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PayDay Chocolatey Avalanche
OFFICIAL SNACK REPORT
Sanctioned By WASAW
Snack Committee
Reviewed by: Paddy O' Poppycock Location: Random gas station/convenience store in Vermont OFFICIAL NAME OF SNACK:
PayDay Chocolatey Avalanche DESCRIPTION OF SNACK: Take the same PayDay peanut/caramel bar you know and love (or in my case, don't think too kindly of), and dunk it in milk chocolate. SSI RATING (SNACK SATISFACTION INDEX - 1-10): 7.5 |
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UPSIDE:
It looks like Hershey's finally took my advice from my 2004 review of the classic PayDay bar and "dumped a huge amount of milk chocolate over this bar." That earns the Avalanche a 2-point leap from the original bar on the SSI rating right there. The other .5 is for taking a chance with the name Avalanche, rather than going with something like "Loco-Coco PayDay", "PayDay Max", or "Call in Sick and Gorge Yourself on PayDay".
DOWNSIDE:
440 calories for the King Size bar. Also, the caramel/nut thing... the peanuts remain too salty (although the chocolate helps the tongue forget about the salt a bit), while the caramel now tells your brain its nougat with this new ingredient lineup. Not that nougat is bad, it's just not caramel. Like replacing Diane Lane in Unfaithful with Amanda Bynes.
1ST 4 INGREDIENTS:
Sugar
Peanuts
Corn Syrup
Vegetable Oil
PACKAGING:
The familiar PayDay logo on anything but a plain white wrapper immediately tells you that something's up. In my case the packaging snagged me, twisted me around, and screamed, "Give me another chance! I know I used to just be salty-ass nuts and caramel, but Hershey's has gone to the extreme and enrobed me in chocolate. Chocolate, I say! How can you at least not try me?" "Good point, young wrapper," I responded in my head.
DO I RECOMMEND YOU TRY THIS YOURSELF? (YES/NO - EXPLAIN):
Yeah - absolutely. If you're a fan of PayDay, then things just keep getting better. If you don't like PayDay, then throw caution to the wind - it's worth giving the Avalanche a try... sorta' like Napoleon Dynamite the second time you watch. If you really hated it, things won't change. If you were on the fence, you may find something here to make you a fan.
Also worth noting... as I went to purchase this candy bar, the guy ringing me up saw it and said, "Oh - have you tried that yet?" "No, looking forward to it, though," I replied. "It's amazing, really great," he beamed. I wanted to tell him that I was Paddy O' Poppycock, professional snack reviewer, and always appreciative of another passionate snacker. But I merely nodded knowingly, basked in the warmth of his smile, then tripped over a box of Big Leauge Chew on my way out the door.
HOW CAN THE PRODUCT BE IMPROVED:
This is about as good as PayDay is going to get. (Well, again - I wish Hershey's would use unsalted peanuts. That would knock the PayDay Avalanche to a 9.) Adding the chocolate to the original was the #1 way that PayDay could have been improved - and honestly I never thought Hershey's would be bold enough to try it. So the Avalanche is really an answer to my prayers. Even if it was three years late. Now if only Hershey's would enrobe my bathtub in chocolate, they'd be two-for-two.
