Arctic Ocean Orange soda: Arctic Ocean is a Chinese orange soda that has a neon-yellow color similar to Lemon Gatorade. It’s slightly less sweet than Sunkist or Fanta but has a similar underlying citrus flavor, though milder. It tastes more like tangerine to me than your typical orange soda. As you may expect, its ingredients are just high fructose corn syrup, orange juice, sugar, and water. A decent level of carbonation, with smaller bubbles than Coke soft drinks. Overall, not anything particularly out of the ordinary. 3.0/5.0
drinks chinese citrus arcticocean orange soda 3.0
Smash Mint chocolate chip marshmallow rice treat: The good thing about this snack is that it is not overly sweet and is fairly substantial for a rice crispie. It has small morsels of mint chocolate chips scattered throughout. However, when mint flavored foods are strong, they sometimes verge into artificial / medicinal / mouthwash territory, and this snack bar comes close. Texturally, it’s a bit tougher to bite into than other marshmallow treats. Overall, this one was just ok. 3.0/5.0
smashmarshmallow mint chocolate chip marshmallow rice treat 3.0
Detroit Water Ice Mango and watermelon ice: Seeking a local treat, I found myself at Detroit Water Ice, a store specializing in flavored ice that falls somewhere between Italian ice and Icee. After sampling their intensely and unappetizingly sweet cinnamon horchata, I inquired about their least sweet options. With a Kiddie combo of watermelon and mango in hand, I left with a not-so-kid-sized cup of generally smooth shaved ice - soft but not watery, and fully saturated with fruit concentrate. Reminded me of otter pops in flavor, rather... (read more) 3.0/5.0
frozen sweet dessert detroitwaterice mango watermelon ice 3.0
Better Made Special Barbecue flavored potato chips: This brand of chips was founded in Detroit, which is where I ate a bag during a conference snack break. The chips are thin and slightly crispy but mostly saturated with oil. Seasoned with a sweet tangy vinegar-based powder, it has all the classic flavorings of a bbq chip. It falls squarely in the middle - just so so. 3.0/5.0
potatochips junkfood bettermadespecial barbecue flavored potato chips 3.0
Snowdays Creamsicle shaved ice with coconut ash condensed milk: A collaboration between Korean fast-casual chain Korilla and Taiwanese shaved ice shop Snowdays, this dessert combines orange creamsicle shaved ice with a drizzle of black charcoal-colored condensed milk, giving it the appearance of Korilla's tiger mascot. Available exclusively at the Korilla stand at Madison Square Eats, a single-size container costs around $7, which is quite expensive but can also easily be shared among a small family. Overall, the dessert is not bad; the milky coconut p... (read more) 3.0/5.0
desserts shavedice taiwanese nyc korilla collab snowdays creamsicle shaved ice coconut ash condensed milk 3.0
Saffron Road White cheddar chickpea crisps: Chips with an irregular texture reminiscent of Popcorners, with muted confetti-colored “splotches” indicative of the vegetables used to flavor it (green for peas, orange for sweet potatoes, and red for lentils). While I liked the sharp cheddar powdered flavoring that coats the chips, the combination of vegetable with cheese is a little odd and doesn’t quite come together. Purchased from Whole Foods. 3.0/5.0
chips veggie wholefoods saffronrose white cheddar chickpea crisps 3.0