Granbury’s Best out of Granbury, Texas. The Triple Berry Preserves. This Company only uses Locally grown fruits and don’t add any artificial preservatives or flavorings which may interfere with the natural flavor of the fruit They are a small family based company. We really like the triple berry preserves. It was sweet but not overly sweet and had a fresh berry flavor .It is made with Raspberry, Blueberry, and Marionberry. You can really taste all the different berry flavors that combined, compliment each other well. Granbury’s Best also makes jams, jellies, and jalapenos. I really look forward to trying other flavors. Rated 4.85 out of 5-D
Granbury’s Best Triple Berry Preserves. A GO Texan product out of Granbury, Texas. It’s nice to see a preserve with a small ingredient list that packs an awesome favor. The raspberries, blueberries, and marionberries work so well together to bring us a wonderful and flavorful preserve! It does have seeds in it, so beware if that is something you don’t like. One of my favorites! It tastes great on anything from toast, to crackers, to PB&J sandwiches! I’d recommend trying it, and let us know what you think!? Rated 4.75 out of 5. -A

Shiner Prickly Pear Lager from Spoetzl Brewery out of Shiner, Texas. This beer was certainly different from most beers we have reviewed and enjoyed on our own time. When poured it had a clear, light amber hue with a smaller off white head. It was very, very aromatic with a 50/50 tart and fruity smell. It really had a great fragrance. The first sip was a bit of a shock; it was just how it smelled, very tart and sweet. As your palette gets used to the tartness it gets better. It did not taste malty and it wasn’t overly carbonated. The after taste is really where you can taste the prickly pear. It is a very light beer that goes down easy. It might not be everyone’s favorites, but I do recommend giving it a try at least once, it’s certainly a different kind of beer. Rated 3.7 out of 9 –A.
Shiner Prickly Pear from Spoetzl Brewery Shiner Texas. This lager is a limited edition brew. It has a strong citrus smell. When poured it has a light amber color to it and small to medium head. It head kind of a earthy wheat taste to it and a tart pear taste at the end , Due to the prickly pear. It wasn’t very strong tasting and had very little malt taste to it. It is very easy to drink due to its light beer taste. I think this is an average lager rated 3.5 out of 5-D

St. Lucia Bread Company Blueberry Bread out of Dallas, Texas! They have been around for 20 years making delicious handmade bread with natural ingredients. We had gotten a small sample loaf from the Texas State Fair. The bread had a wonderful amount of tasty blueberries and the bread itself was sweet, moist, and flavorful. It had hints of cinnamon and nutmeg and it went perfect with the blueberries. But that I enjoyed most about this bread is that it tasted homemade. It reminded me of things my mother would bake growing up. I can only imagine how awesome the bakery must smell after they bake a few batches of their bread! My only complaint was that I wish we had bought more and different flavors of the bread! But next time we are in Dallas, we are definitely going to get more! Rated 4.95 out of 5. -A

El Fenix Fire Roasted Queso. This Queso was good it was way better than the average jar of Queso. It had lots of spices and had almost reddish orange color due to the fire roasted herbs and spices. The cheese wasn’t too thick or runny. It had a slight heat to the taste and goes well with tortilla chips or poured over your favorite Tex Mex dish. We are a big fan of queso, and we both really enjoyed this one! Rated 4.65 out of 5-D&A

HEB Brand Texas Heritage 3 pepper sausage. This sausage is smoked with Texas pecan wood. It has 3 different types of peppers; hatch, serrano, and jalapeno packed into one juicy sausage. It is made with quality pork and beef. The casing of the sausage was on the thinner side, but nonetheless it had a good snap to it when bitten. It is very juicy and flavorful and is packed with spiciness of the three different peppers. I wouldn’t call it the spiciest sausage I’ve had, but it kept its heat throughout the meal. I would recommend giving it a try at your local HEB! Rated 4.6 out of 5-A
I really liked the taste of the Serrano pepper, it complimented the pork and beef meat in the sausage. The meat also had a nice amount of black pepper in it. I agree with what A said about the casing. I think this is one of the better HEB brand sausages. I recommend it to all if you like a 3 pepper type sausage. Rated 4.8 out of 5-D

Texas Squeeze out of Austin, Texas. Cranberry Juice. This juice tasted sweet and refreshing. It had a crisp, tart cranberry taste and they use filtered Texas water and concentrated Cranberry juice. This juice uses only natural fruit sugars and has no preservatives. It would like to try this drink mixed with some of our fine Texas Vodkas. If you want a good refreshing sweet but not too sweet cranberry juice give this one a try. Rated 4.9 out of 5-D

Oliver’s Fine Foods Downtown Fort Worth, Texas location. I had ordered the Rueben sandwich. First off, this restaurant in downtown Fort Worth is extremely quaint. It’s a great place to stop for great, reasonably priced food while you are walking around downtown. It even has a little section for quick groceries if you need something. The Rueben is one of my favorite kinds of sandwiches and Oliver’s has a delicious one! The corned beef was flavorful and super tender and the sauerkraut was delicious! The marbled rye wasn’t bad either. It’s definitely one of my go to sandwiches at Oliver’s Fine Foods. And the service has always been quick and pleasant every time we go there. Let us know what y’all think if you have been to Oliver’s Fine Foods! Rated 4.8 out of 5- A

