REVIEW: Ben & Jerry’s Urban Bourbon

March 8, 2017April 13, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

I’m not the biggest drinker in the world but I love me some boozy ice cream. Many mainstream ice cream companies are afraid to work with alcohol, probably a little bit due to the adult social association it may carry, but also from a technical side, since hard liquor doesn’t freeze using it within ice cream takes some serious skill. Difficult execution aside, some of my all time favorite flavors meld cream and alcohol in a way that yields addictive perfection, and in the year 2017 Ben and Jerry’s are officially gunning for my heart with the release of Urban Bourbon. This brand new flavor combines a burnt caramel ice cream with almonds, fudge flakes, and a bourbon caramel swirl.

The burnt caramel base is more subdued than I expected, without any dominant sweet caramel notes or rich deep burnt flavor coming through. There’s a little bit of roasted flavor but not even a quarter of the amount as other burnt caramel bases I’ve had, like the phenomenal one from Bi-Rite. It also feels a little on the thin side for a premium scoop, with an almost watery finish that doesn’t leave a strong aftertaste. The almonds are small and integrated throughout the texture of the ice cream itself, adding a constant small chew without any almond flavor or big satisfying snap. The fudge flakes are great, big chunks of sweet dark chocolate that add good texture, but there are simply too many of them. Since they are the least unique part of this pint I want them to come in and out of the bites and they’re taking over almost every spoonful.

The biggest issue with this pint is the lack of booziness. For a flavor with bourbon in its name it’s a pretty big let down how un-boozy the overall experience of eating this ice cream is. The only element that has the bourbon is the caramel swirl and there is very little of the swirl to be found. I had a little bit towards the top and had to dig past the middle of the container to get more of the good stuff, and even then it wasn’t as bourbon-y or complex as I was expecting. A big gob of the caramel on my spoon only gave off a bit of bourbon flavor and came off more straight sweet with a slight bitter finish than booze balanced by sugar. I wish I could have had more caramel to try and critique the use of the bourbon better but it was nowhere to be found, even as I dug to the very bottom of the pint.

Overall the almonds actually hurt the flavor, taking away from the creaminess and any subtle burnt notes that should be present in a base like this. The bourbon caramel is a letdown, not only in its flavor, but in its quantity, and there is way too much chocolate to savor the little bit of liquor you might be able to salvage from digging. Interestingly, I actually get more of a roasted coffee vibe than a caramel vibe from this pint as a whole. Every time that I would start to grasp any kind of burnt quality it would immediately get washed away and blown out by the huge chocolate flakes. Maybe I’m just spoiled by great local creameries, but two of my favorite flavors, Humphry Slocombe’s Secret Breakfast and Little Giant’s Dirty South, both use the beautiful booze balance so much more convincingly that I can’t help but be very let down by Ben and Jerry’s attempt.

Rating: 5/10

REVIEW: Baskin Robbins Reese’s 3-Pointer

March 6, 2017March 5, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

Everyone has their favorite things, and for me, three of the greatest achievements of man are basketball, ice cream, and peanut butter. As beautiful as all of these elements of life are on their own it’s not too often that all of them come together. Sure, peanut butter is great in ice cream, and Reese’s will release occasional limited cups in tandem with the NBA or NCAA, but for all three of these things to combine into one is something of pure magic; and in tandem with March Madness Baskin Robbins is making my dreams a reality with their newest flavor of the month – Reese’s 3-Pointer. This made-for-Sean E scoop combines Reese’s Pieces candies, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and a Reese’s Peanut Butter and Chocolate ribbon all swimming in a sea of chocolate ice cream.

The chocolate ice cream is your standard affair – a smooth light milk chocolate that isn’t over the top sweet, bitter, or remarkably rich. It’s much more basic than the chocolate fudge base Baskin Robbins have at their disposal, and while it isn’t a bad base ice cream it’s definitely the most underwhelming aspect of this scoop.

