Review: Burger King Hot Fries Flavored Potato Snacks

Did you know that Burger King had a line of snack foods independent from their restaurants? It’s true! I’ve tried a few of their offerings in the past with mixed results. I had never seen their Hot Fries before, so I couldn’t wait to try them.

From the look of the bag, these fries look red hot. The flames on the bottom of the bag (which Burger King usually reserves to describe their flame-broiled burgers) indicate that these are truly hot fries! The description on the bag adds fuel to the fire (pun clearly intended).

Burn on? Let’s hope not. I only want them to burn on the way down.

When I opened the bag, they weren’t as nearly as red hot as I thought they would be. They are more, fry-colored.

If you look closely, (and I hope you are, this is a deadly serious topic), you can see the spices. They taste pretty spicy, too! Make sure you have a drink handy when enjoying this snack. The taste of cayenne pepper and other assorted peppers comes through clearly. The drawback of this snack, though, is the slightly oily taste from the fries. It almost tasted like they were fried in some old oil that should have been changed. Which kind of made me think of Burger King fries, so well done I guess.

If you want to “Have It Your Way”, and you want hot fries, then this is the snack for you. If not, have it your way. See what I did there?

Happy snacking!

Review: Frank’s Red Hot Chicken Fries

Frank’s Red Hot sauce is delicious! Let’s just start right there. If you disagree with that statement, save us both some time and move on.

…go on…I’ll wait…

Alright, now that it’s just us Frank’s fans, let us proceed.

I found these in the freezer section at Wal-Mart. I don’t know if these are a new snack, since there is no NEW or LIMITED EDITION logo. But they are new to me, so that’s good enough, right?

I opened the box and dumped the chicken fries onto a paper plate (with a wicker plate holder for increased structural integrity). I popped these in the microwave for a few minutes and the results are shown below.

NOTE: THESE ARE LIKELY EVEN BETTER IF COOKED IN AN OVEN, BUT I WAS IMPATIENT!

Also included in the package is a separate packet containing Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Ranch Dipping Sauce. The chicken fries by themselves are pretty good, what with their combination of chicken breast and rib meat. But the buffalo sauce successfully elevates this item from a snack to a treat. What’s the difference? Well, a treat is a snack that brings pleasure. I’m happy when eating them!

Do you want to be happy? Try these! Happy snacking!

Review: Burger King Sweet Potato Fries

Summer is here, and recently Burger King announced that it has decided to celebrate the season with a bevy of new offerings. A barbecue pulled pork sandwich! Two different barbecue-themed sandwiches! Sweet potato fries! Two different types of frozen lemonade! And, the biggest and oddest announcement, a bacon sundae! Taken all together, these would constitute a meal (and a large, unhealthy meal at that). But separate — they are snacks! Thus, I will be trying all of these and letting you know what I think.

Today I am focusing on the sweet potato fries. I have to start off by saying that when it comes to fast food fries, I think Burger King fries are the worst — worse than Wendy’s and MUCH worse than McDonald’s. Something about them just tastes…off. A little too sweet when compared to the other two. So, when I saw the sweet potato fries, I was a little skeptical. But it’s new, so I have to try it, right?

The fries are the typical orange-hued sweet potato fries that you may be familiar with. But there was a liberal and visible sprinkling of salt on the fries. I’m happy to report I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the fries. Yes, they were sweet, but since they are sweet potato fries they are supposed to taste sweet. I could see this being a good compliment to any of the barbecue sandwiches. I recommend that you try them and see what you think. Enjoy!

Two for Tuesday Review: Wendy’s Chili Cheese Fries and Macaroni and Cheese Signature Sides

Two reviews in one! While at Wendy’s a few weeks ago I took it upon myself to sample two of their new signature sides. I skipped the sweet potato this time, maybe on a future visit.

Let’s start with the worst.

