Funny Is Coming

As Jess and I continue to delve deeper and deeper into our new obsession with miniature plastic food collectibles, we keep finding sets with weirder and weirder names. For example, we have a brand new review for something called "Funny Is Coming". What does that even mean? Watch the video to find out.

So, as it turns out, Funny never showed up. Instead, we got Cute. I hope you enjoyed this review. More is coming soon, so stay tuned!

~ Mike

Gudetama Meets Danger

Jess and I have this weird new obsession with miniature plastic food. It's not edible and horrible for the diets we are trying to maintain since these collectibles look so good they make us hungry. Still, they're so adorable that we can't help but pick some up each time we find new ones. Today, we look at something called "Gudetama Meets Danger". That odd title got us hook, line, and sinker. So, for your viewing pleasure, here is our video review!

We hope you enjoyed that. There is a lot more coming soon to In Box, so stay tuned!

~ Mike

Gudetama World Gourmet Tour

Recently, Jess and I found a whole section in One's at Market Village (Markham, ON) that sells miniature plastic food. This has opened up a whole new world of collectibles for us, which is horrible since we already collect way too many things! Ha ha! Anyway, when Jess found a set of miniature plastic food that is based on Gudetama the Lazy Egg, she absolutely had to buy one. Here is her review:

I hope you enjoyed that. More reviews of miniature plastic food is guaranteed to happen, so stay tuned! And, as always, thanks for watching!

~ Mike

Retro Cafe on a Street Corner

Hey, everyone! You all know that Jess and I love to collect nerdy things, but what about miniature plastic replica food from Japan? Watch the video to find out not only what I'm talking about, but also whether this will become a "thing" in our household!

I hope you enjoyed the video and marital bickering that Jess clearly won. ^_~

Thanks for watching and stay tuned for more In Box coming soon!

~ Mike

Loot Anime - October, 2016 - Delicious

Hey, everybody! I am super excited today because I just received my Loot Anime box. Now, before you go thinking I somehow got my hands on some kind of early release November crate, I have to point out that I live in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Up here in the Great White North, we get our crates late. So, this entry is for the October Loot Anime box. Aw, don't feel bad for us poor Canadians. We're used to getting everything late. LOL Anyway, here's the latest unboxing and review video for my Loot Anime box.

I hope you enjoyed that. Now, it's time for the written part of this blog, and we'll begin with the usual photo of the box with everything in it. ^_~

In case some of you haven't heard of Loot Crate, it’s a monthly subscription box that caters to "nerds" and "geeks". Each month, subscribers get a box of items that match the announced theme. Loot Anime is the Japanese animation and comics spin-off version of Loot Crate. Like its parent program, Loot Anime has different subscription options. Here's a breakdown with shipping to Canada included:

1 Month Plan - $34.95 USD / $47.00 CAD per month

3 Month Plan - $101.85 USD / $138.00 CAD per 3 months

6 Month Plan - $197.70 USD / $268.00 CAD per 6 months

1 Year Plan - $383.40 / $519.00 CAD per year (includes free bonus T-Shirt)

If you've seen the pricing for Loot Crate, you will notice that Loot Anime is more expensive. Plus, the conversion to Canadian Dollars is pretty painful due to the weak dollar at the moment. One can only hope the items are still worth the price tag.

OCTOBER, 2016 - DELICIOUS

I have only ever subscribed to Loot Anime for one month and it was mainly to get an idea what it was like. So, what drew me back to it for yet another month? The theme! I love food. I post tons of food photos on Instagram. I eat a lot. (I also have to work out a lot to work off all those calories. LOL) So, when I saw the food theme for Loot Anime, I just had to subscribe and then cancel once again! So, did the box live up to my expectations? Let's find out! For starters, here's a list of items in the box with approximate Canadian prices:

- Loot Anime Poster ($3.50 CAD)

- Loot Anime Phone Charm ($4.50 CAD)

- Naruto Ramen Bowl ($10.50 CAD)

- Sweetness & Lightning #1 ($15.00 CAD)

- Food Wars! Apron ($16.00 CAD)

- Himouto! Umaru-chan Figure ($7.00 CAD)

- Gudetama Plushie ($10.00 CAD)

Loot Anime Custom Box

This Loot Anime custom box design features food and utensils, which are quite fitting for the theme. It's simple, but fun and effective.

