madmax
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Post by madmax on Jan 23, 2015 18:40:14 GMT -4
The other thing I was going to post about was some more booze I tried.
First up was Deep Eddy Vodka Sweet Tea flavor. This had the same problem as the Sobieski in that there wasn't too much flavor and more alcohol burn. The only kind of tea I am familiar with is iced tea, and the little flavor I could detect didn't taste like that.
The next was Deep Eddy's Ruby Red. This is a grapefruit flavor. Same thing as above, except I did get a citrus aftertaste from the last sip I took.
The final one was from Smirnoff. It was the Smirnoff Sorbet Light Summer Strawberry. Again, the same problem with more burn than flavor.
I actually opened another flavor from Smirnoff, but I will review it once I finished it. I will say this one is better than these others.
I went to the store today and picked up a bottle of wine and a bunch more of the mini bottles. Expect those reviews in the future. There was another of the Sobieski flavors there, but I didn't feel like getting it.
Tonight will start 3 nights of food I will be eating and then reviewing, so expect those too.
Now it's off to Walmart, then home for a dump and a nap.
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madmax
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Post by madmax on Jan 28, 2015 20:40:00 GMT -4
I went to some places today, so I'll put off the food and drink for now. I was zooming in and out, so I'll see how much my memory works.
The first pawn shop I went to still had the $750 Charvel, ugly Epiphone , Peavey "elf" guitar, and some other guitars, and maybe the Kustom amp head. This time there was a Gibson Melody Maker for $299. It was a 2-knob, 1 single coil model. It was white, but the paintjob looked like shit, like it was DIY. There was also an Ovation 1 hb superstrat. I either forgot the price or didn't look. There was also a guitar by a brand I've never heard of called BGuitars. After doing a bit of Googling, it appears this model may be a Viper, and is pretty much best avoided. It had to be one of the lightest electric guitars I've picked up. There was another guitar that I can't remember the brand. I thought it was Michael Kelly, but there aren't any matches on Google Images. The thing that was unique was it had a short, fat headstock. There were no kb today.
Next was the tornado Cash America. They had a ton of stuff behind the counter. The Harmony LP was $199. There was a Jackson for $299. There was a Schecter that was kind of like an LP, and a double-cutaway version of that model. There was a Dean V. There was an ESP or LTD(ESP's budget line) for maybe $599. There was also a smaller-bodied Gretsch with no f-holes.
They had 4 LP copies on the wall where you could play them, and I did. The first was a Greg Bennett by Samick. This was a set neck, and was the best-sounding of the 4. The next was a Jay Turser. This was also a set-neck, and sounded pretty good. The third was some brand called Stedman. Apparently this is a beginner guitar brand. Even though the neck was a bolt-on, it didn't sound too bad. The last was a Univox. It was also a bolt-on neck. There was something a bit weird in the tonality, but it didn't sound like total shit. I forget how much these cost, even though I had to pull out the notecards with the price to play them.
There were only 2 Casio kb, and a Line 6 kb thingy.
Sitting on a table was a BOSS DS-1 for $19.99. I didn't turn it over to see if it was an original Japanese one.
Ampwise, they had a pair of Rouges, but one was $99, and the other was $149, marked down from $199. I didn't ask about the price difference, or if they came in together. The other interesting amp was a Peavey Classic combo with 4 10-inch speakers. It looked to be from the 70's/80's. I think the price was between $200 and $300 dollars. This might be a good deal depending on the condition. This fucker was huge.
Next was the jewelry store/pawn shop. In the gun counter, they only had a Wild West-style revolver and an old pistol. There were no amps. They had a few First Act guitars. They also had one of those tiny Fernandes guitars with the built-in amp/effects.
The last place was the Gutiar Syndicate. There was a guitar with a body like the TARDIS hanging in the window. The "hippie" guitar was on the "fancy" wall, this time. There were 2 Roland JC120's One was $650 and the other $550. The $550 one was missing the casters, had different grillecloth, and possibly different tolex. I asked the girl working there if she knew what was up with it. She didn't know
She did tell me that the amp that looked like an old hi-fi system was an old Silvertone head that a guy converted into a combo.
On the one counter was a Yamaha kb, and a Roland Alpha Juno 1 synth for $250. I don't know if it was the same one that was there before.
I'll leave the food & drink for Friday, since I'm getting a bit of rollin in the colon, and should probably go home.
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madmax
Senior Dodger
Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Jan 30, 2015 19:44:05 GMT -4
Let's start with drink.
