Taste Test - B'More Organic Skyr Smoothie

The protein packed 'dairy' snacks and beverages segment is highly competitive and growing. Regular yogurt isn't good enough these days and as companies search for the next new thing, we are introduced to new products and types of 'snacks' and beverages. Today I have a local company B'More Organic which has a line of Skyr beverages for consumption.


Now Skyr is a type of Scandinavian style yogurt that is supposed to be like Greek Style yogurt only with the northern European twist I guess. So if you're a fan of the Greek stuff- I'm not, you will probably have a better experience with this than I did.


The color is of course natural so it isn't vibrant and 'pleasing' as it may be but it does look ti be natural. The taste is definitely tangy and the strawberry flavor is natural and present. You can tell there aren't any added sugars or any of the things yoplait or some of the other yogurt/smoothie makers use to make things more palatable to the mass market. It goes down pretty smooth and it isn't bad, but it doesn't fit the flavor profile that I find enjoyable. I don't like the tang and it exists. If that's your thing I think you will be able to enjoy this and I havent't seen Greek yogurt smoothies in the market. Also, if this process to make is less destructive than the Greek yogurt, it might be worth it to make this at least an occasional change of pace item in your repetoire.

Rating: 3/5 (from a non-Greek yogurt fan)

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Taste Test- Thums Up

My uncle has to travel for work and this visit he brought back some items for us to try. First was some of the Oreos that they have over in India. So my family and I tried both strawberry creme and orange creme. These cookies on the outside seem like they would be the same but once you open the pack (it says Cadbury on the outside and not Nabisco) the cookies all seem to be slightly thinner and have less cream in them.

Both varieties have a strong scent of flavoring to them and strong coloring. The taste of the strawberry isn't bad, very strong but yet artificial. The orange, while initially a little off-putting is actually not bad. The wafer cookies are a little crispy and more difficult to bite on. The flavor is different, not quite as robust in my opinion but they aren't bad. I prefer the domestic versions better.


Now Thums Up soda was the big thing to try once I got it. It's a Coca-Cola product that comes in a blue can with a red logo. Remind you of anything? To me the taste is sort of between that of a Coke and their chief rival. Sort of like "New Coke" slightly sweeter and not quite as heavy as our sodas here. The caffeine content seems to be strong though or maybe it was my mind playing tricks on me because I felt like it was more of an effect on me in the evening.  Overall this was interesting to taste common products from another place.

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Taste Test- Betty Crocker Krispy Kreme Cake Mix

So this was something that you don't see everyday and it immediately caught my eye. Spring and the Easter time frame is always a period where you can find some brand new baked goods and ideas from companies. This has to be one of them and I couldn't believe it.

I can tell you the fear that I had of this cake mix was that it would just be a plain yellow cake with some special icing on it, or even worse, not very special icing. Happily, I was wrong. Even when you are mixing this cake together you can smell the batter and it is different. While baking it comes out even more and it was a great surprise and feeling knowing that there was effort put into this mix.

The icing itself is also unique but I'm not sure it really tastes like a Krispy Kreme doughnut. When applied to the top of the cake and eaten though it is a nice unique taste. It is truly a cross between what a normal Krispy Kreme tastes like and a cake doughnut, because this is literally a cake. It's very good but I don't think I would enjoy this on a regular basis but as a special item it would be great. Even better that as a bundt cake like I made, would be cup cakes.

Rating: 4.5/5

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Taste Test - Cape Cod Smoked Gouda Chips

I'm back with a brand new snack to discuss. Smoked Gouda is one of the newest hot flavor trends this year. There is a good reason, it combines a lot of the things we love in snacks, smokey flavor and cheesiness. Cape Cod is a Snyders of Hanover brand and these are Kettle chips.

Now One thing about Kettle chips is that they can be inconsistent. I think that is supposed to be part of their appeal but at times to me it can be very annoying when it's too many of them folded over where I don't get a quick and crisp crunch and I find these Cape Cod chips have that issue. They aren't too bad but I would prefer them to be closer to the Harris Teeter brand in cut and cook style.

Flavor wise, these are on point. They have a good balance and it isn't just a miniscule dusting like Lay's chips often have. The amount of powder can leave a little bit of dust on your hands but I enjoy that. To me it lets me feel like I was actually eating something with substance. Overall these are a nice flavor that will probably end up in regular rotation before long.