Loot Anime Poster

Instead of getting a mini magazine like in a Loot Crate or Loot Gaming box, Loot Anime subscribers get a poster with great art on the front and item descriptions on the back. I think this girl in a dessert cafe design is wonderful and would represent me quite well if it featured a boy instead. :)

Loot Anime Phone Charm

Another place Loot Anime deviates from the standard Crate format is with this phone charm, which takes the place of the Loot Crate pin. On its own, the ice cream sundae design is already a winner. With a little metal spoon, this phone charm reaches "epic" level.

Naruto Ramen Bowl

I'm a pretty big fan of "Naruto" and this bowl is the perfect food-themed product for that series. I love the design! My only criticisms are that it can't go in the microwave or the dishwasher... WHAT?!

Sweetness & Lightning #1

It's always wonderful to receive the first issue of a comic I've never heard of. The art in "Sweetness & Lightning" looks fantastic, so I'm pretty excited to start into this manga.

Food Wars! Apron

I have never heard of "Food Wars!", but this apron is super cute and probably going to end up being used by Jess while cooking. Great item!

Himouto! Umaru-chan Figure

This adorable little collectible figure is from yet another Anime series I've never heard of. This won't stop me from displaying the figure, though. It's so cute! <3

Gudetama Plushie

Gudetama rocks my world and this little plushie is so perfect that I can't look at it for more than 3 seconds before squealing in delight like a little schoolgirl. This is by far my favourite item in this crate. Love love LOVE!

OVERVIEW

I can't compliment this Loot Anime box enough. The theming is on point, the items are fantastic, the value is great, and I can't stop hugging that Gudetama Plushie, making it very difficult to type this entry. This is what a themed nerdy Anime box should be like every single month and I can't recommend Loot Anime enough.

If you're interested in learning more about Loot Anime and Loot Crate, please check out their web site HERE. If you decide to subscribe, use discount code SAVE10 to keep some dollars in your bank account.

Thank you for reading and watching. Stay tuned for more In Box coming soon!

~ Mike

In Box Special: Carylday Cake

Hey, peeps. Mike here, and welcome to the first ever In Box Special! Recently, it was our good friend Caryl's birthday. If you don't already know of her, she has an awesome web site called Brunchosaurus. My fave section is the Wine one, where she has a fantastic wine review series called "Wednesday Wine". As a surprise, I filmed a review of her birthday cake in the same style as her wine reviews, roping in our pal Dan Q as a special guest.

I hope you enjoyed that. If you want to visit Aida's Pine Valley Bakery, they are at:

830 Rowntree Dairy Rd, Woodbridge, Ontario

And, that's a wrap for our first special! Stay tuned for more In Box coming soon. ^_~

~Mike

Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio - Bianco - Wine (Video)

Mike and Jess here, and we bought a bottle of wine in a tiny grocery store in Salerno, Italy today that we just had to tell you all about despite it not being in a box. The name of the wine literally means "Tears of Christ" and we got it for 1.99€. You did not read that wrong. That's less than 2 Euros!

Please excuse Mike's constant use of "I mean" and his blunder on our web address. Believe it or not, he had no alcohol prior to making this video. LOL

If you want to watch some wine reviews that are actually good, visit Brunchosaurus HERE. Caryl is the real deal.

And, that's it for now. Stay tuned for more In Box coming soon!

~ Mike & Jess

Tavernello Juice Box Wine (Video)

Heya, peeps! Mike and Jess here, and we are currently in Positano, Italy! Recently, we were at a grocery store and found wine in juice boxes for 1.00€ each. Of course, we just had to review it for you! So, without further ado, here's the video!

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

Loot Crate - April, 2014 - Dragon

Heya, peeps! Mike here, and after Loot Crate blew me away last month, I have been waiting with bated breath for my April shipment to arrive. Well, I finally got it! YEAH!

For those of you who haven't heard of Loot Crate, it is a monthly subscription box that caters towards "nerds" and "geeks". Each month, subscribers get a themed box of 6 to 8 items. What's interesting is that Loot Crate has different subscription programs. Here's a breakdown:

1 Month Plan - $19.37 USD / $29.95 CAD per month

3 Month Plan - $55.11 USD / $84.00 CAD per 3 months 

6 Month Plan - $105.99 USD / $162.00 CAD per 6 months

APRIL, 2014 - DRAGON

The theme of the April Loot Crate this year is "Dragon", which is a combination of "Game of Thrones", "Elder Scrolls V - Skyrim", and other dragons-related things. When I first opened the box, I was a little concerned because my first impression was that there seemed to be less valuable items in there than last month. Let's see if I was right or wrong. Here is what was in the Loot Crate:

