Ferrero Nutella B-Ready

"Oh, you can bet I B-ready!"

The Attraction:

On a recent trip to the Italian city of "Roma", I was walking the aisles of the local market and saw these sitting on the shelf staring at me. Granted, I'm not a huge fan of Nutella, however since I was in the birthplace of it, I felt like it was the right thing to do. I owe it to my adoring snack blog reading public; all four of you. As they say, when in Roma....(I think I used that pun already a few weeks ago)

The Review
These "breakfast sticks" come individually wrapped (to preserve the crispiness of the shell) 8 pieces to a box. As I unwrap one, the stick or bar itself has a thin wafer shell with a "n" emblazoned on it proudly. Nice detail, but how do you taste, B-Ready? You better B-tasty. (see what I did there?)

I proceed to chomp down on the bar and am greeted with Nutella oozing from one of the three cavities filled with the spread in it. The Nutella inside the bar itself is topped with hazelnuts on them, a la their other wildly popular product, Ferrero Rocher. This all taste very familiar to me.

"It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a Nutella B-ready stick!"

The Sweet:

It's Nutella that you can enjoy on the go!

The Bitter:
It's a step away from eating three Ferrero Rochers for breakfast.

"Quit staring at my nuts!"

Conclusion:
Essentially, the Ferrero Nutella B-Ready sticks are a reshuffled version of a Ferrero Rocher, minus the chocolate coating to make it seem reasonable to have in the morning as a breakfast item; crispy shell exterior, the smooth hazelnut filling, even down to the bits of real hazelnut.

Now, I understand why this product would make sense in Italy; assorted pastries are the norm in Europe the same way donuts and bagels are big in parts of the States. Throw in the Italian's love for Nutella and it seems like a no-brainer. However for me and my Asian / American tuned taste buds, it's too much. Unless you've been secretly waiting for an excuse to eat Ferrero Roches in the morning and not be ridiculed for it, this item is not a good fit for the US market.

Video of the Week
A few weeks ago I shared a video of an air conditioner installer precariously installing a unit in a high rise building. This week's video focuses on how to properly repair said air conditioning unit.

"Oh shoot....I dropped a screw"

Trader Joe's Baconesque White Cheddar Popcorn

Does everything taste better with bacon?

The Attraction:

With a name like "Baconesque White Cheddar Popcorn" is there really much more to explain? This combination of words is a close second to "Ice Cream Doughnut Holes" to guarantee my pulse to pickup a few beats. (PS don't steal my idea)

The Review
Trader Joe's is a popular grocery chain here in the States that sell their own brand of products. A majority of which is targeted towards the health conscience crowd. That doesn't necessarily mean a "health food" store, but it's geared more towards using wholesome ingredients and less artificial additives. What's great about Trader Joe's is that eating this way doesn't mean a snack death sentence. They have fun with it and this is where a product like this comes in.

Crack open the bag and there is no particularly decipherable smell of bacon that is present. I do get a hint of that cheddar cheese smell, which is quite the pleasant aroma to a cheese lover like me. I grab a few pieces of popcorn and go for it. The 'baconesque" flavor actually leads the charge on this item (it's actually more smoky then bacon flavored) and then it manages to work in the cheddar flavor into your taste buds. I grab a couple of more to pinpoint exactly what I'm tasting.

The flavor isn't quite bacon-ish to me. It's more of a smoked ham note. I know it may sound like I'm splitting hairs here, but that is more accurate, I would say. To be exact, it's quite reminiscence of a smoked gouda cheese I have had occasionally.

Looks like regular popcorn...

The Sweet:

The cheddar and smoky flavor are really good!

The Bitter:
Not quite baconesque.

...but doesn't taste like regular popcorn!

Conclusion:
No, Trader Joe's doesn't quite hit the bulls-eye in the naming of this product, but I can understand why. "Hamesque White Cheddar Popcorn" doesn't sound as appealing. I've already documented how tricky it can be to try to recreate "meat" flavored snacks previously and although this item doesn't capture the bacon-flavor in my opinion, what they do have is one delicious smoky-cheese flavored snack that I will gladly pickup the next time I find myself at a Trader Joe's.

Video of the Week
Niagara Falls, Las Vegas, Florida, Italy, Hawaii, whatever. Want a honeymoon spot that will provide years of memories and conversation? How about acclaimed street artist Banky's Dismaland? Even a map here. Think of all the "happy" memories you'll take with you after your visit.

Happiest place on earth...isn't here

Kinder Colazione Piu

Kinder is everywhere in Italy

The Attraction:

Our recent trip to Italy netting a few treats, one of which were these breakfast sticks. I really had no idea what the story was, but there were so many of these types of pre-made pastry things, that we decided to try some. As they say, when in Rome...