The mix ins utilized here are a real treat for those with a love for the PB cup and the most dominant of them is the chocolate peanut butter ribbon. The ribbon has a smooth, almost flaky texture that reminds me of a soft serve cone that has been dipped in a chocolate shell with the way that it melts on the tongue. It’s a solid peanut butter-infused chocolate, and with the Reese’s spread being the second ingredient on the list it’s no surprise how powerful the flavor comes through. it does a great job of boosting up the ice cream and weaving the Reese’s profile into nearly every bite.

The Reese’s Pieces are a bit of a miss in this format; they freeze pretty hard and lose all of their signature creamy and oiliness that makes them a movie theater staple. The chunks of peanut butter cup are the best part of this flavor and pop with the nutty saltiness you know and love, working with the ribbon to really shine against the mellow chocolate base.

The coolest part about this flavor is that it is literally like eating an ice cream version of a Reese’s Peanut Butter cup. While many flavors will utilize chocolate and peanut butter (like BR’s own great Peanut Butter ‘N Chocolate) or peanut butter cups as a mix in, this one eats liked the beloved Hershey’s classic turned into a frozen scoop-able dessert and is a treat for Reese’s lovers like myself. While it’s a couple of execution points away from a full on alley oop, it’s a damn fine flavor that most people will be happy stuffing their nutritional stat sheet with.

Rating: 8/10

REVIEW: Cap’n Crunch’s Limited Edition Blueberry Pancake Crunch

March 3, 2017March 2, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

Pancakes have played a pivotal role in my culinary journey. They were the first thing I ever learned to cook when I was five years old, are the breakfast I have every Christmas morning, are my most often customized and changed entree, and the only reason why I own a plug in griddle. I even memorized the recipe from the Joy of Cooking book, which I have since adapted and incorporate blueberries whenever I can get my hands on them. Blueberries work so well in pancakes that I often wonder if they were created solely to be cooked in cake or muffin form, so I was elated to learn that the Cap’n had caught onto this perfect combo and wanted to package the flavor in cardboard form to deliver Cap’n Crunch’s Limited Edition Blueberry Pancake Crunch.

Opening the box delivers a big sugary aroma with the sharp undercurrent of maple syrup. It’s hard to explain exactly how the two smells work together, but there isn’t a specific blueberry essence as much as there is just standard breakfast cereal “sweet”. Trying the cereal dry has a satisfying sweet and slightly salty crunch, with some but not a ton of distinction between the tan and blue colored corn and oat balls. You would think that the two different colors would function similarly to the Cap’n’s crunch berries, but they taste much more like each other than they do two separate flavors. There’s a touch more maple in the tan balls and a hint more berry sweetness in the blue ones, but still no dominant blueberry flavor, especially when compared to a cereal like Tiny Toast.

Adding in some milk really drives the maple smell to the foreground and I’m excited. The moisture from the milk helps bring the flavor together and definitely reminds me of a maple-y pancake, although not one studded with my favorite baking berry. As the blue cereal balls towards the bottom get more soaked in milk they give off more blueberry vibes and I’m starting to see the full flavor be revealed before me. Interestingly, as I sit contemplating over my empty bowl the flavor that lingers in my mouth IS blueberry, which is pleasant, but a bit of a surprise considering it didn’t play too big of a role during most of the chomping. The leftover milk has absorbed a good amount of the maple flavor and tastes like cold creamy syrup, definite A+ cereal milk satisfaction.

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I’m not going to be unreasonable, but it’s worth noting that none of the other nuances you would expect from pancakes like butter, eggy-ness, or buttermilk can be found here; but there is a golden sheen from the maple that will remind you of the classic griddle cake. Is it as delicious as a piping hot short stack bursting with berries and drowning in syrup? No, of course not, but it is a maple-forward cereal with some berry boost and a satisfying sugar snap that is right up there with Peanut Butter Crunch as some of the Cap’n’s finest work.

Rating: 8.5/10

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REVIEW: Entenmann’s Little Bites Party Cakes

March 1, 2017February 26, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

Who doesn’t love a good birthday party? Better yet who doesn’t love a good birthday cake? Even BETTER yet who doesn’t love BABIES? If you aren’t evil and agree with all of those statements, then there may be a new junk food staple you can add to your forbidden cabinet of goodies. Welcome to your next sweet tooth get together, the baby-sized Entenmann’s Little Bites Party Cakes. The fun-sized cakes come in pouches of four poppable muffin-shaped cakes and can be found in the fiesta aisle near you.

