Soda-flavored Cotton Candy

Cotton candy used to be something of a rare treat. It was something you would get if you went to an amusement park, fair, sporting event, or some other special occasion. However, as you grow older, you realize that cotton candy is just spun sugar. You also learn that it’s pretty widely available. The pre-packaged cotton candy you can buy in stores may not be as good as the one you pay $5 for at a game, but it gets the job done. Much like movie popcorn, it’s not just the snack, but the experience itself that enhances things.

The packaging for the cotton candy

Enter this cotton candy. I have no idea what it says, but I love soda flavored things and I like cotton candy. I should clarify this, I like cotton candy when it’s at a special event or when there’s something extra in it. What made me excited about this product is that when I’ve bought cotton candy from Japanese markets, there’s always something extra. For instance, there is a grape variety that has popping candy in it, giving you a pleasant surprise, and there’s a cola variety that turns into gum after a period of time. Think about that for a second, cotton candy that turns into gum. When I bought this soda flavored candy, I had a bit of buyer’s remorse seeing as how there were only three ingredients listed on the back (sugar, coloring, artificial flavoring) which meant that there would be a slim chance of getting a surprise.

They come in packets of two

Well, the best way to describe this candy is that it’s certainly cotton candy. You could buy pre-packaged cotton candy anywhere else and it would taste about the same. The only thing that makes it different is the soda flavoring. There’s no extra pizzazz to make you think “Oh ho ho, now that’s something.” While good and acceptable, I suppose I’m just not a big enough fan of pre-packaged cotton candy to buy it again unless it came with something special inside. If you like cotton candy, then this is worth trying,

Soda flavored cotton candy: 6.5/10

Hawaiian Typhoon Popcorn

Like Terrell Owens, I love popcorn. Popcorn can be a sweet or savory snack, depending on what’s put on it. It’s the perfect snack for the movies, watching television, or for most relaxation activities. The problem with purchasing popcorn at the movies has to do with the price. Everything is overpriced at the movie theaters due to convenience, and it’s not like you can pop your own corn while you’re there.

Meet Hawaiian Typhoon Popcorn, popcorn that has a price that is even more ridiculous than movie popcorn. While a large popcorn may cost quite a bit at the movie theater, some theaters give you a free re-fill. There are no refills with this popcorn unless you buy another bag. How much would that cost? Roughly $5 - $6 per bag. Trying to purchase it online doesn’t help either as you have to pay for shipping as well. I bought this bag to see if it was worth the price of purchase.

Hawaiia Typhoon Popcorn

The first thing I noticed when I opened the bag was the smell. It definitely had a sour cream smell to it, which I assume you can get by getting some sort of popcorn flavoring powder in stores. There are bits of nori on certain pieces of popcorn, but like movie popcorn and microwavable popcorn, not every piece is going to have all the flavoring. I was kind of disappointed due to the fact that I could have probably bought several packets of microwavable popcorn and a shaker of popcorn seasoning and gotten almost the same effect for less money. It’s a good popcorn, but I’d be hard pressed to purchase another bag of $6 popcorn unless I got free re-fills with it.

Hawaiian Typhoon Popcorn: 6/10 (7 - 7.5/10 if you don’t mind the price)

Lenny & Larry's Complete Peanut Butter Cookie

I don't know much about vegan food. Rather, I don't know much about vegan pastries. I've always imagined that butter was an essential ingredient to making moist pastries. Eggs seem like they're essential in some as well. Anyway, before actually trying vegan pastries for myself, I've heard stories and read accounts about how they weren't just inferior to the "real deal", but that they were down right terrible. Because of this, I decided to try one out.

Enter Lenny & Larry's Complete Cookie. I wouldn't know where to start when trying to finding a shop that does vegan pastries (Google and Yelp come to mine...), so I decided why not 7-11. Alright, so this may not be the cream of the crop, but why not. I kept the price sticker on there because I found it to be outrageous to sell 2.29 for one cookie. Albeit, it's a rather large cookie, but for another 50 cents or $1, you could be having some Pepperidge Farms cookies or a whole pack of Oreos. I guess they wouldn't be vegan and be a "complete" cookie though. Also, the more I look at Lenny and Larry, the more terrifying they look. They're like two decapitated Gorgon heads or something.

Pretty much

A piece of the cookie

To my surprise, the cookie wasn't terrible. It was a bit dry I suppose, but the flavors were alright for a peanut butter cookie. Heck, I might go search up a bakery that sells vegan goods just to try other things out. However, again, the price was a bit outrageous (very outrageous). Overall, if this had been $1 or so less I could sort of see not being so harsh on it on the point about price, but as it is, I think you're better off getting a pack of Chips Ahoy and going to town on them.

Lenny & Larry's Complete Peanut Butter Cookie: 6/10