Brand Eating

Review: Frito Lay - Ruffles Smokehouse BBQ Potato Chips

2012-05-26T21:17:00.000-07:00

Ruffles Smokehouse Style BBQ Flavored Potato Chips purport to deliver the flavor of dry-rub style BBQ on every chip.

A 9-ounce bag retails for $4.29 but I paid $2.00 on sale.

So how does a dry-rub BBQ flavored chip taste like? Mostly sweet, but lightly so, and seasoned with a hint of smokiness.

The texture is classic Ruffles; thicker than regular potato chips and bringing a decent crunch.

As far as barbecue chips goes, Ruffles Smokehouse Style BBQ chips are more lightly seasoned. As a result, you get a bit more potato flavor than with other barbecue-flavored chips. It makes sense though since dry-rub ribs give you more pork (or beef) flavor than sauced ribs.

I'll be honest though, I've never met a barbecue-flavored chip I didn't like. So it's no surprise that I enjoyed these. The flavor is a quite bit lighter than other similar chips, so if you tend to find barbecue-flavored chips overly seasoned, Ruffles Smokehouse Style BBQ chips might be just the thing for you.

Nutritional Info - Ruffles Smokehouse Style BBQ Flavored Potato Chips
Serving Size - 1 oz (28g / about 11 chips)
Calories - 160 (from Fat - 90)
Fat - 10g (Saturated Fat - 1g)
Sodium - 170mg
Carbs - 15g (Sugar - 2g)
Protein - 2g

Around the World: Burger King Germany - Heroes on the Grill

2012-05-26T20:56:00.005-07:00

Burger King Germany is currently running a limited-time promotion called "Helden Vom Grill" which loosely translates to "Hero on the grill" as far as Google Translate is concerned. Since it's Memorial Day weekend, what better to post about?

There are three items to the "Helden Vom Grill" promotion: the Super Chili Beef, the Fantastic BBQ Chicken, and Tex Mex Cheese Balls. They all sound pretty good but my hats off to the Fantastic BBQ Chicken for the epic name. Who doesn't want a Fantastic BBQ Chicken?

The Super Chili Beef is a hamburger with BK's trademark flame-grilled beef patty, cheddar cheese, jalapenos (they look like fresh jalapenos... which means a cleaner heat), tomatoes, lettuce and Tex Mex sauce. The picture also says "chili bun" so maybe the bun is spicy too? It does look a bit different from the standard bun... Those look like some spicy jalapenos though...

The Fantastic BBQ Chicken features a grilled chicken breast filet with bacon, zesty fried onions, and a spicy BBQ sauce, plus the standard mayo, tomatoes, and lettuce. I'm not sure about the mayo going with BBQ sauce, but everything else sounds good.

Finally, the Tex Mex Cheese Balls come fried with a crispy breaded shell and an interior of melted cheese and a spicy filling. I really can't make out what that filling is made of though. Breaded cheese is always good though!

Sounds like the Germans really like their spicy foods.

Frozen Friday: Stouffer's - Rigatoni Pasta with Roasted White Chicken

2012-05-25T23:30:00.000-07:00

Stouffer's Rigatoni Pasta with Roasted White Chicken comes with a basil pesto sauce is one part of their Signature Classics line of frozen meals.

This one is normally $3.69 at one of my local supermarkets, but I bought it for $2.00 on sale.

The sauce is light and not as pesto-y as I'm accustomed to. It's actually a little bit buttery and lacking in herbal notes. I wouldn't say it's bad or anything like that (it's actually pleasant), but it just doesn't make me think of any pesto I've ever eaten.

The chicken was tender enough and so was the pasta. They both catch a decent amount of sauce and, while not terribly exciting, they taste well enough.

Rigatoni Pasta with Roasted Chicken isn't the best Stouffer has to offer, but it's good if a bit plain. A good pesto sauce would put it over, but still, a solid choice for frozen food dining.

Nutritional Info - Stouffer's Rigatoni Pasta with Roasted White Chicken (237g)
Calories - 400 (Calories from Fat - 140)
Fat - 15g (Saturated Fat - 5g)
Sodium - 770mg
Carbs - 44g (Sugar - 2g)
Protein - 22g

Frozen Friday: DiGiorno - Traditional Crust Three Meat Pizza

2012-05-25T20:31:00.001-07:00

DiGiorno's Traditional Crust Three Meat Pizza offers a thick-crust, mini pizza topped with pepperoni, sausage, and "beef pizza topping." The pepperoni and sausage are made with pork, chicken, and beef AKA what is typically called "meat."

It's normally $3.99 for a 9.4-ounce pie, but I picked this one up for $2.00 on sale.

I'm not sure I can tell the sausage from the beef. I guess, considering that the sausage also has some beef in it, it doesn't make that much of a difference, but it really makes it more of a two meat pizza... maybe two and half.

You don't get an abundance of meat on the pizza, but there's enough to keep it decent. The pepperoni and sausage add a fair amount of seasoned flavor but not too much texture; no crispness from the pepperoni or coarse meaty texture from the sausage.

