The Burger King Bacon Sundae

I first heard about Burger King & their new Bacon Sundae a while before it debuted. It was all over the news and social media. People freaking out, like this was the first time bacon & ice cream had been combined. Like this was some sort of wild concept that had just been birthed into existence. The slim, health conscious people who hate having fun were damning it before they even saw a picture of it. The fun, adventurous, snack lovers out there were excited for it. Then there were the people in between who simply weren't sure what to think. Then I saw the first picture of it. It was a work of art! If it wouldn't melt, I'd buy one and set it on my mantle, so I could admire it from afar. 

This thing is beautiful. 

Alas, that's not really what they look like when you get them. Behold...the Burger King Bacon Sundae, in real life. Or IRL, if you're into shortening things up. 

It looks like the deformed sibling of that first sundae...

So the Burger King Bacon Sundae is basically some vanilla soft serve, caramel, hot fudge, and...well...bacon. Lots of bacon. There are little chunks busted up all through it and one big slab lodged into the top of the sundae, like the sail of a great ship.

Irwin was very interested in this. 

My first few bites of this thing were excellent. Chunks of crispy bacon swimming in melting vanilla soft serve. A perfect sweet & salty combination if there ever was one. You have to make the decision right away on whether to eat the large piece of bacon first...or save it for last. I saved it.

So...much...sauce...

The downside to the Burger King Bacon Sundae is the sauce. The caramel & hot fudge is pretty much the second half of the cup. There are still crunchy bacon chunks floating in it, but you are literally spooning up mouthfuls of sauce with no ice cream at all. It's too much. When a guy writing for fatguyfoodblog tells you something is too much, it's TOO MUCH. Granted...for the good of this blog and all our readers, I finished the damn thing. But I won't lie, I felt sick after from slurping up all that raw sundae sauce. I felt like I was choking on it after a few bites. Perhaps you get sundaes and are never satisfied with the amount of hot fudge & caramel you get. If you're like that, this might be perfect for you.

I feel like this isn't a lost cause though. I would get it again and just ask for them to go light on the sauces. I think there's a happy medium that can be reached by customizing slightly. They do a great job making sure there are no fatty bacon chunks in it, as you can see by the pic below. All crunchy, crispy bacon!

BACON.

Burger King didn't reinvent the wheel here. Lots of places are doing things like this these days. You may remember Denny's did a while back...you can check our review here. But if you've never had a bacon sundae, there is no reason you shouldn't try this one. It's inexpensive, simple, and delicious. Bacon makes EVERYTHING better. Even ice cream. That's a rule you can live by. So pick up a Burger King Bacon Sundae today! You may want to heed my words and have them go easy on the sauce though. Just sayin'.

I give this a B-

Review by Rich.

Spicy Ketchup Lay's

Wait, what? Spicy ketchup? 

Lay's has been putting out ketchup chips in Canada for years. Why they've never bothered making them in the US (while making seemingly every other flavor imaginable including incredibly weird stuff like BLT chips at the same time) has always confused me. Well, I guess I'll take what I can get.

These are ok, but unfortunately, they just make me want ketchup lay's. How can I enjoy something when I know there's a better version of the same thing in existence? It's like watching a crappy local cover band down the street from the actual band. It's like looking at a picture on your phone of a beautiful view while the actual view is right behind you. It's like watching porn when... well, you get it. It's like sugar free ice cream or soy anything. Sure- at first it may seem like the real thing, but after a little while, the difference becomes more obvious and you're left with a lingering voice in the back of your mind saying "why don't you just eat ketchup chips instead of this BS version?"

Well, because I can't. And that makes me sad.

These taste like ketchup chips at first, and Lay's makes some solid ketchup chips. The thin chips really let the flavor blast through. At first, I was excited. But the spice suddenly hits afterward, and you're left with a slowly building burn that while neat at first (wow, spicy ketchup? that's not even a real thing!), after a little while, it just doesn't work. I even bought a huge bag to really make sure I was right. There's a reason spicy ketchup isn't real (yes, I know Heinz tried it awhile ago and it may still exist, but come on, who actually uses it?) and these chips prove why.

They're different and somewhat unique, but at the end of the day, they're just regular Lay's ketchup chips hurt by the confusing flavor of heat. I'd give them a shot for the sake of trying something new- but only buy a 99 cent bag. You'll probably end up just like me, wishing Lay's would stop hating MERCUH and let us enjoy what Canadians have been enjoying for years.

C-

Review by Mike

why can't I just have these, Lay's? Why?

Pizza Hut P'Zolos

I abandoned Pizza Hut long ago. High school was full of nothing but love for The Hut based on one of the greatest inventions of the last million years, stuffed crust pizza. But over time, the sauce changed (not sure if this is true, but I swear it's different), they skimped on toppings, and I grew up and realized how much better local pizza places were over chains. But I'm always up for a new fatvention, and Pizza Hut's P'zolos sucked me right in. So, after a failed attempt at ordering them one night (I ordered online only to be called 5 minutes later and told they were out of P'zolos), I ordered all 3 a few nights later. 