Venison Jerky from Taste Texas out of Austin, Texas. This is also a product of their private label. This Jerky had a great venison and beef taste that gave it a lean yet meaty flavor. It wasn’t too dried out and has a nice chew to it. The amount of pepper in the jerky itself was what I really enjoyed about it. There are specks of coarse pepper all over the jerky and it gives it that little punch and compliments the jerky perfectly! Rated 4.8 out of 5-A ! Follow @TasteTexas on Facebook for exciting Texas news and food! For ordering information please contact Taste Texas via Facebook at www.facebook.com/TasteTexasAustin or contact by Phone (512) 215-8671, Email nick@taste-texas.com Also check out their website for this and other Texas made products. Website http://www.taste-texas.com/

Fried Thanksgiving Dinner at the 2013 Texas State Fair in Dallas, Texas. Winner of the Most Creative at the 2013 Big Tex Choice Awards. It’s a big ball of delicious turkey pieces, stuffing, and creamed corn rolled in corn meal and fried to perfect! It’s also served with turkey gravy and cranberry sauce on the side (it would'nt be complete without the gravy and cranberry sauce) It was surprisingly delicious and despite being deep fried, it wasn’t overly greasy. All the ingredients meshed perfectly well together and presentation was also a plus. If y’all are heading to the Texas State Fair, give it a try and tell is what y’all think! Rated 4.79 out of 5 –A
The Deep Fried Thanksgiving Dinner. I really like this! It tasted great it’s no wonder why it won the most creative award. I liked the cornmeal and the stuffing taste, I could taste all the herbs and spices and it had I slight celery taste. It had a nice amount of turkey pieces and I liked the cranberry and turkey gravy(which had small chunks of turkey in it) dipping sauces. Their only fault I could find was they weren’t big enough. I liked this so much I may try to make this with our thanksgiving left over. Rated 4.85 out of 5-D

Venison and Pork Spicy Snack Stick from Taste Texas out of Austin Texas. This is one of their private label jerkies. This is by far my favorite snack stick style jerky. It had a great taste and good amount of heat from the jalapeno powder and red pepper. They used quality ingredients in all their jerky products. The meat had a great consistency and a wonderful snap to it. I also liked the slight garlic flavor that complemented the venison and pork flavor. Also, the pieces are much thicker and bigger than your average store bought sticks and definitely have a much better taste. I would recommend this to anyone that loves snack style jerky- Rated 5 out of 5-D & A! Follow @TasteTexas on Facebook for exciting Texas news and food! For ordering information please contact Taste Texas via Facebook atwww.facebook.com/TasteTexasAustin or contact by Phone (512) 215-8671, Email nick@taste-texas.com Also check out their website for this and other Texas made products. Website http://www.taste-texas.com/

Blue Bell Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream. Blue Bell has rolled out a new flavor y’all! Chocolate and peanut butter has got to be one of my favorite flavor combinations, ever, so I was pretty excited about this one; even if it seems dull against flavors like blueberry cheesecake and birthday cake. Though it was very good, if you are looking for a solid chocolate and peanut butter ice cream, this may not be the one for you. There are plenty of creamy peanut butter swirls throughout, but even when there weren’t peanut butter swirls, it totally blocked and overpowered the rich, chocolate ice cream. The chocolate ice cream was very subdued in this particular flavor. It is a flavor I would personally get again because I am a fan of peanut butter anything, but again, if you are looking for a solid chocolate peanut butter ice cream, in my experience it lacked in the chocolate that Blue Bell always does so well in. Let us know what y’all think if you’ve tried it! Rated 4.6 out of 5 –A.

Oma’s Choice Blueberry Pie out of Schulenburg, Texas. We purchased this miniature pie at the Go Texan Pavilion at the Texas State Fair in Dallas. The pie was appealing with a cute little cut out shape of Texas on top. While the pie was good, I was looking for a more homemade taste to it. I was a little disappointed that the blueberry filling didn’t have any actual whole blueberries in it. It was more like a blueberry jam or filling you see in a generic store bought pie. It was sweet and the crust was flaky but I would have definitely liked to see whole blueberries inside! Let us know if y’all have tried any of Oma’s Choice products! Rated 3.7 out of 5. –A. D rated it a 4 out of 5.

Spicy Buffalo Jerky from Taste Texas out of Austin, Texas. This jerky is from their private label line. This gourmet jerky has a slight jalapeno spice to it that compliments the buffalo meat without overpowering it. It has a nice tender consistency and slight sweet taste from the brown sugar. I really like the buffalo meat mixed in with the beef it kept the jerky moist and flavorful. This is one of the best tasting buffalo jerky I have tasted. This packet had a decent amount of jerky in it. Rated 4.9 out of 5-D. I can’t wait to try more! Follow @TasteTexas on Facebook for exciting Texas news and food! For ordering information please contact Taste Texas via Facebook atwww.facebook.com/TasteTexasAustin or contact by Phone (512) 215-8671, Email nick@taste-texas.com Also check out their website for this and other Texas made products. Website http://www.taste-texas.com/

Texas Squeeze out of Austin, Texas. Grapefruit Juice. This grapefruit juice tasted great. It had a powerful grapefruit taste. I liked that it wasn’t too sweet like other juices I have had. It had a natural sweet taste and they use filtered Texas water and concentrated Rio Red grapefruit juice. This juice uses only natural fruit sugars and has no preservatives. I would recommend this juice to anyone that likes a refreshing grapefruit drink. Also it would taste great as a mixer. Rated 4.9 out of 5-D