Behold Wendy’s Chili Cheese Fries! This is a very uninspired offering. Here are the steps you can take if you want to make it yourself:

1. Pour Wendy’s fries into a bowl.
2. Pour Wendy’s chili on the fries.
3. Sprinkle cheap waxy cheese on top
4. Enjoy?

Believe me, step 4 is optional, or at the very least takes a concerted effort. One suggestion for Wendy’s to improve this side: Replace the cheap cheese with the cheese sauce you put on your baked potatoes. This will help, but I still don’t think I will be trying this particular side again. Now let’s talk about the Mac and Cheese:

This side was an improvement over the last (then again, what wouldn’t be?) The macaroni and cheese is by no means fancy. Think Kraft Macaroni and Cheese  generic macaroni and cheese. With the SAME WAXY CHEESE ON TOP! Does it even look appetizing? It is marginally better than the fries, but I still was disappointed overall.

Wendy’s really needs to get their act together. Burger King is pulling out all the stops on their menu, and with the disaster for Wendy’s that is the W burger, Wendy’s needs some real innovation. May I recommend the return of the Mozzarella Chicken Supreme sandwich? Man, I miss that sandwich…

Review: Andy Capp’s BBQ Hot Fries

Andy Capp’s, my boy! I am a big fan of his regular variety of hot fries, less so of his comic strip. Do kid’s today even know who Andy Capp is? No chance. Do they realize his name sounds like you are pronouncing the word “handicap” with a British accent? They do now.

I bought these at a Sheetz gas station in Fisherville, Virginia. I had never seen them before, and I am always drawn like a moth to a flame anytime I see “NEW” on a package. However, after doing some research, it appears these have been around before. I am not sure if the NEW signifies a new formula, but in any case, they were new to me!

They have a good BBQ flavor, as if someone put BBQ sauce on regular hot fries instead of the sauce and baked them into the fry. They are not hot at all; instead, they are a good balance of sweet and salty.

I approve of this new addition to the Andy Capp fry family. I will still have hot fries 4 out of 5 times, but these BBQ fries will work their way into the snack rotation (if I can find them.)

Review: Herr’s Snack Friez Cheesy Bacon Ranch

Sometimes, when I am on a long road trip, I get tired of the typical fast food menu. That is when I usually decide to “mini-mart it” for dinner. Yes, I have been known to eat chips for dinner. That doesn’t sound very appetizing, and I’m not going to try to convince anyone reading this that this is a good idea, or a healthy idea. But sometimes, chips just sound good — simple as that.

So, driving through Ohio on my way back to Indiana, I pulled into a convenience store and perused the snack aisles in search of dinner.

I wandered up and down the chip aisle, and nothing was calling out to me. I was in the mood for something new, but I was coming up short. Then I made my way to the end cap and noticed a display of Herr’s Snack Friez. Jackpot! And even better, there was a NEW flavor. I’m a sucker for new snacks, because I am always searching for the next great snack that nobody knows about. So I picked up a bag of Cheesy Bacon Ranch Snack Friez, paid for it (boy, did I ever), and left.

I opened the bag and examined the contents. I am sad to say that, in my opinion, the contents stank. I can describe it as a strong, smoky odor that was not pleasant. This did not bode well.

Cautiously, I took a bite of a fry (frie?). I was assaulted mainly by the overwhelming flavor of SALT. Salty, salty, salty. I quickly guzzled some Coke Zero to get the taste out of my mouth. Against my better judgment, I tried another, and I discovered that it was not as salty. It appears that the coating of “flavor dust” was very uneven from frie to frie. The less flavored were not as bad, but the aggressively flavored friez were terrible. Even the lightly flavored friez were still greasy and unappetizing. The bacon flavor was mild and too smoky. The cheese was too salty, and the ranch flavor was just a different kind of salty.

Overall, this snack is pretty bad, especially compared to the other brands of oven-baked fries that I have tried in the past, such as Andy Capp’s. Do not try it under any circumstances, unless you happen to love the flavor of salty smoke, or smoky salt.