Rating: 4/5

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Restaurant Review - Smoke Barbecue

A few weeks back I was in Timonium,MD and decided to Yelp something good to eat nearby. Snoke came up and I am a fan of barbecue so I decided to make the trip there and grab a bite to eat. The reviews were all pretty good so I figured it should be a decently safe bet.

First off I decided to order the half chicken with macaroni and cheese and baked beans, all of which are staples of the barbecue restaurant. The main dish, the chicken got rave reviews online but left me sorely disappointed. The breast area was extremely dry and the rub was bland and lacked salt. It really wasn't any good flavors with the chicken nor was there a large amount of smoky flavor. They also have home made barbecue sauces, but the sauces aren't on point. One was way too sweet and the other, a pineapple-jalapeno style kind of gets by on theory. There were chunks of both but they never seemed to have been put together and smoothed out to make a good sauce. It seems to be more for show than effectiveness.

The sides were another disappointment. I get that mac and cheese can be costly and that some ingredients might be cut back for cost, but this mac and cheese was almost all roux. I could taste the flower and once again it lacked salt. The idea of topping it with barbecue chips was a good one, but it didn't add anything at all. The beans were made with the too sweet barbecue sauce and weren't balanced.


I don't know what the good reviews for this restaurant were about. I get that they are known for bacon wrapped dates but one thing can't make a place be a success and Smoke seems to be more form over function. It looks cool and seems cool but the execution was severely lacking. You must use salt to make food, period. It's important and there was no flavor profiles to the food. Salt helps sweetness stand out when you want it. This just left me feeling so down afterward because I was really hungry.


Rating: 1/5

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Taste Test- Skippy PG Bites

I'll say this people either love peanut butter or they are allergic to it. Or at least that's what it seems. As the health food craze continues, I shouldn't call it a craze actually, it' a movement towards better eating and it's legit. Peanut Butter is a food item that can have a lot of positive benefits and sometimes represent something of a treat. So along with Jif, Skippy is working hard to establish new items in their portfolio.


Skippy P.B. Bites are items that can be used as a quick snack after school and for lunches. Small poppable bites they come in two flavors, double peanut butter and peanut butter pretzel. in my household we tried the latter and they are pretty decent. You have to like peanut butter for sure because the outer portion is a peanut butter shell with a core of pretzel which makes the outside part palatable when you bite into it. the peanut butter is still overwhelming so the double peanut butter I think would be too much for my tastes.

Now while I thought it was alright, my son enjoyed these immensely, taking the entire cup for himself and snacking on it over several days. If you are looking for something that you can have around for the kids when they get out of school and before athletic games this is a great little snack to keep around. They have a little bit of protein as well to help stave off hunger.


Rating: 3/5

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Restaurant Review- Corner Bakery Cafe

Today I had the pleasure of stopping at the corner bakery cafe, which is a chain similar to panera bread in some ways in that they sell baked items, sandwiches, salads and soups. They also offer pancakes and full style breakfast not just oatmeal and sandwiches. There is a nice counter which has the pastries, cookies and cakes that they sell.

I ordered a Turkey sandwich with havarti cheese on a pretzel roll with a spicy mustard/mayo. I did not get the onions or tomatoes that normally come with the sandwich but I do feel like there should have been something green at least offered. Some sort of lettuce or crunchy green would have been welcome, although I love Havarti Cheese which was on the sandwich. The pretzel roll itslef was nice and soft, could have been slightly more "pretzel-ish" but it was still good.

I also decided to indulge in several desserts, lemon hand pie, mini chocolate bundt cake, and a chocolate whoopie pie. The mini bundt cake itself is very chocolatey and moist. The frosting on top was a bit much but it isn't a bad topping at all. It's almost as good as the chocolate cake that I make at home. The whoopie pie has the same good chocoalte cake around a creamy icing that at first glance I didn't think I would like but turned out to be better than my expectations. It also has more flavor in it than most whoopie pies that are just sugary.

Finishing up is the lemon hand pies which I feel like not many people are the most fond of. Me I enjoy Lemon pie a bit so I had to give these a try. The crust is fine, it could be a little more flavorful but it isn't bad at all. The powdered sugar works well with the lemon pie as well and it isn't too sweet or bitter so this was another win.

The service there was a bit slow at first however. There was a long line and I'm not sure if it was some of the customers with overly complicated orders or the staff. Once I did put in my order it was very quick for my order to get completed and given to me. The food is at least a four but the time spent waiting in line dropped it down a notch.

