Friday, November 07, 2014

Fancy Rice Crisp Treats, from Treat House

Treat House is a bakery that specializes in a childhood classic, turned  upscale: rice krispie treats.  Yes, for real.  They also make breakfast bars (rice crisp based), gourmet flavored marshmallows, and ice cream bars, but the rice crisp treats are clearly their star item.

Treat House has a store in New York, but that is not where I encountered their products.  They ship nationwide, and, someone in my office received a box full and shared them.  I knew nothing about the company when I encountered the box, but it said "treat", so it drew me in ...
The Box.
I looked in the box, and saw little squares, packaged up like a box of chocolates, except, they seemed to be cubes of cake, topped with frosting and elaborate decorations.

Unable to resist the lure of a dessert item, I took one.  I was very surprised to find that it wasn't soft.  What was it?  It wasn't until I bit in that I discovered that it was a rice crisp treat.

Now, I could pretty much care less about rice crisp treats.  Always one of the least interesting possible dessert options.  But ... these were, hands down, no question, the best rice crisp treats I have ever encountered.  They were no simple rice crisp treats.   I wished that I had taken the time to take better photos, and try more flavors.  If only I knew!

Of course I had to do some research once I returned to my desk.  Treat House makes a slew of flavors, all decorated beautifully.  I didn't encounter any of these, but their base flavor lineup includes sugar cookie, red velvet, birthday cake, and even bubblegum.  Toppings range from candied chili peppers to oreo cookies.  Some have dried fruit, nuts, or different types of cookies mixed in.  I really wish I'd seen the chocolate peanut butter: "rich chocolate and smooth peanut butter. Topped with chocolate ganache and a peanut butter cup", or the chocolate pretzel: "mixed with salty pretzel pieces, dark chocolate and caramel. Topped with chocolate ganache, a hand dipped pretzel, and sugar crystals".

Like I said, not exactly regular rice crisp treats!
Touch Down, Caramel Sea Salt.
I did try 3 different kinds, but didn't take photos when I grabbed them, not knowing how amazing they were going to be.  I returned to the box afterwards in hopes of snagging more flavors, and to get photos, but alas, this is all that remained.

The green topped one is dubbed the "Touch Down".  It had a chocolate base, chocolate chunks mixed in, and was topped with green marshmallow topping and a chocolate football.  The chocolate football on top was wrapped in foil, which seemed a bit strange.  I know it achieves the effect of looking like a football that way, but it was strange to remove a wrapped item from the top.  I liked the generous chunks of good quality dark chocolate inside.

Next was the "Caramel Sea Salt", a sweet, caramel laced treat, topped with fluffy white marshmallow, drizzled with caramel.  The caramel was a nice improvement on a standard plain marshmallow treat, as it added an extra dimension besides just sweetness.

The final one I tried I don't have a photo of, as they were all gone.  It was the "Peace Love and Gummy Bears", a colorful layered creation of a raspberry treat and pineapple treat, topped with tie died marshmallow, and a pair of brightly colored gummy bears. The fruity flavors were totally unexpected, as I've never had a fruity rice crispy treat before!

Each and every one of the treats was obviously unique, and decorated beautifully, but, they also were just really, really tasty.  The flavors were interesting and balanced, the texture was right (so often rice crispy treats are too soft, and just taste like sweet marshmallow and nothing else), and the fluffy marshmallow on top really did add to them.  Why aren't more rice crisp treats decorated?

While I certainly wouldn't seek these out, as, after all, they are still just rice crisp treats, they truly were the best rice crisp treats I've ever had, and, if another were to appear in front of me, I'd most certainly eat it.
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Wednesday, November 05, 2014

Curry Up Now

Curry Up Now is a small chain of indian restaurants in the Bay Area, with a location in San Francisco, plus others in San Mateo, Palo Alto, and San Jose.  They also operate a food truck.  I've only visited the San Francisco restaurant, located in the Mission.

