Anton's Half-Baked Reviews

Anton

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Half-Baked Reviews is a section where I review (mostly) food stuff that I've never tried before, without some kind of flimsy pretentiousness that often comes with standard food critiques and reviews! I cover everything from snacks you get at a gas station to high-end luxury products, all depending on what I get myself into at any particular point in time. My goal, though, is to provide a basis for people to be inspired and go try stuff themselves, whether it's because I've inspired them with a good review, if they want to prove a bad review wrong, or if I just simply made them aware of something that exists! I have a lot of fun with writing this, and I hope you all have fun reading it, and I hope we all learn something about food and how it interacts with our everyday lives along the way.

Check out Issue 142 for my theming update re: this:
So today I suddenly had the idea to make this thread as a way to crowdsource ideas but also have easier discussions on things I review if people were to ever want those, instead of me just harassing people in irc. Anton's Half-Baked Reviews is a 'Shroom section born out of me wanting to do something for Critic Corner as I just became director of it, as well as addressing the audience's desire to have sillier and less serious sections, and getting myself out there to try new things. Each month I review things that I've never experienced before, whether serious or unconventional, and give it a "well I tried it" attempt with no real intent on giving it a fair review beyond my initial opinion, but if I happen to dig deeper into it because I liked it I'll certainly go there, and then rate it on an entirely subjective scale of Chex Mix.

I welcome anyone to just start yelling at me for things to try, as well as yelling at me for having a bad opinion, or yelling at me for having a good one, or just yelling! Do whatever you want in here, have fun!

