see the logo? price sticker sez 99 cents, btw

Hm, well jeez, the news item here was gonna be that sevenoneone’s getting into making its own choc bars in a big way. The proof being this-here Big Gulp choc w/ crisp rice (interesting: that they’re brand-extending the drink name). (There’s also a Big Gulp plain-choc bar tho not seen locally.) At this point, a critique would have ensued, semi-dogging the thing cuz its 1st ingred is sugar not choc, and it really does taste too sweet (tho maybe ok for mosta the clientele). But a quick fack-check at the w.s. revealed another more interesting prod not-yet seen: blue corn wrap w/ turkey, corn, blk beans, romaine, & a “snappy” tomatillo-poblano spread. I mean, THAT sounds good. or at least better than a too-sweet nestles crunch knockoff.

One sign a company – oooh, say, Celestial Seasonings – has been corporatized (by, say, Hain): the name shows up in places you’d never expect. New! Celestial Seasonings Tea Dreams nondairy frozen dessert, made w/ Rice Dream (by Imagine, another Hain buyout and maker of Soy Dream, totally the best soy milk out there, eff Silk). Flavors incl apple, peach, strawb, but the 2 sampled were vanilla ginger spice thai (”zesty ginger ribbon” + gingersnap “chunks”) (quotes = a wee bit of overstatement) and choc caramel chai (choc chips + “hint of chai spice”). This being a tea-themed product, wheredya suppose tea falls in the ingred list? Last. After safflower oil, caramel variegate, guar, locust bean, the usual gums … last but not least, black tea extract. That said, the ice cream’s not all that bad, tho hardly velvety, zesty, or hinty.

Reese’s Pieces*, eh. In fact, bleh to almost all in the recent parade of Reese’s spinoffs, from xtra choc to xtra PB, xtra-creamy to white choc. Even the original Reese’s cups were NSG. So, singling out Reese’s Big Cup w/ Nuts is no mere tossing-another-log, nor is it just another desperation blog entry. How dare you. No, Big Cup w/ Nuts is special. … i.e. really good, w/ a dialogue between the choc & peanuts (which are actually salted and some still whole).

*hershey’s site sez there’s a new reese’s pieces w/ nuts too. have not seen, have low hopes

opened on friday 8-26. can east plano be far behind???

it’s another great image brought to you by marc, the indian scout of NYCE: “TGIF” done in fruit, specifically asian pears (the T), golden delicious apples (g), braeburns - or are they galas? (i), and strawberries (f). i guess fridays will be an evolving thing but for today TGIF will do, if for no other reason than the first two letters have an inexplicably pleasing quality, n’est-ce pas?

Brace yourself: There’s no Vinny at Vinny’s New York Pizza. Sorry. They thought “Vinny” sounded Italiany and new yorky. They also say their pizza is true NY-style and w/ a name like Vinny’s, who are you to argue? But hang on, they’re making their own dough/sauce, the crust’s reportedly thin, and for now it’s BYOB, so maybe slack can be cut. Owner Celia Lopez took over Vinny’s from colorful Frankie Carabetta, of Manhattan Bar, Knox Street Pub, Corner Bar, and Rocco’s pizza (next to Club Babalu). Is there all of a sudden a lotta pizza @ knox-henderson?

4447 N. Central Expry. (next to Vermillion) 214-720-0333

As a courtesy to Chicago-style pizza fans and nothing more: Wo-max Pizza, which does the thick, sludgy, multi-crusty “pizza” snort popular in the Windy City. (Almost as annoying as calling Boston “Beantown” or NY “The Big Apple“.) Also at Wo-max: Chicago-style hot dogs (more horrid indelicacy) & Italian beef sandwiches. No restroom makes this not a true sit-down place, tho there’s a few tables, not to mention the obligatory chi-town memorabilia on the walls. Go Cubs, Bears, whatever.

2809 Flower Mound Road Flower Mound 972-691-2101

continuing w/ our pizza week theme. isn’t that logo the most awesome ever?

WTF, let’s make it pizza week*

VERY HOT PIZZA NEWS: Campania Pizza JUST OPENED (like, hours ago) on the ground floor of Mondrian Cityplace across from the uberbuzzy West Village. Named for the Campania region, it has a guy in from italy doing a temporary consultancy to demo real pizza i.e. not loaded w/ mozzarella or drenched w/ tomato sauce. Everything’s imported from Italy (even the flour!); they’re also selling gourmet foodstuffs. They’ll do salads, specialty pizza rolls, stuffed crust deals, but it’s so new they don’t have all their supplies. The interior’s tiled w/ imported stone & mosaic, and there’s a mural of napoli on the wall.

3000 blackburn st. #150. 214-780-0605

*cool neon-esque logo supplied by, yes, marc, the indian scout of NYCE

Once stodgy, Hershey has refashioned itself into a nimble entity w/ new prods and ltd editions – currently 7, and that’s Hershey bars alone (not reese’s, not almond joy, not kit kat, not etc). Some were intro’d in june and haven’t appeared locally but this has: Hershey’s Nut Lovers, milk choc w/ peanut, almond, cashew, & pecan. It’s a flat bar (vs. blocky) and a neat idea to stud a hershey’s bar w/ a buncha nuts, even if the nuts are small & scattered. (it’s also, oddly, a reverse spinoff of a Miniatures product.) Meanwhile if anyone sees the ltd edition mocha almond, do drop a line

On their own, Triscuit rosemary & olive oil crackers may not be all that exciting; but NYCE can find something large and pop culture-y to say about a new flavor of cracker, yes? Take your pick: A. Lookit all the Triscuit choices* (7, if you count the low fat/low salt axis), yet do we really need more more more? B. Is every run-of-the-mill food group eventually gonna undergo the premium-ization trend? C. Is that rosemary-olive-oil combo a bandwagon jump on the panmarino originated 10 yrs ago by the awesome West Coast chain Il Fornaio?

*original, cheddar, reduced fat, low sodium, deli-style rye, garden herb, roasted garlic