The menu is not standard indian cuisine.  Instead, the focus is on street food.  This includes a number of classic chaat, plus some more interesting Mexican influenced items, like ... burritos (perfect for the Mission right?)  The tortillas are filled with rice, garbanzo beans, onions, and indian filling of your choice, like chicken tikka malasa, lamb stew, or allo gobi.  Or go for a quesadillix, made with aloo paratha as the bread, stuffed with cheese and a filling of your choice, with pickles and yogurt.  They also have "unburgers", fried ravioli, and "deconstructed samosas" (a mound of garbanzo beans and chutneys, garnished with mini samosas).  Their most famous item is probably the kati rolls, a wrap made of pan fried flat bread similar to roti, pickled onions, chutneys, and your choice of filling (remember the crappy kati roll I had from the Kasa indian food truck?).  The menu is rounded out by "naughty naan", open faced naan sandwiches with tikka masala, cheese, greens, onions, and jalapeño.  Like I said, not exactly standard indian cuisine, no simple curries and rice here.

Service is casual, order at the register, take a number back to your table, and your order is brought to you when it is ready.

After I placed my order, I went to use the bathroom.  I don't normally review bathrooms unless there is something notable, and, here there was.  Once you enter the bathroom, a recording starts playing, educating you all about the benefits of hand washing.  I guess this is more effective than the signs that no one reads?  Still, I'm not sure why they cared ...
Silverware Buckets on Tables.
Each table had a bucket in the middle with silverware and napkins, self-service.  Unfortunately for me, my bucket contained only spoons and no napkins.  I had to go steal the utensils I needed from a neighboring table.

The seating is fairly diverse, a bunch of tables for 2 along the window, all with really unique padded chairs.  Picnic table larger tables make up the other side of the room, and a few tables are out on the sidewalk as well, for al fresco dining.

The main focus of the dining area is the open kitchen, complete with large oven, similar to a pizza oven.  I'm guessing this is where the naan is cooked?
Criss Cut Sweet Potato Fries, Maggi Ketchup.  $4.35.
Since most of the menu is sandwich based, and I just wanted a snack, I just got an appetizer: sweet potato fries!

My fries arrived very quickly, so it was clear that they weren't fried to order.  They were also only lukewarm when they arrived, and cooled down even further very fast.

The fries were ... good.  They were crispy, but not overcooked.  They weren't too oily or greasy.  But, they didn't have a strong sweet potato flavor, and they were woefully under-seasoned.  I am not actually sure they had *any* salt on them.  I also do like criss cut fries, like the ones from Phat Philly, but for sweet potato fries, I really want to taste the sweet potato, so I prefer a thicker form.

However, there was a star on the plate.  The ketchup!  Now, that was something special.  I'll be honest, I had no idea what Maggi Ketchup was, and wasn't ordering this for the ketchup.  I just wanted sweet potato fries.  I usually dip my sweet potato fries in some sort of honey mustard.  Or bbq perhaps.  (For regular fries, I'm all about aioli.  Or sweet chili and sour cream.  Rarely plain old ketchup there either).  I love my sauces.

It turns out that Maggi Ketchup is the number one ketchup in India.  I tried to find out what the ingredients were, besides standard ketchup ingredients, but the best I could find was "spice extract" or "mixed spices", along with onion and garlic.

Anyway, this stuff had some kick.  Like, serious kick.  But not too much kick, just enough to keep you both addicted, and in mild pain.  I couldn't stop going back for more.  If I were a beer drinker, I think these fries would have gone great with a beer.  Speaking of drinks, they are all served in cute mason jars.

$4 was a fine price for a basket of fries, which was large enough to be sharable with a meal, or perfect for a snack on their own.
Hot Chai.  $2.50.
Unlike most places, Curry Up Now does not sweeten the chai.  I was very surprised when I took a sip and it was just milky, bitter, black tea.  They did have sugar available to add in yourself near the water dispenser, but no other sweetener alternatives.

