Diet Coke Flavors?

Coca Cola has a new flavors of Diet Coke. They have been out for awhile and I have been trying them, all the flavors. I have bought more for this blog; it is my excuse for doing so and I will stick with it.

I have tried the feisty cherry. It has a nice cherry taste but does not overwhelm or dominate the taste. I like cherries. Having a cola with that added is - in my opinion - is a good idea. I am it works with this soda.

I have tried the zesty blood orange. Like the one above, it tastes great but does have a balance of the orange with the cola flavor. I have tried blood orange before. As an orange juice, it is red in color; if I remember correctly. It does not have a red color in this cola blend but one does taste it.

I have tried the twisted mango. It is not often one sees a beverage with mango flavoring. With the way this one tastes, I wonder why other companies have not tried it. I think it works well with the cola flavor. 

I have tried the ginger lime. It is a unique flavor combination - I am not sure if other companies have tried this combination or not - but it works for this one.

Makes me wonder what other fruits would work with this cola? Perhaps one day add strawberries to ones diet cola? Perhaps try it with a banana blended in? Perhaps get the juice of a kiwi and add it to a  diet cola? I wonder if one could create a water melon diet cola? I guess it would be only limited to what one thinks of and whether or not one thinks it would be a good  combination to drink.

This is the diet Coke with its flavors.  I like how colorful the cans are. 

I have found what makes them really good is when one can get them on sale. I think this makes them tastier. I still buy them at full price but I get more when they are on sale. 

These are the older flavors that they had. It is not easy finding them. 

I can find the Coke Cherry but it isn't easy finding the Diet Coke Cherry. 

I can find the lime one but not the lemon one. In the past I liked combining the lime with the lemon. It gave a 'Sprite Cola' taste to it (I believe Sprite is a lemon lime combo beverage).

I can only find the Coke vanilla but not the diet Coke vanilla. I have tried it. I think this is really good. Like the newer ones above, it did not overwhelm the cola flavor but added to it; in my opinion.

It seems I can find some flavors in some stores but not others. I think it is worth looking for and will continue doing so. 

This does not mean I won't try other diet soda's. I have tried different ones and will continue to try different ones. It wouldn't be much of a blog if I only try things that I know I liked. I like the adventure of trying new things and / or things that have been around for awhile but I had not tried before. Of course there are some things that are only available in certain areas and not others. There are certain things that are available everywhere. 

I saw a bottle of Weight Watchers diet soda that had a flavor of chocolate fudge (if I recall correctly the name of it). It seems like an unique flavor. I want to give it a try and post about it in a future blog. I try to try things without having pre-judge how they might or could taste. It doesn't make sense to do so before one tries it. 

When I was younger, I would not try things because I had determined that I would not like them. Growing up, I was a meat and potato kid. After awhile, I wanted to know why I didn't or did like something. I have been trying things ever since. Now I have gone to the other extreme. There isn't much I won't try. 

Big Goofy Guy

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Coca Cola Freestyle Machine?

Coca Cola ( global - company) has a beverage dispenser called the Freestyle. I think it is really cool looking. One can find them in different restaurants, convenience stores and other locations. I think it is not only a great way to advertise but also give people choices. I have seen it at a movie theater.

It dispenses more choices than most beverage machines. Usually soda machines only give a few choices of flavors with only diet cola being the only sugar free / low sugar option. While I like diet cola (since I am diabetic, it limits my choice of carbonated beverages).

It also allows one to combine flavors (not something you can really do with most machines). When one chooses a flavor, one can customize it with more / different flavors. It gives people more choices. I read that there was about 120 flavor variations. I am trying the sugar free / diet variations.

There are some flavors that one cannot get elsewhere. It is the only place (not always available in every machine since those who have it probably get to choose what it dispenses) to find some flavors. When I left Texas / the south, I thought I would never see a Mr Pibb or a Mellow Yellow. It seems these flavors and their zero calorie versions are available in these machines. Not only are they available, one can add different flavors to them too. I really like the Mellow Yellow with peach. It is a many way tie with the other flavors. It is the only place (that I have found) that has a Mr Pibb Zero option. It too one can add different flavors to.

I think it is really cool that they have a Freestyle app. It is at the App Store and the Google Play store. I have tried it before and will be checking it out even more. I will be creating a new blog on it once I do.

Up until I saw this photo, I did not realize there was more than one style of Freestyle machine. 

I have some links that have information on the machine. They seem interesting so I listed them below. It is not all of them but some I have found to give some information on it. 

