Ben and Jerry's Limited Batch: New Belgium Salted Caramel Brown-ie Ale ice cream!

It's been a while since we've been able to get our hands on a limited batch Ben & Jerry's. So long, in fact that when I saw this one in the freezer section I plucked it out so fast that I hadn't even really registered what it was. "SALTED CARAMEL BROWNIE....Wait...BROWN-IE...ALE?" Yep. This is the latest from those insane flavor wizards in Vermont and this just might be THE weirdest flavor they have ever done. But is it good weird, or bad weird? Let's find out. Ladies and Gents, I give you, The Ben and Jerry's New Belgium Salted Caramel Brown-ie Ale ice cream! 

There's a lot going on with this label. Soak it all in. BEER ICE CREAM. 

The idea of beer flavored ice cream is not one that excited me at first. I just couldn't imagine a way that it could be good. I've never taken a sip of a beer and said to myself, "Damn, imagine if there was ice cream flavored like this?" It's just unnatural. But I guess that's what makes ol' Ben and Jerry special because they know how to think outside the box. So they teamed up with Colorado based New Belgium Brewing and created one of the weirdest ice creams ever. This has New Belgium Brown Ale ice cream with fudge brownies and salted caramel swirls. There's a lot going on here and I have to tell you...it's pretty damn good. 

Irwin was unsure about it, but in the end he wanted to taste that caramel swirl. 

 When you first taste the ice cream you really don't taste much of the beer flavor. But a few moments later it hits you as a pleasant aftertaste. Seriously, it's great. Just tasting the ice cream part, it's basically what I would imagine a beer ice cream float would be like. I know people do this, but I have not had a chance to try it so this is a foreign concept to me. Right off the bat I was sold on at least the ice cream itself. Like sweet beer you eat with a spoon! I think this was a great way to do this ice cream because I think beer lovers will enjoy the flavor, but I don't think it's so strong that if you don't enjoy the flavor of beer, you might still REALLY like it.

 The Brownie chunks are nothing special. They are those weird, fake, tiny brownie rectangles that you can find in other Ben and Jerry's ice creams.  More like little chewy blobs. But the real star of this show is the Salted Caramel Swirls. Notice that it's "Swirls", plural. Because this ice cream is LOADED with gooey liquid caramel with that noticeable salty tang. Some parts had such massive deposits of it that I had to put some back otherwise entire spoonfuls would have been just that.  Yup, this isn't one of those ice creams that hold back on the ingredients, there's a bounty of brownie chunks and salted caramel to be found in here!

FYI: That caramel goes alllll the way down. 

I gotta say, every time I doubt Ben & Jerry's, they somehow blow my mind. I would have liked to have other pictures to go along with this review, but to be honest, I was so into it that the second time I sat down with this pint I finished it off and never looked back. It's that's good! That's why I'm giving it an A! I was weirdest out at the thought of it, but it ends up being a very complex, multi flavored medley that works on every level. I bow to the greater wisdom of the Ben and Jerry's flavor wizards.

Now for those of you who ARE into beer, don't forget the flip side of this! New Belgium actually made the beer version!

This team up between the two companies was to help raise awareness of climate change among the snow sports community through an organization called Protect Our Winters. Sounds like a worthy cause and just shows how awesome both of these companies are. Trying to make the world a better place while taking our taste buds on one hell of a ride. You can bet that the second I spot New Belgium Salted Caramel Brownie Brown Ale, I'll be picking up a six pack. How could I not?

To keep an eye on what Ben & Jerry have going on, check out their: website: http://www.benjerry.com/
And for you beer fans, don't forget to visit New Belgium online: http://www.newbelgium.com/

HEY! Do you have an idea for a review? Drop us a line! Are you a company that wants us to try your stuff? Hit us up! Are you a cool guy or gal who wants to tell us how awesome we are? DO IT! You can reach us by...
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REVIEW BY RICH!

