So if you pay attention to any of my Bullet Lists, you already know that I have predicted Penn Jillette to win the most recent season of Celebrity Apprentice. Now it’s important to remember that I made this prediction BEFORE the episode that aired Sunday May 12th. As it turns out, I am just one episode away from being right.
So on Sunday night (or last night if you’re like me and DVRed it so Trump doesn’t get the satisfaction of ratings) sure enough Penn Jillette was named as a Finalist on Celebrity Apprentice. He is going up against country star Trace Adkins for the title and the money that will go to his charity, Opportunity Village.
I really like the fact that Penn chose both a local charity and a charity that helps people to carry on a normal life. I understand there’s a lot of support for the Trace‘s charity the American Red Cross, but that’s one of the issues in my eyes is that they already have a lot of support. I know they were there for Trace and thousands of others, but I’ve never seen them on a scene or at a disaster which is another issue I have. I could go on a tirade about my issues with them, but that’s not the point of this post.
Ice cream is the point of this post.
Specifically this post is about Magic Swirtle, the Team Penn designed flavor of ice cream produced under the deLISH brand banner of Walgreens and Duane Reade. It is described on the container as being “Rich Vanilla Ice Cream with a Sea Salt Chocolate Swirl and Fudge Caramel Candy Pieces” in a pint size container.
Now you may be wondering where the word Swirtle comes from. This compound of “Swirl” and “Turtle” came from none other than LaToya Jackson. The compund plays off the two unique features added to the vanilla ice cream, the fudge swirl and the fudge caramel candy that happens to look like a turtle. Here’s a close-up with all the contents jam packed into that pint cup:
So when you strip out the celebrity and get right to the cream and ice of the matter, how does Swirtle stack up?
The vanilla ice cream is amazingly creamy. On the show they referred to it as “Madagascar vanilla”, which I believe means the vanilla flavor is derived from the vanilla beans harvested in Madagascar. I don’t know if this is why its so creamy, but whatever does it makes it amazing.
Once you start digging in and mixing the swirl, that’s when the real fun begins. The sea salt is actually embedded in the swirl so mixing it with the ice cream gives you that sweet salty taste that makes this flavor unique. Toss in the little fudge caramel candies for that extra sweet kick, and it’s a sweet salty uber-sweet party in your mouth!
I would be remiss if I didn’t say that eating that salty swirl without some of the sweetness… well… that sea salt lives up to it’s name. Therefore it’s important to balance eating the ice cream with the swirl and vice versa, but don’t worry if you set some of those fudgie caramel candies aside for an post pint uber-sweetness dose.
There was one other point of contention that I had with this product. During the show Penn came up with the idea of printing “Poof! It’s Gone!” in the bottom of the container, to be read once the ice cream has been consumed. Here was the bottom of my container:
Really? Really?? Really???
Where is my “Poof! It’s Gone!“? I thought Celebrity Apprentice was about delivering a superior product! This small little detail, apparently overlooked, is the difference between being a great ice cream and a FANTASTIC ice cream.
So sorry… Magic Swirtle is stuck on great.
Unless… unless… *POOF*…
… I do it myself.
Magic Swirtle is FANTASTIC! Run out and go get yourself some from Walgreens or Duane Reade before they run out!
One of those side effects seems to be a new addiction to tangerines/mandarins. These small orange balls of citrus fruit seem to be the only thing that I can consume that both does not have a negative effect and places me back in balance with myself when I feel “off”.
While I have tried very hard to watch what I consume (ever since they started posting calorie counts on the menus), I’m usually a sucker for specialty sandwiches and limited time only deals that seem to be McDonalds working modus operandi. I’m a fan of the 2 for $2 Filet-O-Fish deal during Lent, big fan of the Shamrock Shake, and will occasionally cave the There are few things in the fast food world that can bring me as much joy as the annual return of the McRib to the McDonald‘s menu.
As you may have already heard, Hostess Brands announced on November 16, 2012 that they are liquidating their assets and closing up shop. They will no longer be producing a long line of products including such iconic snack brands as Twinkies, Sno Balls, and Devil Dogs (under the Drake’s Cakes label).
So our final meal while in Vermont was at Winooski’s own Chinese Turkey House… or the properly titled Peking Duck House. This wasn’t the first time I’ve eaten there so I knew what to expect when walking into the pub like decor with the glowing neon TAKE OUT sign over the bar.
When we arrived we had about a 15 minute wait to be seated. During that time I perused the menu and considered ordering the venue’s namesake breakfast of 2 eggs, homefries, with biscuits and gravy. As we sat down I checked in on Foursquare and saw a “tip” from 
During this trip not only did I have the opportunity to chow down on their delectable Meat Lovers pan style pizza, but I also had the opportunity to enjoy their buffalo style chicken wings and dine in the atmosphere of this quaint roadside pizza palace.
Identity crisis aside, let’s get down to the actual food. What makes their pizza obviously different is the crust. It is not an actual usual pizza crust, but rather a flatbread crust. Instead of being sliced into the traditional triangle of Neapolitan slices or the squares of Sicilian slices, they are cut in traditional rectangular strips like bread stick slices. I chose to partake if the New Vermont Sausage “pie” (pictured here), and there are only three letters to accurately describe the experience.
The #NoVaCon2012 (North Virginia Conference) main event dinner this year was held at 
Anyone who has gone to a similar styled restaurant knows that the cooking of your dinner is about the entertainment value as much as it is in the actual meal. The chef had a pretty typical routine starting off with some fancy knife work, setting the grill on fire, creating a smoking and then erupting onion volcano, and of course enlisting the help of a peeing fire extinguisher to bring everything under control. I do have to give him credit for the grill fire because it was one of the grander versions I’ve seen and I could feel the heat from it even though I was in the far corner.
As for the actual cooking, well the chef in my opinion did okay. The true art of hibachi isn’t in the twirling knives and the cheap culinary humor. Sure all of that is appreciated, and those chefs who expand on the traditional routine seem to be the exceptional as opposed to the rule. The true skill (beyond culinary basics and fire safety) is entirely in the timing of it all.
While I fully expected the fried rice way before my protein, once my chicken hit the plate it seemed like an irregularly long wait for the steak to be served up. Maybe it’s because I prefer my beef medium well, but I think even those who were medium rare waited a bit longer than you would normally expect. Nevertheless, it was all cooked well and was really quite tasty so there’s no complaints on either the quality or taste of the food.