Rating: 4/5

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Taste Test- Jif Hazelnut Oreo Spread

Jif is one of the most aggressive brands right now when it comes to expansion into other areas with their product lines. They have individual cups, cookies and cookie bars. They also have extended into the area where Nutella has been making their money, the Hazelnut spread category.

This Jif spread is for snack, desserts, and cooking. A ribbon of  cream with broken up chocolatecookie pieces runs between the chocolate Hazelnut spread. Taste wise, it's sweet, and chocolatey but the cookies and cream ribbon doesn't add much to the flavor or change things because the Hazelnut chocolate is so strong. It looks cool in the jar but doesn't do much for me. It's not bad but it isn't something that is revolutionary either.


Rating: 3/5

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Restaurant Review- MOD Pizza

So there is yet another new spot in the local area for on demand Artisan pizzas and it was one I was looking forward to seeing once this trend really began to flesh itself out. MOD pizza. One of the things I have been watching closely was the proximity of these chains to one another and it seems that there is little overlap for most of them but it is starting to make me think of the numerous sub shops that exist locally. But hey, I'm willing to continue giving these places a try as they pop up.

First up, there is a menu which is pretty good and does have a lot of signature selections with a top ten of pie flavors that they offer. The design is more of the rustic reclaimed wood and dark hard grays, blacks and silver. The chairs all look like they were left over from Shake Shack. Mod does offer one major thing that most pizza places don't offer, milkshakes. The layout also has a much better setup for the pizza turner who uses a small metal paddle for the 11 inch pizzas and not a massive one which is blocked by the counter at some of the other places. In many of them I think they put more of a premium on the customer seeing the pizza than they need to.

I ordered a "Mad Dog" pizza which is the classic red sauce, meatballs, sausage and pepperoni. I opted to not get the sausage because I'm not a big fan of sausage honestly. I also ordered cinnamon strips and dipping sauce. The pizza itself is pretty good, the meatballs went a little heavy but maybe thats because the location is new and they were alright but i wasn't blown away by their taste. The sauce is pretty good but it does have a little bit of a spice to it. The pepperoni's were perfect. Aged well with a good spice to them and the cheese blend was fresh and top notch. At the end of the day, the crust of course tells the tale and the MOD crust is pretty good. I still think that bagby pizza is a little better but that's a local place which you're not going to catch everywhere. It bubbled up nicely and had a good crunch and didn't completely fall apart as I ate it.

The dessert I purchased, the cinnamon strips was a 5 inch pizza crust with butter and cinnamon on it, Simple right. The strips themselves could have been put into the oven a tad bit longer to get some more crispness- that would have made it perfect. However, this was all before I tasted the syrup/sauce of creamy cinnamon sugar goodness that was extra delicious. That dipping sauce is a highlight and it might be worth a visit on it's own I enjoyed it so much.


Taken altogether the pizza was excellent as was the dessert which definitely puts the entire experience up a couple of notches. This particular location is pretty new outside of the Columbia Mall which probably affected the staff and their relative inexperience with some aspects of the menu. However as they get some more practice, things should get better.




Rating:4.5/5

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Taste Test - Einstein Bros. Bagels - French Toast Sandwich

Trying to be different and avoid Mcdonald's led me to take a skip off of the beaten path and try out the Einstein Bros Bagel Company this past week. They have a few new intriguing items on their menu which include the vast array of fall Pumpkin flavors and the French Toast Bagel Sandwich which I had to try.

This sandwich is made up of a French Toast Bagel, an egg circle, bacon, and a Maple Cream Cheese beschamel sauce as well as cheese. It reminds me a lot of a Pancake Lasagna that I make on occasion. The bagel itself was excellent, chewy on the inside, not too crunchy or hard on the outside. The Bacon could have been slightly more crispy, I know they all use the prepackaged kind but some places get it more right than others, this could have been a little better. The Egg was fluffy, but a little weird, I think it's because the texture is more like regular scrambled eggs but it was patty formed. The star that makes it stand out is Maple cream cheese sauce which is a good mix of the flavors, it's not more than one or the other flavors and it works really good to balance out the entire sandwich.

Einstein Brothers Bagels are pretty hard to find for a lot of people but if you happen past one and you like french toast I'd suggest you give this a try. The one thing I don't recommend is their coffee but if you have to have it then go for it. The sandwich though is a worthwhile taste.


