Text 820, 70 rader
Skriven 2008-01-17 14:50:08 av DAVE SACERDOTE (1:123/140)
Ärende: Tastes 1
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Burger King Ketchup & Fries Potato Snack: I didn't really know what 
to expect when these things first showed up in the vending machines 
at work, but the initial five bags the vending company experimented 
with were gone in half a day, so I thought they might be interesting 
to try.

The teaser copy on the back of the bag calls the flavor a "mystical 
merge of ketchup, fries, and snack chips." For a more realistic 
comparison, think of a broad noodle made of dehydrated potato, 
dusted with a salty bright-red tomato-flavored powder. I have to 
admit I kind of like these, not so much for the ketchup flavor 
(which is a little vile) but for the delicious dried-potato 
flavor. That spudly taste so reminiscent of taters and plastics 
is why I like Pringles, Munchos, and Ore-Ida Potato Buds. There's 
just no accounting for taste, huh?

- -

Celli Canned Whole Baby Conch: At $1.50 for a 3.2-ounce tin, this i
s one of the more expensive tinned seafood items at my local job-lot 
store. Luckily, it is also one of the more tasty.

Nestled inside the tin I bought were nine small but meaty nuggets, 
each, the label assured me, being an entire whole baby conch. They 
were tender, though still resilient in the typical canned-shellfish 
way, and quite delicious. The flavor was reminiscent of clams and 
the bite sized chunks were surprisingly satisfying. Alas, the price 
(which comes out to a little less than $6.00 a pound, and that 
includes all that water they're packed in) is far too high for a 
novelty snack.

- -

Pampa Vienna Sausages: I'm a sucker for strange-looking canned foods 
at the job-lot store. Sometimes it works out pretty well. Other
times...well...

Take Pampa Vienna Sausage, for example. Usually, vienna sausage 
isn't that bad. It's not gourmet food, but it's passable for a 
quick lunch if I'm stuck at my desk, working a flea market, or 
out fishing. So when I found this big 400g can of Brazilian-made 
meatsticks at the local job-lot, I gambled a buck and bought it.

The label claims that "MEAT USED IS 100% BEEF." That might be true, 
but that doesn't guarantee goodness, either. The sausages are 
somewhat haphazardly tumbled into the tall can and topped with 
a rather thick sort of broth. They're redder than American-made 
viennas, and kind of bumpy and irregular, which is kind of strange 
when you're used to the pale, glistening, uniform cylinders produced 
by Armour and Libby. But it's the texture and flavor that really 
sets these apart.

You know how, when you set a bowl of Jell-o into the refrigerator 
without a cover, the gelatine develops a tough, membraneous skin? 
That's what these sausages are like right from the can: an al dente 
leathery "skin" contiguous with a somewhat grainy interior. There 
is an unusual and almost off-putting mouthfeel to these. Combined 
with the slightly rancid flavor, I can wholeheartedly recommend 
that you do not fail to leave these on the grocer's shelf should 
you ever encounter them yourself. 

- -

You can see photos of the items in question at my newly-revised blog:
http://davescupboard.blogspot.com/

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Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum, 
minutus carborata descendum pantorum
 * Origin: Doc's Place BBS Fido Since 1991 docsplace.tzo.com (1:123/140)