JFG Nation, I’m off to another part of the country I’ve never been to before – Little Rock, Arkansas! Friends who have lived/worked there say it’s lovely, so I’m looking forward to some hot weather and southern charm. Has anyone been there? What should I eat/see/do? Let me know in the comments below.

Since I’ll be on the road, the next couple day’s posts will be travel-related since I’ll be in the mood. Nothing like blogging about Vegas when I’m in Little Rock, right? It’s the Vegad of Arkansas, I think.

Today’s junk food: Frosted A&W Root Beer Pop-Tarts!!

Frosted A&W Root Beer Pop-Tarts: The Money Shot

Frosted A&W Root Beer Pop-Tarts are the second in the series of soda-flavored Pop-Tarts that have been released recently. I reviewed the Orange Crush Pop-Tarts last week, and LOVED THEM. I know, I’m gross. Now, turning to the Root Beer variety – in the past, when I’ve had root beer cookies, I’ve liked them… but I remember my exclamation during the Nosh Show, “Who wants to eat hot soda?” Hmmm. Let’s see.

Frosted A&W Root Beer Pop-Tarts contain dried apples, which is interesting.

Opening up these Frosted A&W Root Beer Pop-Tarts, each toaster pastry was sprinkled with orange and brown, like the A&W logo – no swirl like on the Orange Crush Pop-Tarts. I sniffed…..MAYBE I got a little bit of root beer aroma? But I could barely tell – smelled like plain ol Pop-Tart to me.

Note: The pastry here is colored a darker brown. Will this add anything to the flavor? I snapped off a corner to test my theory – nope.

The insides of these Frosted A&W Root Beer Pop-Tarts, untoasted, was VERY dark – almost like a deep molasses. I bit and chewed – definitely root beer flavor present, and very bright. Almost too bright. These trended all the way to a wintergreen flavor – that sugary-minty brightness was super clear, and overwhelmed any hint of pastry. My review at this point: definitely tasted like root beer, but not sure if it’s something I’d eat again.

After toasting, these Frosted A&W Root Beer Pop-Tarts sort of fell apart on me. Not sure if it’s just the package I opened, but these seemed especially crumbly. Still, for me, toasting made these taste a LOT better. The heat melted the sugar inside a bit and mellowed out that wintermint-y brightness. Leftover was the pure root beer flavor in SUPER SWEET form…these definitely tasted like the soda. Really root beer-y, really sweet, and really tasty.

Did I like them? Yes. And if eat them again. The whole hot soda thing was there but….I didn’t mind it. The whole thing ended up just being a hot flaky pastry with heavy root beer sarsaparilla flavor. And since I like the flavor, I liked these.

To be sure – I like the Orange Crush Pop-Tarts a LOT. These I liked just ok….would eat them again but prob won’t buy them again.

I like the effort, Pop-Tarts. Keep the click-bait-y flavors coming!

PURCHASED AT: Walmart, Germantown, MD

COST: $3.68

Thoughts? Please comment below or hit me up on Twitter @junkfoodguy or LIKE my Facebook Page and message me there. I also have Google+!! Let’s hang out.

Sincerely,

The JFG