Rating: 4/5

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Restaurant Review- Moe's SouthWest Grill

In the search for a good lunch spot, I ventured into the Moe's Southwest Grill at the Laurel Town Center recently instead of Panera Bread. Tex-Mex was once the hottest things but the growth has slowed down a bit. I have heard of this particular restaurant before but this was my first chance to really go to one.

Now the menu is a little weird to me, I mean it's not small or limited more than other places but nothing seemed to really pop out saying buy me. Maybe it's the way the board and colors are set up but it didn't sell me the way some places do. So it's obvious they are ready to promote the nachos and queso, because i was asked several times about it. I ordered the fish tacos and i must say I was underwhelmed.


The Fish was fine, could have used some more flavor but it wasn't too bad. The taco shells were supposed to be soft but they were heated too much and ended up being crispy soft tacos which I didn't care for. The fish was also topped with cole slaw which just wasn't good, it was all vinegar and the lime squeezed on top wasn't really my favorite, but I'm not a fan of that flavor. I ended up getting some queso after being asked several times and it was alright, but it wasn't so great as to have it kind of thrust upon me as it was although it did make the nachos better and was better than the tacos themselves.

Service wise, maybe I came at a bad time it was around 1130 or so but people were already in the restaurant although the staff didn't seem quite ready. the Fish wasn't prepared and then it was simply reheated, it wasn't fresh grilled like at Baja Fresh. I did read reviews of the chain itself and they were right to say that the greeting "welcome to Moe's" which is yelled out every time someone walks through the door gets really old if you're sitting and waiting for any period of time. I feel like not enough care is taken on the food and it is a place people settle for when they just want something different or the lines are too long at some other places. Maybe a chicken taco would be better for me but I'm not sure I will try them again.


Rating: 1.5/5

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Taste Test- Jif To Go Dippers

School in session and lunches can get really boring if you don't find a way to spice things up and one way is to grab one of these little somewhat new products. Jif to Go Dippers are small cups that come with pretzels and either chocolate silk or peanut butter. These little snacks are really handy and a bit of a delight.

The chocolate silk is really good with a not too sweet, or too dark and bitter style of chocolate that goes good with the flat crispy pretzels which have a little bit of salt on them which brings out the sweetness even better. These were so good my son even took one and he isn't a huge chocolate fan. Now the Peanut butter, is different. The peanut butter is a plain flavor, not sweetened in any way and seemed extra dry. Maybe I haven't had Jif in a while but it wasn't very good to me. So if you like chocolate I think this works, but the peanut butter needs some work.

Rating:2.5/5

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Restaurant Review- Bagby Pizza

Sorry I have been away but I'm back right now with the newest local sensation in the hot segment of on-demand artisan pizzas. I really don't know how Domino's and their kind will keep up as the urban millennial has so many new and unique choices when it comes to something that is as simple as a pizza. This local place, Bagby Pizza, I saw while heading home and I thought it was some sort of national chain based upon the sign until I got there and actually looked the place up as I waited in line.

So just like most of these places, if you're familiar with the ordering style for one you know them all. There are a limited selection of specialties that the staff is trained to make quickly and good for beginners. Then there is the custom option where you can pick your particular toppings and get it made to order in the brick fired oven. Now Bagby also offers a custom salad selection and their toppings bar is very generous and has a lot of variety. And let me not forget, they also have two limited specials as well. Now the toppings bar like I said is pretty big with radishes, capers, edamame, bacon crumbles, meatballs, and several cheeses and greens to choose from in both your salad and on your pizza.

When it comes to the pizza itself, my daughter got the Honey BBQ Chicken, my son got the plain cheese and I made my own with pepperoni and bacon crumbles and the basic red sauce. The Honey BBQ chicken also came adorned with plenty of fresh peppers and the default does not include red onions like so many chains are doing. The sauce is definitely fresh made and the cheese was fine, nothing standout there. The chicken on the BBQ pizza was outstanding and very well seasoned. The pepperoni on my pizza was fresh and new but thats kind of the opposite of what you want because as it sits and ages the tastes become bolder and fit together well. I wouldn't go for bacon and pepperoni together the same way because the salt kind of blends together. The final aspect, the crust is very good, much better than Blaze pizza which is very similar.