I appreciated being able to make it as sweet as I'd like, but, it really wasn't remarkable chai, on par with what many Indian places give you complimentary.
Ginger Mint Lemonade.  $3.
I also tried a cold beverage, which I was hoping to be refreshing on a hot day.  I'm not sure if it was fresh squeezed or not.  I didn't like it, the ginger was way too strong, and the lemonade too sweet.  Perhaps it would be nice with spicy curry?
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Tuesday, November 04, 2014

Cafe Spice Nameste, London

On my recent trip to Europe, I had only two nights in London, which meant I had very limiting dining opportunities.  On the first night, we somehow wound up at a Michelin star French Restaurant, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon. For the only other meal, I wanted something more unique to London.

While London is not exactly known for good cuisine, I had two interests in particular: fish and chips and indian food, both of which I really enjoy, and constantly disappoint in San Francisco.  None of my dining companions seemed very interested in fish and chips, so, we all agreed on indian.

Emil was with me, and has spent considerable time in London, so I asked for his recommendations.  He told me that his top three indian meals of all time were all in London, even though he’d visited both India and Pakistan.  This was great news, and I eagerly looked up his suggestions.  Two were very high end, Michelin starred, not quite what I had in mind.  We were looking for more classic curries, something casual and simple.  Luckily, his third pick fit the bill: Cafe Spice Nameste.

Cafe Spice Nameste is a London institution, it has been open for 19 years, and has won numerous awards.  The cuisine is both traditional and contemporary, with a menu spanning offerings from Goa, North India, Hyderabad and Kashmir.  The decor is bright and quirky.

Service throughout the meal was awkward, mostly due to the table size.  A majority of the tables in the restaurant are all the same size, 4-tops.  Except that they are really sized for two, particularly for a cuisine where you wind up with a bunch of side dishes.  After receiving only our drinks and pappadam to start, we didn’t even have room on the table for the appetizers.  The staff were constantly awkwardly moving things around the table attempting to fit things, rather unsuccessfully.  This was not unique to our table, I saw the same problems happening at every table that had more than two people at it.

Anyway, the food was highly unremarkable, certainly not better than anything I’ve had in San Francisco.  I was glad to see my friends, but, I certainly wouldn’t recommend anything we ordered, and I wouldn’t return.  Maybe I just ordered all the wrong things?  The others seemed to enjoy it more than I did.
Mr. Todiwala's Pickle Tray & Papad. Each £0.70 (per person).
"Exclusive & unusual ‘Hand Made In-House’ chutney & pickles.  Using the finest British produce."  They also sell the chutney online.

We started with the pappadam, not complimentary, but suggested to us soon after we sat down.  It was classic thin, crispy pappadam.  I dislike lentils, and never really care for papadam, but they were pretty standard.

The chutneys were also fairly standard, and a separate item from the papadam.  I did like the chopped pickled stuff, a mix of onion, carrots, and spices.  I used this condiment with many dishes throughout the meal.

Everyone else seemed to enjoy having something to munch on right away.
CoCorrrumba!  £8.25.
"Another fab in-house special made with coconut water, Jamaican Appleton Rum, shaken with fresh mint and brown sugar. Poured over crushed ice and laced with rose syrup."

Indian food can be a bit hard to pair drinks with, so I was surprised by the large cocktail menu.  The rest of the group decided to start with a cocktail, so I did the same, and picked the "CoCorrrumba!"  I hoped it would be sweet to compliment the upcoming spicy food.

The drink was indeed sweet, but too sweet to drink on its own.  I did like the rose flavor, but it was overkill, and even the muddled mint couldn’t make the drink refreshing.  I tried to save it to have later with my entree, but the staff kept trying to take it away.  I think I had to tell them no at least 5 different times, and I'd only taken a few sips out of it, so I clearly wasn't done.  I think they really needed space on the table.  And, it turned out, I didn’t have any spicy food headed my way anyway ...
Amuse Bouche: Vegetarian Puree.
I've never been to an Indian restaurant that served an amuse bouche!  This was a nice surprise.

