Gaga's Rainbow Sherbetter Review

The following review is brought to you courtesy of Gaga. You see, the very friendly owners of Gaga's happened to stumble upon my post about my lost carton of Gaga's, so they sent over a few coupons to make up for it! How nice of them, especially since the loss was totally my fault!

I need to also preface with the fact that they sent these coupons about two months ago, but since I've been shopping at Market Basket on the way home, I haven't been able to pick any up. Well, I was finally at Shaws at lunch and spied the Rainbow SherBetter and realized it was time to correct this issue.

Behold Gaga's "smooth as ice cream - fresh like sherbet" all natural Rainbow SherBetter frozen dessert. It's certainly a catchy looking container plus the rainbow flavor saves me the trouble of having to decide which flavor to try first. It's a mix of their lemon, orange, and raspberry flavors. The only thing not in here is their chocolate flavor (which in my opinion would probably not make for a pleasant combo anyway).

Breyer's Smooth & Dreamy Vanilla Caramel Chip Bars

Update: These were discontinued first, and then the Strawberry. The only ones left are the Chocolate Ones (my review here).

Three crazy days at work means not a whole lot of energy to review. Actually, I've been polishing off the Oreo Klondikes instead, but now they are gone, so what ever shall I do? Shall I suffer? NAH.

I already took some pictures of the New Breyers Smooth & Dreamy Vanilla Caramel Chip Bars from when we tried them two weekends ago, I just need a quick refresher (as in eat another one) and we'll be good to go. Now let's go eat some "extra creamy vanilla light ice cream with caramel morsels and swirls of caramel sauce half-dipped in a rich milk chocolatey coating"

Let's get crazy -- Dubba's Donut Sundae

Don't ask me what made me think of it, but I'm staring at the twelve pack of donuts from the grocery store and a thought hits me: What if I...made an ice cream donut? No, not ice cream in the shape of the donut, but instead use the donut as the bowl and also as a topping. Should we try it? I'm thinking that it's been a long time since I've played with my food... in fact, it's been just shy of a year since I made this post. That's just wrong because that is way too long. Ice cream is suppose to be fun. Let's have some fun!!

First, break out a fresh glazed donut

Now carefully cut out the inside (but save the insides for later)

Fill with ice cream - I went with Breyers Vanilla Caramel Brownie

Now we can't forget the whip cream

Cut up the inside of the donut and sprinkle on top

I guessing you are having one of two thoughts:

1) "oh my word that's disgusting"
 or hopefully
2) "Dubba, you evil genius you!"

Well, after a taste test I can wholeheartedly say that you should go with that second thought. This treat is surprisingly tasty and actually I am quite proud of myself at the moment. It's quite the sugar rush, and to be perfectly honest, I left a bit of mine on the plate because it was just so rich. I was even surprised (and pleased) at how easy it was to scoop donut and ice cream at the same time.

I definitely think the vanilla/caramel ice cream was the way to go because I wanted to compliment the donut flavor, not bury it -- this is also why I didn't drizzle chocolate on top, I thought it was too much of a risk to the donut flavor... but I bet a nice berry sauce drizzle might really be nice here.

Now I just need to check the internet before i patent my stunning invention and.... DOH! I've been beaten to the punch by places like Holey Cream and Frangelli's.... or have I? Their's is more of an doughnut ice cream sandwich, plus they use those heavy, cake-like doughnuts instead. Me, I'm going for the donut sundae vibe using a light and puffy glazed donut (similar to what you might find at a Krispy Kreme). With a little testing and tweaking, I bet this bad boy would sell like hot cakes!

Klondike Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches

someone called out the fact that new Klondike Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches have been modified since their humble beginnings as Breyers Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches. I went back into my archives and sure enough these treats have changed. Hmmm, sounds like it's time to "force" myself to eat some ice cream sandwiches.

Now 33% bigger! My math skills tell me that this use to be 3 fluid ounces.

Edy's Chocolate Fudge Brownie MAXX Ice Cream

[New for 2010, discontinued after 2013] Wow, some of my favorites words there: NEW, CHOCOLATE, FUDGE, and BROWNIE (well, and ICE CREAM of course). I went to get some gas at lunch and I knew I needed a treat, but I wasn't expecting anything NEW from a gas station. I think I'm excited about my $2.99 treat!

COMMENCE LIVE BLOGGING!

Notice the big " Nestle Toll House " logo, looks like we have chocolate chips in either the ice cream or the brownies, but there's no description so I guess I'll just have to look for myself.

Breyer's American Summer Ice Cream Limited Edition Vanilla Caramel Brownie

It just takes a couple of treat breaks and all of a sudden you are behind the 8 ball on reviews again. I do my best not to mix treats, but sometimes we break open a new snack but I dont get to write about it. Case in point is this weekend were we dug into two new caramel Breyers treats and now I need to review them both (seperately).