The Review
I had no idea what flavor this was. One could guess chocolate based on the color of the pastry or wheat if you look at the illustration, but it was all part of the mystery and fun of it all. I unwrapped a stick and was immediately struck by the coffee scent these snacks were emitting. Coffee? Never would have guessed that. It was only today that I finally translated the words on the packaging so I can determine what Kinder is advertising the flavor as. "Colazione Piu" comes up as "Breakfast more". Umm...ok, that didn't really help. How about "lievitata naturalmente" which it says next to those stalks of wheat on the left...."naturally leavened"...I still don't think that's a flavor. I'll have to let my taste buds tell me what flavor this is.

First bite in; there was a reason there was a coffee scent, but thankfully it wasn't super strong and the lines of frosting across the top also help soften the flavor even more so. As you might have guessed by now, I'm not a fan of coffee, so coffee-flavored anything is a hard sell. The thing is, with the sweetness and spongy consistency of the cake, all parts of the greater whole seem to result in more of a tiramisu flavor than just plain coffee......and that is a good thing.

Boy, this photo is making me hungry

The Sweet:

Coffee-flavor without bonking you over the head with it. The strips of frosting complement the caffeinated taste and helps build a tiramisu-like effect. 

The Bitter:
The pastry is a tad drier than I would have preferred. A bump up of another 10% in moisture would have been about right.

If you look closely, you can see a strip of
coffee syrup in the middle

Conclusion:
Does a product based on coffee-flavor stand a chance with someone that doesn't particularly care for coffee? In this case, unfortunately, it does not. I can see how coffee lovers or someone indifferent to it could like this snack. In fairness, had I known it was this flavor, I would have selected another option that Kinder offers. Although I don't see myself missing Italy because of this snack, I can see myself dutifully polishing off the remaining sticks in the package to make space for other snacks in my pantry. When I say dutifully, I mean gladly.

Video of the Week
Recently, it's been hot here in New York, but if I had to do what this guy does to get an air conditioner at my place, I would have no AC....and one less pair of clean khakis.

"Is it installed yet? I'm dying in here!"

Lay's Gyro Flavored Chips

Cut that Zero, get with this gyro (yeero) 

The Attraction:

Prior to departing to Europe, I grabbed a bag of these at the office and munched down. It was fate as I was going to settle with some gummy bears, but saw this as I hopped in line at the front of the store. As much as I adore gummy bears, it wasn't too hard of a choice with something as new and hopefully interesting as this.

The Review
Lay's has recently launched a flavor campaign for the year that asks the common consumer to vote for their new favorite flavor. There are 4 new and interesting choices to choose from: Truffle Fries, Chicken and Biscuits, Reuben and last, but not least, Gyro flavored. This isn't anything new for Lay's as this marks the 3rd year in a row that Lay's has done such a campaign. Some say it's just a marketing ploy and I might be inclined to agree with them as seemingly the winning flavors in past years aren't readily available now, but with that understood, it's still a fun and interesting ploy nevertheless. Maybe I'm just a sucker for limited edition flavors...

I tear open the bag and I take a deep whiff. Sure enough, there is a slight smell of gyro coming out of there. I take my first bite and my taste buds and mind go racing to see if these chips can come close to recreating the flavor of a gyro. It's not until towards the end of the bite that I catch the dill flavor of the chip that is to be the proxy of the customary tzatziki sauce that any respectable gyro lover will have on their "sandwich". "Hmm, I think I missed something. I'll have a few more chips." I think to myself. Sure enough, the more chips I had, the more reminiscent it was of a gyro, but did it make me feel like I was grabbing a gyro at my favorite local Greek joint?

If I darkened this, I bet I could make
this look like pieces of gyro meat

Whoa, I got game!
(minus slacking on selecting only the chips to adjust the color)

The Sweet:

Nicely kettle-crisp chips, with the general flavor of a gyro.

The Bitter:
"General" is being kind. These chips are probably closer to "tzatziki" flavored chips.

Are those specks of dill I see?

Conclusion:
Sometimes it can be difficult to emulate any flavor of a "meat" product in something that doesn't contain meat because the feeling of eating meat is more than just the flavor itself; it's also a textural experience. Ask anyone that has tried to go vegetarian for a brief stint. Generally speaking, it's tricky to create a product that promises to deliver a meat-like experience, without the protein itself. Usually it just ends up tasting like a product that has all the seasoning you would apply to it, with a huge missing component. Unfortunately, Lay's Gyro flavored chips falls into this category.

Video Pict of the Week
In lieu of posting a video this week (cause I couldn't find anything I loved), I will post a sneak peak of some of the items I grabbed in Europe, mainly from Italy. Brace yourself for some reviews soon of these items!

"Well, maybe I'll see my abs next year"

On Vacation!

Hi, I'm on vacation scouring Europe for more snacks this week. Please check in next week for what goodies I come back with. Thanks! Paul