Classico Italian Sausage Sauce

This sauce mingles well with peppers and even dumb carrots, it had nice little sausage bits, and was good with elbow macaronis. It was a little bit watery, but also not too sweet, which I like. Would buy again.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

Halfpops - Angry Kettle Corn

I will say that this is definitely tastier than the plain sea salt flavor, but still the texture is such a struggle for my teeth! It's like the non-gummy version of Haribo. Maybe I'm just a baby with bad teeth. Anyway, this has a nice vaguely spicy flavor, though I thought it could use even more flavoring. Mostly it tasted like corn, and just a tiny bit sweet and a tiny bit spicy. I also got a few kernels in there that were popped more fully and those were so much more enjoyable, woe.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Grounded Snacks - Vanilla Chai Baked Grain Bites

So, I only ate these because they were about to expire, but honestly they were better than I expected them to be! Initially I wasn't that into them, but the blend of cinnamon, vanilla, and (I guess?) chai is really pleasant and sweet but not TOO sweet. It mainly tastes like cinnamon and vanilla. The texture is light and puffy; these chips are gluten free so they're made of rice and other grains (but not weird chickpea flour or any legumey stuff). It was very easy to eat the entire bag, but I guess there are less healthy snacks out there you could eat instead. These remind me a bit of the cinnamon twists at Taco Bell, in both taste and texture. They also seem fairly nut-free, aka they have a legit online allergy policy.


Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

2017 Evolúció Furmint

Such a cute bottle! I thought this "furmint" (a new-to-me white wine) was good; sweet, slightly tart, and pleasant. I drank it rather quickly. And did I mention the cute bird label? Very aesthetically pleasing. Still didn't make the banana peel cake that's supposed to pair with this, but hopefully someday.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Unique Sourdough Craft Beer Pretzel Rings

I never tried this brand before, but it appears to be nut-free. These pretzels weren't bad; they were super filling and very thick, and they didn't have an especially strong flavor. I thought they were a little too crunchy and hard to chew for my liking. There was perhaps a bit of a honey pretzel tastes, which might have been the hops(??) that are in there. Still not my favorite pretzel option, but OK if you're quite hungry.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Mrs. T's Pierogies - Savory 5 Cheese Blend

Ah, pierogy. This flavor was "true neutral", it was some filling lumps of food that I ate, but nothing special. Really there was no strong flavor to these at all. Luckily the 5 cheeses didn't consist of any so-called gross cheeses like feta or bleu, which is a relief. Still, could it be that I'm getting pierogy fatigue?

Overall
Cost: 7/10
Taste: 5/10

Red Baron Brick Oven Pepperoni Pizza

First, I must admit that I made a critical error with this pizza: I ate the whole thing in one sitting. I am a fool. It made me feel very bad. But, the reason I ate it all was because it was a good frozen pizza. No weird flavors in anything. The cheese was decent, the roni was good, and the sauce was minimal but it had a good flavor. The crust was crispy and a little bit buttery. I have no real complaints, except that it is 1200+ calories for the whole thing and I definitely should not eat the whole thing. Noted.




Overall
Cost: 6/10 [5.50]
Taste: 7/10

Anderson Valley Cherry Gose

This is great! It feels like goses shouldn't even count as beer, since they're so sweet and fruity and actually taste good. But I digress. This one is sweet and a little bit tart, it's not overwhelming but there is a nice cherry flavor. Super drinkable.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

crispy fruit - pineapple

Ah, crispy fruit. I actually saw these at my grocery store this week, which means they really made it big since my store is crap.  Anyway, I like this variety! The pineapple was very tasty. It was also a really really small amount of food. But what's there was good -- naturally sweet, with a little acidic zing, definitely a nice pineapple flavor. Even the texture was decent, and not too papery for a dried fruit snack.

Overall
Cost: 4/10 [about 1.25$ at my store - cheap but it's like eating air!]
Taste: 7/10

Skinny Pop Popcorn

I thought this was fine, not very salty or flavorful, but had a good amount of oil and was soft and pleasant to chew. A decent "yum" to "healthy" ratio, I'd say.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

Sensible Portions Garden Veggie Chips Mini Hearts - Sea Salt

Valentine's Day snacks are inevitably very cute. I like the little heart shape here. And these sure were crunchy! They weren't very tasty, but they were pretty filling/satisfying for the size of the bag and the fact that they were only 60 calories. I probably wouldn't rebuy, since even with the nice crunchy texture, they tasted like slightly salty cardboard.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 5/10

Cabot Seriously Sharp White Cheddar Cracker Cut Slices

I love cheese, so something went wrong with these because I didn't love them. Maybe I'm not a big cheddar girl. I had these with apples and crackers, and somehow it was the lowlight of that trilogy instead of the highlight. It had a very creamy mouthfeel, but it wasn't very "sharp", nor spicy nor milky or any flavor note I actually enjoyed. Sad.




Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 5/10

Ramen Kumamoto

Talk about a trendy resto in my local college town! This place opened a few years ago to rave reviews, even from the Japanese people I know (n=3). I like it because there's no nuts (though there is a lot of fish) and because it's Japanese. I don't like it because there's no alcohol, you can't use credit cards with bills under like 20$, and the seating is kind of communal. Also, you have to ask for a fork if you can't use chopsticks and sometimes they don't ever bring it and you feel sad. I always only get the tonkotsu (pork) ramen, which is good but not amazing for me. The broth and egg and bamboo and meat are all amazing, the noodles don't do it for me though. They're thin and more italian than chinese if that makes sense. Very filling and warm but I wouldn't want it super often. I wish I could order other stuff but I think it all has fish in it.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 5/10 (for me)

Doritos - Flamin' Hot Nacho

 I got these from a vending machine at school (work?) during the hunger times. So it was desperation food, as I'm really not a fan of corn-based chips. But you know what, these were decent. The spice (and salt) elevates them, just like the flamin' doritos locos taco at Taco Bell. They really were very hot, too, very hot and very orange. I like that they were hot, it made me feel something (namely, burning).

Overall
Cost: 6/10 [1.25]
Taste: 6/10

Sara Lee Strawberry Cheesecake Slice

I'm someone who loves desserts because it's so rare to find them nut-free. Especially cheesecakes. Yum. So this is great; as far as I can tell there's no allergy issues and it's single serve so you don't hate yourself! Wow! You can leave it in the fridge for four days and it's ready to eat there. I will say, it is quite tiny, but also delicious. Tiny and warm. The crust is great, the cheese part is adequate, and same for the topping. It's good to eat and I like it. I wish my local store carried it, but then again, maybe I don't! As far as packaging goes, it's a lot of waste, but like.... so is everything.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 8/10

Pour

Went here before a musical at the Fulton (a musical where a man held my jacket like a baby, but I digress) and had a good time! We asked about nut allergies for the charcuterie options and the waiter was super informative and even mentioned the possibility of certain meats containing nuts because the animals ate nuts or something, which was legit. We got three cheese and two meats and it came with a pickle and some mustards and a bread (which I didn't eat just in case). A mixed bag as far as my taste for the cheeses, but good quality and fun. I got some beer which was good, and then ordered the potato soup which was the soup of the day and was absolutely amazing! Outstanding soup!!!

Overall
Cost: 4/10
Taste: 7/10

Auntie Anne's Pretzel Dogs

This seems like it would be amazing, because duh, a pretzel and a hot dog, but in honesty it wasn't that good. Kind of like a pizza roll in its anticlimax. The taste was OK but it gave me a stomach ache. Maybe better to eat a hot dog and then some pretzel. I put mustard on it, and that was fine. I should just make hot dogs with cheese in crescent rolls. The ultimate in snaxx.

Overall
Cost: 4/10
Taste: 5/10

Just Add Dip - Classic Guacamole

I definitely like the idea of this packet (add to avo and you have guac!), but the actual reality was a dud. It had a really strong flavor, but it wasn't the garlic/lime flavor I expected, rather it was like a lot of sugar and onion powder and preservatives. I think a plain avocado would be preferable. It did mix in easily though, and maybe I should just use less and add some tomato and onions in. But that defeats the purpose of the "convenient mix"!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 4/10

PopCorners Spicy Queso

I was pretty excited for these, but although the coating was good I think that I don't really like PopCorners in general. I've only had the kettle corn flavor in the past, so maybe it was weird for me to eat these with a non-sweet coating. The flavor on these was indeed like a spicy queso, which I like, but the chips themselves are weird and soft and I don't like the flavor of corn chips. I guess.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 5/10

2017 Ballade Sauvignon Colombard

This, like the previously reviewed Elicio white, was just okay. It was a little bit tangy/bitter, but not bad. Has a lovely convenient screw top. It was certainly drinkable, just not amazing. I guess you can taste the fruity notes in it, a little bit peachy. Made me nicely tipsy and not super hungover, which is also a plus (but might be more related to other factors than the wine itself, who knows how bodies work).

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

2017 Elicio Vermentino

I thought this was a nice, drinkable white, with a classic label and a screw top too! Taste-wise I think I rank this between the bad chard and the good chard, i.e. it wasn't the best and sweetest wine ever but it wasn't too tart and sour and old tasting either. So, a solid pick!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Annie's Bunny Fruit Snacks - Summer Strawberry

Just like the berry flavor, these were also good and had a good texture. The flavor did indeed taste like strawberry, but I think I liked it a little bit less than the berry flavor, although it was fine.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10