starburst effigies and cashew soda
unsnackable vol. 22
Do you ever look deep inside and acknowledge the forces that shaped you? Not in terms of nature vs. nurture, but at the cultural influences you willingly absorbed. When I stare into that void, this face is what I see.
This horrifying visage stares back at me from 2005 when this Starburst commercial and its "ironic" Lionel Richie soundtrack were my personal pinnacle of both art and comedy. I had a personality bookended by episodes of Best Week Ever, I Love the 80s, and a starburst commercial.
It was a short stage, but it was still bleak.
At least this guy isn't living in my psyche rent-free.
This is clear evidence that introspection is almost always unnecessary, but I can't say the same about these new unsnackables
the unsnackables
sweet
БЕЛЫ ПОЛЮС (Belarus)
Cornflower blue is an upper echelon color, a perfect shade that walks the line between blue and purple with a muted intensity. But I didn't realize that the bloom is the national flower of Belarus until I discovered this frozen treat. The Blue cornflower flavored ice cream is studded with flax seeds and encased in a rye cone deserves to be a national treasure.
savory
SPICY CHICKEN WITH APPLE SLICES (Malaysia)
My favorite anime, Shokugeki No Soma (Food Wars), appears to be a show about teens at a cooking school who cook food so delicious that anyone who tries it orgasms instantly. But when the story is at its best, it becomes an interrogation of class and prestige in the culinary establishment. An early storyline features a recipe for karaage that uses apples to increase the juiciness of the chicken, and it came to mind immediately when I saw this sandwich from McDonald’s Malaysia.
thirsty
SÃO GERALDO (Brazil)
I had a vague idea of how cashews were harvested, but the accessibility of the final product kept my curiosity at bay. I think that is embarrassing because a lack of understanding means a lack of respect for the resources required to deliver food to my pantry. This drink takes the cashew fruit, the source of the cashew nut and turns it into a fruity drink that tastes similar to apple.
boozy
ぽんしゅグリアSOUP ( Japan)
In my mental cocktail taxonomy, every savory cocktail is a booze soup. Dirty Martini? Soup. Bloody Mary? Soup. Michelada? Soup. This savory hot sake fulfills that assessment in a more literal manner, and yet I'm much more likely to enjoy it than a Bloody Mary with a stale pizza roll and candied bacon as garnish.
unsnackableIRL
My Chew Jelly Peach (Korea) -Like a jellybean and a skittle and a cooling fruity bite of happiness all in one.
I’m still figuring this out, but hopefully, you enjoyed v.22 of unsnackable.
If you didn’t please don’t tell me, tell your friends to subscribe because they hopefully have better taste than you.
Think you’ll miss me before unsnackable v.23 comes to your inbox? follow me on other parts of the internet and tell me about what you’re snacking on or tell me what color deserves to be converted into a unique ice cream flavor.
I’ll try any snack at least once, so don’t be shy if there is something you want to send me to try.
I think there has been a lot more discussion about substack as a platform lately and I’ve considered shifting this newsletter to a paid subscription (because I do spend a lot of time researching snacks!) but I like sending something nice to your inboxes for free every week, so if you’d like to support my snack related endeavors you can find me on venmo at thefolu or on paypal