Freestyle at Coke Solutions.

Freestyle at Coca Cola Company.

the 'everything you need to know about the Freestyle machine' at the Coca Cola Company.

Big Goofy Guy

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Dinner at the Newer Black Cow in Newburyport MA

My brother and I decided to go for a walk and have supper at the Black Cow. They had moved to a new building; the one they are in now is owned by them and the one they moved from was rented (with them having to pay a percentage of their profit as well as rent to the owner - IIRC). 

We went upstairs to get the view and eat up there too. It was not easy seeing the river since there were a lot of lights. They did not serve upstairs since it was mainly for drinks and the raw bar. We went downstairs and got seated right away. It was a small table for two but big enough to hold the plates for two people. The seats were taller than regular seats. I think they were bar stools. It was comfortable. 

There is also seating on the street side of the restaurant. It seemed crowded so we did not try for it. There weren't a lot of tables there. 

This is the outside of the newer Black Cow. They have seating upstairs but it is mostly for drinks and the raw bar. The downstairs is where one eats. I think the ceiling is designed in a way that not only looks nice but also helps soften the sound so one can hear the person one is with. 

They have a bar that has a sail boat in the center. It is really neat. One can see the mast at the far end sticking up into the ceiling. 

This is the escargot that we ordered. My brother got one and I got one. The container was really hot but the plate was cool enough to touch. We had to let it cool down enough before we could eat it. It was not rubbery like some escargot is. We both thought it was really good. 

We had ordered the lobster bisque but got the clam chowder. Fortunately we got charged for the chowder and not the bisque which was more expensive than the chowder. I wanted a cup but got the bowl. The clams were small. It is fortunate that it was really good. Better than other seafood places. It was a good amount. We both ate ours with the oyster crackers. 

We both had the fish sandwich. The fish sandwich was really good. Parts of the breaded fish kept falling out of the sandwich but enough stayed in so I could eat. This happened to my brother too. 

The french fries was really good. We could not eat all the fries since we were full. We did not take the fries home since it is not that good when reheated. 

The Cole slaw was okay. It was rather dry. It is like it was only shredded cabbage without any kind of 'sauce' on it. I only tasted it and did not finish it. My brother did the same. It was the only downside to the meal. It did not keep us from enjoying everything else. 

My brother drank a Captains diet. He had two of them. He said it tasted strong. We were glad we were walking home. He said he needed to walk off his beverage. I needed to walk off mine too.

I had a diet cola. It was not that good. It was okay. I think it was a Diet Pepsi. I was thirsty and it was satisfied my thirst. 

Big Goofy Guy

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Land O Lakes Flavored Spreads?

I have seen, bought and used some flavored spreads - my word for them - from Land O Lakes. They are found in grocery stores, in the dairy section with the other butter and margarine spreads. I have found that they are moderately priced; not expensive for what one gets. They seem to come only in a certain size but I have found that it is adequate for what I use them for. 

They have honey butter spread, cinnamon sugar butter spread, and garlic and herb butter spread. I have found photos of them from the company site. 

I like this one since I can turn any toasted bread into cinnamon bread. I have tried it on regular baked potato and baked  sweet potato, tasted better on sweet potato. One can add some sour cream to it and it is - IMO - even better; IMO. 

This is not only good on bread but also good with pasta. I have added to pasta as a light sauce to it. As long as one does not over do it, it is pretty good. 

I cooked skinny spaghetti and heat up some spinach. I combined them together and added the garlic herb butter spread. Perhaps not my best idea but I liked it. It wasn't horrible but rather tasty; IMO. It was unique. I wonder if others would have liked it (maybe but I like it since I like to try food with 'an open mind' and not judge something before trying it). 

I think this on toasted bread and on non-toasted bread. It tastes nice. I have tried it on pasta as a light sauce. The results varies depending on what kind of pasta one is using it with. 

I have tried the above three on scones. I made scones using a box mix. It was pretty good. I am still looking for collated butter for the scones but that is a different blog. I might have to see if there is a way to make it. 

I usually use them soon after taking them out of the ice box. Perhaps if they were left out for awhile, they could be easier to spread. As such, it is not difficult to spread them or add them to different things. 

I have one with pumpkin spice flavoring. I don't see at their site. It is not bad on toast or crackers. Perhaps it is seasonal? 

The company makes other things too. That is for a future blog. 

