Junk Food Nation – Happy Veterans Day, everyone! Thank you to all who have served, are serving, and will serve.  It is because of veterans’ brave sacrifice that we can all do what we want to do, whether it be Instagramming your dinner, designing new malaria vaccines, or writing a not-at-all-famous junk food blog. So thank you to the brave men and women around the world in the military serving this great nation of ours.

Today I’d like to share a quick Junk Food Gal story: As I’ve mentioned numerous times, here in DC we have a subway system known as the Metro. At moments it’s one of the most convenient public transit systems in the world, at other moments it’s a worthless piece of junk.  During rush hour, it gets super crowded, and there are times when trains may arrive at a station already jammed packed with people pressed against the closing/closed doors.  In those moments, I typically just let the train go by, waiting for the next one. I, like many DC residents, often have to let five-six trains go by before I can actually fit onto a train.

The other day was one of these busy days. On the way to work, the Junk Food Gal managed to squeeze onto a Metro car, stuck as one of those people semi-pressed against the closed doors. The train is full. Bodies are pressed against each other in awkward positions. But it is what it is. A couple of stops go by without issue. Eventually the train pulls up to Dupont Circle, and the doors open behind the JFGal. She here’s a man and a woman:

Woman: “Oh, this one is full too.”

Man: “No it’s not, watch this.”

At which point the JFGal proceeds to feel two hands on her back PUSHING HER INTO THE MASS OF PEOPLE ALREADY ON THE METRO CAR. She tries not to fall over while also trying not to smell the arm pit of the tall dude who she is getting shoved into. The doors close and she hears, “See? I told you we would fit.”

She turns to give her best WTF face, when she sees that this man and woman who used her as a battering ram are now FULL ON MAKING OUT behind her. AUDIBLY. Smack mmm kiss smack mmm yes  oooh. What in the world? So yeah, that happened.

Tell me in the comments, JFNation – how would you have reacted, or what would you have done? I mean, I have been in the situation where at a full car politely asked if people could move in a little so I could fit on – but just taking it upon myself to tackle people INTO a car?  No. Not OK. But maybe I’m over-protective.  Let me know what you would’ve done.

Today’s junk food: Limited Edition Cranberry & Sage Triscuits!

I love Triscuit crackers, especially the Rye and Caraway Seed ones. But Limited Edition Cranberry & Sage Triscuits? Yeeeeg – I’m nervous. We discussed these on Episode 40 of the Nosh Show, and I said I was curious and would nosh it, but now that it’s actually in my hands…I’m scared.

Limited Edition Cranberry & Sage Triscuits look like they are dressed in an ugly sweater, no? I kinda dig the design actually – really smart holiday take by Nabisco.  Plus the ultra-red box is sure to draw eyes to it.

Limited Edition Cranberry & Sage Triscuits are seen on the front of the box topped in what looks to be cranberry, bits of sage, and a creamy white cheese.  Looks like a tasty combo, although it seems sort of weird to suggest that your cranberry based crackers need more cranberry.  Hmmm.

The recipe on the back of these Limited Edition Cranberry & Sage Triscuits is for a cranberry and sage sweet potato, seemingly flavored entirely with only these crackers.  I’m guessing these flavors are bold then. Nervous even more.

Ah, the post-Thanksgiving-leftover-combo we all know and love – turkey, stuffing, cran, gravy, the kitchen sink, Oreos, potato chips, green beans and, of course, Limited Edition Cranberry & Sage Triscuits. That cracker stack looks to be about 1.5 inches high.

Huh – they felt the need to explain the cover. I have to used “herbed” goat cheese, Nabisco? I can’t use brie?

Limited Edition Cranberry & Sage Triscuits are 20 cal per cracker…

and, amazingly, only contain a short list of ingredients. Cranberry juice concentrate? Whoa. Is this Ocean Spray in a cracker?

I opened this box of Limited Edition Cranberry & Sage Triscuits and sniffed, and thought, “Oh no. OH NO.  Weird fruit and herb mixed aroma!” After my horrible experience with the Mango Salsa Wavy Lays, I’ve been skittish about fruit/herb combos.  Would these fall into that same disgusting category?

Nervously, I placed one of these Limited Edition Cranberry & Sage Triscuits in my mouth and chewed…first bite came BIG TIME tanginess which threw me off for a second.  The cranberry flavor was tart and fruity and I wasn’t sure what I was eating at first.  Especially when chewing that flavor with the wheat cracker, my mind was swirling, trying to decide if I loved or hated these…as I chewed, the sage flavor came to the forefront…and, oddly, it paired well with the cran flavor.  Huh. Wait a minute.

I popped another one into my mouth, and chewed…again, sweet fruity flavor, but this time, not so foreign.  The sage flavor, which I normally associated with meat, hit the edges of the cran flavor sort of perfectly.  This wasn’t a SWEET cracker, per se, but it definitely had VERY bold cran tart notes and the sage actually helped bring it into a more understandable territory. It reminded me of the flavors that sometimes occur in my mouth when getting that bite of turkey at Thanksgiving with cranberry sauce.  That pairing makes sense and this…this wasn’t bad.  The main difference with these over the Mango Salsa Lays – the fruit flavor didn’t taste artificial. While the citrus-y flavor of mango felt totally fake and gross to me on the Lay’s, the tart cran flavor wasn’t hard to replicate, since most of us are used to having cran in sauce or juice, and not the actual fruit, anyways.

I think…I think I actually liked these.

The flavor of the Limited Edition Cranberry & Sage Triscuits was so bold, it was clear it begged to be topped off with something, as the box suggested.  In my fridge, I only had some deli turkey and some brie.  It’s Brie time, baby!  So here we go.

Slathered some brie on one of the Limited Edition Cranberry & Sage Triscuits, then topped it with a piece of deli turkey…

…and voilà! Limited Edition Cranberry & Sage Triscuits, topped with meat and cheese!

I placed this combo into my mouth, chewed…and YES, it was good. These Triscuits made even MORE sense when adding the creamy cheese and meat.  Now, I’m not sure if I love that these crackers needed ME to add something to them to take the flavor to the next level, but in a lot of ways, I understand it. Nabisco is just providing the base for me to take a food adventure – sort of like flavored croutons.  Yeah, they taste good on their own, but it’s when you shake them over an awesome salad that the entire flavor profile takes off. These crackers were the same way.

The creamy cheese helped tame some of the bold flavor of the cracker, but had the amazing effect of unmuddling the flavors themselves – I could now, even more, taste the individual flavors of sage and cranberry.  The turkey added a meaty flavor that, when paired with the sage flavor, fit perfectly.  This bite tasted like the holidays; it tasted like a turkey sandwich I might make with leftovers, topped with cranberry sauce.

Final verdict: this was a complex cracker, but when used properly, it’s sort of a genius creation. Nabisco managed to create Thanksgiving in a cracker, providing me with all the tools to replicate the holiday in my mouth.  The base cracker alone was bold, but not off putting, and I could see a person really enjoying these even without toppings. It was a different taste than I’m used to, but the complexity of it became clearer as I ate.

BIG RISK, but I think BIG REWARD for Nabisco on this one. If you try it, let me know – and tell me your opinion with and without, toppings.

PURCHASED AT: Giant Food, Cathedral Commons, NW DC

COST: $2.50

Thoughts? Please comment below or hit me up on Twitter @junkfoodguy or LIKE my Facebook Page and message me there. I also have Google+!! Let’s hang out.

Sincerely,

Junk Food Guy