September 29, 2004
McDonald’s Chicken Selects
Buying chicken strips at a fast-food restaurant is a risky move. Some restaurants have good ones (KFC), while others are barely edible (are you reading this, Mr. Jack in the Box?). McDonalds recently introduced their new chicken strips, which they call “Chicken Selects.” They are being marketed as a “premium breast strip,” which is a pretty accurate description of them. They are good, up there with those at KFC. The chicken is moist, the breading is crunchy, and the Low Fat Honey Mustard dipping sauce is delicious (they also offer Creamy Ranch and Spicy Buffalo dipping sauces). Give them a try – it’s really not that much of a risk.
Phoood rating: 
September 25, 2004
Munchies Classic Snack Mix
I’m a big fan of snack mixes. I think there’s nothing better than kicking back on the couch with a bag of snack mix and watching Sunday afternoon football. I really like the Chex and Cheez-It snack mixes, but think I might have found my new favorite – Munchies. It’s hard to go wrong with a snack mix made from Doritos Nacho Cheese chips, Sunchips Harvest Cheddar chips, and Crunch Cheetos. It also contains Rold Gold mini pretzels. With three cheese-flavored snacks, it definitely has a strong cheese flavor. A little more variety in the flavors would have been nice. Overall, however, Munchies is delicious. It’s perfect for any time you have, well, the munchies.
Phoood rating:
September 17, 2004
Diet Rockstar Energy Cola
As I’ve said before, I’m a big fan of Rockstar Energy Drink and Rockstar Energy Cola. Yesterday, I found new Diet Rockstar Energy Cola at a local truck stop. While it is not the worst thing I’ve ever drank, I doubt I’ll ever buy one again. It has a weak cola flavor that reminded me of Diet Rite or Tab. The “energy drink” flavor is barely noticeable, which may be good or bad depending on your preference. If I didn’t know it was an energy drink, I would have thought that it was just a bad-tasting diet cola. Overall, Diet Rockstar Energy Cola is a disappointing addition to the Rockstar lineup.
Phoood rating: 
September 14, 2004
Honey Graham Life Cereal
New Honey Graham Life Cereal is one of the oddest tasting foods I have eaten in quite a while. What I find odd about it is that it doesn’t have a honey or graham flavor. At first, I thought that my taste buds were playing tricks on me. So, I ate another bowl of the cereal. And the flavor I thought I tasted was still there. It was the vague flavor of … bananas. And it wasn’t a particularly good banana flavor. I’m not sure what happened at the Life Cereal laboratory, but they sure got this one wrong. Don’t bother buying a box, I think you’ll only be disappointed.
Phoood rating:
September 10, 2004
Mixed Berry 7UP Plus
Is Mixed Berry 7UP Plus the first “healthy” soda pop? It contains fruit juice, calcium, and vitamin C. Plus, it’s made with Splenda low-calorie sweetener, so it has only 10 calories and 2 carbs per serving. If you are trying to drink something healthy that still tastes good, you’ll have to look elsewhere. The soda has a terrible, artificial berry flavor and none of the crisp, refreshing taste you would expect from 7UP. Even for a diet soda, the taste is bad. If you need more calcium and vitamin C in your diet, take a multivitamin supplement – it’ll taste better.
Phoood rating:
September 4, 2004
Mountain Dew Pitch Black
Mountain Dew Pitch Black is another attempt by soda pop makers to take an existing product and tweak it a little bit to come up with something new. Often, their attempts only create mediocre products. In this case, Mountain Dew has pulled it off. Pitch Black, which is made with black grape and other flavors, is very tasty. It has a great grape/berry flavor that is very refreshing and easy to drink. And, unlike some other new soda pops I have tried recently, the flavor is full and bold. The bottle indicates that it is a “limited edition,” which is a shame. Mountain Dew Pitch Black is good enough to permanently share the shelf with the other Mountain Dew flavors.
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