Snack Review: Bissli Snacks Falafel Flavor

Most years, it’s just Christmas that’s almost a disaster because I leave my shopping till the last minute. But this year, I thought I’d managed to ruin Hanukkah too: Recently I saw that this season, Jones Soda’s holiday soda flavors include - be still my heart - jelly doughnut! But tragically, if you click on that link you will see the three saddest words on the Internet: OUT OF STOCK.

You might wonder what this has to do with this little bag of falafel flavored, cracker-stick sorts of things. It’s not because they are made in Israel, although that is indeed a country that celebrates Hanukkah.

No, it’s that these crackers made me feel better about not getting the soda. It’s because they reminded me: Certain tastes are supposed to go with certain textures.

I expected this snack to be, you know, kind of reminiscent of falafel, kind of suggestive of falafel, something like a relative, or a good friend, of the falafel family.

But instead, it tasted, uncannily, exactly like falafel. You’d think this would be a big success, right? But it was actually kind of disorienting. Falafel are supposed to be round, and fried on the outside, and soft and grainy-textured on the inside. Not little crunchy sticks. It’s weird to be eating a little cracker-stick and tasting basically a sandwich.

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Snack Review: Medora Snacks

With the harried and hectic lifestyle demanded by the modern world, just finding time to eat feed yourself can be a luxury. Sitting down to eat with the family? That’s a pipe dream for most of us. Still, those of us blessed-slashed-cursed with others who depend upon us for sustenance (kids, husbands, Manorexic boyfriends, etc.) like to know that everyone is properly fed. All too often, that means frequent trips to the drive-through, Chinese takeout, or - when all else fails - bags of chips or cookies.

With all of the recent media attention paid to childhood obesity, it’s only natural for a parent to feel guilty about feeding greasy, preservative-packed snacks to his or her family, and to wish for a healthier alternative that’s just as easy. Enter Rockville, NY-based Medora Snacks. Medora (literal translation = a Mother’s Gift) has a noble mission:

“To bring to the world wholesome, great tasting snacks made from the very best, all-natural ingredients. To be true to our brand values of delivering better-for-you snacks that mothers can feel good about eating and sharing with their family and friends.”

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Snack Review: Michael Season’s Honey-Chipotle Baked Multigrain Chips

An unexpected package arrived for me yesterday. Unfortunately, by the time I reached my apartment complex, the office had been closed for hours. Inaudibly cursing L.A. traffic, I headed home for the evening, hoping the package would contain a shipment of delicious, or at least borderline-edible snacks for me to review. Based on the info provided by our lovely editor Caitlin, I was expecting either ice cream or chips and crackers from a small artisan company.

What I found upon retrieving my booty this morning was indeed Snackerrific-related. It consisted of chips from a small purveyor of high-quality snacks, but not the chips I’d been anticipating. Observing the postage, I noted my parcel came courtesy of Michael Season’s, a brand with which this site and its reviewers have an intimate familiarity.

I’m sure opinions vary from snacker to snacker, but I’ve grown quite fond of Michael Season’s all-natural twists on salty snacking favorites. The brand’s wholesome, healthy image is nearly sufficient to reassure me I’m treating my body as a temple while I inhale a half-bag of their cheese curls. So although I would have liked to try something new and adventurous, I was grateful for the opportunity to visit a not-so-old favorite.

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Snack Review: Food Should Taste Good Chips

I recently had the chance to review a brand of chips that I had never heard of before called Food Should Taste Good. I thought that was quite a catchy name; one that would most likely make me buy them in the store just because of the cool name.

I was sent many varieties to review and wasn’t quite sure what to pick first. The choices I had were Multigrain, Olive, Buffalo, Jalapeño, Chocolate, Sweet Potato and The Works. These were all exciting-sounding flavors to try. Surprisingly, the one I was most afraid to try became my favorite one of all.

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Snack Review: The Cheddar-tastic Michael Season’s Taste Test

I’ve got to credit the snacksmiths at Michael Season’s - they’re incredibly generous. I was grateful to the homegrown Illinois company already for sending me some of their Baked Multigrain Chips to review a few weeks ago. Apparently, Michael Season’s was satisfied with my review - I was pleasantly surprised, this morning, to discover a second box of Michael Season’s goodies, larger than the first, waiting at my door.

In eager anticipation, I peeled away the industrial tape and cardboard to find… Cheetos, Michael Season’s style. Not only did the “Natural Gourmet” gift me with its “Ultimate Cheddar Cheese Curls” - oh no. The Midwestern proponent of “Feel Good Snacking” also threw in its Cheddar Cheese Puffs in both Original and White Cheddar. To top this all off, they decided it would be a great idea to also include the healthier “baked” incarnations of the Cheese Curls and Cheddar Puffs. I laid the selection across my kitchen counter, feeling a bit daunted - being a lone reviewer, I had my work cut out for me!

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