I heard you liked Treats? TryTreats.com

In the ever expanding world of box deliverables, there's so many cool things you can get sent to you on a reoccurring basis, that it's hard to decide WHO exactly to give your hard earned, factory sweat soaked money to. So when Treats contacted us and told us what they offered, the Fat Guy Food Blog excite train got an extra heaping of coal jammed into it's fires, chugged right along into Pumped Town, and came to a screeching halt into Stoked Station. 

TryTreats.com is a box deliverable site, where once a month (for a tiered subscription price) you get snacks from all around the world sent to you. Sounds pretty cool right? Global treats to your doorstep without having to find a shirt that DOESN'T have a stain on it. There's 2 different boxes right now, and luckily for us, we got the larger one!

Treats has the presentation down. A slick, classy and a welcoming box display which ushers it's excited new subscribers to enjoy the snack journey, and shows you that not only does the food matter, your experience matters.

I'm going to be honest with you. When I opened the box, I wasn't excited at all. A box filled with brightly colored Japanese rice based snacks? EEESSSSSSSSSSSSSH. Where's the Canadian and Dutch chocolates? Where's my German Euro cakes and Italian off coffee flavored weirdness? So, what I did, like any true Food Blogger would do, I pushed aside my biases, brushed away my ignorance and exposed my mouth, to another realm of snacks. Even if some of them were, of questionable flavors.

cool. Kaki no Tane, a soy flavored rice cracker.....

 

In the interest of brevity, I'm not going to be reviewing each snack in this box, but after going through this box, and seeing what it had to offer,  I do have to say, that most of the treats in this box were pretty decent. From Jagabees, a buttery flavored soy french fry chip thing, to a strawberry Caplico, which was a fake, creamy candy ice cream wax on a waffle cone, these snacks opened up my eyes to what is actually possible within the snack realm.

And isn't that what this is supposed to do? Expose us to things, broaden our minds and let us take a lesson from a different fat culture and demand something more from what we have here in the states?
I think this idea, and the exposure to these off branded items, is a smart play for the entire snack spectrum. A rising tide lifts all boats.  Although a collection of these weren't incredible, for the most part, each separate snack had something to offer.

One thing I absolutely will NEVER demand, are these:

these are absolutely disgusting and should be banned from shelf space

 WHO THE HELL WANTS SHRIMP FLAVORED CHIPS?!?!?!! NO ONE IN THE GOD DAMNED WORLD!

Treats, and you can find them over at http://trytreats.com is a cool service, and I think that if my highly ignorant snack mind can be changed from just a few different samplings of treats from a foreign snack landscape, I think peace in the middle east is right around the corner.

  I give Treats a B
Not just for this box but the excitement

of where the snack experience will take me.
Perhaps to a far off land, where I'll sample flavors
that simply cannot be obtained 

at my local gas station. 

Good Job Treats, what's next?

-Review by Josh

 

Be sure to let us know if you see something you'd like us to review! We can't read minds (well, I did once), so help us out! You can email us at fatguyfoodblog@gmail.com!
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Super Seedz Gourmet Pumpkin Seeds!

With Halloween right around the corner, I'm sure we're all starting to think about decorating the house with spider-webs and fake skeletons. Well, the ones of us that are cool at all, right? Yep, I'm already planning what kind of faces I'm going to carve into the ten pumpkins that I'll be buying for Jack o' Lanterns.  Then my mind wanders to a nice batch of baked pumpkin seeds right out of the oven covered in cinnamon and sugar. So the other day when I found a package on my doorstep filled with a delightful array of flavored pumpkin seeds, I figured I was definitely in the mood to give these a try. Yes, the good folks over at Super Seedz were nice enough to send over a bag of each flavor of their famous pumpkin seeds. Some I was excited about, others not so much, but I vowed to try each one! 

Now before some of you get your panties in a bunch, that we're reviewing something that's promoted as a healthy snack, I'm going to say this: OPEN YOUR MIND, FRIEND! I'll give anything a try once, healthy or not. Also I'm sure a lot of you enjoy a bowl of nuts? Perhaps some honey roasted cashews? Pecans? Almonds? Not much different from a handful of pumpkin seeds, right? Well I'm just here to give you my unbiased review so that's what I'm going to do. ONE FLAVOR AT A TIME! First up....