I’m not entirely sure what was in this "vegetarian puree", but it most certainly contained lentils or split peas, both of which I despise.  All I could taste was the lentils.  I appreciated that they served an amuse, it was in a cute vessel, and it was warm, but clearly not for me.
Baked Isle of Mull Scallop with Cheese and Chilli. £9.45. 
“Hand dived King scallops by Diver and seller Guy Grieves from Mull, flash grilled, topped with a blend of cheeses with chilli and garlic & baked."

For my starter, I choose the scallops.  Now, this was an odd choice, I admit.  There is nothing remotely Indian sounding about the dish.  Baked scallops?  Cheese?  No, not indian, but, things I love.  And I’d had some great scallops on the trip, and wanted to continue that trend.

The scallops arrived, 4 to an order.  I was planning to split the dish with Emil, but as I mentioned, our table had absolutely no space on it, so there was no where to put our tray of scallops, nor the samosas that the others ordered.  After trying for a minute to re-arrange things, the server asked if he could just put them on my plate instead.  A fine solution, but, awkward.

The presentation was nice, served in the shells.  The scallop however was totally lost.  The description said “seared”, but, I didn’t detect even the faintest sear on the scallop.  They also weren’t whole scallops, instead, chopped, and I think perhaps a single scallop was used for the full order.  The cheesy sauce was fine, but, lukewarm.  How a baked dish could come out not hot and bubbling I don’t know, but I was pretty disappointed by the serving temperature.  I also expected interesting spicing, even though there was nothing in the description, because, well, I was at an indian establishment, and indian cuisine is known for bold flavors and spice.  But, there wasn’t any here.

So, yes, lukewarm, chopped up, not seared, not flavorful?  Meh.  I didn’t even want a second one.
Cheese, Chilli, & Garlic Naan. £3.25.
One of my favorite aspects of indian meals is the hot, fresh, delicious naan to dunk in assorted sauces and curries.  Since I don’t like rice, I planned to use naan with my dish and forego rice altogether.  We decided to order a basket of plain naan and a basket of chili cheese garlic naan, because, cheese and garlic make everything better.

When the naan arrived, both baskets looked fairly similar, but I thought I spotted a bit of cheese oozing out of one, so I went for it.  Even after eating a full piece, I wasn’t certain I’d picked the cheese one.  The very center of my wedge seemed like it might possibly have some cheese, but it very well could have just been moist from butter.  It had a bit of flavor from the garlic, but I didn’t taste any chili at all.  What was going on here, did they really just think we couldn’t handle any heat?  We ordered chili naan on purpose!

Next, I went for a piece from the second basket.  This one was clearly the cheese naan, as it had cheese between the layers of bread.  But again, no chili.  I guess the first basket must have been the plain?

The naan was hot and fresh, which was a selling point, much improved from the lukewarm scallops.  But, the naan was horribly burnt on the bottom.  I was able to sorta rip off just the top layer of bread, along with some cheese, and use that, but I was again disappointed, and wouldn’t get the naan again.
Paneer Saagwalla. £6.95.
"Chargrilled marinated Indian whey cheese diced, simmered in part puréed, part chopped fresh baby spinach. Sizzled with sliced garlic, red chilli, cumin and crumbled toasted fenugreek."

As boring as it is, for my main dish, I choose paneer saagwalla.  I adore paneer, particularly fresh, well prepared paneer.  And a well spiced saag can be delicious.  And, apparently, I was in the mood for cheese.  My starter had a cheese sauce, my main dish was paneer, and even the naan I picked was cheesy naan.  Whoops?