Pecan Lodge at the Dallas Farmers Market Shed #2 in Dallas, Texas. We had gotten up early to enjoy the fall temps and head down to the Dallas Famers Market. We had arrived and gotten in line early, around 9:50-55ish (we knew that Pecan Lodge was a very popular BBQ spot) so we were prepared to wait! We had previously tried their chopped beef brisket sandwich at the Untapped Festival in Fort Worth a few months ago and loved it! When they opened up at 11am, we arrived at the counter hoping they didn’t run out of our favorite, beef brisket and beef ribs. Unfortunately, they had just ran out of beef brisket, beef ribs, and pulled pork just two orders before us( oh no!!!!!!) But since we waited in line all that time, we decided to give their sausage and pork ribs a try. Their sausage was very juicy and flavorful once you get past the heavy smoke flavor. I love smoked meats, but the sausage had just a little too much smoke, but it is something I would get again. The pork ribs were awesome! Very, very juicy and flavorful with a lot of meat on the bone and the spice rub was perfect, it didn’t need a drop of sauce! We had also gotten the fried okra, which was fried perfectly, and wasn’t slimy. Good amount of breading to okra ratio. By far my favorite place to have okra. We had also gotten the southwestern beans, which reminded me of black bean soup, because of the choice of seasons put in. It was delicious! Can’t wait to head back out there and camp our around 9am to get our hands on their brisket and beef ribs! Sausage rated 4.1 out of 5, pork ribs rated 4.95 out of 5, fried okra rated 5 out of 5, and the southwestern beans rated 4.7 out of 5. -A
Pecan Lodge Dallas, Texas. We arrived at 9:55am and there was a line of about 40 people ahead of us. They don’t open till 11am. At noon, we got up to the counter to order. The beef ribs, brisket, and pulled pork was sold out. We knew this may happen so we thought getting there when we did would be a good time to still get to try their great brisket. We ended up getting the 2 meat combo with 2 sides. The combo we chose was pork ribs and smoked sausage. The two sides were fried okra and south western pinto beans. Even though we were disappointed that we didn’t get any brisket the meal we had was good. The pork ribs had a nice smoke ring and taste. The ribs were tender and juicy. The smoked sausage was good too, but had too much smoke flavor. The first bite I could only taste the smoke. The sausage had a nice casing and good quality meat. Now to the sides. The fried okra was good and wasn’t fried too much and tasted good. The southwestern beans were good also. They had a different flavor than your usual pinto beans they had a lot of spices and almost a black bean soup kinda taste. Guess next time we try Pecan lodge again we will have to get there sooner. Ribs rated 4.8 out of 5. Sausage rated 4.0 out of 5. Fried okra rated 4.8 out of 5. Southwestern pinto beans rated 4.75 out of 5-D

Ranger Creek Brewing and Distilling out of San Antonio Texas. Small Batch Series #2. This is a Texas Farmhouse Ale. I really like the taste of the Ale. We tried it at a local texas bar that had Texas beer night.It was usually 11 dolars a beer, but this night it was only 3 dollars. It is 7.7% ABV . It was a nice burgundy color. The top of the bottle is cover in wax. I have never seen this before on a beer bottle. This Ale is is marketed as “a traditional Wallonian-style saison brewed with spelt that has been smoked over 4 Texas fruit woods. The use of peach, apricot, apple and plum woods add a subtle smokiness” It has a nice underlining smokey fruit taste. It is a nice summer type ale. Small Batch Series No. 2 was recognized in DRAFT magazine as one of the Top 25 Beers of 2012! Their website explains “Small Batch Series releases are meant to age well over time, so drink a bottle now and save others to enjoy later. They will cellar best in a dark place around 50 degrees. Each batch is brewed and bottled by hand and undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle. Pour carefully so as not to rouse the yeast.” Like I said before I really liked this Ale and recommend it to Anyone that wants to try a really unique Texas farmhouse ale and has a little more money to spend on a Great tasting Ale. Rated 4.9 out of 5-D

Texas Texas Salsa. ”Perfect Hot” style. This salsa company is owned by Sanderson Foods out of Austin Texas They started making salsa in 1997.. This salsa was ok. It wasn’t hot enough for my taste. The label says perfect hot, but it wanst. It does have nice sized chunks out tomatoes, onions and peppers. They use all natural ingredients. It had an average taste and low medium heat to it. I would rate it somewhere in the middle of my favorite Salsa’s. It wasn’t bad but didn’t stand out either. Rated 3 out of 5-D

Revolver Brewing out of Granbury Texas. Sidewinder Ale. This Pale ale was great tasting. One of my favorite Texan pale ales. It had a nice citrus smell and citrus taste to it. It had a light golden color. It is made with regional flavors like Agave nectar. Maize, citrus hops, spices and citrus. It was very smooth and refreshing. The agave nectar gave it a nice slightly sweet taste. It has a 6% abv and doesn’t weigh you down after drinking it. I cant stress how much I like this Ale. Rated 5 out of 5-D Revolver Brewing from Granbury, Texas Sidewinder Ale. We first got a taste of this company at the Fort Worth Untapped Beer Festival earlier in the year and we liked what we tasted. We look forward to everything this Brewery puts out. The Sidewinder Ale is delicious pale ale that was definitely pleasing to the palate. Hints of citrus really jumped out to me with a bit of a salty, herby taste. A good salty herby taste. It was a beautiful light golden color and had a wonderful citrus/herb smell. I recommend giving this beer a try. It’s definitely one of my go to beers for an all-around great tasting beer. Rated 4.95 out of 5 -A