Big Goofy Guy

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Common Man Roadside in Hooksett NH

My brother and I went to the Common Man Roadside restaurant on Route 93 (IIRC) in Hooksett NH. We have gone to this before and their other restaurants. Their restaurants seem to have a different menu than the diner. I expected it since one is a sit down restaurant and the other is a diner. Both places the food and atmosphere is really good. The service is really good. 

The diner and eatery was part of the rest area. They also had some other stores there too plus tourist information booth. The inside decor of the rest area is of the surrounding area. It was really nice. It looks really relaxing. 

One can see them cooking and preparing the food. The seating was in on side and behind the cooking area. They also had seating on the outside. One can also seat in the main room / area of the rest stop. They had booths and bar stools to choose from as well as the tables in the main area. 

This is the menu listing for the sandwich that I ordered. I ordered the jalapeno burger. It is listed with a fresh burger patty, pepper jack cheese, jalapeno cream cheese, fresh jalapenos, lettuce and tomato. It is  listed for $10. 

It is a lot of burger for $10. At first I thought there would be not much bite to it even though it lists a lot of jalapenos in the ingredients. At first I did not really taste it but became aware of the bit the more I ate it. It has a really nice bite to it. Once one is done with the burger and start eating the chips, the 'tingling' from the jalapenos. I enjoyed it while it lasted. 

Here is the grilled cheese sandwich my brother ordered. He said it was really good. It came with chips that they make at the restaurant. 

This is the main reason we went to the restaurant. It was for the chips. They are made on the premises. One can also get them at a cafe style eatery there at the rest area. The eatery is also run by the same group as the diner. We had bought bags of this not realizing it also came with the sandwiches. We saved the chips in the bags for later. 

This was supposed to be reproduction of a cup design by Pepsi that they had years ago. It looked really nice. The diet Pepsi in it was pretty good. 

Big Goofy Guy

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Sea Lion Sushi at the Liberty Tree Mall

I like to eat sushi (with rice) and sashima (without rice). There are all kinds of sushi and sashima. I like to try the different ones. I have tried different places.

One of the ones I like is the Sea Lion Sushi at the Liberty Tree Mall. It is a nice place. It is located in the food court of the mall. There is lots of seating. There are a couple of televisions but I usually ignore them. There are other food places at the food court and they will be covered in future blogs.

Here is the Sea Lion Sushi place. They make the food when you order it. There are photos of the items on the menu. They all looked appetizing. It was not easy to chose. The person behind the counter was friendly and courteous. The place looked clean and well arranged (I am not an expert but it did look orderly). 

I like using chopsticks when eating Asian food. I think it is more fun and gives it a more 'authentic' taste to it. I like to practice using chopsticks with other foods. I like the wooden ones best since it seem to hold the food better than the other ones. I have a few sets of fork chops which is a combination of fork / knife and chop sticks (plastic - that would be a different blog).

Here is the Una Don. It was eel over rice. It was really good. It was great together. It came with a side salad. The dressing was delicious. The dark green stuff is wasabi. When I eat it, it goes straight to my sinuses. The yellowish stuff is ginger. It is good dipped in soy sauce. The salad had an 'Asian' salad dressing. It was really good. 

This is the menu photo of the Una Don. What one get doesn't always look like it does on the menu. This time it looked exactly like it did in the photo. It shows it in a bento box (I have found a couple of sites that have bento boxes in different shapes, sizes and colors - future blog subject). 

This is the crispy shrimp tempura. It was really good. The outer coating is light. It is lighter than what one things of as fried food. It was crunchy and light; unlike some other fried foods that can taste 'heavy'. 

Here is the menu photo of the crispy shrimp tempura. What one gets looks like the photo. 

Here is the shrimp shumai. It came with sauce. I used it and the sauce that came with the tempura. I tried dipping it individually and both. It was really good. 

Here is the menu photo of the shumai. I think it is cool that the food one got matched the photos of the food on the menu. It shows it in a bamboo container but one gets it in a paper tray. If one go the bamboo container, the price would probably be a lot higher. I am glad it came in a paper tray.

This is - IIRC - miso soup. It was really good. It came with the Una Don. I drank it instead of using spoon but used the spoon after most of the liquid was gone so I could get the food. It was a good combination. 

One can see the two sauces that came with two of the dishes that I ordered; shrimp shumai and crispy shrimp tempura. I used them both with both. It was a good combination. 

Big Goofy Guy

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Bachelor's Grilled Cheese Sandwiches?

I am a bachelor and  I like grilled cheese sandwiches. It is why I call this my bachelor grilled cheese sandwich. It is easy and is easy enough for a bachelor to make. 

