Happy Monday, Junk Food Nation!

Yesterday was a great day in baseball as Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar were inducted into the Hall of Fame.  I’ll always remember Robbie Alomar for (1) being perhaps the greatest second baseman to play the game (so far), and for (2) spitting in the face of an umpire while playing as a member of the Baltimore Orioles.  It was such a big controversy back then; now fifteen years later, he’s in the Hall of Fame. Congrats, Robbie.

Today’s junk: Italian Ice flavored Mike and Ike candies!

The Money Shot

I really enjoy Mike and Ike’s and it’s sister candy, Hot Tamales.  Mike and Ike’s are basically big pill-form jelly beans.

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Good use of descriptive pictures by Mike and Ike on its packaging, but I feel like its trying to club me over the head with the obvious.  ORANGE IS ORANGE.  You don’t say.

Love the little dixie cup of Italian Ice

Why, by the way, does everyone go with blue as the flavor color of raspberries?  Blue raspberry is used everywhere – but raspberries aren’t blue!  I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!

Wait...are those my favorite flavors?

Am I the only one in the world who orders Italian Ice not in flavors, but in colors?  I remember being a kid ordering italian ice, asking, “Can I have RED?”  Yep.  My favorite Italian Ice flavor was red, followed by half red half purple.

Gluten Free!

I threw in this photo because my cousin wanted me to review some Gluten-free snacks – and lo and behold, these candies are indeed Gluten-free!  There you go, Tina 🙂

Please note that Pear Juice is predominantly featured in this junk food for some reason.

Like edible Christmas tree lights!

When I opened up the package, the whole thing was a sea of pink and green and blue … and like one yellow and one orange candy piece.  WTF, Mike and Ike.  Where’s my rainbow of candy?

Hmmm...surprising lack of orange or yellow

Moving onto the taste test: Yellow (Lemon) was…well, lemon-y.  Can’t really screw that up.  Cherry Red had a good cherry flavor, and tasted like the cherry syrup you get poured over Italian Ice.  Orange…er, orange, was just OK – tasted like an orange lollipop that was melted down; it didn’t have any tangy citrus taste.  Blue Raspberry was blue raspberry – boring.  Green watermelon was definitely the best flavor – bright, sweet, and biting, this flavor really punched my tongue.

Finally tracked the spectrum down

In the end, this snack tasted different than regular Mike and Ike’s, but so what?  Did anything taste like Italian Ice?  Not really – but then again, what does Italian Ice really taste like except for candy-like syrup. So in that sense, Mike and Ike succeeded.  But really, this junk food was just boring – I’d rather eat some sour jelly beans or something.

Sincerely, Junk Food Guy