Blue Bell Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream. This ice cream is heaven. I’m all for anything blueberry and Blue Bell does this spin on blueberry cheesecake perfectly. It has cheesecake flavored ice cream that is of course is very smooth, rich and creamy. Generous amounts of cheesecake pieces with graham cracker crust attached (yum). And copious amounts of the sweet blueberry swirl sauce. Every bite had some of the delicious elements to it. It is very rich, so it can get filling very fast. Blue Bell always does such an awesome job on cheesecake flavored ice cream (and pretty much everything they make). Give it a try and if you already enjoy this flavor, let us know what you thought of it! Rated 5 out of 5. -A

Spoetzl Brewery out of Shiner Texas. Shiner Bock. It dawned on me that I have been drinking Shiner for years and haven’t done a review on it. So here it goes. I really like the taste of Shiner Bock. It has a nice light and refreshing taste. It has a medium malty taste and a slightly smokey flavor. It pairs well with any type of BBQ or on its own. It is one of the popular Texas beers. Spoetzl was founded in 1909, and is the oldest independent brewery in Texas. Rated 4.85 out of 5-D

Hill Country Fare Texas Ranch Style Beans. This company is owned by Texas’ own HEB. These ranch style beans were great. I like them a lot better than the Ranch Style Beans made by ConAgra foods. They had a nice amount of spice and the pinto beans were cooked perfectly, not to soft or hard. The can also was filled with beans and a little sauce unlike some other company’s that cheat and give you more sauce than beans. These Texas style beans also cost less than other canned beans. Better taste and less expensive is always good in my book. Id recommend if you want a good Texas style canned beans give them a try at your local HEB. Rated 4.8 out of 5 -D

Oliver’s Fine Foods out of Fort Worth Texas. The Gyro Sandwich. I really like the look and the taste of this gyro. It had lots of meat and Greek gyro flavor to the meat. It also had a generous amount of feta cheese. The tzatziki sauce tasted great. It was topped with fresh diced tomatoes and cucumbers. I also like the warm pita bread. Oliver’s is a great place to eat at a great price when you find yourself in downtown Fort Worth. Rated 4.9 out of 5-D

American Spice and Seasoning Inc. out of Midlothian Texas. Adkins Western Style Barbecue Rub. This is a good rub. I wish it had more pepper in it. It did taste good on the brisket we smoked. It’s ingredients are sugar, salt, paprika, chili pepper, celery salt, comino, and garlic. I like the celery salt taste. It brought out the flavor of the beef nicely. Like I mentioned before it needed more pepper for my taste. I did like the taste when I used it on my baked potato. It would make a good rub for pork and chicken too I imagine. Rated 4 out of 5-D

Dublin Bottling Works Texas Sweet Peach Soda. The newest flavor to come out of our beloved Dublin Bottling Works! We were both extremely excited and anxious to get our hands on this flavor! Who doesn’t love peach flavored things, it is Texas after all! We found this soda at the Fort Worth Stockyards while we were enjoying our Friday afternoon. The bottle design and the bright colored soda caught our eye. Once we popped open the bottle cap we noticed the sweet, peachy fragrance of the soda. First sip was perfect and each sip after was better than the last! It had a strong peach taste with the perfect amount of carbonation that fizzed on your tongue. They also use pure cane sugar so it never has that fake, syrupy taste that seems to coat your mouth. Definitely another hit for Dublin Soda Works. Our new favorite. Rated 5 out of 5 by both A and D.

Texas Tamale Company out of Houston Texas. Gourmet Beef Tamales. These tamales were great. They came in a money bag style sack. They had a great beef taste and a nice medium spiciness to them. The tamales are wrapped in corn husks and the masa was perfect texture. In each bag was a dozen tamales. My only problem with them was they were kinda small. Other than that id recommend you give them a try.Rated 4.5 out of 5-D
Texas Tamale Company out of Houston, Texas. Gourmet Beef Tamales. They came in a quirky little cotton bag that reminded me of a money bag like D said above. These were surprising great tasting, as we are a little weary about frozen tamales. Finely ground beef with just the perfect amount of chili pepper added. They were slightly moist compared to other tamales we’ve had, so they kept their shape after steaming. I’d recommend y’all give it a try and let us know what you think! Rated 4.4 out of 5. -A

Blue Bell Ice Creamery from Brenham Texas. The Dutch Chocolate Ice Cream. I really liked this flavor of ice cream. It has a nice semi-sweet chocolate flavor. Blue Bell imports this chocolate to keep the flavor nice and smooth .It has a nice mild chocolate flavor. It was nice and creamy. I couldn’t stop eating the ice cream till it was done. It is not your typical basic chocolate ice cream. Blue Bell continues to amaze me with its great tasting flavors. Give this one a try if you’re a chocolate fan- rated 4.9 out of 5-D