The first thing I'm going to say about these seeds is that they blow the ones I make at my house out of the water. They have no outer shell on them. That awful outer shell that gets stuck in your teeth and gums? Out of the equation. You just have the seeds and the flavor. And the these have plenty of great cinnamon sugar flavor! They are very easy to just pop in your mouth by the handful. These were great!

Sea Salt? Zzzzzzzzzzzz. I guess that's better than regular salt, right? Salt from the sea makes it sound just a bit more exotic and dangerous. But yeah, these aren't bad. The seeds themselves have a great flavor but the salt doesn't add too much.

Coco Joe are a weird medley of coffee and chocolate flavor. The flavor is definitely bold and the seeds are very coated with it, compared to the others. They aren't bad but the cocoa flavor seems very fake. The flavor reminds me a lot of Cocoa Pebbles, but mixed with coffee. I found these interesting but couldn't eat too many of them in a row.

Somewhat Spicy...it's all really in the name. Anyone who reads this blog faithfully knows I'm not a fan of really spicy things. Will I eat them on a dare when I'm with my stupid friends? Yes, and I hate every second of it. That being said, I'm more into spicy than I was in my younger days, but I still don't love it. I thought these had a slight tangy taste and then a dull burn for a little bit. Nothing too bad, just...somewhat spicy. If you're into that, you'll be into these.

Tomato Italiano reminded me of the flavor of those old Pizzaria chips, but on pumpkin seeds. Do you remember those?

I can't imagine in a million years why they stopped making them. WHO DIDN'T LIKE THOSE?! But yeah, these are pretty tasty! It definitely reminds of that pizza flavor from those old chips or maybe the Pizza Pringles? But hey, that's a good thing in my book.

Curious Curry weren't my favorite because I'm not really a curry fan. To me these taste like someone rubbed them on a bouillon cube. But this is one of those things where it's just a personal preference because I let someone try them who loves curry and he nearly ate the whole bag. So curry fans? You'll love these. Me? DID NOT.

Maple Sugar & Sea Salt were my favorite of the entire bunch. I'm not going to even beat around the bush. I'm from New England and maple syrup runs through our veins. Toss in a little exciting sea salt and you've got me sold. These burst with sweet maple flavor and I'll have you know this bad was gone in no time. Definitely a delicious snack!

Really Naked. These ones were plain. I was expecting to taste a few and then scoff at them. "WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT PLAIN FLAVORED ANYTHING?!" But you know what? These really give you a chance to taste the actual pumpkin seeds without anything else getting in the way and they aren't bad! But they aren't bad for a handful. Then after that I was reaching for one of the more tasty options.

And finally, the flavor I dreaded trying the most...SUPER SPICY! I had flashbacks of the worst experience with a hot item ever, (At a place called Bingas Wingas in Yarmouth, Maine...their 08' Fire Sauce is hell in a bottle), and I knew that these could never be close to that bad. So I filled my hand and dumped them in my mouth. These were very similar in flavor to the Somewhat spicy, but the heat was turned way up. They ended up not being too bad though. I was able to keep myself composed and didn't rush for a drink. Just nice flavorful steady burn for a bit. If you're a fan of the heat, these might be good for you, but maybe not hot enough!

Looking for something different to snack on? Give Super Seedz a try! Definitely an out of the ordinary review for us but I thought they were overall a pretty solid product and I would definitely buy up a bag of the Maple & Sea Salt again if I saw them in a store!

Be sure to check out their website for more great info on these! You can find it HERE.  They let you know all about the flavors, and if you're into it, the plentiful healthy info about these. AND if you're one of our readers who are concerned about GMO's and Food allergies, these might be your new favorite snack!

Be sure to let us know if you see something you'd like us to review! We can't read minds (YET), so help us out! You can email us at fatguyfoodblog@gmail.com!
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Review by Rich!

