Zoë's Kitchen

This place is what I imagine Panera Bread is like. It's a little like Chipotle, but you don't watch them make your food, so it's not as fast (but it's still decently fast). Actually, it reminds me a little of Cosi, just not quite as lovable (no coffee, for one). The food is mostly Greek, with some other "Mediterranean flavors" in there. For me, it's good because they have a nice allergy menu posted online, and while it's true that they do have chickpeas (hummus!) and nuts in some things, they don't seem to have any peanuts and it's also not a ton of nuts in general. They have pitas, sandwiches, bowls, gyros, kabobs, and a few soups and sides and apps. Looks like a fun menu. So far I got:

Greek Chicken Pita, with side of fruit: This was good! It's a pita with chicken, onion, a few greens, and a little bit of tzatziki (spelling??) but not too much at all. The fruit was a nice cup, with oranges, apples, cantelope, and grape. A nice meal that was filling but not too greasy. Oh, and it had feta too, but I didn't even notice/mind it! \o/

Spinach and Mushroom Piadina, with side of fruit: This smells really weird/bad in the bag, so that's a con. It's also kind of boring -- basically a quesadilla with spinach, mushroom, oil and cheese. It's OK, but too oily and not enough prote! 6/10

Steak kabobs, with rice and pasta salad: I like the kabobs a lot, the meat is well seasoned and the pepper/onion/tomato bits are nice too. Savory and tasty. The rice was so-so, moist and not my favorite, but OK. The pasta salad is also not my favorite, less than the rice - feta-y and moist too. I had a weird allergy feeling the last time I ate this, though IDK if it's the food or Quinn's chicken food or just a fluke, but it put me off Zoe's for a while. Too bad. Their allergen menu doesn't contain nearly all their food, so it's tough. 7/10 though.

Chicken roll-ups, with fruit: This was OK; I thought it would make me itchy or something because it looked like egg rolls, but it didn't really. It was kind of boring, mostly just plain chicken flavor, but it was filling though. And the fruit was good. 6/10

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

Q says: The chicken was cold but I'd go back. 6.5/10

Bell's Seasoning

This is turkey seasoning, which I imagine would be jolly good on turkey (real turkey, not Jenny-O's dumb soy-filled "turkey loin"), or stuffing too. But last night I used it on some chicken breast with a tiny bit of oil, and that was really nice too! I used a pretty hefty amount, because I just shook it out of the box (the packaging seems like it could be improved...), and I was worried it would be way too much, but it wasn't strong at all. Just a nice pleasant "poultry seasoning" flavor. Plus no salt, my boy friends will like that. And the box is cute, and it lasts 1+ year, so that's all good.




Overall
Cost: 4/10
Taste: 6/10

Marie Callender's Herb Roasted Chicken

Luckily, I think we're about out of our Marie Callender's funk. Yes, it's true that I am working 2 jobs and have a tenant (not a roommate! a tenant!) and am TRYING to continue my unrelated research program, and it's all a bit much, and I'm losing it more every day, but these terrible frozen meals are making things worse instead of better!!! Time for some real food!!!!!

Anyway, we had to eat this because we bought it. Expectedly, it was not great. The corn was so tasteless, which I guess means at least it didn't have any added butter or salt, but like, it could have used a lil bit. The potatoes were fine I guess, nothing to write home about, no real flavor but the texture was good. The chicken was real chicken, so that's nice, and there's bones in it and everything. But the smell made me queasy. It has that dark, bloody, meaty smell that you sometimes get with dark meat or bones of meat and I was really not a fan. The smell lingered all day long and made me want to vom. But the skin was tasty and all things considered, it's decent frozen meal meat.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 5/10

Kraft Easy Mac

This is just so darn handy. I got it from the little lobby market at my hotel when I was at a conference, and it cost FIVE DOLLARS. What!? And it was the small size (220 cals). Insane. Usually it's like 1-2 dollars max at a gas station. But anyway, maybe it was just the insane price, but it tasted pretty good. Super easy to make, portable, warm, comforting, nostalgic. For someone who is lazy and loves noodles and cheese, this was a major turning point in Food. Realistically it tastes way worse than fresh pasta, but hey, it's cheap, fast, low cal, pre portioned, and no dishes. You could do worse. Even for 5$...


Overall
Cost: 5/10 (in this case. in general 7/10)
Taste: 6/10

Sonic Drive-In

I guess the official name of this place is "Sonic Drive In" because sonic itself is such a common word! Too bad. I've only ever heard it called Sonic, so I didn't fully conceptualize that it was JUST a drive-in place because I didn't grow up near one. But we went today, and it's true, you pull up to your own little ordering window and wait for them to bring you the food. Apart from hating to drive and hating drive-through windows, I like that you get your own little menu to look at with no rush, and you can order when you're ready by pushing a button.

Food-wise, it seems like just burgers, chicken, hot dogs, and drinks, which is general fast-foody-food. They don't seem to have nuts in their non drink/dessert stuff, which is nice. I got a regular (all-america) hot dog and some mozz sticks, and both were totally acceptable but not incredible. I didn't get violently ill, which is always a plus! I would go back with no hesitation, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

Overall
Cost: 6/10 (seemed decent for non-combos, maybe 2-3$ per item)
Taste: 6/10

Green Giant Steamers - Teriyaki Vegetables

Maybe I'm just in a mood, but these were bad. Cooking is quick and easy, and I mixed them in with some rice. It's a good amount of veg/sauce for that. But the taste of the sauce is way too sweet or artificial or weird. It made me feel a little queasy, not in an allergy way, just in a human way. They don't smell good. I like soy sauce, but I guess it's the corn syrup and onion powder mixed with it that I really didn't dig. Also, way too many carrots, not enough of the other veg. The brocs were mostly leaves and thin offshoot stalk pieces, too, which is bad. Better to just use fresh broc!



Overall
Cost: 6/10 (1$)
Taste: 4/10

Dole Peach & Mango in slightly sweetened coconut water

It's a blizzard outside! So I'm stuck indoors with these fruit cups as sustenance. If you've ever had canned fruit, especially peaches, then these aren't going to be anything exotic for you. They are small cups with cubes of peach and mango in what I'd call more-than-slightly-sweetened coconut water. They taste fine, and the mangos have that nice firmer texture, which I like. Peaches are exactly like other canned peach bits. The coconut water adds a nice little tropical note, although it is a little sweet for my liking. This is a cute little snack, and at least it's real fruit!

One warning: when you peel the top off, the coconut juice will 99% squirt all over the place, so do it over a sink or something.

Overall
Cost: 5/10 (about 2.50)
Taste: 6/10