Junk Food Nation, I’ll write about something awkward tomorrow.  I just wanted to briefly talk about Selection Sunday.  Like many Americans last night (or like many addicted gamblers or sports fanatics), I was glued to the TV watching the announcement of the March Madness seeds.  Having just watched Kentucky and UNC and Syracuse lose over the weekend, I was curious to see how it was going to shake out.  My post yesterday was sort of correct: Ohio State lost so they did not get the #1 seed, and instead Mich. State snagged it.  According to the 1-hour committee explanation show on TruTV (which I also watched, drooling), Kansas was right there as the 5th overall ranked seed.  Missouri, like a bunch of jerks, pouted when they didn’t get the No. 1 slot (as I predicted), and they WILL be a dangerous #2 to face.

With only 68 teams allowed in the Big Dance, there were a number of teams that were “snubbed” or left out despite, what they thought, were good resumes on the season. Drexel got snubbed because, despite having one of the longest winning streaks of any team this season, the committee said they barely played anyone formidable.  Seton Hall, despite having FOUR wins against Top-50 teams, still finished 8-10 in the Big East.   Miss. State lost 6 of its final 8 games, and Northwestern…well, they also had a losing record in the Big 10.  And the Washington Huskies? Finished 1st in the Pac-12, a conference usually dominated by Stanford, but then lost in the first round in the Pac-12 tournament to Oregon State.  Not great.

So those teams will go off and play in the NIT (the what? Exactly) while the rest of the teams dance starting Thursday. Get ready for America productivity to take a nose dive, ladies and gentlemen.

Today’s junk food: New Spicy Buffalo Wheat Thins!

The Money Shot

After reviewing the Zesty Salsa variety last week, I was eager to try these New Spicy Buffalo Wheat Thins. After all, it’s well documented that, being from Upstate New York, I love all things buffalo-wing flavored. And now you slap that flavor on a toasty Wheat Thin?  Giddyup.

Glowing buffalo sauce bottle

I only my bottle of Frank’s Red Hot did this.  I could find it in the fridge even if the bulb was out!

PS: Why does the bottom right hand corner of this box just say SNACKS.  That’s random.  Was there confusion?

TASTE IT!!!

Stop yelling, New Spicy Buffalo Wheat Thins. We got it.  Also, with the bottle picture in the background, I feel like I’m looking at some kind of optical illusion here, like Magic Eye or MC Escher infinite loop graphic.

Yes! Tomato powder!

New Spicy Buffalo Wheat Thins contain cayenne pepper sauce, tomato powder and garlic powder – nice.  It’s the tomato powder that makes me feel this will taste good – my favorite Buffalo wings don’t have just pepper sauce, you need a little substance, a little tomato base in there to help round out the savory flavor.  I’m glad you see it my way, Wheat Thins.

Just doused in orange

Opened the box, and these New Spicy Buffalo Wheat Thins smelled acidic right away – a very good sign.  Love that nostril burn; it’s the sign of good vinegar-y wing tang flavor.

Orange haze

I put three or four of these New Spicy Buffalo Wheat Thins and chewed, and DING DING DING we have a winner!  Very good.  Great Wheat Thin flavor – toasty, crunchy, and slightly sweet dough taste.  Very satisfying.  The buffalo flavor – on point.  Not overwhelming, but definitely strong.  Tangy, check. A burn at the end? Check.  Nice vinegar-y buffalo flavor? Check.  And that slight tomato hint to ground the pepper taste?  Check check check.  Basically, this cracker hit all the points you’d want – made my saliva glands turn on, the tang made the blood rush to my cheeks, and the tiny burn at the end provided plenty of satisfaction.

Combine that with great Wheat Thins flavor and this is a winning cracker – perhaps my favorite one yet!

First time I'd seen one of these!

Just a quick parting shot: in this box of New Spicy Buffalo Wheat Thins, I found something I’d never encountered before – a folded over Wheat Thin!  Seriously, I’d never seen one – Wheat Thins are usually so perfectly packed and formed, that this was like finding a four-leaf clover.  Amazing.

Comments? Hit me in the comments below or hit me on Twitter @junkfoodguy or on my Facebook Page.

Sincerely, Junk Food Guy