I was incredibly disappointed by the dish.  The paneer was tiny little chunks.  They were rubbery and absolutely flavorless.  My personal favorite is when the chunks are bigger, and are pan seared first to have a bit of a crust.  The spinach mixture was just … spinach.  It didn’t seem to have any spicing to it whatsoever.  Again, where was the spicing, where was the heat?

This dish honestly tasted like a microwave version from the grocery store.  Flavorless, boring, and rubbery paneer.  Sure the price of £6.95 was good, but I wouldn’t ever get this again.

[ No Photo - sorry! ]
Pisatchio Kulfi. £6.50.

In my world, even a disappointing meal can be saved by dessert!  And, since I have a thing for ice cream, I was interested in trying their kulfi, offered in three flavors: rose, pistachio, or hazelnut.  I don’t tend to like hazelnut flavor, and after the crazy sweet rose cocktail I wasn’t in the mood for that, so we settled on the pistachio, again, not a favorite of mine, but the best of the choices.

The kulfi was served sliced up, at a good temperature. It was surprisingly creamy for something so solid, and didn’t melt too fast.  But, meh ... it was just pistachio ice cream.
Cafe Spice Namaste on Urbanspoon
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Monday, November 03, 2014

Prime Dip

Prime Dip is a small chain around San Francisco, with 3 locations (2 open only on weekdays in the Financial District, and one open daily in Pac Heights).  It is "Gourmet Sandwich" shop, offering hot subs like lobster, crab, and shrimp dips,  plus classics like Italian subs, in addition to the namesake "Famous Prime Rib French Dip".

But I am not really one for sandwiches.  And while I do like lobster and crab, I was skeptical of the quality, even if Prime Dip advertises as a "gourmet" sandwich spot, it is still a fast casual establishment after all.  But what I do like is classic comfort food side dishes: cole slaw, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes ... mmm!  And Prime Dip had signs boasting that their sides are all homemade, so, I finally sent inside to check it out.

Prime Dip isn't fancy, you order at a register, and the sides are all pre-made.  The mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and other hot items are served from big vats in a steam table.  The coleslaw is in a big container in the cold foods area.  But I guess they are "homemade" at some point?

On every visit, the service was far better than I expected.  I was a bit shocked by how polite and friendly the staff are.  On my first visit, when the person taking my order asked how my day was, he genuinely seemed to want to know my answer.  As I left, he wished me a good day.  When I asked the style of the coleslaw (since I love mayo based coleslaw and find vinegar based slaw quite boring),  I was pleasantly surprised when I was immediately offered a sample, along with an explanation.  For a fast casual place, the staff are incredibly on top of things.

I've always gotten my sides to go, generally to serve with other food I have at home, so I haven't ever stuck around to check out the seating, although the Fillmore location does have a sizable dining area.

Overall, the sides at least are pretty good for what they are.  I've returned several times, which must be indicative of something.  Maybe one of these days I'll get brave enough to try the seafood?  

By the way, if you want to own a Prime Dip yourself, a license is available for $30,000.
Coleslaw.   $1.75.
The first side dish I tried was coleslaw, always a favorite item of mine.

The slaw had a mayo base as I like, but it wasn't that creamy (on the plus side, that meant it was certainly not heavy).  It was very tangy as well.  I didn't quite care for the flavor, but it was well seasoned and not over-dressed, just not my style.  The cabbage was fresh and crispy, even though it was pre-made.  I appreciated the carrots and red cabbage in the mix too.

$1.75 was a fine price tag for a large side portion, and I brought it to Ojan to try, since I'm still trying to figure out his ideal coleslaw.  He liked it, and asked for seconds, so clearly, this is the right coleslaw for someone.

Update: On another occasion, I picked up coleslaw again, mostly for Ojan.  I of course tried it again.  And ... I liked it.  The cabbage was fresh and crunchy, the base was creamier and a bit heavier than last time, and the tang was gone.  Which, made it much more my style.  Hmm.  Granted, it was from a different Prime Dip location (this came from the Market Street location, the first came from Fillmore), but I assumed their recipe is standardized.  I'll have to continue doing "research" to get to the bottom of this!
Mac and Cheese.  $2.75.
The next side I picked was mac and cheese.  Who can resist good mac and cheese?

