O Tasti!

This post's title is not only an exclamation, but also the flavor of the day! O Tasti is presumably a spin on the O Henry candy bar and is one of the more amusing Tasti spins on a trademark. While the candy bar has peanuts, caramel, nougat, and chocolate, the server informed me this one was only caramel and (yet another) peanut butter. As always the Peanut Butter was delicious--but the caramel actually hurt the flavor--the two strong tastes battled for predominance rather than complementing one another. So we'll knock the rating down for ruining a good thing. O Tasti!

(This Chase logo was the closest we could find to an 'O'.)

NASTI (2 of 4 stars)

90 calories/serving

Cookies 'n Cream

When I saw Cookies 'n Cream on the day's menu at Tasti, I was perplexed at how it would differ from Oreoes 'n Cream, which is the same thing in traditional ice-cream speak. But props to Tasti for pointing out that there are other kinds of cookies you can eat 'n cream besides Oreos! Cookies 'n Cream basically tastes like chocolate chip cookies (minus the chocolate chips), and it's quite good. I don't think I have a delicate enough pallate to taste the cream, but I trust that it's there. In any case, the flavor ends up being pretty standard and delicious, but nothing out of the extrordinary. It's commentary on the skewering of "Cookies 'n Cream" in colloquial lexicon is interesting but not enough for four stars.

TASTI (3 of 4 stars)

80 calories/serving

Black Cherry

Unfortunately, this will be our first picture-less review, as our photo of Black Cherry didn't come out well, which is too bad because it has an interesting and distinctive pink color. This pink color, however, is also unfortunate, because it only adds to the Pepto-Bismol/Tums taste. The flavor is strong and sustains itself...but it just isn't good. I am a fan of Black Cherry as a flavor in general, so I was in the target audience, it just doesn't work with this texture. Alas--can't win them all. My friend and I split a large mix-in Tasti--they blend the topping into the Tasti, McFlurry-style. It was quite good and definitely made up for the Black Cherry disaster.

NASTI (1 of 4 stars)

80 calories/serving

Peanut Butter Fudge

Over the past few months, I've been quite vocal in my support of Peanut Butter Tasti flavors. Today, I had the honor of trying yet another--Peanut Butter Fudge. The Tasti scientists clearly have the Peanut Butter formula down pat--and it's no surprise Peanut Butter flavors are their most popular. Peanut Butter fudge adds a subtle deep chocolate aftertaste to the typical Peanut Butter taste, and it works well. Of course, as I've discussed before, I don't want to give four stars to every Peanut Butter flavor, and Fudge had the bad luck of coming after several of its counterparts and having much more to offer.

TASTI (3 of 4 stars)

90 calories/serving

Bloggers Reacts to New Tasti Logo

Back in March, we analyzed Tasti's new logo and branding initiative and were generally favorable. Today, Brand New takes a closer look at the new logo and tagline and likes it as well:

That said, the new logo is tempting — sort of like peeping at a dessert through a key-hole. Forms, and elements from the previous identity are reassuringly present; including the sweet pink and rich blue. The dollop holds its own without a thick badge, and the expression is now less Droste Effect without the fancy glass bowl. Avenir is refreshingly light as a support to brand the otherwise slick and generic symbol. The lockup is proportionally top-heavy with the huge dollop of product floating over the loose type.

The comments are supportive as well, although many readers noted the new logo looking a little like...excrement. I'm not sure I see it.

Cake Batter

The act of purchasing Tasti D-Lite today was highly unusual--the closest location to my office is a weird little "Candy Shop" on 38th and Madison. Most suprising? There was a cat in the store! This Tasti Cat (as my friend Sarah called it) was quite cute and clearly had to be in the picture.

The presence of a cat somewhat made up for the kind of bland flavor. I didn't have the highest expectations for Cake Batter--it didn't have much flavor and was just very vanilla-y. It did taste fairly refreshing though on a hot day. I got half Peanut Butter because I couldn't resist myself, and the mixture improved upon Cake Batter--but mostly because it was just a diluted version of one of my favorite flavors. No need to crank up the Flavor Locator for this one.

D-LIST (2 of 4 stars)

80 calories/serving

Banana Pudding

The extent of coincidence in life is sometimes just too overwhelming. Yesterday afternoon, I posted about the new flavor locator feature and included a screencap of my unsuccessful test search. As you can see, I searched for "Banana Pudding," as I had decided it was the flavor I most felt like at the moment out of the hundreds of options.

The bad news is that the Flavor Locator doesn't appear to be fully live for all stores yet. The good news was that when I stopped by the Tasti closest to my apartment that night, they, of course, were serving Banana Pudding. I feel like I must have done something right yesterday in order to receive such a sweet reward.

For the most part, Banana Pudding did not disappoint. The flavor was strong and sweet. However, by the end of the cup, I felt nauseated--which is unusual for a Tasti flavor. The taste just doesn't hold up throughout a whole cup. It would be superb, however, mixed with another flavor--even Dutch Chocolate--to counterbalance the thickness.

TASTI (3 of 4 stars)

80 calories/serving

TastiDLite.com Launches Flavor Locator

The Tasti website continues to expand and innovate--this morning, they launched a "Flavor Locator." Users can select a flavor and type in their zipcode, and the locator tells them the nearest location serving that flavor. Unfortunately, most of the ones I tried were not found within a 50 mile radius, so it somewhat serves to remind you of what you want, but can't have. Nevertheless, it's a pretty nifty feature and should be useful for that burning craving.

Chocolate Decadence Sundae

This was my first foray into the complex sundaes offered by Tasti D-Lite--I figured it was about time. It filled a large drinking cup (maybe four or five times a small cup) and had two layers of chocolate Tasti, cookie crumb, and hot fudge. Then it was topped with whipped cream. All for 390 calories! You definitely can't help but wonder how that calorie count is possible. The man behind me in line saw the sundae being made and snarked--"There goes the diet for the week!" (Was he trying to tell me something?) In theory, my "diet" for the week was fine, but it's definitely hard to believe. The sundae was delicious--creamy, rich, and flavorful. It was definitely thick though, and you couldn't order a smaller size. It was a little expensive, too. I'd say it's a great thing to split with friends and probably should be treated with a grain of salt (can it really be healthy?), but probably shouldn't be taken on by oneself.

TASTI (3 of 4 stars)

390 calories/order

Oreos 'n Peanut Butter

Yesterday was the kind of day where the train pulled up right as you swiped into the subway and the guy at ABP put just the right amount of pesto on the sandwich. So it came as no surprise that one of the flavors of the day was Oreos 'n Peanut Butter--which are just about my two favorite foods. As I've discussed before, both peanut butter and Oreo make delicious Tasti flavors--the question was if the mixture would be too much of a good thing... and it wasn't! You could differentiate the two delectable tastes or let your taste buds combine them into a single frozen goodness. They really complement each other well. For creativity and execution, four stars it is!

D-LITEFUL (4 of 4 stars)

80 calories/ounce

Chocolate Tasti Shake

So Tasti D-Lited is finally in New York! And, best all, our apartment is less than two blocks away from a (rather small) Tasti! And, likewise, reviews should be back on a frequent basis.

For our first trip, we decided to mix it up a bit and try a Tasti Shake on for size--and it fit! (Lolerz, y'all.) While I prefer Tasti to ice cream even without the nutritional factors, I have little taste preference between a Tasti shake and a normal one. Which is a good thing. It tastes rich, creamy, and chocolatey. The taste is rather straight-forward, but I guess that's what one would expect. In any case, I'll definitely be trying some more complicated shakes (and smoothies) in the future.

TASTI (3 of 4 stars)