First up is one of the Breyers American Summer flavors. I'm not in the mood to try grasshopper pie, but I was more than willing to see how Breyers handles brownie chunks.... let me reiterate that, and think about it while I do: try naming a Breyers flavor that has brownies in it? Drawing a blank? I certainly am, but how can that be? Not a single flavor? Ok, I just found Vanilla Fudge Brownie, but that's it, and I'm not even sure I've ever had it.

Can Breyers bring the all natural brownie love with any success? Let's find out with Limited Edition Vanilla Caramel Brownie. It's vanilla ice cream with a caramel swirl and brownie pieces. Sounds decent. 

Lindy's Orange Italian Ice Review

I'm just going to throw this out real quick since it's been a long few days and I'd really like to go watch some TV (we had to replace something expensive today, but at least it's tax-free weekend here in Mass)

Wait, I ordered orange flavor, not carrot flavor!

Don't go in expecting orange juice flavor. Like the other two Lindy's flavors I've tried, it's more of an artificial/candy style orange flavor. It's not bad, it just strikes me as a bit more kid oriented. I like it, and deep down, that's all that matters. Everything else I've already said during last week's friday night fight.

Ben & Jerry's Dublin Mudslide Ice Cream

2022 Update: Dublin Mudslide ceased production in 2013 but it has returned as a delicious fan favorite in 2022. That's right, despite having a coffee component, I find that this flavor has a wonderfully complex flavor profile that still holds up to today's standards as well as holding up to my memories of it. Original review after the break.

Ben & Jerry's Dublin Mudslide Ice Cream

Irish Cream ice cream with chocolate chocolate chip cookies

and coffee fudge swirls

State of the Freezer Address (a day late)

Ok, I'll keep this quick(ish).

The kitchen freezer isn't doing too bad, in fact, it's seems kinda full of veggies and not much else at the moment. The only full size container at the moment is the Turkey Hill froyo, everything else is a pint. The treat box is also near empty, though I do have a few refill items in the basement from blue bunny, breyers, and stone ridge creamery.

The deep freezer, well, I should probably defrost it. I've got a strawberry fro-zing which I never tried (it came with the raspberry fro-zing I reviewed).I really have to get this thing emptied out before I buy anything. I'd say it's more Haagen-Dazs than anything at the moment. There are also some personal sized containers that I need to review. Unfortunately I do sometimes use the deep freezer as a dumping ground for samples I don't want to try, but feel guilty throwing out (fro-zing, tart froyo, some stonyfield farm froyo that got buried and is probably bad by now, you get the idea).

The blog continues to grow which is great  and we had our first contest, which was just awesome (i'm still organizing my own sonic trip, so stay tuned for that). I don't foresee any massive changes in the near future... well, I have several ideas to help the blog grow, but I'm not sure how much time I have to work on them. I guess I just have to pace myself.

Oh, I want to thank everyone for using the new flavor review request box on the right side on the page. It's linked to a google doc so I go in and check it every few days. I take notes and use it to help figure out what I need to try next.



Poll Results

So, the poll was probably the most pointless question ever in retrospect. The point I was trying to scoop at was that I wonder if people go to the store looking for say "Rocky Road", or do they go to the store looking for say "Haagen-Dazs". Well, or thirdly, do they go to the store thinking "When can I get with three bucks?".

Now I call this poll pointless because 100 out of 143 people votes for flavor. I'll try to phrase for polls better.

Based on Flavor       100 (69%)
Based on Brand       15 (10%)
Based on Price         13 (9%)
Based on.....            15 (10%)



Surprising Story

I did a quick search for Tiramisu ice cream when I came across this August 2000 article about a 24 year old who started MicroBatch Ice Creams Inc in college. It's a positive article and speaks of a predicted 1.6 million dollars in 2000 sales for the company. I went to look up this fast moving little company and came upon this February 2001 article which shows the company died in October 2000 after it burned too much on it's marketing budget. They say that ice cream is a $21 billion dollar industry in the US alone, so it makes it that much more painful that they get that far and then still come crashing down.

Friday Night Italian Ice Fight : Luigi vs Lindy

I've kinda had italian ice on the brain since visiting a local italian ice place. Now there are two major italian ice brands around here (well, 3 if you include my boring time with PhillySwirl). Let's get these guys in the ring.

The Contenders

Luigi     vs.     Lindy

Sorry, we don't have a picture of Luigi, so I had to improvise with the bob dob drawing. Luigi is packing "real Italian ice" while Lindy packs "homemade Italian ice". Luigi is a modest 6 fluid ounces and weighs in at 100 calories and 0 BMI. Lindy is the same 6 fluid ounces but has a slightly beefier 110 calories and 20% of your vitamin C to boot.