Native Texan from Austin Texas. Smoky Mesquite Barbecue Sauce. I Really liked this barbecue sauce. It has a dark red color to it. This barbecue sauce had a great strong mesquite smoke flavor. It had a nice slight sweetness and a nice medium peppery finish. It made all natural and gluten free. It had a medium consistency and tasted great with the brisket we made. Another great product from Native Texan. Give it a try and see for yourself. Rated 4.96 out of 5-D
Native Texan Smokey Mesquite Bar-B-Que Sauce, “The Real Deal”. This smokey sauce was pretty awesome! It definitely had a strong smokey, mesquite flavor and it was very aromatic. Peppery like D said and complimented everything we put on it nicely. It was also very fresh tasting and all natural which is always a great quality! Native Texan is one of my favorite companies out of Austin and I have yet to have something from them that wasn’t fresh or disappointing. Give them a try and let us know what you think! Rated 4.9 out of 5. -A

Native Texan out of Austin Texas. Hatch Chile Salsa Roja. This salsa was good. It had a consistency nice refreshing taste. This salsa is made with all natural ingredients. It had an ok heat to it. The label said medium, I would have liked a little more heat. I would say it was more of a low medium heat. I really liked the way the hatch chiles tasted. The fresh tomatoes and onions were great and cut to a good size. The salsa had a good consistency. I would recommend this salsa and pair it with their Hatch Green Chile Queso, which was excellent(see prior review). Rated 4.35 out of 5.-D
Native Texan Hatch Chile Salsa Roja. This salsa is all natural, fresh, and great tasting. The flavor profile was rich with hatch green chilies, tomatoes, onions garlic, jalapeno, and cilantro it also had a bit of vinegar taste. I do agree with D that it is labeled medium, but I would also say it’s more of a low medium heat. It wasn’t too runny with a nice chunkiness to it. I recommend this salsa; Native Texan is one of my favorite brands when it comes to salsa and queso. Give it a try and let us know what you think! Rated 4.3 out of 5. -A

Happy National Ice Cream Day!

Blue Bell Ice Creamery. Century Sundae. This ice cream has homemade vanilla with swirls of caramel and chocolate, creamy whipped topping, and chopped maraschino cherries. I really like the texture of this ice cream. The soft whipped topping was nice and airy and the caramel swirls were tasty. I usually don’t like maraschino cherries in ice cream, but due to the size of the chopped cherries it was ok. The cherries added a nice sweet flavor that melts on your tongue. This was a good ice cream. Give it a try. Rated 4.8 out of 5-D
Century Sundae from Blue Bell Ice Cream. While browsing the ice cream isles this Blue Bell product has been catching my eye. We finally picked it up one Friday night and decided to give it a try, why not? Blue Bell has made an ice cream sundae all conveniently packed into one of their famous half gallon tubs. Though this ice cream was good, it unfortunately was not my favorite. I would have to disagree with D on the chopped cherries; I would have preferred to have whole cherries or perhaps even cherry halves. I also thought the whipped topping was weak compared to the whipped topping that was in the Key Lime Pie Blue Bell we reviewed. The swirls of chocolate and caramel were okay, but the caramel sort of got lost in the ice cream. And of course the homemade vanilla was perfect, as usual. Give it and try and lets us know your thoughts! Rated 4. 7 out of 5. -A

Mrs. Renfro's Ghost Pepper Salsa

Mrs. Renfro’s Ghost Pepper Salsa out of Fort Worth Texas. This salsa was hot. I have had ghost peppers in other foods but nothing tasted this hot before, which is a good thing. I really liked this salsa. It’s one of the hotter salsas I have tried and one of the hotter ones we have reviewed. It has a nice smokey flavor to it. I immediately felt the heat as soon as it hit my taste buds. It has a slight vinegar taste to it. This salsa has a medium consistency and a nice flavor profile. It is made, like all Mrs. Renfros salsa with all natural ingredients. If you like hot salsa, give this a try. Rated 4.85 out of 5-D.
Mrs. Renfro’s Ghost Pepper Salsa. I was pretty excited to give this salsa a try, especially since we love Mrs. Renfro’s products. This salsa didn’t disappoint. Even though it is packed with a lot of heat, I like that the heat doesn’t completely overpower the taste of the spices in the salsa. I can definitely taste hints of garlic and vinegar, and then the heat kicks in. The heat stays on your tongue minutes after you are done eating, which I kind of like. It wasn’t runny but I wish it was chunkier. Overall I think this was a great salsa and I hope y’all give it a try if you haven’t (be prepared if you’re not used to the hotness of ghost peppers). Rated 4.8 out of 5. -A

Dublin Bottling Works Tart-N-Sweet Lemonade

Dublin Bottling Works Tart-N-Sweet Lemonade. “Always made with pure cane sugar”. This drink had equal (perfect) amounts of tartness and sweetness to it; the first sip will make you pucker a bit. It had a crisp, fresh, sweet taste and was a perfect thirst-quencher on a hot, Texas summer day. Even though it doesn’t list carbonated water as an ingredient, it does have a slight bubbly texture on your tongue. All in all, it is a great sweet drink to treat yourself on a hot day when you want good bottled lemonade which can be sometimes hard to find. Once again, Dublin doesn’t disappoint! Give it a try and let us know what you think?! Rated 5 outta 5. – A and D.