Based on the commercials and the fact that they "ran out" of something I was expecting to be cooked fresh, I kind of assumed these would just be crappy hot pockets minus the convenience of hot pockets. The picture made them look much nicer though...

and the price was nice (3 bucks each or 2 for $5), so I still went in with an open mind. 

Here's what they actually looked like, with my hand for reference (note- my sausage fingers and meat hands may be bigger than those of a lot of readers):

These weren't anything amazing, but they were better than I expected, and very far from hot pockets- mostly because of the crust, which was soft and flavorful, while being grease-glazed and a little crunchy on the outside. They were basically really good pizza dough rolled around cheese and meat. They were also pretty much the perfect size- perfect for dipping, as they easily fit in the dip cups, and perfect for a side order or lunch. Or, if you order all 3, a dinner. 

The Meat Trio tasted exactly the same as their 3 meat p'zone, but at least in my case, with less cheese. I'm pretty underwhelmed with both, as the sausage has a very cheap taste and texture and overpowers any other flavors, but I preferred this to the P'zone for softness of dough and ease in dipping. Covered in marinara, this was decent.

The Italian Steak was the worst of the three. Taking a lot at it, the steak looks marinated, but you can see how much else was in it- the standard peppers, onions, and mushrooms. This one had the most cheese which saved it a bit, but I barely tasted steak. Everything just tasted like green peppers and mushrooms which made this, tried both with marinara and ranch, pretty unappealing. If you love green peppers and mushrooms, then maybe you'd be into this, but I want to actually taste steak- and there's barely any flavor there. It's almost like the steak was marinated in mushroom and green pepper juice. 

The winner was, as I expected, the Buffalo Chicken. The chicken was plentiful and of surprising quality, there was a good amount of cheese, and it wasn't too hot but still had just enough of a kick to it. It tasted great with ranch or the buffalo I ordered on the side (it comes with ranch). The only problem with this is that it didn't have a lot of the buffalo flavor we've come to love- it was more of a toned down buffalo attempt- kind of hot with some familiar flavor, but just kind of missing something. 

But it was my favorite, and I can see myself ordering one or three of these again in the future- I ate mine VERY fast. 

The bottom line on these bad boys is that they're ok. They're nothing entirely new, but they do actually land somewhere between pizza, subs and hot pockets (as they're marketed) so they are just different enough to warrant a try if you're near a pizza hut. Don't drive too far for these, but the buffalo and meat trio would make a great side to a meal or a small meal on the road. 

Meat Trio: C

Italian Steak: D

Buffalo Chicken: B-

Better than I thought they'd be and a fairly unique addition to the Pizza Hut menu, but other than the buffalo chicken, nothing worth freaking out about. Stick to your favorite pizza place.

-Review by Mike

Girl Scout Cookie Nestle Crunch bars...Finally a candy bar stepped up their game.

I imagine a short time ago there was a meeting of minds in some Nestle board room- one of those ones where people toss out ideas on what their hottest new limited edition candy bar should be. There must have been some boring guys who got up and rattled on about doing something new with white chocolate, or something equally as mundane. I imagine the head honcho was staring out the window with a look of distaste on his face as boring idea after boring idea was thrown his way.
I'm guessing at this point, just when everyone thinks the meeting is over and nothing got accomplished, some revolutionary candy bar hero steps forward. At first, his voice is lost in the chatter of the others, but then he raises it to be heard over them. His words strike a chord with the man in charge, who suddenly silences the crowd and ushers the man forward and asks him to repeat what he said. Three simple words.
"Girl Scout Cookies."
A hushed silence falls over them all.
Followed by applause. They hoist him up on their shoulders and parade through the office.
A trio of candy gold is born.
The LIMITED EDITION GIRL SCOUT COOKIE FLAVORED NESTLE CRUNCH BARS.
Hold onto your hats, ladies and gents, because they are EXCELLENT.
First up is the THIN MINTS...

If you're like me, you're no stranger to sitting down with a sleeve of Thin Mints and then looking down a half hour later and realizing that you just ate way too many cookies. So you twist the wrapper shut and put it down on the table, only to open it back up a minute later when you decide that 4 cookies aren't worth putting away. Do yourself a favor and don't get more than one of these candy bars because the exact same thing will happen.  You'll wake from a candy coma covered in wrappers and not know what happened.

It's basically chocolate wafers with chocolate mint cream in the middle, with crispies, covered in more chocolate. It's exactly the flavor of a Thin Mint cookie, just with a different texture. It's lighter, more airy. I feel like this works in its favor, allowing flavor to move around better in your mouth. Everything about it is delicious. I couldn't say a bad thing about this candy bar if I tried.