The cakes themselves are small and moist with an oily sheen that should be familiar to anyone who has ever had any snack cake made by Entenmann’s, Hostess, or Little Debbie. The “party cake” tag is essentially Funfetti, or, a lightly flavored vanilla cake decked out with sprinkles and extra sweetness. The aroma is pure white cake, with that store bought or boxed mix swagger that harkens back to all of my birthday parties from ages three through twelve. They taste just like an unfrosted cupcake, or non-fruity muffin, with a buttery undertone that balances out the sugar for a pretty pleasant experience.

Texturally there’s not much going on here. The sprinkles have fully dissolved in the baking process and don’t add any crunch or grit for an entirely smooth single noted experience. They’re soft and moist with a gentle chew that would make it easy to pop about fifteen of them without blinking an eye.

I can’t help but feel that although they are good, the absence of frosting or any type of crunch leaves some room for improvement. This isn’t the worst of things, seeing as frosting, peanut butter, Nutella, and any other type of spread you may have lying around could easily create four different mini cupcakes with a nice, vanilla cake base. There is absolutely nothing offensive about these cakes, nor is there anything particularly mind blowing. They’re a tasty, well executed version of one of the most beloved and whimsical types of cake you can find at roller rinks, bowling alley’s, and mini golf courses on a ten year old’s big day all across our fine country.

Rating: 7.5/10

REVIEW: Señor Sisig Tacos (Pork and Chicken)

February 27, 2017February 26, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

The Bay Area has a very rich food truck scene. Largely thanks to organized events like Off the Grid and Moveable Feast, trucks that could easily go overlooked have a place to meet and mingle and show off their culinary expertise on wheels. One of the best trucks I’ve come across in exploring these options is Filipino-Mexican fusion experts Señor Sisig, whose expertly marinated meats and thoughtful ingredients earn their multiple trucks hour long lines wherever they go. While they’re largely heralded for their expertly stuffed regular and California burritos, this time I opted to try my favorite way for consuming traditional Mexican food – the street taco.

Sisig is an aggressively seasoned Filipino dish that is usually made with the leftover or less desirable parts of the animal, like the head and liver, using the cuts of meat as a generic backdrop for a spicy and sweet marinade lead by chili peppers and calamansi (a tart citrus related to the kumquat). Señor Sisig take the premise of the base seasoning and apply it to higher quality meat, like pork shoulder, chicken thigh, and for the vegetarians out there, tofu.

The Señor Sisig taco combines your choice of protein with a corn tortilla, onions, jalapeños, iceberg lettuce, and their signature cilantro cream sauce. The pork taco is salty and sweet, with succulent slightly fatty pieces of shoulder that explode with robust flavor against the the spicy crispness of the jalapeños and onions. There’s a beautiful char on the outside of the pork that feels fresh and slightly crunchy like the meat went straight from the grill onto the tortilla and into my mouth.

Eating this taco is very reminiscent of the most perfect al pastor, with its balance of sweet and heat being one of the most delicious things you could ever put inside of a tortilla. The cilantro cream sauce reminds me a lot of Mexican crema – thinner and more runny than standard sour cream with a slight cilantro and limey kick that offsets and mellows the spice running throughout.

The chicken is a little bit leaner and sweeter, with a salty presence and significantly less heat; although you still get a good burst of spice from the ample diced jalapeño on top. There is less char on the outside of the meat and the sweet/sour notes really sing on the firmer thigh meat. While the pork taco didn’t need any modification at all, this one gets taken to new heights with the addition of the provided Sriracha sauce. The heat and garlic that the sauce adds to the flavor makes up for the lack of depth that comes with the lower fat content and is deliciously spicy in a way that you never want to end.