I had a bottle of blueberry wine from St. James Winery. I think the label said "Sweet Wine" at the bottom. I don't know if that is true or not. I do know that it didn't have the same taste as stuff that is blueberry flavored. Maybe it tasted like fresh blueberries, but I can't tell, since I've only had them once and didn't like them. It did seem to have less of a "wine taste" than other wines I've sampled. It had an interesting flavor when mixed with Coke. I was tempted to take some and add sugar to it, but didn't do so. I'm guessing this has potential when mixed with other fruity/sweet/dessert stuff.
I still haven't finished the mini-bottle I opened a couple of weeks ago. I'll review it once I finish it.
Now it's food time.
I picked up the BK chicken nuggets for Saturday on Friday, since I didn't need them fresh off the fryer. I also picked up some dipping sauces to use at a future time, like if I have chicken nuggets, or other chicken to use them with.
I got a bunch of different things on Friday night. I went to KFC and got a chicken pot pie and a container of gravy. I went to Arby's and did the 2 fish sandwiches for $5, and 2 orders of onion rings. I went back to BK and got 10 nuggets, and the basic hamburger. Apparently the worker never did the hamburger because I heard him asking what it was(the basic cheeseburger without the cheese).
The hamburger was OK. As for the nuggets, they were good. I don't know how they compare to MC D's, but I would recommend them. I used the buffalo dipping sauce I got earlier in the day. It seemed to taste the same as other buffalo wing-style sauces from other places. It did seem to have a hint of butter flavor. I also tried dipping them in the KFC gravy. This was obviously good.
The fish sandwiches were good, yet they stopped my craving to get more. I LOOOOOVE seafood, but I don't feel like getting these every week during the deal like I do with the French Dip sandwiches(if beef prices ever come down, I WILL be getting these once a week during the deal). The onion rings were good like always. I did try dipping them in the buffalo wing sauce, which was OK. What was better was dipping them in the KFC gravy.
The last item was the KFC chicken pot pie. This was good, but expensive. It would be better to get some Swanson/Banquet/etc chicken pot pies at the grocery store. The only thing the KFC had over the store ones was the "muffin top" of crust around the edge.
Saturday was retry night. I did the chicken nugget thing I did before and posted on Sep26 and Oct3 of last year. This time I used 40 BK chicken nuggets. Again I topped these with 2 8oz bags of mozzarella. On top of this, I added onions; more than last time. Then, I added some minced garlic that comes in a small jar. Finally, I added some pepperoni(Hormel I think). This time, I set the oven to 400F, and left them in there for about 20 min. I decided on this when the cheese on top was just starting to get a few brown spots. The chese that had fallen off the sides had browned and crisped long before. I added some parmesan cheese after I took it out of the oven. This time, the cheese was gooey. It seemed this time though, that more cheese had fallen off the sides and between the nuggets. I'll give this a thumbs up. I took 2 pics and will see if they put them up on the POWM sister site Damn That Looks Good.
The last night I went to Papa John's because they were doing a deal where you get buy 1 large pizza and get a 2nd 1-topping one free. I got the one called The Works without Canadian bacon, and my free one was just with extra cheese. Each box had a cooked pepper and a container of garlic butter. I don't know if the pepper was a jalapeno or not, but it wasn't very hot. I think heating it neutralizes the heat. For some reason, I was feeling anxious and ate these very quickly. I seem to recall with the Works one, that there was a bit too much green pepper taste. The cheese one was fine. I guess the garlic butter was fine, but that was the first time I had it with pizza. The main negative is the price, and that is even with the free one. The large pizzas have a diameter of 14 inches. The Works pizza was I think almost $18. It didn't seem that much better than Dominos or Pizza Hut.
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madmax
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Post by madmax on Feb 6, 2015 19:22:41 GMT -4
Hello again.
The booze I finally finished was the Smirnoff Cinna-Sugar Twist. With this, the flavor seemed to reduce the burn, and it didn't suffer from diminishing flavor. I don't know if it actually tasted like cinnamon and/or sugar, but it was sweet. It maybe even had a bit of cream taste. It was maybe like frosting or whipped cream. For the last 2 sips though, I got a bit of a funny aftertaste. After checking the Smirnoff site, they don't make this anymore. I saw a pic of a full-size bottle, and it had a pic of a churro on it. Smirnoff does have a churro flavor. I don't know if they just changed the name, or these 2 taste different.
I will be opening another bottle(the last from the first bunch I bought) tonight. I hope this one tastes good.
Tuesday, I went back to the one Asian store and bought some stuff for a redo. That stuff took a minute to pick up. What took a fuckload of time was trying to find something else I was wanting to try. I think I found it, but if so, it was only in big jars, which I didn't want. I got something similar.