Goody Cole's Smokehouse! Authentic Pit BBQ

Depending on where you are in the country, the term "Smokehouse" might mean something completely different from one another. I'll leave my fellow FGFB brother living in the unshackled free state of Washington to handle those ones, but me, for now, will deal with another kind of smoke. One that makes meats taste out of this world, and makes you want to gorge yourself until you can't think straight........uhhhhh Welcome, my friends, to Goody Cole's.

 

Located in the small town of Brentwood,NH, about halfway between Manchester and Rochester, Goody Cole's Smokehouse sits annoyingly far away, but when you pull in you wonder how is this place so packed at 2 in the afternoon? You walk in, seating is an issue, so it's good to have another member of your crew be on table watch while you're in line to order. The decor is folky, complete with license plates littering the ceiling and walls.

claaaaaaaaaaaaaasssssic

They have varying degrees of simple BBQ plates, ribs, chicken, pulled pork. Nothing too fancy, just straight up BBQ. I was a tad disappointed looking at the menu, but you've got to remember what kind of place your in, and instead of fancy garnished bullshit, you get a plate full of meat, which I can respect! I decided to get a 2 meat combo, grabbing up chicken, pulled pork, which had a side of cornbread, garlic mashed potatoes, and mac n cheese.

you'll notice the sauces....more on that in a moment.

And of course, EVERYTHING about this meal was delicious. The chicken wings, which normally I scoff at and never order because, what am I an animal? Gnawing on a giant bone, licking ferociously at it trying to get every scrap of meat I can off of it? I'm a civilized human being who likes his chickens ground into a fine mush, processed through million dollar machines, the ghost spice of billions of dead chickens DNA catching on and grabbing hold to then be reassembled into a meat shaped tender, easy for dipping! But even without THAT, these chicken wings were cooked perfectly, crispy outsides, deliciousness within.

The pulled pork receives an honorable mention here, It tasted how it should, wet, thick, tender, but was missing something. Not bad, not exceptional just, good. That's where these guys step in:

idea for the next Pixar film

In the BBQ world, sauce is vital. I know there's a lot of BBQists who will bitch and complain that what matters is the meat, which, yeah, it does, but at the same time you can have quality prepared meat, but it can't jump that hurdle into greatness, without a great sauce.

The problem here was, NONE of these sauces were exceptional. I gravitated towards the vinegar BBQ sauce and mustard, but everything else, was kind of disappointing. That seems to be the story with Goody Cole's, it's solid, everything tastes great, the food, expertly prepared, but I feel that a place that has this much cred, should have blown what's left of my hair back. Fortunately, the supporting characters of this meal, knew that they had mediocrity to tend with, and decided to deliver the performance of a lifetime.

The cornbread was deliciously cakey, but wet enough to hold itself together, and delivered that rush of corn goodness into your mouth.

The mac and cheese, was what you'd expect from a BBQ joint, it had that odd cheese grittiness to it, but it had another layer of some kind of cheese (I'm yet to find out what) that smoothed it over, and turned this little guy into a key player of the meal. I'd be tempted to drive there just for this, but I'm pretty sure I'd swerve into oncoming traffic because there's no way it's making it back home.

Goody Cole's has a lot going for it. It has solid food, amazing sides, nice rustic atmosphere,

but as I was saying earlier, nothing to make it AMAZING. I think possibly

what might give the place it's long and storied rep, is the fact that they deliver that 

solid BBQ again and again. They know what

they are and do a fine job doing it, and that, I can appreciate. 

I give Goody Cole's in Brentwood, NH a

B
-Josh

As always, if you find something you'd like us to review, drop us an email about it! You can email us at fatguyfoodblog@gmail.com! Tell us about a restaurant, snack item, or new fast food junk you want us to try and if we can make it happen, we will!
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Pumpkin Spice Latte and Pecan Pie M&M's!