Ratings:
Sisig Pork Taco: 10/10
Sisig Chicken Taco: 8.5/10

REVIEW: Hershey’s Carrot Cake Kisses

February 24, 2017February 23, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

When I was a wee boy learning my way around the kitchen I asked my mom what kind of cake she would like for her birthday. She thought about it briefly and quickly responded “carrot cake, but no raisins, and no nuts, and extra frosting”. Okay. The next week I succeeded in making a 100% from scratch two tiered raisin-and-nut-less carrot cake with ample decadent cream cheese frosting. I always liked carrot cake, but after that little culinary accomplishment it always held a special place in my heart. Luckily for me, spring time has arrived (in the candy aisle), and the common theme these days is that the Easter Bunny loves carrot cake because bunnies love carrots. Even luckier for me, I can throw my fork away now, because Hershey’s have blessed us with Carrot Cake Kisses so we can spice-pop all season long.

The kisses have some of the truest cream cheese flavor I’ve ever experienced in a candy, and I’m blown away by how restrained the sweetness is. There’s that signature cream cheese tang rounded out by a confectioners sugar sparkle, but the sugar lingers at the back behind rich deep creamy flavor and texture. The white inside has a soft give to it that is unmistakably cream cheese, and the spice-play only comes into the equation when the frosting has had its full say. Finishing the flavor is a soft combination of cinnamon and nutmeg that puts the perfect taste-tail on the cream cheese and brings the carrot cake profile full circle.

Eating one of these kisses is like taking a glorious forkful from the edge piece of a carrot cake slice and diving into a perfectly sweetened frosting-dominated abyss that ends with just the right amount of crumbly spiced moist cake lingering in your mouth. The taste manipulation here is pretty incredible, as the best parts of eating carrot cake have been transformed into a tiny bite sized 25 calorie piece of white chocolate. The flavor overall is deep, with a whipped frosting feeling and texture that is much different than the other often hyper-sweet White Kisses, like the Cookies and Cream or Birthday Cupcake.

It’s safe to say that I think these Kisses would make my mother proud. There are no nuts or raisins to be found, and the most dominant flavor is cream cheese, aka, “extra frosting”. They’re smooth and creamy and perfectly balanced in a way that is hard to achieve in such a small piece of chocolate. Easily one of the best seasonal Kisses I’ve had and if you do anything other than hate carrot cake you’ve gotta pick these up.

Rating: 9/10

REVIEW: Nuts ‘N More Chocolate Maple Pretzel

February 23, 2017February 22, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

In my life peanut butter is a food group. Whether it be smooth or crunchy, salted or unsalted, plain or flavored – peanut butter has a luxuriously addictive and delicious texture that I go to town on with just a spoon and a jar on a regular basis. There comes a point in every PB-addicts life when reducing some of the fat and increasing the amount of protein simply makes sense, and it is with that mentality that brands like Nuts ’N More flourish – off of nut butter fiends seeking ways to justify their addiction. At the end of last year I ordered one of the company’s newest flavors – Chocolate Maple Pretzel – and hoarded it until the moment was just right. Well friends, the moment is now, and it feels (and hopefully tastes) oh so sweet.

I guess it should come as no surprise that a product that combines three of my favorite flavors into one (put cinnamon in there and I might die) is tasty, but this nutty spread exceeded even my own expectations. The aroma is spot on chocolate covered pretzel, with that salty sweetness accented by cocoa and rounded out beautifully by maple and yeast. It’s like dunking your head into a bag of chocolate covered pretzels with just a drizzle of maple syrup on top, and it is divine. The other Nuts ’N More spreads I’ve had have a kind of protein-y almost artificial peanut butter smell to them, and this one has none of that, which is really appealing.

The flavor of this stuff is absolutely through the roof. The peanut butter base has been perfectly integrated with chocolate chips that blended themselves into a smooth brown color as I mixed. There are big chunks of actual pretzel that crunch and pop with salty explosions that set off the chocolate and peanut butter to brilliant new heights. The use of real, gluten free pretzels is executed flawlessly, as they’ve maintained their texture and add a different kind of depth to this butter than any other I’ve had before, and they didn’t skimp on them either. Maple is the least dominant of the flavors but it’s definitely present and its role is cherished, adding a little extra sweetness that enhances the bready flavor of the pretzels; and a little kiss of that Sunday morning magic that comes along with anything that registers “syrup” in my brain.