Back to Tuesday. For the first part of my redo, some time before my meal, I tried a bottle of the Ramune Lychee flavor. This is the flavor I should have tried last time. It had a very strong general berry flavor. I think the aftertaste was so strong that it tasted like I had put some kind of berry-scented soap in my mouth, but I would not give this a thumbs-down. Well, like I said last time, these bottles are tiny. I'd like to try this stuff in a bigger bottle, or this flavor from another company that has bigger bottles.
My meal was the main focus of the redo. If you look back on Dec 10 & 12, I said some stuff may taste better when spread on some sort of cracker. Well, I put that to the test. The crackers I used were a store brand(Always Save) of Ritz. I used both of the Lee Brand minced seafood. They tasted a lot better on the crackers. I also had the Laoganma pickled tofu. I was right in that it was so soft that I easily spread it on the crackers, even with just a fork. This was also good.
Tonight I am going to try the one thing I spent a bunch of time looking for, and something else I picked up. Stay tuned for those reviews, and the for the booze I'll open tonight.
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madmax
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Post by madmax on Feb 13, 2015 19:16:10 GMT -4
Fuck! I was going to post on Wed, but it was very distracting in the library with these 2 kids playing games on the 'putters and making tons of noise. The irony was that one of their grandmothers works their. Their other grandmother apparently brought them there and actually told them to be quiet.
Let's start with the booze first. The next bottle I tried was UV chocolate cake flavored vodka. This does taste like chocolate cake, but the alcohol burn is a bit too overpowering. Also, a couple of times I seemed to get a funny aftertaste.
UV is another company that makes a ton of different flavored vodkas.
I am working on another bottle and will review once done.
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madmax
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Post by madmax on Feb 13, 2015 19:17:15 GMT -4
Last Friday, I had the 2 other things I bought at the Asian market.
First, let's start with the bad. It was pickled shrimp from Vietnam. The label says Shrimp Sauce for some reason. Below that was a line saying Huong Vi Que Nha, then one saying Mam Tom Hue. To the left was a logo with a woman and the words Co Gai Viet Nam. All the Vietnamese words had a bunch of accent marks that I'm not going to dick around and put here. The US distributor is IHA Beverage in CA. When I saw on the ingredients list that the 2nd* was chili pepper, I thought this would be nice and hot. Instead, it was almost sweet. One of the other ingredients was papaya, which I assume were the translucent strands in the jar. Maybe Vietnamese cooking is similar to Thai in which they like a combination of sweet and spicy. The only other thing of note is that there was this plastic strainer thingy on top of the shrimp that was a pit of a pain to get out of the jar. This was the item I spent a lot of time looking for, and what I got instead of the one I really wanted. I think this also may have caused some intestinal distress.
Now for the good. I wasn't planning on picking this up, but it appealed to me when I walked in the store(the snack foods are the first thing in side the store). It is from a company in the Phillipines called Narita. The brand is Golden, and it is Fish Cracker, Hot & Spicy Flavor. The inside of the bag smelled like BBQ flavor. They, dodn't taste like BBQ, nor were they hot & spicy. They actually tasted like pork rinds! I thought that was strange, yet good. The one thing to note is that they are not airy like pork rinds, and take longer to eat. I stopped eating the bag, not because I was full, but because I was tired and wanted to get done. While they get a thumbs down for not being hot & spicy, I do give them a recommendation for tasting like pork rinds. These would be a perfect substitute for pork rinds if you're Jewish or Muslim, or if you're a vegetarian that eats fish(I think one of the seasonings might be powdered fish).
* In the US, ingredients are listed in order of percentage of the total.
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madmax
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Post by madmax on Feb 13, 2015 19:42:00 GMT -4
Last Wed I got some more stuff.
I did the 2 for $5 fish sandwich thing at Arby's. They were good. You do get a large piece of fish on these sandwiches.
I also went to Chruch's. I got one each of the 2 seafood meals that come with fries and a honey biscuit: 2 pieces of fish for $3.99 and 8 pieces of shrimp for $4.99. I also got a small gravy. I didn't eat the stuff right away, so it was room temp. The biscuits were ok. From having one in a spicy chicken meal, I know they do taste much better warm. The fries weren't that good. I know that also has to do with them being cold. I ended up dipping them in the gravy. The pieces of fish were good, but tasted like fish from somewhere else. The shrimp was also good.
Next Fri, if the one grocery store is doing the seafood for Lent thing, I'm going to pick up some boiled shrimp. It is GOOOOOOD!!!! But, unfortunately last year, it was double the previous year's price. If it's still that much, I may only get some like 2 different Fridays instead of every Friday they have it.
