Junk Food Nation, during these playoffs so far, we’ve seen some amazing performances.  Definitely the most memorable moments so far, to me, were (1) Tom Brady’s 6 TDs, tying the playoff record, (2) the San Fran – New Orleans slugfest and scoring blitz in the last seven minute of the game, ending with Vernon Davis’ catch to put the Niners up, and (3) Tebow’s OT hail mary to Demaryius Thomas for the win over the Steelers #1 defense.

(Sidenote: my favorite moment during the DENV-NE game was after one Tom Brady sack, a guy at the bar starting mocking Brady, yelling, “My UGGies fell off, my UGGies fell off!”  Lol.)

Historically, memorable NFL playoff performances get nicknames.  “The Catch” refers to the winning touchdown reception by Dwight Clark off a Joe Montana pass in the January 10, 1982, NFC Championship Game between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers.  “The Music City Miracle” is the name of the play that ended the Wild Card Playoff game between the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills, in which Titans player Lorenzo Neal received a Buffalo kickoff, handed the ball off to Titans tight end Frank Wycheck, who threw a lateral across the field to another Titans player, Kevin Dyson, who then ran down the sidelines for a 75-yard touchdown (Lemme tell you, THAT play is burned in my memory). “Wide Right” describes kicker Scott Norwood‘s missed 47-yard field goal attempt at the end of Super Bowl XXV. And the “Immaculate Reception” occurred in the 1972 AFC divisional playoff game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders, where Steelers fullback Franco Harris caught a ball that had been knocked out of an intended receiver’s hands before it hit the ground and ran it in for a touchdown.

So what will our weekend’s plays be named?  Why has no one come up with anything yet?  For Tebow’s throw, I liked my previous suggestion of the “Hail Virgin Mary.” I could also go with “Bomb goes the Tebow-Mite.”  Chris Berman called Vernon Davis’ catch to end the NO-SF game “Son of the Catch,” which is just stupid – but I got nothin’.  What about YOU, Junk Food Nation?  What would YOU name these performances?

Let me know below.  Today’s junk food: New Mozzarella Cheez-Its!

The Money Shot

I was strolling down the aisles of my local Walmart when the word NEW! jumped out at me.  And you all know how much I love the word NEW!  And what did my eyes discover?  New Mozzarella Cheez-Its!

Looking at the Cheez-Its website, this Mozzarella version of the popular cracker is the newest in their line, following Colby and Baby Swiss.  Makes you wonder where Sunshine is going in the future…Gruyere Cheez-Its?  Brie Cheez-Its?  Maybe a nice Caciocavallo Podolico Cheez-It?

Creamy & Mild

Wait, is THAT what fresh mozzarella looks like?  But in all seriousness, while some of us might know what mozzarella cheese looks like, I feel like most Americans only know mozzarella cheese based on pizza and string cheese.  Maybe I’m wrong, but I feel like some might look at the shredded block and think, “What the hell is that??”

Mozzarella is an interesting choice for Cheez-Its, IMO, because it IS so mild and creamy. This will be interesting…

Blunt

You know, I can appreciate that Cheez-Its doesn’t overdo it with random recipes, fun facts, or the other box print crap that other crackers feature.  Just slap the logo on the side and be done with it.  It’s cupboard-ready – when you open your pantry, you’ll see these big ass letters staring you right in the face.

Sidenote: Whenever I stock new cracker boxes or cereal boxes in my kitchen, I always try to put the label side out, nutritional facts in.  Does anyone else do this?  Or, asked another way, is anyone else as crazy as me?

Where's the Mozz?

New Mozzarella Cheez-Its have white cheddar cheese as an ingredient before actual mozzarella cheese.  That…doesn’t make sense.

Standard look

White Cheddar Twin

New Mozzarella Cheez-Its look a LOT like their White Cheddar counterparts.  This plus the ingredient list concern me about this snack.  What am I really getting here?

When I opened the box, however, I actually DID get a mozzarella smell – there was the rounded mild nuttiness that made it distinct from the sharper cheddar smell.

Flaky and crispy

New Mozzarella Cheez-Its, in mouth, chew.  Hmmmm.  How do I evaluate these?

Ok, for starters, these were delicious.  I mean, just a tasty cheesy cracker.  The thing is, Cheez-Its are GENERALLY delicious.  They are my favorite cheese cracker, and it’s not a shock to me that these tasted good, had a nice baked flakiness to them, and crunched well.

The question is: did these taste like MOZZARELLA?  And the answer is…sort of.  The taste was VERY cheesy, which is not what mozzarella tastes like.  As I chewed, I REALLY tried to taste the mozzarella, and at times I could taste the sharper cheese taste round out into the familiar back-and-side-of-mouth round creaminess that I’m used to with mozzarella.  And at those times when the flavor clicked, they REALLY tasted mozzarella-y.  But it would quickly fade and then all I could taste was…well, white cheddar.

Were these successful?  Sort of.  Would I eat these again?  Sure, why not – I love Cheez-Its.  Are these anything more or less special than the White Cheddar version?  Eh…I didn’t think so.

Final evaluation: good, but not great.

Thoughts or playoff play nickanmes? Tell me in the comments below or hit me on Twitter @junkfoodguy or on my Facebook Page.

Sincerely, Junk Food Guy