- Loot Crate Mini Magazine ($2.00 CAD)

- Loot Crate Theme Pin ($0.75 CAD)

- Loot Crate Dragon Shield Screen Cleaner ($4.00 CAD)

- Loot Crate Mikey's Dragon Jerky ($6.00 CAD)

- Loot Crate D20 Stress Ball Die ($2.00 CAD)

- Green D20 Die ($0.50 CAD)

- Dragon Slayer Dog Tag ($3.00 CAD)

- Skyrim Nord Vinyl Figure ($13.00 CAD)

- Game of Thrones Vinyl Figure ($10.00 CAD)

Loot Crate Mini Magazine

As with the previous month, I received a mini magazine based on the theme of this month's Loot Crate. There is a pretty good overview of "Elder Scrolls V - Skyrim", an interesting interview, a well-written piece on dragons, an article on "Game of Thrones", descriptions of each of the items in the box, and more. I was very impressed once again with the effort put into this little publication. It may not necessarily add monetary value to Loot Crate, but it does set this subscription box program apart from others out there.

Loot Crate Theme Pin

I personally like the design of this month's custom pin. It's very clever with the Loot Crate logo as a treasure chest. Plus, I think the fiery dragon is just really cool.

Loot Crate Dragon Shield Screen Cleaner

I have never owned a mini screen cleaner like this dragon shield one before, but I look forward to carrying it with me to use at work on my laptop screen. The design looks a lot nicer on this item than on the theme pin, too. This is a somewhat cheap, but nice and useful item.

Loot Crate Mikey's Dragon Jerky

Last month, Loot Crate subscribers got 2 pieces of salt water taffy. This month, we got several pieces of... Skyrim-inspired dragon jerky? Although I know this stuff is actually beef jerky, the green colour makes it look unappetizing. I'm really hesitant to try it. Maybe I'll work up the courage to actually eat it when I visit my niece. She's really into dragons and I'm sure green non-vegetables will appeal to her, so I we'll eat the jerky together...

Loot Crate D20 Stress Ball Die

Have you ever heard the phrase "The dice are trying to kill me"? Well, this die will do the opposite! When you make a bad roll, instead of popping a vein, just squish it over and over until you are overcome with a great sense of tranquility. You'll live longer and be able to maintain a level head while coming up with new strategies to slay that darned dragon in that damned dungeon. This die will also help relieve the stress from your realization that Loot Crate gave you a somewhat cool, but extremely cheap custom item.

Green D20 Die

This die, which comes in different colours, is less cool than the stress relieving one and has none of its calming qualities. It will definitely try to kill you. But, hey! At least you have an extra D20 for your board gaming!

Dragon Slayer Dog Tag

I don't wear dog tags and the design of this dragon slayer one is rather ugly to me. I'm sure my niece will love it, though. It's right up her alley.

Skyrim Nord Vinyl Figure

This custom "Elder Scrolls V - Skyrim" Nord vinyl figure by Symbiote Studios is my favourite item of this month's Loot Crate. If you go to the Symbiote Studios web site, you will see that they have a cool line of Skyrim figures. This Nord one is a repaint of the Dragonborn figure and looks fantastic. I love that the helmet, sword, and axe are removable. It gives the figure a little extra playability.

Game of Thrones Vinyl Figure

I'm not a fan of the "Game of Thrones" novels, but I admit to loving the HBO series, which this Mystery Mini is based on. Being a blind box, you could get one of the 16 available figures. I got Khal Drogo! For a "cute" little vinyl figure, he looks seriously badass. He also kind of reminds me of my buddy Ryan. Ha ha!

OVERVIEW

I have mixed feelings about this month's Loot Crate, especially when compared to last month's box. On the one hand, I love the 2 figures I got this month more than anything I got last month. However, overall, I was more impressed with last month's Loot Crate. This Dragon box was worth less than last month's Titan one, but it is still a good value for the price of admission. At this moment in time, if I were to choose between Nerd Block and Loot Crate, I'd definitely pick the latter without any hesitation. I like the idea of a theme. I like the custom items. I am absolutely amazed at the amount of obvious thought and effort that goes into putting together a box. So, I am sticking with Loot Crate for the time being.

If you're interested in learning more about Loot Crate, please visit their Web Site.

Thanks for checking out my blog. See you again soon!

~ Mike