Blue Bell Rockslide Brownie

Blue Bell Rockslide Brownie. This ice cream was great! Delicious, creamy dark chocolate ice cream was the base to this frozen treat. I was really impressed that the marshmallows were so soft and fluffy. I thought that would have hardened up in the ice cream. And the mix of pecans, almonds, and walnuts were a perfect addition, each nut chopped ideally. The brownie pieces were delicious and chewy. My only complaint with the brownies is that I wish there were more in there. It seemed as if we only got three pieces in the whole pint. I also wish that there were more swirls of caramel; I could hardly taste it unfortunately. All in all, it was another great tasting ice cream from Blue Bell, I would definitely get this flavor again despite some of the small mishaps with it. Rated 4.9 out of 5. -A
Blue Bell Creameries, based in Brenham, Texas. Rockslide Brownie. This ice cream was great. It had dark chocolate ice cream with the perfect amount of Caramel swirls in it. I really liked the rich chucks of brownie mixed in .And chopped almonds, pecans and walnuts tasted good, Usually I don’t like nuts in ice cream but this was an exception. The fluffy marshmallow bits were great. Nice and soft, not frozen hard. If y’all like brownies and ice cream give this a try it won’t disappoint. May be my new favorite. Rated 5 out of 5-D

Shiner Original Smoked Sausage

We reviewed Shiner’s Smokehouse from Shiner, Texas. The Shiner original smoked sausage. John Patek moved to Texas from Czechoslovakia in 1889. They started a grocery store in 1937.With much success they expanded into a smoked sausage and meat market. Four generations later, Brian Patek founded Shiner Smokehouse to share their Czechoslovakian heritage with Texas. This smoked sausage was great. It had a really deep smoke flavor. The great quality meat melts in your mouth. I did think that the casing was a little too tough, but not enough to hinder the enjoyment of this sausage. They recently signed a deal with Kroger’s so all of Texas can enjoy their products. One of the better sausages I have tried. Rated 4.85 out of 5-Dave
Shiner Original Smoked Sausage from Shiner’s Smokehouse in you guessed it, Shiner, Texas! We have heard about the Shiner Smokehouse, but with our busy schedules it’s hard to get a break to visit these awesome places (we are in the DFW area). So we were excited to hear about the deal they made with Kroger’s that brought their sausages to the DFW area (yah)! The sausage had a great, fresh taste and had a lot of smoked flavor (love the bountiful smoked flavor). It was juicy and tender with no additives or fillers! It had the perfect amount of spices to compliment the meat. The casing had a great snap to it, but I do have to admit that the first bite I was surprised how thick the casing was. But that definitely doesn’t change my view on the sausage itself, why? Because it’s one of the better tasting sausages I have had and I really look forward to getting my hands on their other products (the Shiner Beer Brats have caught my eye)! Those of you in the DFW are or anywhere in Texas, give this a try and let us know what you think! Rated 4.75 out of 5. -Allison

Blue Bell Key Lime Pie Ice Cream. The flavor is perfect for the summer months. I was pretty excited to give this flavor a try because I do a have sweet (or tangy) tooth for a good key lime pie. Once the lid was popped opened, the ice cream was pale yellow with generous white streaks (that was the whipped topping, yum). And of course it was marbled with nickel-sized chunks of graham cracker crust. The collaboration of the light and fluffy whipped topping and the creamy key lime flavored ice cream were an awesome contrast in not only taste, but also texture. It had a refreshing key lime flavor and almost tasted “healthy” to eat! Blue Bell did this flavor perfect, not too sour like other brands that have tried to conquer the key lime flavor. It seems that every time we try a new Blue Bell product it instantly becomes our favorite, but this flavor, definitely tops our list! Rated 5 out of 5. –A & D

Saint Arnolds Brewing Company Handcrafted Root Beer out of Houston, Texas. As soon as we popped open the cap we could smell the sweet fragrance of old fashioned root beer. Another thing I like about this root beer is that it is made with imperial cane sugar which gives it a light, sweet flavor (better than that corn syrup stuff). There is a hint of vanilla throughout each sip and the carbonation is just right. Plus we got this at a bargain at Kroger’s, $1 a bottle! This is a good go to for a traditional root beer on a hot, Texas summer day! Rated 4.79 out of 5. -A
Saint Arnolds Brewing Company from Houston Texas. This root beer tasted good. It had a great root beer smell when opened. It has a medium to strong carbonation. The taste was smooth and didnt have any after taste. It is made with imperial cane sugar which helps with the sweetness. It is had a well-balanced flavor and nice dark color to it. I recommend y’all give it a try. Its nice to see a brewery that is famous for its beer make a non-alcoholic drink as well. Rated 4.95 out of 5-D

Dublin Soda Works out of Dublin Texas. Texas Root Beer. This root beer tasted great. It had a nice crisp root beer flavor. It also had a slight cream soda flavor at the end. I really like the pure cane sugar it made it taste sweet without the heavy syrup taste. This is a great root beer. I recommend y’all give it a try. Rated 5 out of 5-D

Blue Bell Creameries, based in Brenham, Texas does it again. The Strawberry Cheese Cake Ice Cream was great. I loved the taste of the fresh strawberry swirls with big chunks of strawberries and the smooth creamy cheese cake. It even had small pieces of soft crust from the cheese cake they complimented the overall flavor. Blue Bell continues its tradition of being the best tasting ice cream in Texas. Rated 5 out of 5-D Blue Bell Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream. Like D said, Blue Bell “does it again”! Blue Bell never disappoints with this decadent strawberry cheesecake flavor. The generous chunks of graham cracker crust, creamy cheesecake, swirl, and giant almost whole strawberry were in each and every bite practically. What I liked most was that there was a distinct taste of cheesecake throughout the ice cream. Not like other brands where you usually only taste cheesecake when you bit into a piece of it. I recommend it to cheesecake lovers of all kinds. Rate 5 out of 5(It’s hard not to give anything Blue Bell under a 5) –A.