The quality of this was questionable.  I know it says homemade but ... it tasted like it came out of the freezer section of the grocery store.  The noodles were mushy, the sauce was kinda creamy and cheesy, but tasted very, very plain.  And yes, it had clearly been sitting in the steam tray for hours.  Meh.

But $2.75 was a fine price for a side of mac and cheese, and if you are looking for KFC or Boston Market quality mac, it is fine.
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy.  $2.25.
Next, I went for mashed potatoes, with gravy of course.  The mashed potatoes were better than the mac and cheese.  I was a bit shocked to discover that they seemed to actually be made from real potatoes.  There were lumps and bits of skin throughout, so, clearly not instant.  The potatoes weren't particularly smooth, nor creamy, and somewhat reminded me of what you'd get in anyone's home.  So, a different style that most fast food/fast-casual mashed potatoes, and indeed homey tasting, but not remarkable.

I'm not sure what kind of gravy it was, but it was brown, thin, and had bits in it.  I'm assuming they use the signature prime rib drippings?

As with all the sides, both the mash and the gravy were just sitting in steam trays, but it was served piping hot, and was somewhat comforting.  Not sure I'd really want it again, but, it was not awful.  $2.25 price for a full size side dish was absolutely fine.
Creamed Spinach.  $2.75.
Getting more adventurous, I went for the creamed spinach.  Now this was an absolute winner.  OMG.

Sure, it is difficult to go wrong with something based on cream.  But this is really well done.  Chopped spinach, that actually tastes fresh.  A cream sauce that isn't totally overwhelming and heavy (sure, it is creamed spinach, but it doesn't just taste like a bucket of cream).  And, the extra magic ingredient: red onions.  Soft, well cooked, perfect size, they added a great flavor.  I wouldn't have ever thought to add red onion to my creamed spinach, but it totally works.

This was such a treat, and by far my favorite side.

$2.75 is a fine price for a large side dish.

Update: I've returned to all the different Prime Dip locations to get this several more times.  And I've loved it every time, even though it is different every time.  The only thing that seems to not be consistent is the onions.  The first batch I had had tons of red onions, later batches seemed to only have a little bit of yellow onion or green onion.  Still quite tasty, always somehow fresh tasting, and perfectly creamy.  Comfort food at its finest!
House Side Salad, French Dressing.  $2.25
And finally, on a whim, I decided to try the final option, a simple side salad.

The base was fresh enough greens, although they were a bit bitter.  Topped with whole grape tomatoes, sliced beets, and crumbled hard boiled egg.  I was a little surprised by the toppings, I never expected beets or hardboiled egg on a basic side salad.  I opted for the creamy French dressing, which was pleasantly tangy and the salad was not overdressed (my other options were ranch or balsamic).

Overall, better than expected for a $2.25 salad, and it was decent size.
House Side Salad, French Dressing.  $2.25.
The next time I tried the side salad, it was less successful.

This time, no grape tomatoes, which sorta makes sense, as it is no longer summer.  And far less hard boiled egg, a bit disappointing.  The egg was a rather strange mushy texture, and was somewhat grey in color.

I still loved the French dressing, and the way it went with the beets and egg, but, the salad was drowned in it.  Way overdressed.  Note to self: ask for dressing on the side next time.
Prime Dip on UrbanspoonPrime Dip Gourmet Sandwiches on UrbanspoonPrime Dip on Urbanspoon
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Sunday, November 02, 2014

Skinny Cow Chocolates and Ice Cream

Skinny Cow makes a variety of lower-calorie, low-fat frozen treats, including ice cream and chocolates.  Since I love ice cream and chocolate, and was on a mandatory low-fat diet a few years ago, I tried a bunch of their products.  I don't have notes from then, but I do remember thinking the ice cream wasn't that bad (then again, it had been ages since I'd had real ice cream by point).