The process involves cheese, bread, a toaster and a microwave. What you add or don't add is up to the person who makes it. The basic ingredients are determined by ones taste and the brand of equipment doesn't really matter if it works to do what one wants it to do. 

I take two slices of bread. It would be more if one is making more than one sandwich. I indicate two since a bachelor might just eat one, perhaps as a snack or a quick meal. It can be any kind of sliced bread; whole wheat, white, rye, etc.. What kind is up to the person who is eating it. I indicated sliced so it would fit into a toaster. Some toasters have wider slots than others. If one wants to use non-sliced bread, one should slice it so it fits into the toaster slot. 

What kind or brand of toaster does not matter. As long as it toasts the bread, it is good. I once toasted bread with mayonnaise on it. It was good but a little on the smelly side. I try not to make it too dark or crunchy. Toast it too long and it is croutons (it is how my brother makes croutons - toasted bead chopped up into little squares - he likes it in his salad). 

One adds the cheese to the bread. It is between the two slices. Putting it on the outside of the two slices might work but I have not tried it. It seems silly. What kind of cheese is up to the person who is eating it and their preference of cheeses. There are so many out there; American, cheddar, pepper jack, provolone, Swiss, blended cheeses like Velveeta, etc.. There are even non-diary cheese and veggie cheeses.  I think some would work better than others. I have only tried a handful of different ones. 

There are times I add other things. One time I added a slice of tomato (or two). Other times I have added slice bologna (so many varieties; beef, chicken, pork, chicken, etc.) or other kinds of meat (like sliced Spam - they have different kinds; at stores and at their web site). There are times I have added baby spinach to it. It makes it a little healthier (at least it sounds healthier). There are times I have added shredded lettuce (already shredded in a bag or one can shred it yourself). As long as what you add does not make it too thick; otherwise, it won't fit into the toaster slot (unless one uses a toaster oven); IMO. It is neat being creative in the add on's. It is limited by ones imagination and what fits into the toaster slot. 

Once combined to what one wants, one puts it into the microwave. How long it is microwaved depends on how big the sandwich is. I don't usually microwave it for long. I microwave it just long enough to melt the cheese, which varies since different cheese have different melting times. I would microwave it for about 20 to 30 seconds and observe it while it is being microwaved. With me, times to microwave depends on how big the sandwich and what kind of cheese one uses. 

I think a grilled cheese sandwich (even if it isn't technically grilled but more toasted then microwaved) is good when dipping into soup. It is common to eat it with tomato soup. I think it tastes great dipped into other kinds of soup. I dipped it into chicken noodle soup, cream of chicken soup, cream of mushroom soup, etc. This is just my preference. There are times I eat it just by itself. 

As a bachelor, I tend to take the easy route to making meals. Some make all their food by 'scratch' (using recipes and getting all the ingredients). I like to use other things that are 'prepackaged'; therefore, eliminating some steps in the 'from scratch' method (topic for future blogs - or a past one? hard to keep track of them).

There is even a book on grilled cheese sandwiches. I am reading it. It is fascinating. It is called Great Grilled Cheese; 50 Innovative Recipes For Stovetop, Grill And Sandwich Maker. It was published by Abram Books. I bought it at Kittery Trading Post. Once I have finished reading it, I will give some a try (they sound really good) but that is a subject for another blog). 

They might have it as an e-book too (best to check their site - I believe they do sell e-books). 

Big Goofy Guy

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Pineapple Chicken Hawaii Style and Phoenix and Dragon at the Family Restaurant in Salisbury MA

There is a nice restaurant in Salisbury MA called the Family Chinese Restaurant and Bar. They recently improved the building and expanded it. It now seats more people, has a separate area for a bar and a room for parties (IIRC). It was really nice before but now it is even nicer. It has a nice welcoming feel to it. It does not require anyone to dress up for it; a casual restaurant.

The people working there were friendly, courteous and attentive.

Here is a place mat at the restaurant. It shows the web site of the restaurant and Facebook link. It is very informative. It shows the casual nature of the restaurant. 

 This is the phoenix and dragon that my brother ordered. He really enjoyed it. I have had it before and really enjoyed it. I am glad my brother got it this time. One can see my brother in the background. I think I blogged about it when I did try it but I am not sure (plan on doing a blog at least every other day - hopefully get some advertisements on my blog to make a little extra money).

 This is the pineapple chicken Hawaii style dish that I ordered. It wasn't as spicy hot as I had hoped but it was spicy delicious. The chicken was thinly sliced. It was not breaded. Some places put a thick breading on their chicken. The vegetables was not over cooked. The sauce did not overwhelm any of the ingredients. The flavors was really good.