I'm also planning on getting corned beef and cabbage around St P's Day at one of the grocery stores. They actually serve it right in that the slab of corned beef is in the serving pan surrounded by the cabbage. Some other stores in the same chain have the pan filled with cabbage with a few chunks of cb floating on top(there may be more underneath, but I never asked). This actually looks unappetizing.
Except for the booze, that may be it for a while. I'm thinking of visiting Taco Bell, but I probably won't review it because I'm planning on getting stuff I've reviewed before. I will if the basic burrito is different, but I nay have just seen a different on the TB website.
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madmax
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Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Feb 18, 2015 17:26:29 GMT -4
The next bottle I tried was Smirnoff vanilla flavor. There was a slight vanilla flavor, but it was overwhelmed by the alcohol burn. I think mostly I just had a taste of something sweet, not specifically vanilla. I think like 2 times there was an aftertaste of what I would think raw sugar cookie dough would taste like.
In food news, I think I am tired of Subway. I had some sandwiches last night, and I didn't really feel like eating them. since they are not doing the $5 Footlong promotion anymore, I'm just getting the ones that are $5.50. Maybe if they the start the $5 promo again with something I like, I may start going back.
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madmax
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Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Feb 27, 2015 19:38:46 GMT -4
I was going to post on Wed, but I emailed what I had typed up to my Yahoo account, and when I got to the library, Yahoo wasn't working. I did get to see the cute girl working there that has a tattoo. She reminds me a bit of Aubrey Plaza. I was also going to visit 2 pawn shops that day, but decided not to since I had a problem with my car not starting the day before, and didn't want to tempt the odds by making too many stops.
The next bottle I tried was the Tippy Cow Orange Cream flavor. It is supposed to taste like a creamsicle, but I've never had one of those before. It had a nice sweet orange taste, not bitter like raw oranges or orange juice. There might have been a hint of vanilla taste, but I wasn't trying to notice it, since I didn't know that was in creamsicles until my mom told me. There was just a slight taste of alcohol.
I would give this a thumbs up. I guess you need to go by flavor instead of just brand in how present the alcohol taste is since I didn't like the TC Vanilla. Same issue with the various Smirnoffs I tried.
I am on another bottle, which I will review once done, but it is taking a while to drink, if that gives you any clue.
I did also get some stuff from Taco Bell. I will review it since there is something to talk about. I got 2 of each item. I will present it in a different way this time:
soft taco: Good as always.
chicken chipotle ranch loaded griller: They didn't taste as good as other times I've had them. I went to a different TB this time, so that might make a difference.
spicy chicken crunchwrap slider: This time the remembered to put in the Fritos, but they kind of dominated the taste.
cheapo burrito: I told the guy I wanted the cheap burrito. He said the cheapest is the bean and cheese burrito($1). I didn't like it because I could taste the cheese even though I used the Fire sauce on them. I know the tacos have cheese, but I don't taste it when I have those.
I think I'm going to have to try the sriacha quesarito in the future. Even if I get timed out here early, I don't feel like making a stop at TB tonight.
I think next Wed, I'm going to Little Ceasers and try their wings.
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madmax
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Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Mar 4, 2015 19:23:55 GMT -4
Hello again! Today I visited 2 pawn shops.
The first was the Cash America on the outskirts of the hood. There was an Indo Squire, and a lefty Chinese one. The only had a few amps, including a few tiny ones for $29.99 each. There were a few Casiahas.
The second was the Cash America a ways down the same road as the first. They still had the Tele and Strat behind the counter, but there was also an Oscar Schmidt jazzbox. I didn't play anything here, but there was a lot of interesting stuff: an Epi SG Special, An LTD with a funky shape, some Peavey superstrat with just a bridge hb, a Dean superstrat with a 3+3 headstock, a BC Rich with a fancy paint job, and a Jackson hardtail V for $199. There were only 3 amps worth noting: a Marshall combo with a silver faceplate and "30" in the model name, a Peavey Basic 60 bass amp, and a Galien Kruger head in a soft road case. I didn't check the prices on them. |
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madmax
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Post by madmax on Mar 4, 2015 19:28:03 GMT -4
Time for another drink review!
The next up is Pinnacle Cinnamon Roll flavor. This did not taste anything like a cinnamon roll. There was mostly an alcohol taste, that didn't really burn though. There was some kind of sweetness that maybe tasted like vanilla. I don't know if they were trying for the icing flavor or something. There was a Cinnabon logo below the pic of a cinnamon roll. I hope the actuall Cinnabon rolls taste better than this.
