast-bird feeling, you know?

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Pachamama

I was looking forward to trying this place, since it moved into the location of two of my favorite sit-down nut-free restos (Del Pez and Cucina Di Napoli). And indeed it turned out to be a worthy successor! I got the 1/4 chicken with stir fry rice and the salad, and it was all tasty and fun. You get 3 dipping sauces to try, all of which are decent and unique (not earthshattering though). The chicken itself is very tender and juicy, the stir fry rice was super gingery but didn't kill me, which I love, and the salad was a standard good small salad. I also got a sangria which was big and good, and a Corona which was pricy but also...good. A fun experience! I'm trying to convince someone to go back with me.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

Chef Tony's Restaurant

This place is in downtown Bethesda, aka it's by NIH (my part time job). I let my dad pick the place and this turned out to be a decent pick, since even though it's a seafood resto and I'm allergic to all seafood, they had plenty of other non-fishy pasta and chicken dishes. Whew. I will say that the entryway to the place kind of smelled like a bathroom air freshener, which was weird, but the inside was nice and dark, chill, and low-key. There were fishtanks! And the other people eating there seemed like regulars who come all the time, which makes sense but is also a good sign. They didn't have the first beer I ordered, and the service was a little bit slow (which is annoying because the parking is by meter and they don't take cards so you have to use the stupid parking app etc etc) but overall it was a good experience. I ordered the Chicken Marsala which randomly had a tomato-marsala sauce instead of just mushroomy, but it was good and plenty filling. Dad seemed decently happy with whatever fish thing he ordered, too.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

Pure Organic Strawberry Apple Fruit & Veggie Strip

This was good! I think it's my number one fruit strip so far. It has a nice firm/chewy texture, not too weird and sticky or pliable or hard or anything unpleasant like that. It's quite thin and the taste is mainly a vague strawberry one. The only downside is that it was too small! I want more!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Jica chips - Cinnamon Churro

It was fun to try something new - now I know what jicama is all about. I didn't find these particular chips to be very good, though. They weren't very sweet or oily or salty or any of those nice, tasty things. The taste was just too mild, like there were wisps of the good flavors but not strong enough. The texture is thin and crispy, not too different from that of a thin sweet potato chip or something similar. So it was fine.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10

Lancaster Brewing Company - Milk Stout

This has an interesting taste. It is truly milky, and malty and chocolatey. It's like a maltier Guinness. It has a cute can and I like the creaminess to an extent, but it isn't my favorite flavor for beers (I'm a hop > malt kinda gal).

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 5/10

Steel Peel Pizza Company

This place was OK. Probably I'd be more enthusiastic about it if I just randomly tried it, but my friend from Lancaster (Marie) said this place has The Best Garlic Knots, so we got delivery pizza (with mushroom) and the garlic rolls from them. But they weren't garlic knots, they were like cinnamon roll style garlic buns, and really not great - not soft, not super well seasoned, and very big. At least they came with marinara. The pizza was fine, I think, but unremarkable. I would go if people wanted to go, but I think there are better pizza options out there. And DEFINITELY better garlic knot options.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

Tostitos Queso Blanco Dip

This was good; not amazing, but good. I put it on some hand veggies, and also mixed it in with rice and corn, both of which were serviceable but made me wish I had some tortilla chips around. Anyway, I like it more than salsa or most yellow queso, but it isn't as good as the queso from Moe's or CalTort or almost anywhere except Chipotle.

Overall
Cost: 4/10
Taste: 6/10

Signature Kitchens Super Sweet Whole Kernel White & Gold Corn

The packaging for these Store Brand Cans has changed to be a classier looking white and black can, so I actually bought this for once instead of assuming it would be gross. Not sure why I associate green can = bad, maybe because of past grocery problems at Superior/Smart and Final, but this corn turned out to be very good for the price. I've since bought it a few more times! It's nice and sweet and buttery. I'm a fan. Plus the can is bigger than Green Giant's.

Overall
Cost: 8/10 [1$]
Taste: 7/10