There was a bowl of chicken friend rice that we shared. It wasn't too dry. I have been to places that the rice was dry. We both used it to absorb extra sauce. The sauce was too good to waste.

This was a garnish on the dish. Both had them. It was really pretty. I was not sure what it was made of. It looked pretty. It looked like it took some time to make. I am not sure if it was edible. I was too fun to give it a try. 

I use my Samsung cellular phone. The latest one is a Galaxy S 8 Active. The previous one 'drowned' when I fell into the water while trying to get out of my brothers canoe. This one is more water resistant. Both took really good photos. I use it in place of a camera. I was going to post a photo of it but - outwardly - it does not look that much different from other smart phones. It is what is on the inside that counts. 

Big Goofy Guy

I no longer have my beard. It is mostly white / grey. I will grow it again in the fall / autumn. I like it. When I have my beard, I call myself 'Captain Greybeard'. :) 

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Brown Sugar By The Sea in Newburyport MA

My brother and I decided to have a meal at the Brown Sugar By The Sea in Newburyport MA. It is a Thai restaurant. It is really nice. One can see out the back and watch the river (assuming you can see it beyond the US Coast Guard Station - there is an observation deck on the top floor of the building its in but the town won't let anyone use it / go up there because of an ordinance).

This is what my brother had. He really enjoyed it. I don't remember what my brother had. 

This is what I had. I really enjoyed it. It had three peppers beside its name to indicate it was spicy hot but it wasn't really. It seems it was adapted for New England tastes and most don't like it really spicy hot. I think it was fisherman's madness. It had everything on the menu listing. 

Here is the menu link. 

I like to use chopsticks when I eat Asian food. I think it makes it a little more authentic. I have eaten other foods with chopsticks. I had eaten popcorn with them. When I add butter, seasoning to my popcorn, using chopsticks keeps my fingers cleaner. I like eating snack foods with chopsticks. It helps me get better at using them. I have fork chops that I like to use (topic for another blog - looking for their website). 

One can see a bowl of rice. It was sticky rice. I used it to absorb any sauce that was left over. It was really good. My brother used some of it that way too. 

I have been to Thai places in NJ and they have food that is spicy good and spicy hot. Here they have spicy good but not really spicy hot. It seems to be true of Indian food too. I have been to Indian restaurants in NJ that have spicy good and spicy hot entree's while they have spicy good but not really spicy hot here in New England. One Indian restaurant gave me of bowl of spicy hot to add to my food. It reminded me of the places in NJ and I really enjoyed it. 

I was at a food market where they sold chili with jalapeno's in it. I did not taste any until I was almost done with it. It was such a disappointment. The person selling it indicated he had to make it that way so it would sell in the area. 

I was at a steak house and told the entree I ordered was spicy hot and if I liked it that way. I said I would. She said she was from Brazil and the food there is spicy hot while the food here was on the bland side (spicy heat wise). It did have a little bit of bite but not what I was expecting. It was really good though. It was spicy flavorable. 

Big Goofy Guy

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My Bro and I at Family Restaurant in Salisbury MA

My brother and I went to the Family Chinese restaurant in Salisbury MA (close enough to Amesbury to be considered part of it?). They expanded and renovated part of it. It looks even nicer now than it did before (it looked nice before but now it is even better - IMO). 

It is easy to notice from the road. It is not - the building - too far where one can not see it. 

My brother and some of my friends really like going there. There is so much to chose from and so many flavors and varieties. It is a very popular place but there seems to be a lot of room since I don't remember having to wait in line to be seated. It was either not filled up at all or I usually came at a time where there was a 'lull' in people eating there. 

This is the phoenix and dragon that my brother had. I have had it before and really enjoyed it. My brother really enjoyed it too.

This is the pineapple chicken Hawaii style. It was really good. I like how the broccoli tasted with the sauce. It did not overwhelm the chicken. The sauce was not heavy. It coated everything evenly. 

The above two were not on their regular menu but on the house specialty menu. They have so many items to chose from. One would be going there many visits to try most of them. Perhaps a future blog when I do get to do that. 

This is the place mat at the restaurant. It shows the web site and information about the restaurant. 

This is the flower that came with both dishes. I think it is really clever and very well done. There is a small toothpick that holds it together. I do not know if it is edible. It probably is but it was too pretty to eat. There are times I take it home and put it on display for a short while. 

Big Goofy Guy

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