January 29, 2010
Domino’s Pizza (New and Improved)
Domino’s Pizza recently made some changes to their pizza in an effort to improve it. They call it a “pizza turnaround,” pretty much admitting that their pizza wasn’t any good before. Although they have been the butt of pizza jokes for many years, I’ve never had a problem with Domino’s Pizza. No, it wasn’t the best pizza out there, but it tasted okay and was inexpensive. To find out how their new pizza tasted, I placed an order through their web site (I absolutely love ordering pizza online!) and got a large Hand Tossed pepperoni pizza for only $5.99 carryout. I could definitely taste the difference between it and their old pizza, but I’m not ready to say that Domino’s now makes a great pizza. The biggest improvement that I tasted was in the new garlic-seasoned crust. It has a lot of flavor, but was a bit too salty. And the texture of the crust, while perhaps better than the old version, still is not that of a high-quality pizza. There was hardly any sauce on my pizza, so it was difficult to tell if it had “a melody of herbs and a red pepper kick” as claimed. The cheese tasted good, but the pepperoni slices were paper thin, making them almost flavorless. With pizza, like many other things, you get what you pay for. With few exceptions, an inexpensive pizza just isn’t going to taste as good as a more expensive one. Domino’s doesn’t make the best pizza out there, but I would buy one again because it’s an okay pizza for the money.
Phoood rating: 
January 21, 2010
Batter Blaster
I love preparing food that is quick and easy. Who wants to spend more time making something than it takes to eat it? And while it’s not hard to make pancake or waffle batter, you have to clean the bowl, clean the measuring cup, clean the mixing spoon, etc. Batter Blaster is the epitome of simple. Just hold the bottle over the griddle (or waffle iron), press the nozzle, and start cooking. It took a couple of tries for me to figure out how to make a nicely round pancake. In my case, the secret was to dispense the batter with a swirling motion. The pancakes only took a couple minutes to cook. They turned out to be on the thin side, whereas I usually prefer a thicker, fluffier pancake. But the flavor was very good. I could tell that Batter Blaster is made with quality ingredients, because the pancakes had a great flavor and a subtle sweetness. I was really hard to believe that I was eating pancakes that came from a pressurized can! If you’re the health-conscious type (but then again, why would you be reading this blog?), you’ll be glad to know that Batter Blaster is certified organic. Batter Blaster pancakes are so quick, easy, and tasty that I don’t know if I’ll ever bother using Bisquick again.
Phoood rating: 
January 15, 2010
Chef Boyardee Cheesy Burger Macaroni
One of the quickest meals you can eat is to dump a can of Chef Boyardee in a bowl, microwave for a minute, and eat. If you’re in a hurry or are just lazy, you can eat it cold out of the can. Too sophisticated to eat straight out of the can? Not me. Anyway, I spotted Chef Boyardee Cheesy Burger Macaroni on the grocery store shelf recently and picked up a can on sale for a buck. I figured that it would make a good, quick, and inexpensive lunch. I think they were going for the flavor of a cheeseburger here, but it really falls short. There’s hardly any meat in it, and not much cheese flavor. The sauce tasted really familiar – similar to SpaghettiOs (oh yeah, another of my favorites). And the macaroni was, um … well, how good can canned, inexpensive, mass-produced macaroni be? For a buck, I wasn’t too disappointed but I’m not sure if I’ll buy it again. Overall, Cheesy Burger Macaroni tastes okay, but just don’t think that it’s going to be like eating a cheeseburger.
Phoood rating:
January 12, 2010
Mountain Dew Throwback
What sets Mountain Dew Throwback apart from regular Mountain Dew is that it is not made with high-fructose corn syrup, which is prevalent in soft drinks today. Some say that soft drinks made with real sugar taste better than those made with HFCS. I’m not here to debate that issue, just to tell you that Mountain Dew Throwback tastes mighty good. It’s just like I remember it tasting as a kid, drinking it out of a pull-top can or a glass bottle. Of course, the classic Mountain Dew flavor is there. And so is the smooth, pleasant taste of real sugar. The soda is not overly sweet like some soft drinks are. Honestly, I was surprised at the moderate sweetness that it has. That, combined with a low amount of carbonation, made it very easy to drink. I drank the soda on a cold and rainy day, but it would have been perfect for a swelteringly hot July afternoon in Sacramento. A liter or two of Mountain Dew Throwback on a day like that would go down oh so smoothly.
Phoood rating: 