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.