Garlic Snow Crab Fries - Jake's Lobster - CNE

Hey hey! Mike here, and this entry is going to be something a little different. As you know, we normally talk about subscription boxes and toys. But today, I'm going to talk about food... in a box!

Jess and I just went to the annual Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto, Ontario, Canada the other day and it was a blast.

The main attraction for us has always been the food. Every year, we go with our friends to try the latest crazy creations, like deep fried butter, deep fried Oreos, chocolate bars baked into croissants, hamburgers with grilled cheese sandwiches as the buns, red velvet waffle pulled pork sandwiches, cocoa chicken, and much, much more.

This year, one of the popular items comes from Jake's Lobster, which is beside Epic Burger.

For $11 (tax included), you can get their Garlic Snow Crab Fries, which is essentially a poutine-like box of fries with snow crab and garlic mayonnaise. Here, take a look.

That looks delicious and, honestly, it was. The crab was tender and went really well with the garlic mayo. This could really give Smoke's Poutinerie a run for their money.

However, something really bothered me as I worked my way through my meal. Take a look at the box. Considering its size and the associated price tag, one would expect a decent portion size. After a few bites, though, I noticed something. Here's a photo from when I was close to finishing.

That there is a tray at the bottom of the box. What it means is that while the box looks to be three quarters full when you get it, it in actuality is closer to only half full. In other words, Jake's Lobster is ripping people off.

Look, I get that vendors want to make money. But, $11 is NOT cheap. And, as much as I have come to appreciate that gourmet items at the CNE aren't cheap, I do expect to be satisfied. This is the first time I was left not only still hungry, but also with a bitter taste in my mouth.

If Jake's Lobster didn't want to give that much crab, that's fine with me. Give less crab. But, fries are not expensive at all and neither is garlic mayo. Filling three quarters of the box (or even the entire box) with fries really isn't going to put a dent in their profit. So, why not do it?

Because the owners of Jake's Lobster are cheap douchebags.

If you want good fries at the Ex, I highly recommend you go to Dutch Frites instead. Jess and I shared an order of their Indo Frites for dinner, which had garlic mayo, green onions, and crunchy fried onion bits. The price was good, the fries tasted amazing, and we got almost double the amount of food compared to the Garlic Snow Crab Fries. Here's a picture of the Indo Frites.

So, please stay away from Jake's Lobster at the CNE. And, if our review doesn't deter you, then please also consider that the wait time for your food is 10 to 15 minutes when there is NO lineup and they serve expensive clam chowder in a tiny cup, but don't have any spoons for you to eat it with. Yes, they are that bad.

If you go to the Ex this year, please share your food exploits with us by leaving a comment. We'd love to hear about what you ate.

And, that's all for now. Stay tuned for my Marvel Collector Corps review coming soon!

~ Mike

ZBox - July, 2015 - Ghosts & Ghouls

Hi, hi! Mike here, and I couldn't help myself after receiving the awesome June ZBox, so I ordered the July one as well. Today, I finally received my long-awaited shipment! Here's a first look at what's inside:

For those of you who haven't heard of ZBox, it's associated with a web site called Zavvi, which sells all sorts of media and memorabilia. This isn't really a "subscription box". There's no actual subscription. Instead, each month, you have to go on their web site and pre-order the box for the next month. The advertised price is ₤19.99 with free UK delivery. Being Canadian, this means I had to pay extra for shipping. What's convenient about Zavvi's site is that it allows you to browse in Canadian Dollars, so I could see exactly how much I would be paying before ordering. My order came to $36.57 CAD with shipping included.

JULY - GHOSTS & GHOULS

I know the photo above looks awesome and you're just dying to know exactly what was in the ZBox, so I'll get right to it. Here's a list:

- ZBox Mini Magazine ($2.50 CAD)

- Lost Boys T-Shirt ($20.00 CAD)

- Ghost Rider Keychain ($10.00 CAD)

- Pac-Man Magnets ($10.00 CAD)

- Build Your Own Zombie ($12.00 CAD)

- Rivers of London #1 Comic ($5.00 CAD)

- Ghostbusters Postcard ($1.00 CAD)

- Ghostbusters Titans Vinyl ($15.00 CAD)

- Black Jack Candy ($0.25 CAD)

ZBox Box

This is my second ZBox and it has a custom box like the first one I got. I love the Bram Stoker's Dracula quote in it. I rate this box 5 Keanus out of 5.

ZBox Mini Magazine

As you probably know, I love getting themed magazines in my nerdy subscription boxes. This little guy has some great articles, including one about vampire movies that don't suck. There was a lot of hard work put into this magazine, so I thank the ZBox peeps for that.

Lost Boys T-Shirt

I admittedly have never watched the movie "Lost Boys", but I know it's supposed to be good. This shirt's design I definitely like. It's subtle, so one wouldn't know it's a nerd / pop culture shirt unless they knew the reference. Plus, I love that the shirt is grey.

Ghost Rider Keychain

This is a very cool old school Ghost Rider keychain. I love the design! Apparently, it's a ZBox exclusive based on the sticker on the back of the packaging, which makes this even better.

Pac-Man Magnets

"Hello, my sweet, little boy. Look how big you've grown." ^_~ I can't wait to put these magnets on my freezer door!

Build Your Own Zombie

Okay, wow. This is something new and unexpected. Inside the box you get some "dough" with which to build a zombie, or whatever else you may think to make with the stuff. It's basically like Play-Doh, except that when the stuff dries, it hardens. Extremely cool and one of the best items in this box.

Rivers of London #1 Comic

I have never heard of this comic before and that's great! I appreciate being introduced to something new. Oh, and is that an exclusive cover? Why, yes. Yes, it is. Thanks, ZBox.

Ghostbusters Postcard

I love postcards and this one rocks. Sure, it's simple, but I like that.

Ghostbusters Titans Vinyl

You may recognize this from the San Diego Comic Con edition of Loot Crate, but there is one very big difference. Whereas the Loot Crate figure was just a random one, ZBox was able to get us an exclusive red Stay Puft Marshmallow Man! This is easily my favourite item in this box and one that I am happy to display on one of my bookshelves.

Black Jack Candy

Ah, what a great way to cap things off. If you like black licorice, you'll love this candy. If you don't, just pretend you didn't get one. :p

OVERVIEW

I have to hand it to ZBox. I thought their June box was going to be a one-off in terms of awesomeness, but they hit another home run with this Ghosts & Ghouls box. Every item fit the theme well and was something worth getting. Plus, several of the items were exclusives. Even better. I'm really impressed with ZBox and can definitely recommend it. So, if you're interested in learning more about or signing up for ZBox, just head on over to their site HERE.

And, that's it for ZBox for now. Unfortunately, my budget really can't allow me to keep ordering from them. But, if a theme comes along that really calls out to me, I'll be sure to pre-order and then let you all know what I get.

In the meantime, please stay tuned for my upcoming Marvel Collector Corps review! And, as always, thanks for reading!

~ Mike