Note: It’s unfortunate I have to preface this post with this kind of introduction, but please know, if you’re going to use this review to air grievances about the perceived political affiliations of a company or its clients, well, then I’m just going to delete it. Ok, on to the cool and creamy stuff.
Having now shed the feckless monotony of calorically dense and money wasting fast food ventures as a reviewer for GrubGrade.com, I’ve adopted a fast food eating style which is based mostly in moderation. The dollar menu, while disappearing at most fast food enclaves, still exists in one form or another from Burgers Kings to Arbys’ everywhere, and still leads me to one or two treats a week. Basically, it keeps me sane, young, and doesn’t kill my wallet. Now that’s a what I like to call a win-win-win.
Of course my favorite fast food chain, Chick-Fil-A, is notorious for never having a value menu to begin with. That all changed recently, when the chain introduced a revamped line of desserts that included ”improved” versions of brownies, cookies, and their signature Icedream soft serve. Unfortunately they nixed one of my favorite desserts (The pie, oh my!) but the famous milkshakes are still front and center.
I stopped into Chick-Fil-A after a long day at work the other day looking for something sweet but not too massive in size, and found it in the .99 cent “Mini Sundae.” Described as a combination of their ”famous vanilla Icedream®, Hershey’s® chocolate syrup, whipped cream and a cherry on top,” I was stoaked to find out I could replace the chocolate syrup with strawberry syrup. I consider that a huge plus, since, for whatever reason, the majority of McDonalds’ I’ve visited never offer the elusive Strawberry Sundae the chain claims to actually sell.
Chick-fil-A’s mini sundae isn’t huge, but it fills the container to the brim, which, in this case, is actually a bad thing. Not only did it get a dude behind me in line to comment, ”cute” when he saw it, but the amount of stuff going on inside the container can make life messy. You see, I couldn’t for the life of me get the top off, and ended up getting my hands sticky in the futile attempt. All the while, my Icedream was melting, and I was losing precious time. I guess the point is to eat the sundae through the opening, which I ended up doing. It’s good news and bad news on this one. The good news is that Chick-fil-A’s Icedream is better than the standard soft serve sold at most fast food places. It has a creamier and thicker consistency, although it’s not Rita’s frozen custard. I loved the combination of the thick Icedream with the plentiful Strawberry syrup, and liked airy texture and creamy taste of the whipped cream. The Strawberry syrup is definitely on the very sweet side, but vestiges of seeds and a thick glaze give it an almost pie-filling consistency.
Good, stuff, no doubt. Problem was, it seemed like there was more whipped cream than Icedream. I’m not sure if this was just how my sundae was prepared or if the price point of the product calls for less Icedream (seeing the nutrition, I’m guessing the latter) but I really felt like I was eating mostly puree and whipped cream after two or three spoonfuls of Icedream.
All that being said, for a buck, you’re not going to find many better fast food desserts. While I won’t put it in the same league as the elusive (in Maryland, anyways) $1 Small Chocolate Frosty, it’s definitely a good change of pace and of higher quality than McDonalds’ Sundaes. Heck, it’s even pretty healthy with only 170 calories and 2 grams of saturated fat. Only question I have now is whether the “on the menu” version with Hershey’s® syrup is even better?
- Price: .99 cents
- Ranking: 7/10
- Chances I’d Buy Again: 100% (gotta try the chocolate version!)
I recommend splurging a little and getting the cookie version. The chocolate mini sundae is good. but the cookie one was excellent.