Next up is the Peanut Butter Creme...

I figured these would be called Tagalongs, like the actual Girl Scout Cookie, but hey, I'm sure the folks at Nestle have their reasons. This thing is like a Reese's Stick on steroids. It's bigger, thicker, and more intense. It's like a Reese's stick got made fun of for being thin and weak and stuck a needle in its butt, drank protein shakes, and hit the gym for a year.

It's two giant chunks of wafers with peanut butter creme in the middle with some crispies on top. It's a simple recipe, but man is it good. If you're a peanut butter lover, like you all know I am, then you will enjoy this candy bar. It cuffs you across your smiling face with peanut butter flavor and unlike a Reese's Stick, it has those crispies on top adding a little extra texture. It's all in all a perfect peanut butter fanatic's candy bar.

Last but not certainly not least...the Caramel & Coconut...AKA SAMOA!!!!!!

Ladies & gents, this candy bar is a work of friggin' art. I'm actually finishing one as I type this and it's glorious. It's like golden light is shining down from candy bar heaven and when I look up into it, God himself is looking down at me, giving me a thumbs up.

Despite the other two being so good, this one easily wins the top spot among the three. It's wafers with coconut caramel creme, chewy caramel and toasted coconut covered in chocolate. It somehow perfectly captures the flavor of a Samoa, but I think also improves it somehow. Perhaps it seems like the chocolate here is lighter, or maybe because it's not as chewy as a real Samoa, so the caramel doesn't overtake it. It seems like every part of this candy bar works in unison to create perfection. If you're a fan of Samoa cookies or coconut in general, scoop these up. Hell, good luck, because I'll be honest with you, I'm going to be buying up every one of these that I see. I'm going to stockpile them like I'm on an episode of Doomsday Preppers.

My final words on these... they are all fantastic.
Thin Mints- A
Peanut Butter Creme- A
Caramel & Coconut- A+

Review by Rich

INTO THE DEEP: Deep River Aged Cheddar & Horseradish Chips

Sometimes you're on a roadtrip to the largest video game arcade in the world for your gf's bday, sometimes you're hungry and need to stop to get something to supercharge the upcoming gaming experience, and sometimes you find something so outstanding that you need to blog about how goddamn awesome they are.
ENTER: Deep River Snacks Aged Cheddar Horseradish kettle cooked potato chips. 

I snagged one of these bags up for $1 and was slightly weary, knowing that horseradish is a flavor that is traditionally handled very poorly by, pretty much everybody.

the disappointment when you realize the bag of chips you bought is half full :(

The smell of these tasty little crisps filled my 91 Cutlass with the greasy goodness from what you come to expect from a kettle chip.

chip dusting level:omega

Upon snacking down on one of these beautiful dusty creatures, you immediately get the aged cheddar flavor, old and musky, exactly like an aged cheese is supposed to taste. And then it hits you, the quick horseradish burn that fills your mouth with flavor fast as if Paul Walker himself was driving a suped up flavor Honda into your mouth. And just like Vin Diesel at the end of Fast 5, the burn is gone, and you're left waiting, wanting to stare once again upon his muscly visage in the form of glorious taste upon your tongue.

man, that got a little weird....

ANYWAY, buy these chips.
I'll be on the lookout for larger bags of these in my grocery store like a wild man hepped up on bath salts looking for a face to shred apart and devour.

i give these chipchops:
A

-josh

Popeye's Rip'n Chick'n

Sometimes, living in New Hampshire, we see commercials on television promoting restaurants that are nowhere near us. Normal people say to themselves, "Heck, if I'm ever on a road trip and I see one of those places, I'll be sure to stop!" But we are another breed. When we see one of these commercials we immediately consult the internet. We find out where the nearest one is and try to decide if it's worth the drive to go check it out.

Well when we were contacted by Popeye's chicken, asking if we'd be interested in reviewing their new Rip'n Chick'n, we did just that. Looked like the nearest Popeyes that wasn't a small rest-stop version was a little over an hour away, so we hopped in the Fatguyfoodblog-mobile and made it happen. 

None of us had ever had Popeyes before so we were eager to try it out. Our first impression when walking through the door was surprise at how insanely busy it was. 

and this was at 3 in the afternoon!

The staff wasn't messing around though. They were like a well oiled machine, taking orders, filling them and getting customers on their way in record time. The entire time we were there, the line was this long, a flow of people constantly through the door.

They were running a great deal for the Rip'n Chick'n. $3.99 for the chicken, fries and a buttermilk biscuit. That became the backbone of our meals. How can you pass up a deal like that? We couldn't. So we all got that and then some other things from the menu.

helluva spread right there

So what exactly is the Rip'n Chick'n?

It's a bunch of stuck together chicken fingers!

