NEAROF

The Pitch: Like all other kettle chips before them, Lays is selling their kettle-cooked chips on their naturalish-ness. “Natural flavours, timeless taste,” says the bag, which claims the chips are made with all natural flavours, no artificial colours, no preservatives, 0 trans fat, no MSG … and “100% happiness.” Well, if they’ll contribute to my [...]

I first found these last year on a trip to Seattle, and I’ve been patiently waiting for them to show up in Canada. And, well, what do you know? Here they are! The pharmacy gum-rack shelf-talker showed three flavours available in Canada: Strawberry Shortcake, Apple Pie and Orange Crème. While I don’t miss the mint [...]

Newcastle Brown Ale is one of my favourite beers. I love its amazing caramel notes, the crisp carbonation, the mineral profile, the balanced hops, the roasted malt, the light sweetness. On the rare occasions I watch soccer games on TV (a.k.a. football on the telly), it’s the default beer I reach for. And yet, I’d [...]

Chips Ahoy! cookies are not part of my current everyday life, but they were when I was a kid. Every day, I’d get at least a couple of them tucked into a baggie in my lunch bag as dessert. (Only to be eaten after finishing my mustard, carrot and lettuce sandwich. Yes, that was my [...]

Another trip to Ikea means another trip to the Ikea food store. Hurrah! This time, I spotted some super-cheap Anna’s orange flavoured thins in a box. It’s like I can never leave Ikea without buying something. The Pitch: “Swedish recipe.” Also, “By appointment to H.M. the King of Sweden.” An interesting blurb on the back [...]

Chinese bakeries are puzzling. There’s so much good stuff there, but it’s all a tad bewildering unless you know someone who knows their way around the place. “Cocktail bun?” you ask yourself, scratching your head. “What’s in that?” I was lucky enough to have had someone show me around a Chinese bakery when I was [...]

It’s a Halloween tradition. Every year, when digging around through my surplus fun-size candy, I rediscover Aero. It’s a chocolate bar I’d never normally buy on its own in a full-size version, but in fun-size, it’s perfect. Why do I like it? Because there are no bells and whistles. It’s just chocolate, infused with a [...]

If you think Lime Crush is a strange soft-drink flavour, you clearly haven’t met the product line from Dry Soda. They have all sorts of curious flavours, some of which are riffs on a familiar pop flavour (blood orange, say), and some of which are totally oddball (lavender). The Pitch: “Less sweet. Four ingredients. All [...]