New Products: July 2004 Archives
I have the power to change the course of a frozen waffle product.
Last week, while walking through the Lenox Mall, I was approached by a man with a clipboard who asked me if I had some time. I thought he was some pollster who I could wave off with a "I'm not registered to vote in Georgia," but that was not the case.
He needed a 18-to-34-year-old caucasian male to finish the last of his surveys. Fitting the bill, I obliged. He asked me some questions about my waffle-eating habits, to which I replied according to the responses that had been marked already on the clipboard. Not very scientific, but I wanted to help him out by making this go as smoothly as possible.
After answering the questions, he led me to a small office in the depths of the mall, far from the glitz of retaildom where I signed the form and he got the frozen waffles from the freezer (and $2 for my trouble).
The waffles came in a non-descript white box. On the outside was a sticker labelling the box #2 and a phone number to call to report on the quality (or lack thereof) of the product. Inside the box were eight frozen blueberry waffles.
I had to purchase syrup specially for the occasion, and chose Spring Tree Grade A Dark Amber Maple Syrup purely because of the flask-shaped container.
Since the box didn't provide any instructions, I was left on my own to decide how long they should be toasted. I turned the toaster knob to the middle setting and depressed the lever. The Quizno's tag-line came to mind while I waited: MMMM ... toasty!
After a brief wait, the toaster ejected the waffles and I poured syrup over the top and let the sugary liquid soak into the flaky blueberry surface.
Then I ate them.
They were decent frozen blueberry waffles. I'm no food critic, so I can't wax eloquently about how the flavor created some kind of hallucinegenic euphoria on my pallate, but I can say they tasted pretty much exactly like you'd expect frozen blueberry waffles to taste. I liked how the blueberry flavor wasn't overpowering -- it was just enough to provide a nice fruity accent to the waffle and syrup combo.
I haven't called the number on the box yet. I still have six waffles to go, so maybe I'll be able to provide Bobbie Jones a more thorough review once I've eaten all eight.