The fall snack season is here in full force already! Everywhere you look it's "PUMPKIN SPICE ________." I mean, beer companies start putting out their fall flavors in friggin' July these days, so I'm surprised we aren't getting all of our pumpkin flavored crap at the same time, but I'm happy we don't! By the way, if you are someone that buys and drinks pumpkin beer before it's cold outside...you and I have very differing views of the world. But to each his own! You can set up your Christmas tree in September for all I care.  Pssh. I don't care at all. You know what I care about? M&M's! So let's review some! 

Well, well, well. This season our friends over at Mars decided to try something very new for the M&M candy line. Pumpkin Spice Latte! Which, if you aren't aware, has become sort of a buzz phrase already this fall season. You can't scroll through three people in your Facebook feed without someone posting some variant of a meme talking about how "White Girls Love Pumpkin Spice Lattes." I chuckled the first time I saw it. Now, a few weeks and ten thousand views later, whenever I see it, I want to go buy a Pumpkin Spice Latte and bash it over somebodies head. But, the question at hand, here is this: Do the Pumpkin Spice Latte M&M's taste like a pumpkin spice latte?

Ehhhhhh...kinda? Here's the deal, when you eat a handful of these, you can taste pumpkin and even a coffee flavor. They got that part right. But the base of it is chocolate and that's the flavor that overpowers these like crazy. These are chocolate, and then you say, "Oh, yes, there it is. A slight pumpkin spice/coffee flavor in the background.

I will say, however, that the more of these you eat, the stronger the spice flavor gets. So later on it ends up being more chocolate with a strange spice flavor. But it never reaches the point where you're asking yourself if you've just taken a sip of an actual Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Fear not, white girls, if you absolutely need to buy these, you will be greeted with some faint pumpkin spice latte flavor, but in the end it tastes more like a MOCHA PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE. Which doesn't sound too bad, but in real life, I wasn't very impressed with these. I give them a C. Points for trying something new for the best time of the year, but maybe chocolate wasn't the best base for these. Big thanks to Sue for hooking us up with a bag of these since I could not find them anywhere!

Next up is the Pecan Pie M&M's! Ol' Green M&M is looking extra sexy on this package, and if I'm reading it right, we're supposed to believe she's a country gal. Wearing some cowboy boots, sitting on a bale of hay, with that piece of wheat between those sultry lips. If anyone knows about pecan pie, it's a country gal, right? I'm not sure if that's right at all, but that's what they want us to believe here so let's run with it. I never loved Pecan Pie growing up, but my brother makes a BAD ASS chocolate Pecan Pie so I've learned to love them now. But do these capture that familiar flavor?

You're damn right they did! Let me tell you this, I've never had an M&M smell so strongly of the flavor as these. The second I tore this bag open (and you can see that is no exaggeration), the room filled with the smell of Pecan Pie. Seriously. It's pretty intense! The color scheme of these is kinda gross, off-white, dull yellow and dark brown. I get that these are fall colors, but come on. There should be at least one shade of orange in there! But that's really the only bad thing I can say about these, because they taste awesome! They taste so much like Pecan Pie that it might weird you out a bit...

But take a moment for your brain to catch up and you'll realize, yeah it's a bit more like a chocolate pecan pie, but they pretty much nailed this flavor with ease. It's hard to deny that these taste exactly as they should.

In the end, I give these Pecan Pie M&M's a solid A. These win out because I feel like the Pecan Pie flavor is the prevalent taste and chocolate is in the background. The opposite of the Pumpkin Pie Latte M&M's. These are great and I highly recommend you fill your fall candy dish with some of these ASAP, because since they are limited edition, you know they will be gone soon!

If you're wondering where you can track these down, keep in mind that the Pumpkin Spice Latte M&M's are Target exclusive and the Pecan Pie M&M's are exclusive to Walmart. So if you want them both you're gonna have to hit two stores! BOGUS!

As always, if you find something you'd like us to review, drop us an email about it! You can email us at fatguyfoodblog@gmail.com! Tell us about a restaurant, snack item, or new fast food junk you want us to try and if we can make it happen, we will!
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