When Burger King announced that it was making "Mac & Cheetos", someone on a social media site suggested that someone tried them for science. Seeing that I am going to have a great meal for dinner, that I went for a long run this morning, and that I went grocery shopping without the benefit of breakfast, I assumed that today was the day to try them.
You know, for science.
See?
They are "dangerously cheesy"! Yay for brand synergy.
They look less like Cheetos (Which I realize that I should have also purchased for the visual comparison. Food post fail. I have dishonored my family.) and more like generic friend things. Maybe mozzarella sticks from the type of places that considers Shock Top "craft" beer would be the right visual.
They smell not like Cheetos but like fried food. This is not a badness as much as it is an observation. I like fried food. Fried food is great.
At five for $2.49, they are priced similarly to fried foods that you would find at your friendly neighborhood tavern. (Hopefully your friendly neighborhood tavern does not consider Shock Top craft beer. If it does, find a new neighborhood.)
Then I took a bite...
Now, I know that food photography is an art. I know that people spend a lot of time coaxing food, and food like things, to look great on camera for commercials and such, so I was not expecting it to look just like the advertisements. Well, not disappointed, though it does look like there is real pasta in there.
Now Mac and Cheese is something that a lot of people have a lot of opinions on. I mean, I have some strong ones. This is not the Mac and Cheese that I would make or generally enjoy, but I could see it filling some sort of nostalgia for people who venerate Kraft as the height of the Mac and Cheese artform. For me, however, the filling reminded me of the one time I tried canned Mac and Cheese from Cleveland's hero Chef Boyardee. It was not one of my proudest moments.
So, the verdict? Even though I was very very hungry, I only ate three, giving the other two to my brother. My first reaction was that "these are not good" while my brother's was a "these are not bad". I think that is the best way to describe them. Neither good nor bad, just fried Mac and Cheese with a dusting of Cheetos.