The final aspect of this visit was the service, while the staff was nice especially the young lady who took my initial order, the time was somewhat slow. I understand the nature of this model means the pizzas take some time to cook since they go into an oven and someone has to physically turn them and watch them, but this location, much like Blaze pizza has the oven in the worst possible position for the work flow although it is good for customers to watch but there isn't enough space between the counter and the oven and the pick up area to not walk all over one another and it made the employees also seem cramped on the other side. for long term success, fixing this has to be a priority at all restaurants of this type.

Rating: 4/5

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Taste Test - Garlic Bread Cheese

There are a ridiculous amounts of cheese varieties in the world and sometimes if you want to try something or get into a new thing in food, you go familiar with flavors and tastes you assume you would like. So it's obvious, if we're having pasta that I would try garlic bread cheese right, it solves two needs that go together, cheese and pasta, and garlic and pasta. All things considered, this is a simple choice, plus, this is a 'grilling' cheese, meant to be cooked up quickly and eaten warm.

This cheese was so simple even my wife tasted it with no hesitation and she is very wary of trying new things. First things first, instructions, open the package, heat and eat. Simple right? I chose to pan fry mine on all four sides. It comes out of the package with some of the cooking marks already on it but i was able to get some more with a medium heated pan and a minute or two on each side. The cheese itself if firm and has a great bite to it. It's actually almost exactly like a mozzarella with garlic infused into it. You get the mild mozzarella flavor and the saltiness added with the garlic flavor it's very good. If you like marinara sauce you can get a little dippage going on and boom, a great appetizer or side dish to give your dinner some flair.

I really liked this cheese, and would get it again especially to show off a little with a gathering or dinner party. It's also a domestic cheese, made in Wisconsin if you are concerned about that too.


Rating:4/5

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Taste Test - GrrChee Food Truck

I'm not really sure if this counts as a restaurant review or a taste test but whatever. A couple of weeks backI took the kids to The Gathering at Owings Mills Town Center which is one of a series of food truck meet ups during the summer on Friday evenings. It's cool I suggest everyone try it out and get to one. This time, the kids well, the boy, decided he wanted grilled cheese from this truck, he of course opted for a plain grilled cheese which was on Texas Toast, how boring right?

My daughter opted for a cheeseburger which was alright. She liked the meat and everything, but the burger itself was kind of a puck and once the toppings were added, made a big mess from how it was situated on the bun. I got the mac and cheese deluxe which is a crab cake topped with macaroni and cheese, monterey jack cheese on Texas Toast.

Let's break down some of the components, the mac and cheese was plain, and it's fine cause actually it's more of the idea than how it is executed with something like this. A more flavorful mac and cheese would have been good and it might have eliminated the need for any additional cheese to begin with, so anyone wanting to make something like this at home can take that into consideration. Now I've had several food truck crab cakes and while they all are good on crab meat, they aren't well balanced in flavor to me and this one isn't any exception. It was a bit salty and flat. For something like this you really want the taste of the crab to come out and be present with old bay or seasoning playing a supporting role and not drowning everything else out. The one thing I will say is that I dislike tomatoes so opted not to get one on my sandwich but I'm sure that the lightness and moisture would have diluted some of the saltiness I experienced.

Overall I am still excited about current food truck culture which is doing a lot to bring New American cuisine to the forefront. There are a lot of variables and not to be too critical but just a few subtle tweaks can take something from being good to being outstanding.



Rating: 3/5

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Taste Test - Wawa Cookie Dough Parfait

The last thing you probably need to get yourself started in the morning, or to go along with your salad at lunch is to get one of these calorie and sugar laden, decadent cookie dough parfaits from wawa. The good thing about that is I've done it so you don't have to, unless you really want to.

Buying this the cashier asked if I had already had one because they were selling but no one had come back for this, it was all first time trials. that leads me to think they did a great job coming up with and packaging this parfait to make it look ultra appealing. By itself the cookie dough was cool, slightly sweeter than I'd like it, especially being that you end up mixing it into a sweet chocolate pudding. The cookie dough could be a little 'sharper' so that there is some contrast.

The pudding fell a little flat as well. It wasn't a strong chocolate, but it was indeed creamy and milk chocolate smooth. It gets points for that but once it was mixed with the cookie dough, the chocolate chips don't really do anything and the entire parfait becomes just one note and boring. I like a lot of wawas products but this one didn't do it for me.




Rating: 1/5

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