Check out the pretzel sticks in there – my GOODNESS!

What’s most impressive about eating this spread is if I didn’t tell you there was some extra protein punch from whey you would have no idea because there is no fake flavor or grainy texture to be found. The chocolate and maple do a tremendous job of masking any unpleasant or artificial notes that can come through in low sugar high protein products and the flavor is not only convincing but deliciously addictive for any flavored peanut butter. It is without a doubt the best Nuts ’N More release I have tried and is up there with D’s Natural’s best Fluffbutter flavors in battling for the protein butter title. This jar literally lasted me three days – I simply could not stop eating it. It’s salty, it’s sweet, and dare I say I think it might be perfect.

Rating: 10/10

Quick Nutrition:
2 TBS – 182 Cals – 11g Fat – 9g Carbs – 2g Fiber – 2g Sugar 11g Protein – 138mg Sodium

REVIEW: Hostess Limited Edition Sno Balls Ice Cream

February 22, 2017April 13, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

I’ve always loved Sno Balls. Starting at a very young age I held it down for team coconut, and those squishy mounds of jiggly marshmallow and cream-filled chocolate cake always got my chubby heart fluttering with joy. Hell, I even like those red raspberry coconut Zingers that everyone else on earth seems to hate. Needless to say, if there’s anything that could make Sno Balls better (aside from seasonal coloring, of course), it would be returning them to the icy tundra from which they came and immersing them in a vat of frozen creamy dairy. Hostess and Nestle have once again combined forces to make all of our dreams come true with Sno Balls ice cream, which combines a marshmallow flavored ice cream with chocolate cake pieces and a whipped coconut swirl. Are you dead yet? Let’s eat.

The ice cream is smooth and fluffy with a wonderfully decadent and addictive marshmallow texture that more closely mimics the ‘mallow than anything I’ve had not straight out of a Jet Puffed package. There’s that undercurrent of sweet round vanilla that every so often crosses paths with a slightly gritty pink coconut swirl that is spot on the outside of Sno Balls. It reminds me so much of eating the Hostess classic that I can almost feel the distinct squish of biting into one right out of the shiny cellophane. Even though there isn’t tons of the swirl, I like how much they put in there because the coconut intensity weaves in and out of bites without becoming too dominant or taking over the entire profile.

The cake pieces are dark with a brownie-like density and a distinctly deep cocoa flavor that stands out strong against the mellow marshmallow backdrop. It’s not the highest quality mix in, but once again it stays true to the feeling and flavor of the treat that it aims to emulate. Much like the Twinkies ice cream, the pieces are on the smaller side but there’s enough sprinkled throughout that chocolate keeps a constant presence and contributes greatly to the overall flavor.

This ice cream does a tremendous job of putting a cold and melty twist on eating Sno Balls. The marriage of marshmallow, coconut, and chocolate cake works really well as an ice cream that transcends the novelty appeal into something that is legitimately enjoyable and wouldn’t seem out of place at all in a higher end scoop shop. The airier, lower milk fat type of base that Dreyers uses works much better than a denser more premium ice cream for bringing home that true marshmallow texture that the Sno Balls experience needs. Eat this and be happy.

Rating: 8.5/10

REVIEW: Chobani Flip Carrot Cake Creation

February 19, 2017February 21, 2017 / seansskillet / 3 Comments

Chobani aren’t my favorite yogurt company (shoutout Fage, Yoplait, and Danon), but they definitely deserve credit for being creative and pushing the Greek yogurt trend into new directions on the regular. Their latest line of “flip” creations includes Carrot Cake, which combines sweet carrot low fat yogurt with cinnamon glazed cake pieces, walnuts, and creamy white chocolate chunks; which will hopefully taste like a melted piece of the classic spring time spice treat packed with protein.

The combination of the natural tang from the Greek yogurt and the white chocolate chunks definitely reminds me of cream cheese frosting, and more convincingly nails the cake icing aspect in a non-cake product than most I’ve had. The cake notes are driven into hyper speed with the cinnamon glazed cake pieces which give lots of sweetness and a little crunch that once again give my taste buds those real deal cake vibes, despite not having a huge amount of cinnamon pop. There aren’t a tremendous amount of walnuts, so while there’s a little bit of nutty crunch there wasn’t much walnut flavor that came through the more dominant tart and sweet yogurt.

