JB's Warehouse & Curio Emporium

Before setting off on my recent roadtrip, I had a request to bring back Tastykakes , a Philadelphia-based snack food brand with a cult following. I brought back Snowballs, ( which I reported on a few years ago and required several stops before I found a box that would remain fresh by the time I returned to TO) and today's featured product, Chocolate Kandy Kakes. Package Notes : Clean-looking blue and yellow background, with child-like font. What's It Like : Think miniature chocolate cupcake, not much larger than a thick cookie (Amy compared their appearance to Snackwells Devil's Food cookies). One of the main selling points of Tastykakes is their short shelf life, so my fingers were crossed this box had not gone stale early. It hadn't - the cakes were fresh and chocolaty. The layer of white goo tasted less artificial than cheaper cupcakes. Bonus points for looking almost exactly as depicted on the box. Would You Buy It Again? : Definitely. Friends I shared them...

Even though my body and canned soup generally have issues with each other these days, I don't mind the occasional can of an oddball flavour. Not sure what to expect at security, I decided to only bring back one can o f any o f the soups tempting me from the shelf at the Ca mden Town Sa insbury 's . Trying to remember flavours I liked that are not/rarely available hear, I settled on dependable old Baxter's. One coin flip later, a can of Royal Game found its way into my cart. As usual, my worries didn't come to pass. Heathrow security had no problem with the soup, chuckling that I could leave it in my backpack. Packaging : tasteful black fading into foresty background, complete with tartan cloth and regal-looking deer. The back has a miniature of the front, plus a backstory for the contents inside. I'll never forget the story about my grandmother Ethel, making this soup in her kitchen. It's the very first recipe she created & what a soup to st...

One of the latest crazes in the drink aisle is pomegranate. Previously known as either an ingredient in Persian dishes or that funny red fruit that's neat to pluck the seeds out of, many companies have jumped on the bandwagon to promote its antioxidant levels. I'm waiting for the inevitable Larry King pomegranate AM radio ad. Loblaws has jumped into the fray with half-a-dozen pomegranate-based or related products, including today's test subject. Aside: Loblaws' attempts to compete with Wal-Mart have turned me off. I used to like their grocery chains the best, but now...meh. Business papers have reported on Loblaws' struggles with their supply chain, as the company has moved too quickly into building Real Canadian Superstores. These problems are glaring whenever you walk into their stores: half-empty shelves, items in permanent disarray, specials not in stock, etc. The household items I have tried lack quality (storage containers with lids that won't stay on...

Crush Pineapple Sobeys, Acton, ON Whenever I visit Guelph, I drive home via backroads, usually Highway 7. Except for the odd streetracer wannabe in Georgetown, it's far more relaxing than risking sleep or meeting up with south-of-the-airport traffic on 401. I'm amazed at how each time I drive along 7, Georgetown and Brampton inch that much closer together - when I owned my first vehicle in '98, Brampton sprawl began at Hurontario, now it's at broken-up Creditview Rd, with no signs of its westward march halting anytime soon. The occasional break along the way helps. One such stop, in Acton, produced today's find. This Sobeys had more drinks from the Maritimes than their Toronto locations - is there a greater concentration, per capita, of down easters in Acton? Crush Pineapple is definitely not something you see much around these parts. Package Notes: Typical Crush label, with curved logo, splash and fruit represented my artificial flavours inside the can. Wh...

Pathmark Fruit Punch Soda Pathmark, Newark, NJ Package Notes : Dark pink can promises "tropical taste". Drawings of pineapples and cherries in the background. Drink itself is light red in colour. What's It Like? : In the battle between the natural and artificial flavours noted on the front of the can, the latter wins. Overly sweet, tasting closer to bubble gum than tropical fruit. Dumped it down the drain after a few sips. Stains tongue but good. Would You Buy It Again? : Doubt it. It was like going to a bad luau where everything is made out of sub-dollar-store plastic. - JB

Puchased at an Acme in Clifton, NJ I rarely buy snack cakes, but made an exception on the roadtrip. I'd read raves about Philadelphia-based Tastykakes over the years, so why not give them a shot? But what to pick - Butterscotch Krimpets? Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes? The winners, chosen through the highly scientific eeny-meeny-miny moe, were Snowballs and Jelly Krimpets. Krimp on this! Mmmm...snowy Package Notes: Nothing oddball, just a smart blue scheme. The Snowballs were wrapped individually, while the Jelly Krimpets were in two-packs. What's It Like?: The Snowballs were very fresh, with moist cake and non-sickly vanilla filling lying under a mound of coconut-studded "marshmallow". Didn't have an overwhelming chemical taste like some bargain-basement cakes. My mom would have liked these, even if they weren't pink like the kind she used to get. The Jelly Krimpets did not live up to the brand name. A blah, bordering on stale, sponge cake with a...

Purchased at Market Basket, Billerica, MA Package Notes: Eye-catching label. Key ingredient: Prepared Bean Mix (Contains Fifteen of These Bean Varieties: Northern, Pinto, Large Lima, Garbanzo, Baby Lima, Green Split Pea, Red Kidney, Cranberry, Small White, Pink, Red, Yellow Split Pea, Lentil, Navy, White Kidney, Black) . Adds up to sixteen...so at least one of these beans will not be in your soup. This soup comes from Indiana, but I've never seen it in neighbouring Ohio or Michigan. What it's doing in New England is a good question. I know that my Mom has used HamBeens dry 15 Bean Soup packages over the years. What's It Like?: About as close to homemade soup as I've bought, except for the use of starch as a thickener and a hint of artificial flavour. Lots of beans, lots of ham chunks. Nice smoky flavour. Would You Buy It Again?: Yes, though it also makes me crave a bowl of Mom's bean soup. - JB

MARKET BASKET SARSAPARILLA Market Basket, Billerica, MA Package Notes : Bubbly motif, used on all Market Basket sodas. "Made with Sparkling Water", as opposed to flat swill drudged from a neglected New England harbour. What's It Like?: Root beer, with a mellower taste than many brands of the foamy stuff. Market Basket also has cans of RB, but I neglected to pick any up for a direct comparison. Indistinguishable colour from RB. Would You Buy It Again?: Yes, due to that mellower taste - it's easier to polish off a can of sarsaparilla than full-strength A&W or Mug.

Over the course of the roadtrip, I couldn't resist visiting most grocery store chains I came across. Let's just say the nuclear stockpile of food grew significantly. As a consumer service, the Warehouse Test Kitchen will review these products over the next few months, letting the public know if it's worth the trip to Massachusetts for sarsparilla or Quebec for "exotic" fruit juice. First up, some homestyle goodness from Joisey... PATHMARK HOMESTYLE LENTIL SOUP Pathmark, Newark, NJ Package Notes: The folks at Pathmark are proud of their product. How so? Dig these directions: "DO NOT ADD WATER. SERVE FULL STRENGTH, JUST AS WE COOKED IT." It's much funnier if you picture these instructions in a New Yawk accent. What's It Like?: different from most canned lentil soups I've tried, due to the chunks of potato and smoke flavouring. Borders on bean and bacon, without the little bits of bacon. Thick consistency, dark brown colour that may ...