McCormick Beef Gravy

This was the only soy-free beef gravy in any form I could find at my store, even though there were dozens of them. Maybe that's why I always thought brown gravy was "gross" as a kid. Anyway, maybe not though, because although this was allergy-free, I didn't like it very much. I got it to put over fries with cheese (to do my best poutine-at-home), but it mainly made the fries damp and a little weird/salty? It didn't do what I was hoping. But, it is a safe brown gravy, and very easy to heat up (you can microwave it!), so I appreciate those aspects at least.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10

Dunkin' Midnight k-cups

First of all, apparently you can buy these from Staples for pretty cheap, which is unexpected. I've been searching everywhere for the newish strawberry flavor, but alas, it is nowhere to be found. Anyway, is this just a new name of the original Dark Roast k-cup? Very likely. But there are a few different medium/dark roast names out there, so it's possible this is slightly different. I never have them both simultaneously so it's hard to gauge. My instinct is to say this one is a little more overly "dark" -- it tastes richer, stronger, "chocolate-y-er". It's a lot on its own, but good with milk. A nice little change of pace from "regular", and not artificially flavored, so a good Old Reliable. The only downside is it's a bit boring, and I think "plain" is a better default.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

utz Sour Cream & Onion chips

Ah, the chips of my childhood. Unlike the cheese curls, this Utz product holds up well. They're very thin, mostly taste like oily seasoning (yum), and most importantly don't taste like gross Lays-esque chips. My ideal chip is like these. 

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

Utz Cheese Curls

WhUTZ new, fam? I like utz, and this bag even says that it's produced in a nut free facility, which I love (although am also a bit confused about why their other chips DON'T say this, uh oh). I remember liking these a lot as a kid, but I gotta say, they didn't super duper hold up. I think their chips are much better, even though I don't love chips. The texture on these is a little too soft for me, and the taste isn't great or cheesy. They got the look though!

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

2019 Ventisquero Cabernet Sauvignon Reserva

Unfortunately, I took a little bit too long of a time before I wrote this review, and I don't remember this wine anymore. My notes were "good, yummy" so I guess I liked it well enough. It's got a screwtop, which I always appreciate. No other notes for today!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Vermont Smoke & Cure - Smoked Chipotle Beef & Pork Sticks

Ah, the classic meat stick. I sure had a lot of these, but they're gone now! I did enjoy them more than the turkey sticks I had previously, since these were moister. They do taste like a restaurant version of "chipotle seasoning", whatever that means. A nice change of space within the same meatstick workspace. Pretty solid for what it is.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Orville Redenbacher's smartpop! butter popcorn

I wanted some "plain" popcorn, which I guess I should have just popped myself, because this is the closest I could find, and obviously it still has some butter/salt/flavoring. It wasn't too strong though, and it wasn't insanely expensive, which is why I picked it. As a base for my homemade rosemary corn and caramel corn, it did the just. Good texture, eh flavor, which is I guess what you want for a base. Very filling snack and quick to make. Might be secretly bad for you though.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10