Here is a list of each issue and what I covered in them:
Issue 200 - November 2023 - Anton's Version: Van Leeuwen, Chex Mix, Chamoy Peach Rings
Issue 199 - October 2023 - Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Issue 198 - September 2023 - Exclusive US Goodies (Written by FunWithDespair)
Issue 197 - August 2023 - Homemade Eggnog
Issue 195 - June 2023 - Buc-ee's Part 2
Issue 194 - May 2023 - Spring Cleaning Special: Muddy Buddies Pretzel Bites, Chicken Salad Chick, Cheon Yeon Cider, Pepsi Peeps, Coca-Cola Move, The Official Hot Dog of #mariowiki
Issue 193 - April 2023 - April Fool's Special: Illegal Chips, Van Leeuwen
Issue 192 - March 2023 - Buc-ee's
Issue 191 - February 2023 - Gourmet Chocolate Bars: Vosges, Theo, Mānoa, French Broad Chocolates,
Issue 190 - January 2023 - Retro Candy: Hershey's 5th Avenue, Big Cherry, Mallo Cup, Zagnut, Pearson's Salted Nut Roll
Issue 189 - December 2022 - Eggnog Recipes: Dip, Hot Cocoa, Cookies, French Toast Casserole, Cake, Milkshakes
Issue 188 - November 2022 - Nestlé Damak, Nestlé Munchies, Nestlé Smarties Buttons
Issue 187 - October 2022 - Bad Halloween Candy: M&M's Cookies & Scream, Tootsie Roll Apple Caramel Pops, Reese's Franken-Cups, Reese's White Ghosts, Pumpkin Pie Kit Kat, Witch's Brew Kit Kat
Issue 186 - September 2022 - The World's Largest Entertainment McDonald's (McPizza, McPasta, McBelgian Waffle, etc.)
Issue 185 - August 2022 - Fizzy Water Part 3: Borjomi, The Mountain Valley, Voss, Gerolsteiner, Uludağ
Issue 184 - July 2022 - Fizzy Water Part 2: Waiākea, Waterloo, Agua Bucha, Sanzo
Issue 183 - June 2022 - Fizzy Water Part 1: Perrier, Liquid Death, San Pellegrino, AHA, LaCroix
Issue 182 - May 2022 - Spring Cleaning Special: Yancey's Fancy, Spindrift, Treehouse Originals, Firehouse Subs
Issue 181 - April 2022 - Fit Foods: Lenny & Larry's, Clif Bar & Company, RXBAR
Issue 180 - March 2022 - Canada: Nestlé Big Turk, Ruffles All Dressed Chips, Maynards Swedish Berries, Eat-More, Mackintosh's Toffee and Soft Caramel, Tim Hortons Granola Bars, Post Timbits Cereal
Issue 179 - February 2022 - Eggnog Part 3: Santa Clara Rompope, Ponche Crema, Southern Comfort, Evan Williams, Fireball, Verpoorten Advocaat
Issue 178 - January 2022 - Eggnog Part 2: Almond Breeze, Chobani, Califia Farms, Twin Pines Farms, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Good Karma
Issue 177 - December 2021 - Eggnog Part 1: T.G. Lee, Promised Land, Homestead Creamery, Nellie's Free-Range, Trader Joe's
Issue 176 - November 2021 - Canada: Lay's Ketchup Chips, Cadbury Crispy Crunch, Hickory Sticks, Hershey's Oh Henry!, Crush Cream Soda, Maple Crème Cookies
Issue 175 - October 2021 - Ghost Pepper: Inglehoffer Mustard, Savage Jerky Co., Blue Diamond Almonds, Burger King Nuggets, Bunker Hill Cheese, Bravado Spice Co., Trader Joe's Chips, Pacqui
Issue 174 - September 2021 - Kombucha: Humm, KeVita, Mother Kombucha, Big Easy Bucha, Buchi, Kombucha Wagon, Brew Dr
Issue 173 - August 2021 - Buffalo, Part 3: Sweet Jenny's, Sponge Candy, Fowler's, Beef on Weck, Anchor Bar Sauce, La Nova Hot Buffalo Ranch, Mighty Taco
Issue 172 - July 2021 - Buffalo, Part 2: Perry's One Buffalo Ice Cream, The Broadway Market, Famous Prepared Horseradish, Miller's Horseradish, Weber's Mustard, Wegmans, Mayer Bros. Farm
Issue 171 - June 2021 - Buffalo, Part 1: Ted's Hot Dogs, PJ's Crystal Beach Loganberry, Ted's Hot Dog Famous Hot Sauce, Texas Brand Hot Dog Sauce Mix, Paula's Donuts, Bison French Onion Dip
Issue 170 - May 2021 - Spring Cleaning Special: EIWA Hello Kitty Tropical Mango Marshmallow, Donauwelle, Trader Joe's Pumpkin Rolls, PDQ
Issue 169 - April 2021 - Hot Cocoa, Part 4: Starbucks, McDonald's, Dunkin', Panera, Foxtail Coffee Co., Los Autenticos Cuban Cafe, 7-Eleven, Wawa
Issue 168 - March 2021 - Hot Cocoa, Part 3: Hershey's Cocoa, Abuelita, Coconut Cloud, Swiss Miss Non-Dairy, Trader Joe's, Franprix, Cocoa Bombs
Issue 167 - February 2021 - Hot Cocoa, Part 2: Trader Joe's, Droste, Guittard, Starbucks, Ghirardelli, Hershey's, Coffee Shop of Horrors
Issue 166 - January 2021 - Hot Cocoa, Part 1: Swiss Miss, Sillycow Farms, Land O' Lakes Cocoa Classics, Nestlé, Treehouse Originals
Issue 165 - December 2020 - Mushrooms and Truffles
Issue 164 - November 2020 - Cadbury: Caramilk, Starbar, Crunchie, Double Decker, Mr. Big, Dairy Milk Whole Nut, Picnic
Issue 163 - October 2020 - Trader Joe's Fall Seasonal Special
Issue 162 - September 2020 - Paris, Part 6: Snacks, Pastries, and Food
Issue 161 - August 2020 - Paris, Part 5: Restaurants
Issue 160 - July 2020 - Paris, Part 4: Shopping - Supermarkets, Specialty, Gourmet Food
Issue 159 - June 2020 - Paris, Part 3: Shopping - Department Stores, Le Marais
Issue 158 - May 2020 - Paris, Part 2: Sight-Seeing
Issue 157 - April 2020 - Paris, Part 1: Getting Around
Issue 156 - March 2020 - Alternative Milks, Part 4: Creamline Ronnybrook, Fairlife, Homestead Creamery, Meyenberg Goat, Summerhill Goat Milk, Organic Valley, Maple Hill, Homemade Nut Milks
Issue 155 - February 2020 - Alternative Milks, Part 3: Quaker, Ripple, Bolthouse Farms, Mooala, Three Trees, Silk, Oatly
Issue 154 - January 2020 - Alternative Milks, Part 2: Elmhurst, Milkadamia, Forager Project, Malk, Three Trees
Issue 153 - December 2019 - Alternative Milks, Part 1: Silk, Publix, Califia Farms, SwellMilk, Totally Nuts!, Blue Diamond Almond Breeze
Issue 152 - November 2019 - Nestlé: Mirage, Aero, White Crunch, Cocosette, Smarties, Tex
Issue 151 - October 2019 - Pumpkin Spice: Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Barnie's, Einstein Bros. Bagels
Issue 150 - September 2019 - New York City, Part 4: Food
Issue 149 - August 2019 - New York City, Part 3: Shopping
Issue 148 - July 2019 - New York City, Part 2: Sightseeing
Issue 147 - June 2019 - New York City, Part 1: Getting Places
Issue 146 - May 2019 - Britain: Fry's Turkish Delight, Crawfords Bourbon Creams, Weetabix, Maltesers
Issue 145 - April 2019 - Britain: Irn-Bru, Idris Fiery Ginger Beer, Vimto, Tango, Ribena
Issue 144 - March 2019 - Germany: Strudel, Streussel, Nussecken, Linzer Torte, Almond Horn, Leberkäse Sandwich
Issue 143 - February 2019 - France: Macarons, Beignet, Napoleon
Issue 142 - January 2019 - Germany: Maggi, Mezzo Mix, Roast Bratwurst, Apple Strudel, Löwensenf, Milka Oreo Big Crunch Bar - Rebranded reviews
Issue 141 - December 2018 - Islamic world goodies: Tamek Sour Cherry Nectar, Rani Float, Legendary Uludağ Gazoz, Shani, Chocolate Baklava, Orangina
Issue 140 - November 2018 - Nestlé: Nestlé Milk Chocolate Bar, Mars, Nestlé Coffee Crisp, Lion, and Milkybar
Issue 139 - October 2018 - Ghost Pepper Chex Mix, Halloween-themed M&M flavors, Capn Crunchs Halloween Crunch
Issue 138 - September 2018 - Ramune, Hi-Chew, (some) Japanese Kit Kats, Calbees Seaweed & Salt Potato Chips, Samanco Ice Cream Sandwich
Issue 137 - August 2018 - Bubble teas; Milk, Taro, Thai, Bubbleology
Issue 136 - July 2018 - Milkis, Calpico
Issue 135 - June 2018 - Super Mario Odyssey, Kellogg's Super Mario Cereal
Issue 134 - May 2018 - Frosted Krispies, Chobani Greek Yogurt Drinks, Hersheys Cookies n Creme Popped Snack Mix, Tim Tams
Issue 133 - April 2018 - Publix Subs, Cuban Sandwich
Issue 132 - March 2018 - Bread things, toilet thing
Issue 131 - February 2018 - Reese's Popped Snack Mix, Hershey's Gold
Issue 130 - January 2018 - Licor 43
Issue 129 - December 2017 - Walnut Milk, Salted Caramel Pepsi, Die Hard
Issue 128 - November 2017 - Heart Rocket
Issue 127 - October 2017 - Cheerwine, Mi Carreta (Part 2), Granite Falls Brewing Company, Organic Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
Issue 126 - September 2017 - 1893 Pepsi series, Jones Cream Soda, Crystal Pepsi (Fizzy Things Part 3)
Issue 125 - August 2017 - Sparkling Water, Coconut Water, Kombucha (Fizzy Things Part 2)
Issue 124 - July 2017 - Firework Oreos, Pepsi Fire, Mtn Dew S A (Fizzy Things Part 1)
Issue 123 - June 2017 - Wario Land 4
Issue 121 - April 2017 - Various Acrobatics; April Fool's Day; Stop Writing
Issue 120 - March 2017 - Super Mario 64; Walking outside and breathing fresh air after getting unreasonably mad at a video game
Issue 119 - February 2017 - Play something from the Touhou Project
Issue 118 - January 2017 - Ferroro Rocher; Spend a ton of cash on Christmas gifts; Start a budget planner
Issue 117 - December 2016 - Eggnog; Glühwein; Gingerbread
Issue 116 - November 2016 - Mad Max: Fury Road; The process of designing a new Shroom section
Issue 115 - October 2016 - Cook-Out; Mi Carreta; Hardee's; Culver's
Issue 114 - September 2016 - Running a Shroom team; Play as Winston in Overwatch
 