The crust doesn't quite taste fresh-baked; it's more like a thick disc of slightly chewy, warm bread. Nothing to write home about, but not awful either which is pretty much the same for the pizza as a whole as well.

I would definitely choose their stuffed crust version over this one.

DiGiorno actually lists a serving as half a pizza, but I don't imagine many people will be sharing one of these so I'll just list the nutrition for the whole pizza.

Nutritional Info - DiGiorno Traditional Crust Three Meat Pizza (266g)
Calories - 700 (from Fat - 280)
Fat - 31g (Saturated Fat - 11g)
Sodium - 1280mg
Carbs - 80g (Sugar - 11g)
Protein - 25g

News: Taco Bell - Future Menu Plans

2012-05-25T19:46:00.001-07:00

NRN has a nice round-up of Taco Bell CEO Greg Creed's talk at the Morgan Stanley Retail and Restaurant Conference. In it, he discusses the future of Taco Bell and upcoming menu additions which include new varieties of Doritos Locos Tacos, the Cantina Bell menu, and a "Happier Hour."

The highlights:

-We already know Doritos Locos will be coming out in Cool Ranch, but it looks like a Hot and Spicy version is likely to show its face... er shell some time next year.

-Apparently, the Chipotle-like Cantina Bell menu test has been successful and the company plans to roll it out nationwide by the end of the year. Interestingly, he mentioned that the menu has done better in Bakersfield where Chipotle already had a decent footprint.

-Finally, "Happier Hour" is Taco Bell's plan for an in-between-meal menu currently in the planning/testing phase. Slides shown at the presentation included Loaded Grillers (mini burritos that are already being tested at 99 cents each), churros, caramel-apple empanadas (already on the menu), and cookie sandwiches.

Of course, in between all of this, there will be the regular parade of limited-time items that come out of the House of Bell.

News: Carl's Jr. Returns the Grilled Cheese Bacon Burger

2012-05-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

Carl's Jr. and sister chain, Hardee's, returns the Grilled Cheese Bacon Burger, re-dubbing it the "Amazing Grilled Cheese Bacon Burger" as part of a promotional tie-in with the upcoming summer blockbuster movie, The Amazing Spider-Man.

Last seen in 2010, the burger features a charbroiled beef patty (of various sizes and price points), bacon, American cheese, Swiss cheese, and mayo sandwiched between two pieces of grilled bread. Prices start at $3.29 for the single beef patty version and range north of $5.00 for the Six-Dollar Burger version (my local Carl's Jr. has them ranging from $3.69 to $5.69).

For those of you having a Spider-Man costume lying around, both chains are running a promotion on July 4, where any guest who comes in dressed as Spider-Man will receive a free Amazing Grilled Cheese Bacon Burger (which is also a nice bonus for those hardcore fans that will dress up as Spider-Man for the movie premiere anyway).

There's also an instant win component to the promotional tie-in with pieces on collectible, 40-ounce, Spider-Man-themed cups with a prize pool valued at over $7 million. You can get the details on that at www.carlsjr.com/theamazingspiderman or www.hardees.com/theamazingspiderman.

Nutritional Info to follow when available.

Review: Taco Bell - Beefy Nacho Burrito

2012-05-24T23:30:00.000-07:00

The Beefy Nacho Burrito is the latest limited-time offering to hit the Taco Bell menu. It promises crunchy nacho chips, warm nacho cheese sauce, seasoned ground beef, and reduced-fat sour cream all wrapped up in a flour tortilla.

It's basically a Beefy Crunch Burrito sans the seasoned rice and with nacho chips instead of Flamin' Hot Fritos. It's the same price as the Beefy Crunch was as well at 99 cents.

Nacho cheese, seasoned ground beef, and sour cream are classic Taco Bell ingredients with flavors that found in a lot of menu items. As such, the taste of the Beefy Nacho Burrito is a little too familiar, with the beef lending the most flavor.

If you're looking for crunch, you're not going to want to take one of these to-go; in the enclosed warmth of a burrito, the chips get soggy fast. From the short 1 mile drive home from my local Taco Bell, my chips were completely soft and only added texture in a "don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it" kinda way.

The chips are seasoned, but only lightly so, and the flavor is overshadowed by the stronger flavors of the beef, cheese, and sour cream.

I think to actually get a decent crunch, the Beefy Nacho Burrito's filling would have to more resemble actual nachos, which is to say more chips and less of everything else. I'm not sure how that would turn out. If I ever get another go at Taco Bell's test kitchen, I'll have to find out.

At the end of the day, Taco Bell's Beefy Nacho Burrito is more like a Cheesy Beefy Burrito which is decent but altogether too familiar. Still at 99 cents, it's pretty cheap.

Nutritional Info - Taco Bell Beefy Nacho Burrito (186g)
Calories - 470 (from Fat - 180)
Fat - 20g (Saturated Fat - 6g)
Sodium - 990mg
Carbs - 58g (Sugar - 4g)
Protein - 14g