I forgot all about Skinny Cow once I could eat fat again, but recently re-discovered them when a friend was looking for ~100 calorie snacks that were more interesting than little bags of pretzels.  Skinny Cow fits the bill nicely, although they certainly aren't diet products.

Chocolates

Skinny Cow's line of chocolates all fall within the 110 to 130 calories range.  They offer three chocolate lines: Divine Filled Chocolates (2 flavors), Heavenly Crisps (wafer bars, in 3 flavors), and Dreamy Clusters (2 flavors), all of which look like any other chocolate candies you'd find in the candy aisle.  Although I guess a bit healthier?

Peanut Butter Creme Devine Filled Chocolates.
"Velvety milk chocolate on the outside. Delicious peanut butter crème on the inside."

The Devine Filled Chocolates are available in two flavors: peanut butter or caramel.  I think chocolate and peanut butter are a match made in heaven, so, this was an easy choice.  Each package contains 3 pieces, totaling 130 calories, so, 43 calories each, which ... yes, is significantly less than the 110 calories in a single Reese's peanut butter cup.

The milk chocolate coating  was better than your standard Hershey, for sure.  But, the peanut butter "crème" left something to be desired.  There was far too little of it to really taste.  I guess that is what keeps the calorie counts down, but, meh.  Being able to taste the peanut butter is a core feature of a peanut butter based item.  Half a Reese's pb cup is more satisfying than a full one of these.
Milk Chocolate Dreamy Clusters.
"Unbelievably rich, bite-sized chewy clusters of creamy caramel and crispy pieces, covered in dreamy milk chocolate."

The Dreamy Clusters come in two varieties, dark or milk chocolate.  Ojan picked these up for some reason, and went for the milk chocolate.  The clusters are small and come in a portion controlled 120 calorie bag.

The clusters were highly unremarkable.  Basic mediocre milk chocolate.  Standard mediocre caramel, certainly not runny as shown in the photo.  The crispies were a nice crunch, but otherwise boring.  Nothing really interesting here.  Not dreamy.

Frozen Snacks

Most of Skinny Cow's products are frozen, including ice cream sandwiches (7 varieties, 150 calories), cones (3 varieties, 160 calories), frozen candy bars (2 varieties, 160 calories), and the most modest offering, simple bars (4 varieties, 100-110 calories).  All made with low-fat ice cream.  Not diet food for sure, but, compared to full fat products, they are a better choice.
Limited Edition Pretty in Pink Velvet Truffle Bars.
"Low fat pink velvet ice cream topped with a cream cheese flavored drizzle."

I was surprised when I read the nutrition information.  Seriously, only 100 calories? 2.5 grams of fat?  I wasn't sure how it was possible.

The first clue came when I opened a wrapper, and saw how petite they were.  Still large enough to satisfy, but certainly on the smaller side.  Portion control.

The second clue came when I realized that the "cream cheese flavored drizzle" really was just the thin white drizzle visible here.  There was far too little of it to taste cream cheese.  It added to the look, but certainly not to the taste, which is too bad, as the cream cheese icing is a rather essential aspect of red velvet.  It did add a bit of crunch which I liked.

And finally, there was the ice cream itself.  It wasn't creamy, at all.  My bars had a bit freezer burn due to an unfortunate incident where the freezer was unplugged, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't the full cause of the consistency issues.  It did sorta taste like red velvet.

I wouldn't get these again, 100 calories or not, they just weren't very good.

Update: I had a second one at a later date.  I was still disappointed by the cream cheese drizzle, but the ice cream itself was better.  I ate it in the sun on a hot day, it got a bit melty and a bit more creamy.  But, still no real flavor, and no reason to get these again.
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