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anton you need to come back so i can take you to the local brewing company/restaurant

it's incredible
 
I'll be there, late September, plan on it :poshjr:
 
review catcher in the rye one day
i liked the book a lot myself but its one of those super divisive ones where people either love it or hate it, no real in-between
i'd like to see your opinion on it
 
review Her

also i can't imagine anton would ever possibly like catcher in the rye
 
maybe he's curious as to which chex mix piece I can reduce the novel down into
 
Re: Anton's Half-Baked Reviews / Dear Anton

Just a heads up, I may not do my Dear Anton for August due to time constraints and wanting to get other projects done at a level of quality I find acceptable (2 presentations, half-baked reviews which is already pre-written, big wedding i'm photographing early August, etc.). I haven't decided yet if this will mean I'm offsetting a month in my bi-monthly schedule, skipping it entirely to return in October, or having someone fill in, but all I know is that Dear Anton takes a large amount of effort that I don't feel I can genuinely spare at this current time without making sacrifices in my quality and standards I expect of myself.

If anyone feels like they really wanna do Dear Anton for August please feel free to collab with me and send me a message :bowser:
 
Re: Anton's Half-Baked Reviews / Dear Anton

OP is updated with reviews! Not sure yet what I'm gonna do for October since I've got an array of options, but for Dear Anton it will be a Halloween Special :boo: :drybow: :dry: Please send me various relevantly-themed questions for advice or otherwise!
 
Re: Anton's Half-Baked Reviews / Dear Anton

Anton I love your sections :bowser:
 
Re: Anton's Half-Baked Reviews / Dear Anton

i'm glad you liked all the food! :)

if you make another trip we'll go to east coast wings
 
Re: Anton's Half-Baked Reviews / Dear Anton

hey guys this month I did Heart Rocket because tfp told me to !!!!!!

i still have a huge backlog of stuff to try, as well as stuff that i've already tried and just haven't written about yet that I will use as filler for months where I'm going to be busy :pgp: :pgp: :pgp:
 
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