The two biggest issues with this flip are the lack of spice and lack of carrot, which are two pretty big ones if you’re trying to make me think I’m eating the Easter bunny’s favorite cake. The sweet carrot yogurt is much more sweet than it is carrot, which I could let slide, but there also isn’t a tremendous amount of spicy kick either. In actual carrot cake the carrots serve as a sweet mellow backdrop to some aggressive spices and there’s no spicy aggression to be found. Don’t get me wrong, there is some cinnamon here, but the cinna-demon deep within me is left unsatisfied. There’s more of a sweet, almost citrusy flavor that hovers over a mellow cinnamon, so the overall experience of carrot cake doesn’t really register. It’s not a bad flavor but it also doesn’t warrant a repeat purchase, and I remain relatively underwhelmed by the Chobani Flip series.

Rating: 6.5/10

REVIEW: The Halal Guys Chicken and Gyro Platter

February 17, 2017February 21, 2017 / seansskillet / Leave a comment

Fast casual dining has been on a tear the last couple of years. After the huge success of places like Chipotle and Five Guys, Poke Bowl spots have begun popping up everywhere, and now, The Halal Guys are going national. The Halal Guys started as a “street meat” hot dog cart in New York in 1990 and have recently been bought out by Fransmart to franchise, with over 200 locations in development, opening up their second Bay Area location at the end of January.

Their Halal platter combines chicken and gyro meat on top of seasoned rice with lettuce, tomatoes, and pita, to build your own flavor-filled destiny bite after bite. I got the small size, which costs $8.99, and is a pretty decent portion with plenty of protein and carbs to boot.

The chicken on its own is a bit dry and bland, not bad, but nothing too remarkable either. It’s chopped and shredded into bite sized pieces so it can be easily mixed with the other components in the bowl, which is good because it needs a little help. On the flip side, the gyro meat is moist and salty with Mediterranean seasoning that embraces garlic, cumin, and rosemary. The beef is delicious and robust with its use of earthy spices and aggressive salt shine.

The orange rice is a little hard, almost like al dente pasta, with a slight oil slick and only a hint of additional spice, but no spiciness. The pita is standard and tastes fresh; it is soft and fluffy with a doughy chew that serves as a good foundation for your personalized Halal-chomp.

What The Halal Guys are most heralded for (according to internet hype) is their White Sauce, which is essentially seasoned mayonnaise, or, ranch dressing without the dill. It’s a purely decadent slathering of fat that helps aid in the moisture and flavor of the chicken, and is a solid combo with the poultry, but ultimately felt almost too rich for this type of food, which I associate more with a yogurt-based tzatziki sauce. It’s got a slight lemony tang and beyond that just tastes kind of “white” – like a blanket of mayo snow on a town made of chicken.

The element of this experience that surprised me the most was the Halal Guys hot sauce – it is HOT! It might be the spiciest sauce I’ve ever received in packet form from a restaurant and there is no better time to use the phrase “a dab will do ya” than when applying this stuff to your food. The sauce is thick and deep red with an immediate heat that coats your tongue and makes its way to the back of the throat. I’m not sure which peppers they conjured from hell to whip this stuff together since the label just lists “spices”, but they did a very convincing job of channeling fire into a “to go” form. Apparently in the original days of the New York food cart the people preparing the food would layer the two sauces on top of the platter, and if you’re going to use any decent amount of this hot sauce with your meat, the white sauce is definitely necessary to provide a cooling backdrop to the heat.

Overall my initial impression of The Halal Guys is that it is good, but not great. Anytime a highly anticipated chain, small or otherwise, makes it to an area with such an elaborately rich food culture like San Francisco’s, it’s hard to convince me that the new guy is really needed. While I would go back if the right scenario presented itself, I certainly wouldn’t put the food above the local chain Oasis Grill, or a fantastic one off spot like the Mission’s Old Jerusalem.

Rating: 7/10

Sean's Skillet

ice cream, snack reviews, and bay area eats