Best Things We Ate This Week (Oct. 10-14)

Each week, the Sporked team sidles up to the tasting table and sets out to find the absolute best of the best packaged foods, the gold hidden in the grocery aisles. Each week we’ll bring you five standouts that truly rocked our taste buds and changed our lives—or at least our buying habits. Here are the best things we ate this week.


Starburst Gum

Starburst makes a damn good gum. The colorful little rectangles come in a little travel-friendly container that has great car gum energy. As soon as you bite into one of these bad boys, the gum explodes with huge fruity flavor that––get this––actually lasts! Too often do we encounter gum that can’t hold up its end of the flavor bargain. We give you our saliva and you give us lasting flavor—it’s just how the system should work. Starburst gets it.

Traditional Medicinals Organic Peppermint Tea

For those who love mint teas, Traditional Medicinals makes an organic peppermint tea that tastes like it’s made with mint fresh from the garden. This tea has none of the post-steep bitterness we sometimes experience with other teas, which is a breath of fresh air. Sporked editor in chief Justine Sterling describes it as, “A mint tea you want to gulp rather than sip.” That’s one cup of tea that’ll certainly be hard to put down.

Tillamook Farmstyle Thick Cut Smoked Provolone

Tillamook’s smoked provolone cheese slices are for those who are looking for a bit more depth of flavor in their provolone and who take their sandwich game very seriously. The thick-cut slices are great for stacking and the smoky essence of this provolone gives the cheese a slightly meaty flavor that mutes some of its more pungent qualities. In the words of my mom, “It tastes expensive.”

Bob’s Big Boy Bleu Cheese Dressing

Bob’s Big Boy Bleu Cheese Dressing is for big-chunk and little-chunk lovers alike––bleu cheese chunk lovers who like variety in the size of their chunks. There are big boy chunks of peppercorn in this dressing that add an extra layer of texture to any salad. It is a rich restaurant-style dressing that is as thick as it is good—creamy, chunky, and well-seasoned. Ultimately, a big-boy dressing meant for a big-boy salad.

Pepperidge Farm Garlic Bread

Here at Sporked, we love both our cats and our garlic breads to come in loaf form. Lucky for us, Pepperidge Farm makes a loaf of frozen garlic bread sure to earn a round of a-paws. After baking, the outside of the bread develops this lovely crust while the inside stays nice and soft. It is so fluffy on the inside, which managing editor Gwynedd Stuart says makes it “great for sopping up sauce,” and the garlic flavor here can’t be beat. Pepperidge Farm uses both garlic powder and garlic extract to ensure one big loaf of garlicky goodness.


About the Author

Naajia Shukri

Naajia Shukri is the legit biggest fan of candy corn. She is interested in all things food, art, and beauty. After living in Korea for the past two years, she has gotten back to her L.A. roots, frequenting thrift stores and art museums.