Pinnacle is French; not a country known for its vodka. They do have a fuckton of other flavors that I may check out it they are stocked as mini bottles at the store.
I'm currently working on another bottle with better results.
Today I also visited Little Caesers and got some food. I'll review that on Friday.
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madmax
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Post by madmax on Mar 6, 2015 19:42:07 GMT -4
Update time!
Like I said Wed, I went to Little Caesers and got my food. Before I went there, I called them up and asked some questions. I asked about the quantity and price of the Hot N Ready Caeser Wings. Since the Italian Cheese Bread wasn't listed on the HNR menu on the website, I wanted to see if they offered it as a HNR at their place. The guy told me they usually do. For those that don't know, the HNR items are things they have made ahead of time and sitting in the warmer so you can come in and pick them up without preordering. When I got there, they didn't have any IC Bread or Caeser Wings ready. I had to wait for them to make those. The guy said the IC Bread would only take about 5 min, but is was a lot longer than that. BTW, on one of the signs in there, the IC Bread is on the HNR menu.
Now onto the food itself. For the CW, I got the Lemon Pepper, Garlic Parmesan, and Buffalo Hot. First up was the Lemon Pepper. They didn't really have a lemon taste, but did taste a bit like black pepper. The Garlic Parmesan did not have that strong of a garlic taste. The Buffalo Hot were hot in that my body reacted by my head feeling warm, some lip burn, nose running, and maybe a little sweating, but I can't recall if they heated up my tongue. The IC Bread was fine. The stuff would have probably tasted better if I ate it right away and didn't let it get cold.
When I was placing my order, the guy asked me if I wanted any sauce for my bread. I asked if it was an extra charge. He said it would be free since I had to wait. I thought he was going to give me one of the little containers of tomato sauce that you get with the breadsticks, but he didn't give me one, and I forgot to ask. I think he was referring to www.littlecaesars.com/OurMenu/SignatureFavorites/CaesarDips®.aspx which were in a little rack on the counter. There was enough sauce left over in the containers of my Buffalo and Garlic wings, that I was dipping the bread in those. I didn't think doing that was anything great.
Even with the wait and my less than glowing review, I'm thinking of going back next Wed and getting the 2 other flavors of wings I want to try, and the bacon-wrapped pizza. |
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madmax
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Post by madmax on Mar 6, 2015 19:49:29 GMT -4
In the booze dept, I tried the Piehole Apple Pie flavored whiskey. The bottom of the label says "Canadian whiskey with apple pie liqueur".
I got to go, so I'll finish this Wed.
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madmax
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Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Mar 11, 2015 17:51:24 GMT -4
So back to the Piehole Apple Pie flavor whiskey.
This actually did have an apple pie flavor; the filling at least, not the crust. There was apple, of course, but maybe a slight hint of cinnamon, which is maybe part of apple pie filling. The aftertaste did give a similar result. Even though it is whiskey, it didn't have an annoying alcohol taste or burn.
This company only has 3 flavors, and I got all 3. I am currently working on the second one, and will review it Fri if I finish it by then, but it won't be getting a good review.
I know I will be posting a food review on Fri since I picked up some stuff a little while ago.
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madmax
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Posts: 828
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Post by madmax on Mar 13, 2015 18:22:26 GMT -4
I went to Little Caesars on Wed. I got the Bacon Wrapped Crust Pizza, the Bacon Honey Mustard Caesar Wings, and the Teriyaki Caesar Wings. I called ahead and placed my order this time, even though these things are on the Hot N Ready menu. I got in and got out right away.
Again, I didn't eat this stuff right away, so it got cold; it would probably taste better fresh out of the oven.
I got the pepperoni pizza. When I ordered, they said I could get one other free topping except for pepperoni or extra cheese. I chose sausage. It was ok. I don't think I really tasted the bacon. It is a bit on the small side, but it has some weight to it.
The teriyaki wings didn't have much of a taste to them. I was expecting them to taste a bit similar to soy sauce. I don't remember how the bacon honey mustard wings tasted, or if I could taste any of the named flavors.
Unlike the Pizza Hut wings, you can't get these breaded. They are $6.25 for 8, which equates to a tad over $.78 each. I don't know how much the Pizza Hut wings are regularly, since I would get them when they were having a $.50 on Wed deal(I don't know if this still exists). I would recommend the Pizza Hut wings. And also, they still retain their flavor after getting cold.
I did pick up something from Taco Bell today. I'll post a review if I visit the library on Wed. That day, my primary focus will be on getting some corned beef and cabbage from a grocery store(this particular chain serves this around St. Patricks Day).
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