Archer Farm's Cinnamon Rolls

Archer Farm's Cinnamon Rolls

From mall favorites Auntie Anne's cinnamon pretzels and Cinnabons to homemade variations of crumb cake and monkey bread, it's clear that Americans have a weakness for the holy trinity of cinnamon, sugar and flour...and I ....am very American.

The Attraction
Cinnamon, sugar and flour or as I like to call it, catnip for people.

The Review
It's going to be hard to mess this up and Archer Farms do not. The rolls are soft. They also aren't stingy with the cinnamon and sugar, but it's not overdone either. With that said, this isn't exactly breaking new ground on the snack front, but it's a solid interpretation of a classic snack combination. You can probably polish off a roll with 2-3 bites and then quickly work your way to the next one. Turn on the TV and soon enough you'll begin to wonder how the container got so empty so quickly.


The Sweet
Archer Farm's version is consistent with most other interpretations of cinnamon rolls. It's good.

The Bitter
It's cinnamon rolls, which is a good thing, but Archer Farm's version doesn't distinguish itself from other mass producers of pre-made store bought cinnamon rolls. I recently bought cinnamon rolls at Whole Foods that not only tasted identical, but was similarly packaged as well. Hmmm...maybe that should be a knock on Whole Foods?


It's called cinnamon rolls for a reason; they are simply cinnamon rolls..and that's where in lies the conundrum. Can you be "down" on a product because they deliver what they promise to deliver, no more, no less? Maybe "down" is too harsh of a word, perhaps tagging it average or mediocre might be more accurate. People rush to Peter Lugers Steakhouse not because they deliver a steak like everyone else, it's because they make a steak like no one else.

With that said, would I purchase another container of Archer Farm's Cinnamon Rolls at the local Target? Absolutely, but I would be just as likely to purchase Whole Foods version or Stop and Shops version or (insert your local grocery store name here) version, not because their versions are so outstanding, more just because it's cinnamon rolls and I am a red blooded American.

Man Mi Bakery's Wal-Nuggets

Man Mi Bakery's Wal-Nuggets

It was just another ordinary day at lunch when all of a sudden my friend Grace whips out a container that she wants me to try.


"Wal-Nuggets?" I read on the box
"Yes. It has a weird name, but it's good!" she replied


The Attraction
It was free, it was in front of me and I was curious.

The Review
Upon first inspection, these "nuggets" remind me of these other freshly made pastries that I've had in the past that are usually filled with strawberry cream inside and are also freshly made. The pattern on the pastry is that of a shell of a walnut, which the product cleverly derived it's name from. The first bite into the cushiony pastry reveals a red bean paste filling with (surprise) some walnuts pieces inside. The walnut pieces actually does a nice job breaking up the consistency of the nugget by adding some resistance to the filling and presents a nice contrast to the smooth, creamy bean paste (think crunchy peanut butter).

The Sweet
A soft, spongy exterior that gives way to a not too sweet red bean paste interior makes the Wal-Nugget an easy snack to enjoy. I'm not a big fan of red bean, but the filling with the addition of some walnuts bits had just the right consistency and it wasn't too long before the container was empty. For about $2-$3 a box, this snack won't break your snack bank.

The Bitter
You have to be at least OK with red bean paste. In addition, I believed many other Korean bakeries offer a similar product, but this particular version can only be purchased at Man Mi Bakery in Flushing, New York.

I think the "make it or break it" for any food item is if you would purchase the item if you just so happen to come across it. There are some items that you would go out of your way to have and others that you would clearly avoid, but as in life, not everything in the food universe is that black and white. Where does the Wal-Nugget fall in the wide spectrum of gray that spans between the two? The white space that I call my grocery basket.