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Posts from the ‘Color Me Bad’ Category

My Only Nod to Super Bowl

Seahawks Frappachino anyone? #Seattle #seahawks #football #SuperBowl #starbucks #frappachino #yum #love

A photo posted by Kate Johnson (@kakelynsunshine) on

I have no horse (or bird or patriotic person) in this race, I just like making snacks, drinking a lot of beer and watching TV with friends.

And I always will love a nice limited edition food item in an atypical color…so, I’m feeling this blueberry blue (lavender, really) and green Seahawks Frappuccino from Starbucks. Matcha whipped cream? So on trend.

This seems like a missed opportunity for Dunkin’ Donuts, no?

(As an aside, people assume that because I’m a Northwesterner inside that I’m a Seahawks fan, but no. Portland and Seattle are very different cities, and pro sports were no part of my upbringing.)

Newborn: Red Velvet Oreos

red velvet oreos

Like Argentina’s dulce de leche Oreos or China’s green tea localization, Oreo’s newest domestic flavor couldn’t be more quintessentially American. Yes, that would be red velvet.

Unlike the pumpkin spice and caramel apple limited editions released in fall, this special has one unique claim and that’s that the cookie itself is new, not just a reworking of the traditional or Golden Oreo with different fillings.

How does it taste? The stuffing, meant to resemble cream cheese frosting, is the most noticeable difference. It’s good, a little cupcakey, and not overpowering. Chocolate is chocolate, though, and isn’t red velvet just dyed devil’s food? I haven’t eaten a standard Oreo in some time, so I would have to taste the old and the new side by side for comparison. I could’ve been imagining a lighter, more cocoa powdery flavor with the red velvet simply because of the color.

And frankly, it’s the color that gets me. I’ll try anything rebooted into an unnatural shade.

You’ll be able to judge for yourself when these become widely available February 2. (And yes, this was a freebie.)

 

Color Me Bad: Dunkin’ Donuts India Mint

I don’t make a habit of seeking out blue donuts but when they cross my path, I can’t ignore them. Flavor-wise, Dunkin’ Donuts India’s guava chilly and ladoo sound more appetizing than a mint, the herb that rarely shows up in American desserts without chocolate. That color though.

Color Me Bad: Blue Velvet Donuts

#bluevelvetdonut #forlunch

A photo posted by Mimi (@last_mimzy) on

Why am I only hearing about these Blue Velvet donuts now that they have been decommissioned?

Color Me Bad: Beer and Chips

Photo: Firebox

Photo: Firebox

This sky blue Japanese beer is so pretty I almost can’t stand it. And somehow the hue is naturally derived from seaweed and unspecified flowers? I may just break down and order a can. It’s probably worth $8 to experience the magic of iceberg water from the Sea of Okhotsk and Chinese yams in the only other alcoholic beverage the color of an Aviation.

It is Abashiri’s blue beer that has been making the rounds online this week, but the company has also brewed a whole range of rainbow colors.

Photo: Reddit

Photo: Reddit

I bet these would go great with those green Lay’s barbecue chips. As an aside, of all the Lay’s chips with green packaging, don’t you think India’s Mint Mischief is probably the best?

Un-American Activities: McDonald’s Italia McChicken

Like 9/11, the possibly goth (heshers get the black Indonesian chicken) Japanese Burger King “Kuro Burger” is something nearly everyone feels the need to weigh in on. I’ll say nothing on either subject except that it’s very sad that there’s a world out there where black cheese is considered palatable for the masses while Wendy’s slapping a slice of smoked gouda on brioche is intended to be upscale. (The last time I thought smoked gouda was classy was back in the early ’90s when I’d get my dad to drive me to Costco for big yellow cylinders of the stuff.)

Anyway, an entire Tumblr could be devoted to cataloging fast food quirks in Asia. It would be an exhausting endeavor (I tried once and gave up, as I’m wont to do). Our European and Latin American counterparts don’t generally go so wild, instead opting for more logical localization and more demure limited time offers.

In addition to serving pasta salads, snacky wedges of wrapped parmesan, and pizzarotto, tomato sauce and mozzarella-stuffed turnovers that we’d call calzones, McDonald’s Italia thinks McChicken is the new black, so there.

Italian blogger Homo de Panza only gives the curry version a 6 out of 10, but gets points from me for using palate correctly (of course, palate and palette are not homophones in Italian) or as Google Translate said, “The proof of the palate, however, has upset the cards.”

Cool Story, Sis

Though I rarely post about it, I do have a thing for unnaturally colored food. It’s bright; it’s fun–why not?

Sarah Rainey over at The Telegraph isn’t having of it, though. One might think that an article titled “Why I Can’t Stomach Technicolor Food” would be about Burger King’s black ninja buns or McDonald’s cherry blossom burgers, not heirloom tomatoes, blue potatoes and, er, white asparagus.

 I like my potatoes white, reliable and predictable. Just as I like my carrots orange, my asparagus green and my tomatoes red.

Maybe this is what constitutes trolling in the UK. Rainey does like multi-colored igloos, it turns out.

Blue Crabs

I’m not sure I would call this crab lavender (then again, I’ve gotten into debates over indigo vs. navy and lilac vs. lavender). Based on the photo, it appears more blue-violet. Whatever shade you call it, the crustacean discovered by a Japanese wholesaler is kind of too pretty to eat (the company agrees). I wonder if it would get along with one of those also rare blue or yellow lobsters.

Shades of Gray

The-Depressed-Cake-Shop--010

As someone who recently dyed their hair gray on purpose–why
is blonde the only acceptable summer shade?–I take issue with gray=depressed.  Yet this UK-based series of pop-up,  Depressed Cake Shops, selling gray (or grey if
you want to be all British) desserts with profits funding mental health
charities is compelling and fun. Normally, I'm all about food in crazy hues,
but gray can make a statement like nothing in the rainbow range of colors can. [Miss
Cakehead
via Edible Geography]

Photo: Safiyah Kelly via The Guardian

Now That’s the Holiday Spirit

Redgreenbuns

BurgerBusiness declared black buns one of the worst trends of 2012, citing offenders in China, Japan and France. Thailand
also has two specimens that I’m aware of (and I'm hardly an on-the-ground Thailand expert so it’s possible there are more): gastropub, The Smith, and
Casper Burger, a fast food joint that used to be in Bangkok's goth mall and is now at
Plearnwan, a made-to-look old-timey tourist attraction in Hua Hin.

It’s as if Casper knew spooky squid ink was already
passé. For Christmas, the restaurant has concocted red and green buns made from
spinach and beets (I refuse to type or say beetroot). I’m also fairly certain
that the patties aren’t beef, but battered pork cutlets. Who needs tradition?