Eddy Sausage out of Yoakum. Texas . Smoked Sausage with Cheese and Jalapenos. I thought this sausage was ok tasting. It had a nice smoke flavor. Nice casing and good quality of meat. But the cheese flavor overpowered the jalapenos. I could barely taste the jalapeno. In my opinion it was too much cheese flavor. I like their other sausages. Rated 3.85 out of 5-D Eddy Smoked Sausage with Cheese and Jalapeno Peppers. Like D said, the cheese was the main taste in this sausage. It wasn’t bad, but I was definitely expecting more of a jalapeno kick. Majority of the sausage was stuff with the cheese. I would recommend this to someone who couldn’t handle the spiciness of a jalapeno and they only wanted to slight hint of it. The sausage did have a good smoke flavor and had a good snap after being on the grill. I am however, going to give it a lower rating because of the fact that it was labeled jalapeno and it barely had any spiciness to it. Rated 3.6 out of 5. -A

Dublin Soda Works out of Dublin Texas. Black Cherry Soda. This soda tasted great. It is the best Black Cherry soda I have ever tasted. It had a nice black red color to it. This soda had a nice cherry smell to it as you raise it to your lips It has a deep natural cherry taste and the pure cane sugar sweetened the taste perfectly. The pure cane sugar gave it a nice sweet taste but not overpowering like high fructose corn syrup would. Dublin Soda Works continues to make great sodas and I haven’t found one flavor yet I didn’t think was great! Rated 5 out of 5-D

Franklins barbecue out of Austin Texas. World famous pit master Aaron Franklin has released 3 different types of his BBQ sauce (Sweet Vinegar, Espresso, and Texas style). The one we reviewed first is the Espresso barbecue sauce. This sauce was good. It had a great coffee taste to it. It didn’t over power the sauce. It went great with Beef and pork, I didn’t like the way it tasted with chicken. But it tasted so good on the brisket we had; I can overlook the disappointment of the taste on the chicken. The sauce was a little too runny for my tastes. It has a good peppery taste and a nice slight sweet taste at the end. Rated 4.8 out of 5-D Franklin’s Espresso Barbecue Sauce. We’ve been on the lookout for this sauce since we heard it was coming out and we picked it up at our HEB store (best place ever!) I thought this sauce went PERFECTLY with beef brisket. It exuberated the flavors of the brisket and not overpowered. I did not like it with chicken at all unfortunately. The sauce is very running, peppery, and the coffee flavor was a perfect addition. I would recommend this sauce to anyone to add to any beef. Rated 4.7 out of 5. -A

Dublin Bottling Works Ginger Ale! Ginger ale is one of my favorite types of soda in general and Dublin’s version does not disappoint. This sweet soda has the perfect amount of ginger taste and pure cane sugar with a pinch of a lemon/lime flavor. It’s light and bubbly throughout each sip. It came out in perfect time for these hot, Texas summer months that are coming up for a light, refreshing, and crisp tasting soda to quench any thirst on those hot days. And of course, the logo is cute and pleasing to the eye! I rate this Dublin soda a perfect 5 out of 5 because Dublin never disappoints and I always look forward to their products. -A

Dublin Retro Grape Soda! Dublin never disappoints! Picked this one up at our local Kroger’s store for $1.50 a bottle! This soda had a great amount of bubbly carbonation that gently fizzes on your tongue on each sip. And the sweet grape aroma will sure to please any grape soda lover as well. It has the perfect amount of sweetness; the natural pure cane sugar certainly does not overpower and does not make it too sweet to drink. And of course this bottle has the cute, retro design which is pleasing to the eyes. Dublin will not disappoint! Perfect soda for the upcoming hot summer months to enjoy! Let us know what your favorite Dublin Soda is! Rated 5 out of 5. -A

Mrs. Renfros out of Fort Worth Texas. Chipotle Corn Salsa. I like the flavor of this salsa. Like all Mrs. Renfros salsas it is made with all natural ingredients. The thing I liked was it has a lot of corn in it. I like the slight cilantro taste. It had a slight heat from the chipotles at the end. I also liked that this salsa wasn’t too runny like some others we have tried. I liked it enough that it wasn’t long till it was all gone. It never made it to the fridge. Another great product fom Mrs. Renfros. Rated 4.8 out of 5.-D
Mrs. Renfros Chipotle Corn Salsa. This salsa was delicious! It was loaded with corn. You can pronounce everything on the ingredient list, which is a plus! It was a medium salsa bursting with flavor. The chipotle pepper gave a nice little kick. It was fresh tasting as usual. Mrs. Renfro’s is sure to continue to be a household name for us. Rates 4.7 out of 5. -A

