NEAROF

Another jolly good find in the new British import section at Hub Cigar in Edmonton. Shortbread is one of my guilty pleasures (I usually make a big batch around Christmas), and I have a soft spot for organics. Easy sell. The Look: Considering the number of shortbread tins and packages that have a Scottish motif, [...]

Who doesn’t love strawberry cheesecake? Rich cream cheese, strawberry topping and a graham cracker crust? Heaven. Why I thought Jell-O’s Strawberry Cheesecake dessert cups would meet any of those criteria is beyond me. First off, there’s no graham cracker crust at the bottom, which seems silly. Next, the strawberry topping is more of an extruded [...]

Another treat from south of the border, Pearson’s Nut Goodie bar has been around since 1912, and is apparently not available in Canada. Too bad, that. The Look: The Nut Goodie packaging is beautifully old-school, with a “Made in the USA” decal and typography that looks like it came from five decades ago. Don’t believe [...]

This bag of Ruffles Loaded Chili & Cheese potato chips made its way to NEAROF! HQ in Canada from its native habitat in the United States of America. The Look: The image on the bag looks both delicious and disgusting. It depicts potato chips covered in chili and cheese, a combination that I suddenly want [...]

Chocolate makes me happy, as does organic stuff, so this one-two punch of organic chocolate has plenty of awesome going for it. Here’s my take on three different flavours of Theobroma Chocolat bars. The Look: Very distinctive, with beautiful packaging and a long, slender shape that’s memorable and enticing. Downside? They easily break into pieces. [...]

I like Idaho. Road trips have taken me through northern parts of the state, as well as down through the south, en route to Utah. It’s a pretty corner of the U.S., and, as any American will tell you, it’s known for one thing: potatoes. Yes, Idaho is to America what Prince Edward Island is [...]

After trying Reese peanut butter chocolate frozen dessert, as seen on this very website, I was curious to try this new Reese ice cream bar, which has only recently turned up in stores. Given how much I love most other Reese products, there was little doubt I’d eventually get around to trying these. The Pitch: [...]

Breaded chicken stuffed with cheese and ham? Classy. Pretzels stuffed with peanut butter? Admittedly less classy, but still fine at cocktail parties, provided they are placed in a silver dish with tiny sugar-cube serving tongs. These curious President’s Choice peanut butter filled pretzels showed up at my place of employ as part of a media [...]