Right off the bat, you want to give Luigi the advantage. He's lighter on his feet and not weighed down by high fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors (or dextrose or soy lecithin or carrageenan). Ok, you get the idea.

DQ Oreo Brownie Earthquake Blizzard August 2010 Blizzard of the Month

So, did you make it to DQ yesterday? I am glad I did, because I got the try a new blizzard and support a good cause. So, without further ado, behold....

The DQ Oreo Brownie Earthquake blizzard! It sounds awful tempting with Oreo cookies and fudge brownie pieces blended with hot fudge, marshmallow and creamy vanilla soft serve, but what does it really look like?

Notice the big pile of Oreos and brownie pieces up top. You know, I always find it so... ummm... "curious" that while I can wind up with a ton of brownies, somebody else might get squat. My blizzard must have been blended perfectly too because I literally got a chewy brownie bite in every scoop. I would have been in brownie heaven if the brownies had been just a bit fresher.

My overall opinion? This blizzard is ok. The brownie bits just didn't play well off the Oreo bits. Maybe that's why though don't make a brownie Oreo because the two of them just didn't seem to compliment each other very well (correction: there is an Oreo Brownie Bar, my bad!). I wish the hot fudge had stayed a bit more intact. I think the contrast of vanilla versus the hot fudge (which I found in an occasional early bite) would have offered a nicer setup for the mixins and brought everything together better...  actually, go back to the oreo cookie jar blizzard and you will notice the generous use of fudge in that blizzard --- I guess fudge really is the glue that holds these particular blizzards together.

I haven't mentioned the marshmallow because if there was any in there, I missed it...

I guess we will chalk this one to a good idea with a decent execution. If it's done right, it'll be awesome. If not, it's still not bad.

A final note of praise to DQ for actually labeling the miracle treat day banners with a spot that says "$1 from each blizzard goes to the Children's Miracle Network". We live in a world of disinformation so it was a good call to spell everything out for everyone.

If you missed miracle treat day yesterday, you still have time to catch it in Canada on August 12th. Field Trip anyone?

On Second Scoop: Wow, what a difference one employee can make. I was carefully watching how my treat was made. Softserve, a wad of brownies, two shakes of oreo cookes, a squirt of chocolate/fudge sauce, and TWO squirts of marshmallow flavor... That's right, I said two giant squirtfuls of fake marshmallow flavor. I would have prefered two squirts of fudge and one squirt of marshmallow. I feel bad because last time I complained that I couldn't taste the marshmallow at all, but now it's all I can taste and that's a shame since the brownies are alot fresher this time.

Miracle Treat Day at DQ

I'm such a cynical... umm, person, I've always jokingly said "yeah, I bet DQ donates like 10 cents from each blizzard today". Well, DQ has brought out the hard numbers this year at miracletreatday.com and for every blizzard that is bought today, a dollar or more will go to the Children's Miracle Network. I wonder if it's like a dollar from a small, then 1.25 for like a medium, 1.50 for a large? Sorry, just looking for an excuse to get a large. Any way you scoop it, it's a good cause we can all get behind.

I'm headed there myself now, so stayed tuned for a review of the new Oreo Brownie Earthquake Blizzard!

Turkey Hill Honey Vanilla Granola Frozen Yogurt Review

I headed to the freezer Sunday night for a nice tasty, no fat italian ice when I realized my daughter had eaten them all on me. I just wasn't in the mood for something heavy, and then I remembered something I have had for a few weeks in the deep freezer.

Behold Turkey Hill Honey Vanilla Granola frozen yogurt which is Honey Vanilla frozen yogurt with cinnamon granola and graham swirl (made with real Dutch Gold Honey). I still have fond memories of Pierre's Vanilla Honey Granola Yovation, but since I can't buy Pierre's around here, I'm hoping this might take it's place.

MMMMMMMM, Giant Frosty

Well if this doesn't make you want a giant frosty....

I don't know what will!

There was another Wendy's about 2 miles down the road with the same giant frosty. I think the only thing really missing is a giant spoon sticking out.

Grasshopper

I guess summer is grasshopper season in more ways than one. I saw Blue Bunny's "NEW" Grasshopper Ice Cream Sandwiches at Walmart the other day. I emphasize NEW because the box I saw said new, but the website box obviously does not.

I also saw Breyers Limited Edition Grasshopper Pie ice cream at Walmart. It was their usual all natural style in a black container. I believe the exact description was mint ice cream with a fudge swirl (as opposed to the typical chocolaty chips).

I could have picked up either product, but to be honest, I'm just not in a minty mood.

Dibs

Greg's video review of Edy's Dibs reminded me of my own snack pack of Dibs hiding in the deep freezer... While I do detect a potentially tasty nestle crunch ice cream bar vibe, they hid just a bit too long in the freezer and they didn't taste quite right. No worries though. Since he gave such a glowing review, I will have to sample some fresh ones for myself in the very near future.