Crown Churroz

I'm waiting for a Spanish interpretation of Tteokbokki 

The Attraction

A Korean interpretation of a "Spanish" snack. You got to try it, no?

The Review:
I wasn't looking for a churro snack when I was walking down the snack aisle at my local Korean grocery, but there it was front and center. Mixed it with all these other snacks that offer Korean flavors, there was this snack that stood up and proclaimed, "I'm not like those other snacks. My origins are from Spain!" Based on the packaging, the manufacturer went out of their way to really drive that point across, even going as far as using Spain's national colors. How could I not review this for my legions (does more than 2 readers count as legions?) of adoring fans in sneakasnack world?

They look like a long uncut version
of  Bissli Pizza

I peel open the bag and the essence of sweet cinnamon comes drifting out of the package. The smell is familiar, but how many delicious snacks smell like sweet cinnamon? I stick my hand in and pull out a "mini churro" looking "Churroz". Visually, the makers of Churros, Crown, has done a good job of capturing it's physical likeness. I take a bite and the initial crunch tells me the first difference between this snack and the real deal; "Real churros don't crunch like this!" Churros (the real snack, not this product being reviewed) sometimes does have a crunch on the outside from being fried, but then it has a softer texture beyond that. I know its a lot to ask for from a prepackaged snack, but it's one of my favorite characteristics of a real churro.

Flavor-wise, it taste very similiar to the fried snack it tries to emulate. Actually it reminds me of a cereal here in the states, Cinnamon Toast Crunch. As I pickup a few more to snack on, it dawn on me that not only does it taste like that cereal, but it tastes like another Korean snack I've reviewed not too long ago, Haitai's Sindangdong Tteaokbokki, sans the heat and red coloring. The crunch and sweetness are very similiar. Even the shapes aren't too off either.

If only it was like a churro...more

The Sweet:
Cinnamon, sugar...even when it's bad, how bad is it really?

The Bitter:
Doesn't bring anything new to the crowded snack arena

Conclusion:
Starting with a foundation of sugar and cinnamon is a pretty strong base to start with, but it's where you take it from there that really determines how strong of an impression that snack makes, especially when you already have a proven formula like churros to model your product after. Although Crown's Churroz captures a big part of the taste of what it's like to eat the real thing, where it takes a steep dip in that experience is it's choice to go with a crunchy texture. Part of the joy for me of eating a real churro is that soft, chewy texture. It's such a big missing component for me in this snack that it makes me want the real thing more....and isn't the whole point of a snack like this is to fill that snack gap, not make you long for the genuine item more?

Video of the Week

And the best burger goes to....

Well....technically, it's not really a video. It's more of a great chart The Chicago Tribune put together rating the best burger from various burger chains around the States. It even calculates how fancy or not fancy the burger is. I know what I'm having for lunch this week.

Oreo Cinnamon Bun

 

Pinch me. I must be dreaming

The Attraction

I read about this a few weeks ago somewhere. At the time I wanted to scream and jump up and down with excitement, but I thought that might set a bad example to the people I manage. Good thing there are men's stalls in the restrooms at work. Just one or the other is enough to catch my eye. Put them together and it is a recipe for additional calories for the week.

The Review:
Oreo has been stepping up it's game recently. They've done some tinkering recently and I've been a fan (see Thins), so when I heard they were adding another flavor, specifically a Cinnamon Bun one, I was ready to plunk down my hard earned cash to try some.

Looks like a Golden Oreo

I take my prized possession home and slowly peel back the packaging. "Hey, they sorta look like Golden Oreos." I think to myself, but a gentle whiff of the opened package dispels that thought as there is a clear smell of cinnamon to these cookies. 

"Woohoo...you sexy!"

I decide to not waste another minute and pick up a cookie and attack.

It has all the characteristics of an Oreo; crunchy, crisp cookie exterior, sweet cream interior. The crispy cookie wafer is where the cookie gets its cinnamon flavor from. On it's own, it has a flavor reminiscent of a graham cracker or a graham cracker-like product. That's a great start already, but then the cream plays off that flavor and tries to mimic some of the sugar icing that is on top of a legitimate cinnamon bun. It's not as sweet, but it strikes the right balance with the cookie shells. The folks at Oreo know what they are doing.

...but boy it doesn't taste like one!

The Sweet:
Great cinnamon flavor in the cookie shells partnered nicely with the sweet cream filling. It's an Oreo!

The Bitter:
Doesn't really capture the essence of eating a cinnamon bun

Conclusion:
OK, so you won't be forsaken a trip to the mall to grab a cinnamon bun because of these Oreo Cinnamon Bun flavored cookies. They actually don't capture much of that feeling at all. Yes, they both are sweet, yes they both contain cinnamon, but that's about where the comparisons end. I understand it's a marketing move to name it this flavor (and boy did I bite!), but it works. Both from a marketing standpoint because I bought a pack and as a snack itself because it's rather tasty.

As if life wasn't complicated enough, I now have another Oreo flavor I must choose from the next time I'm at the grocery store.

Video of the Week 
I normally don't like posting videos that have some bad mojo to it, but I thought this one might make some of our readers think twice before they loose their minds should someone honk at them. After all, it's only a honk and what does a honk really mean? Nothing really, but it almost spelled disaster for this guy.

He sure showed the person taking the video who's boss

Smartfood Popcorn Cinnamon Brown Sugar

Pop it like it's hot

The Attraction:

While strolling the snack aisle on my work break, I came across this shiny, red bag of potential snack goodness. I love popcorn, cinnamon and brown sugar. Can this be too good to be true? 

The Review:
The good people at Smartfood have been making popcorn standards like White Cheddar and Movie Theater Butter for awhile now, but recently I've been seeing some flavors like this one sneaking into the mainstream, perhaps to slowly dip their toe into the off-the-beaten-path flavor pool like many other snack brands.

Upon opening the bag, the smell of cinnamon comes wafting out of the bag. That's a good start. I pickup a piece of popcorn and go in for the kill. There's that cinnamon flavor on the front end and it's accompanied nicely with the sweetness of the brown sugar, but it's not as sweet as I thought it would be. Maybe it could be a little sweeter. It is a bit reminiscent of a cinnamon based cereal. Before you conclude that bite, towards the end there is an interesting savory note. It's a subtle savory butter flavor. "What? Where did that come from?", I think to myself. Then the cinnamon after effects kick in and your mouth feels like you have cotton mouth . Why must cinnamon be so delicious, yet dry your mouth like this! Oddly enough, a few more pieces later, I didn't have that experience. Maybe some of the cinnamon shifted into one spot?

If you stare long enough, you will see the face
of your future spouse, if your spouse was made of popcorn

The Sweet:

The light fluffy popcorn isn't overly aggressive with it's sweetness.

The Bitter:
The cinnamon leaves your mouth feeling dry. The slightly buttery finish confused me.

"Who you calling a Cracker Jack?"

Conclusion:
I'm on the fence on this one. It's a well made product that you can tell some attention was paid to it in development. The buttery finish, the nice sized popcorn pieces, the measured amount of sweetness applied...it all points to care in a quality product. With that, it all boils down to flavor, snacking experience and my true test; would I actively pursue this snack to get more of it?  I regretfully say "Nay".

Video of the Week
Back in the day, I used to love riding roller coasters. Then one day I rode one and I had the worst headache after it. Since then, I've not been able to handle anything beyond the bumper cars. For those folks feeling a bit more frisky and just happen to be in Germany, I present to you a spinning car on a roller coaster!

Why not add some snakes while we are at it?

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.