Rudy’s BBQ and Country Store in Arlington Texas. We tried the breakfast tacos. I had the Jalapeno sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast taco. This breakfast taco was great. First off the price was 1.79 which is a cheap price. The taco was a decent size and great tasting. The smoked jalapeno sausage is the same that they serve on the regular menu ( it’s not “breakfast sausage”). The sausage was chopped up and it had a nice heat to it from the jalapenos. The eggs were scrambled perfectly and a good amount of cheddar cheese. I would recommend this to anyone that wants a cheap, quick and great tasting breakfast taco. Rated 4.85 out of 5-D
The next one we tried was a potato, egg, and cheese breakfast taco. It had a good amount of country fried potatoes and scrambled eggs, topped off with cheddar cheese. The potatoes had a great fried flavor and really stood out in this breakfast taco. 4.8 out of 5 –A & D.
Lastly, we had gotten the bacon, cheese and egg breakfast taco. This one was my favorite out of all three (A). The bacon had a wonderful, smokey flavor that just took over the egg and cheese, in a good way. Very delicious breakfast and the one that will keep me coming back! The bacon was chopped up throughout the taco. Yum! Rated 4.9 out of 5. -A

Native Texan Hatch Green Chile Queso out of Austin, TX. This queso has got to be my new all-time favorite, because it’s just so damn good! It has an incredible cheese flavor, not like some other brands where the cheese tastes, well, not like cheese. And the hatch green chilies pack a bit of a punch, but a comfortable medium heat. I absolutely love this queso. It’s fresh tasting, creamy, and packs a bit of a punch for your taste buds! Let us know if you’ve tried it and what you thought about it! It’s in our book as one of the best tasting! Rated 5 out of 5! –A
I really liked the flavor and the heat from the green chilies. The green chilies had a fresh taste to them. The cheese had a good consistency and nice cheese flavor. It was really hard not to eat the whole jar. This Queso would go great with tacos or any other things you could put cheese on. Cant wait to try other Native Texan products.-Rated 5 out of 5-D

Blue Bell Homemade in the Shade Ice Cream. Yum! Made with the delicious homemade vanilla ice cream that we all know and love with copious amounts of chocolate fudge! Every bite was fudge-filled and it complimented the homemade vanilla perfectly. While this ice cream doesn’t have all the bells and whistles like some of our other favorite blue bell ice creams, it still has a place in our hearts and one of our favorites! Rated 4.9 out of 5. -A

The Green Mesquite out of Austin Texas. The 3 Meat Bbq plate. I choose the pork ribs, Brisket and Sausage. The Brisket had a good amount of smoke flavor and a good taste but was kinda cold. I liked the pork ribs. They had a nice dry rub flavor and a decent amount of smoke. They were very moist and came off the bone easy. These ribs had a decent amount of meat on them. The sausage was dry and didn’t really have a lot of flavor. I had 2 sides. The fried okra was good it had a nice not too heavy breading and was cooked perfectly. The potato salad was ok not anything great. Ok taste but not what I was looking for. The way they smoke the meat with green mesquite is unique. I'm sure it ruins their smoker. Never heard of anyone using green wood before. All in all an ok place. 3.85 out of 5-D

Armadillo Ale Works Quakertown Stout out of Denton, Texas. First sip and I was an instant fan of this beautifully made stout. It had such a multitude of flavors that were simple and were pleasing to the taste buds. I had tried the Stout that was infused with banana, raisin, and almonds. The banana seemed to have gotten lost among the other flavors, but it was still delicious. Sweet and had a down home richness to it. The maple syrup added to the homey appeal. This stout is at 9.22% and was just recently released. I most definitely look forward to whatever this company comes out with and consider Quakertown Stout to be a go to, especially on a chilly day. Give it a try! Rated 4.75 out of 5. -A
Armadillo Ale Works out of Denton Texas. The Quakertown Stout. I recently tried this stout at the Untapped festival. This stout was great. It had a great oatmeal taste. This stout is made with two row, brown, roasted barley, Blackprinz, wheat malts, oats, Columbus hops, and maple syrup is added. It had a dark color to it and a good sized head. It had nice notes of coffee and chocolate. One of my favorite beers I tried at this festival. This Company has only been around for a few years and launched their first beer (Quakertown Stout) on March 1, 2013. Now it can be found all over the DFW, Houston, and Austin Areas. Want a good tasting Stout? Try Armadillo Ale Quakertown. Rated 4.75 out of 5-D

Real Ale Brewing Company out of Blanco Texas. Devils Backbone Ale. This Ale is named after the ridge that runs between Blanco and Wimberley. This Ale tasted great. It is made with Czech Saaz hops and Belgian yeast. This type of Ale is a Belgian-style tripel. It had a golden color to it and slight foamy head. It had a sweet aroma and taste. This is due to the Candy sugar made in-house at the brewery. It has an ABV: 8.10% which is a lot stronger than your average ales. This is a great pale ale. Give it a try. Rated 4.6 out of 5.-D
Devil’s Backbone from Real Ale Brewing Company. This golden pale ale had a nice, light fruity aroma. Alcohol is well hidden with all the different taste and slight spices. Also had a good bitterness throughout the beer. Like D stated above, it is a Belgian-style tripel which basically means its strong pale ale. Rated 4.5 out of 5. -A

No Label Brewing company out of Katy Texas. Don Jalapeno Ale. This was a great tasting ale. I could smell the jalapenos as soon as I lifted the glass to my mouth. This was the first jalapeno flavored beer I had ever tasted. It was great. This beer is brewed with 60lbs of jalapeños – 30 lbs raw and 30lbs roasted (seeds included). It had a good smokey jalapeno flavor that wasn’t over the top but had a nice heat to it. It is orange in color and had a slight head to it. It had a good amount of malts and hops. This ale would go great with Mexican food or BBQ. Rated 4.35 out of 5-D