Some Rip'n Chick'n's are prettier than others. 

The Rip'n Chick'n is basically a chicken breast that is sliced into strips but still connected at the bottom. Then it is battered and fried creating something similar to a blooming onion... but chicken. It's a bundle of chicken fingers that you tear off to eat. Definitely an interesting meal. They kind of looked like deep fried crab...

or in Mike's case, an alien hand. 

HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

You rip it...then you dip it. 

The first thing I noticed after plucking a petal from this chicken flower, was that it was definitely spicy. One of the descriptions says it's marinated in 4 different peppers before being battered and fried and you could definitely taste them. But being a wimp when it comes to hot stuff, I was still able to enjoy this without it getting too hot. But don't be fooled, the Rip'n Chick'n does have a bite to it! It was a bit too much for wimpy Mike to like it, but he wasn't doing himself any favors by dipping already spicy chicken in what was a very cool dipping sauce- "blackened ranch." All in all the chicken was great, the spice was tasty and I thought the batter was great. Their array of dipping sauces worked out nicely for these too, (except for them being extra money per sauce. Good thing we charmed one of the ladies there into sneaking us a few).

The biscuits were buttery & delicious!

Looking around, it seemed like they were having another promotion...THE SUMMER OF PEACH! So I was sure to pour myself a peach iced tea, which I noticed you could purchase by the gallon jug! That's a fat guy's dream. Like that drink you just poured yourself at the fast food restaurant? BRING HOME A JUG! But the other part of the summer of peach? The Peach Pie! So I got one of those but decided that I should also get an apple one and put them in a head to head battle.

The peach was tasty and sweet. But in the end the apple pie won this bout with ease. It was covered in a pound of cinnamon sugar and every bite was delicious. 

So in the end, our adventure to Popeye's was a success. We found and reviewed the fabled Rip'n Chick'n, and introduced ourselves to a corner of the fast food universe that we had never visited before. We no longer have to wonder what Popeye's is like when we see the commercials on television. There's no longer that gap in our fat guy brains. We've filled it in with tear-away chicken fingers, cinnamon-sugar dusted apple pies, incredibly crisp and quality chicken tenders and nuggets, and Cajun fries (which were quite crisp and delicious). We have to say, if you find yourself out in the open and you spot a Popeye's and you've never had it, stop on in. Scoop up a Rip'n Chick'n, a couple of apple pies & a jug of Peach tea. You'll be glad you did.
For more information on Popeyes restaurants or the Rip'n Chick'n check out www.popeyes.com.

ICE CREAM OREO: RAINBOW SHURE, BERT COOKIES!

Sometimes I think we should change the name of Fatguyfoodblog to the GuyswhoonlyreviewnewflavorsofOreosblog. I mean, if you look at our track record, it would really fit. However it just doesn't have the same ring to it. Fatguyfoodblog is almost a household name now anyway, so we can't really change it.
But as you may have guessed, we are once again here to review a new flavor of Oreo. The flavor in question? ICE CREAM OREO: RAINBOW SHURE, BERT!

Sherbet & cookies...together! Kinda. 

So once again we find ourselves faced with a new incarnation of the Oreo. Will it be as mind blowingly good as the Birthday Cake Oreos? Will it have the same strange cream as the Berry Burst Ice Cream Oreos? Will they be too sweet like the Golden Oreo Fudge Cremes? Will one flavor take over the cookie like with the Creamsicle Oreos? Or will they dominate the cookie world like the Triple Double Neopolitan Oreos? (at Fatguyfoodblog headquarters we refer to these as TRIP/DUBZ. I'd like for all of you to do the same.)
What exactly is the deal with the Rainbow Shure, Bert Oreos?

Look at those pretty colors!

Basically they take the Golden Oreo (which I have recently deemed the superior cookie) and slap a whole lot of brightly colored, SHERBET flavored cream in the middle. Much like the Birthday Cake Oreos, the second you open this package your nose is bombarded with the scent of the cookies. However this time it's not as pleasant. It's a VERY strong sherbet smell. It's not bad, but it's just a bit strong.

Looks like Play Doh!

They taste like they smell. Very strong flavor of Sherbet. It's not one of those times where they try for a flavor and don't hit it and it just tastes like chemicals. This definitely tastes like you're eating a bowl of Rainbow Sherbet... just as a cookie. When you do the classic Oreo move where you screw off the top cookie to lick off the cream, you find that the cream is strange. It's thick like Play Doh. It literally felt like I was eating a childs modeling compound. (That's actually what they say Play Doh is on their website). Except... it tastes like too strong sherbet. When you eat the cookie together, it isn't nearly as bad, but in the end these aren't the kind of Oreo that you are able to eat more than one or two of easily.
Unless of course, you are Sherbet crazy. If you are, these will be your favorite cookie of all time.
I give these new Oreos a C+

Review by Rich.