Okay, boys and girls.  Junk Food Nation, it’s World Series time! First round, I was 2-for-4. In the Championship Series round, I was 1-for-2.  This 50% bit can only last so long. Now, it’s down to Texas vs. St. Louis; Josh Hamilton vs. Albert Pujols; AL vs. NL.  Because of the STUPID MLB ALL-STAR GAME RULES, the National League has homefield advantage.  Game 1 begins tonight, in St. Louis: CJ Wilson vs. Chris Carpenter.

So who do I pick? Red Hot Texas, who now have a return trip to the World Series, and whose bullpen pitched with a 1.32 ERA in the last series?  This is a Texas team that is lead by a 59-year old coach who has admitted to using cocaine as recent as 2009. This is a Texas team whose lineup up and down has no holes, except for their 9-slot, maybe.  This is a Texas team who earlier this year had to deal with the tragedy of a fan dying as he reached for a ball tossed into the stands by star Josh Hamilton.

Or do I pick the momentum driven Cardinals? This team has its own sparkling bullpen – 1.88 ERA in the last series.  They have their own manager, Tony LaRussa, who managed the last Cardinals World Series win over Detroit in 2006. Their lineup is no slouch either, featuring the best hitter in the game, Albert Pujols. They steal bases, they walk a lot…they play scrappy baseball.

My world series pick, after the jump.  Today’s junk food is a drink!  Chubby Sorrel Soda!

The Money Shot

Oh, where to start with Chubby Sorrel Soda? I found this in my local Korean grocery store, which also sells a number of Latino-based food products. To be honest, I’m not sure where this drink originated.  I just knew when I saw it, I thought, “Well that’s weird.  Perfect for the blog!”

Chubby is apparently a soda line within some weird Caribbean drink company’s umbrella.  Look, I couldn’t have described it weirder if I had wanted to: Chubby’s website features a very odd song that chugs out as soon as the site launches, and clicking around leads you to the parent company’s webpage, SM Jaleel & co. Ltd. I dunno, both websites were very surreal to me.

And of course, if your soda is called Chubby, you need some little cartoon fat kid on the label.  Of course.

So...sorrel...yeah...

Ok, so let’s move on and discuss what “sorrel” is.  This is sorrel flavored soda.  I see little cartoon red things on this bottle – is that sorrel?

According to Wiki, sorrel is a perennial herb that is cultivated as a garden herb or leaf vegetable. A vegetable.  Riiiight.  Moreover, “The leaves may be puréed in soups and sauces or added to salads; they have a flavour that is similar to kiwifruit or sour wild strawberries. The plant’s sharp taste is due to oxalic acid, which is a poison. In small quantities sorrel is harmless; in large quantities it can be fatal.”

Fatal?  Oh good.

WAY too much goin' on here

ChubbyKidsClub.com takes you to Chubby’s main website, where you can actually see all the other Chubby flavors available.  Flavors such as “Bubbly,” “Cream Scream,” and “Reggae Gold.” Um, WHAT?? I don’t want to drink anything called Cream Scream.

Seriously, folks, I can’t make this up.  And sorrel is actually not one of the listed flavors on the website…is that a WIN for me? I’m not so sure yet.

Somewhere in there is the sorrel

Let’s talk about another point – why is this soda red? They are teasing me that this will taste like fruit punch, but I’m a little worried.  Sure the Wiki description describes the taste of sorrel like kiwifruit or wild strawberries, but every picture of sorrel I’ve seen is a green leafy plant. How much crap is in this fake red soda?  I’m scared.

Looks like fruit punch

First sip and….. … er…. Hm. I don’t know what I’m tasting.

At first, it tasted like a berry drink…sort of sweet and flavor of a slight strawberry enveloped my tongue. But then the flavor changed, and it didn’t end with the tartness or almost citrus-y finish that berry drinks have. No, the flavor then changed into an almost bubble gum-type flavor, with an odd sweetness curling the sides of my tongue. Started out strawberry-ish, then changed to bubble gummy… but then aftertaste take another 180, and had a strange soapy-like taste.  Sort of like how cilantro tastes like soap to some people; that’s kind of how this tasted.

I sipped several times, but the result was the same  – berry then bubblegum then soapy finish.  It was weird – like I was drinking a flower or something.  Definitely ended on a flowery note.

I really didn’t like it. Maybe sorrel is a popular flavor…somewhere else…but the entire experience left me frowning.  Sorry, SB Jaleel.

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My pick is simple: TEXAS.  I’m hanging my hat on the bullpens.  Both teams has decent pitching, but not knockout pitching – each team has had to rely on their bullpens.  Texas has SLIGHTLY better hitting, and a SLIGHTLY better bullpen, and I believe that makes all the difference.  Those late game hits will push the balance in Texas’ favor, despite the National League home field advantage.

What are your thoughts? Tell me what you think in the comments below or hit me on Twitter @junkfoodguy or on my Facebook Page.

Sincerely, Junk Food Guy