Slurpees

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Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives
photo by Heath_Bar

As has been previously mentioned, our office is near a 7-Eleven. I go there periodically for snacks. It's close. It's convenient.

And they have Slurpees.

A few weeks back, I was heading to 7-Eleven1.  J (my non-Dasha co-worker) asked me to pick up a bottle of water for her. As I do, I teased her a bit. "So that's a two-liter of Dr Pepper, then?"

"Water."

"Cherry Coke?"

"Water."

"Slurpee?"

At this point, Dasha interjected, "What's a Slurpee?"

Now, I know 7-11 covers quite a bit of the Earth's surface, but I don't know if they have Slurpees everywhere they have stores. So for those few of you who don't know, a Slurpee is basically chopped ice and flavored syrup. It's more fluid than a Snow Cone, but it's not an actual liquid unless you let it sit too long.  The ice is chopped finely enough that it'll fit through their straws.  They come with a hybrid straw/spoon that - honestly - causes as many problems as it solves.

And if you drink them too quickly, you will suffer from the dreaded Brain Freeze.

I got the Berry Blast flavor for her first Slurpee.  It's not a flavor I like (I dislike raspberries), but it's a solid introduction to Slurpees.

Her first comment was, "It's really big!"  This was followed by a tentative taste.  "That's really sweet," she said after her first sip.

She took it with her when she went to lunch.  It didn't return when she did.

A few days later, I went to 7-Eleven again.  "Did you want another Slurpee?"

"No thank you," she answered - It may be because of the slightly cooler weather, though. The next one I buy her will be Coke-flavored.

Mmmm.  Coke Slurpeee.

Verdict: Unclear. More testing necessary for results.

Seven Layer Dip

This image is under a creative commons non-commercial
share alike attribution license. Image by Hubs.

Dasha had previously told us that she didn't like Mexican food, and our goal is to find new things that she will like. Because of this, when I brought in Seven Layer Dip, I hadn't planned to share with her.

I brought it in for me, as I'm really fond of the stuff. Well, most of the time.

Those of you who don't know Seven Layer Dip, it's a staple for me during Football season (late summer through early spring).  You start with a layer of refried beans. Over that, you add a layer of salsa, a layer of guacamole, a layer of sour cream, a layer of shredded cheese, and a layer of olives.  The order of layers varies, but most of them have the olives on top.

And yes, I know, that's only six layers. Tortilla chips are the seventh layer - but you don't actually layer them in. You dip them in. I've had seven layer dip with ground beef, I've had dip with multiple layers of cheese, I've had it with lettuce, and I've had it with jalapeno peppers.

As I said: I hadn't expected to share with Dasha.  I brought in enough to share, because I wanted to share with the rest of the team.  So I was pretty surprised when Dasha grabbed a chip and gingerly picked at the dip.

She asked me at each layer, "What is this?"

"I don't like this green stuff," she said in regards to the guacamole.

"This is ... interesting," was her comment on the beans.

All in all, she liked the cheese layer, the olive layer, and the salsa layer. And that's it. The like of salsa was a surprise to me, given her stated dislike of Mexican food ... and her extreme dislike of spicy food.

Next time, I'll bring in just chips and salsa. Maybe some shredded cheese - we can make nachos in the microwave.

The verdict: Our first Fail. She only liked two layers of the dip.

Arby's

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Having worked for McDonald's, we figured that Dasha had a handle on American fast food - but we wanted to make sure. "Have you ever had Arby's?"

"What's that?"

Those of you who don't know what Arby's is are apparently not in North America. It's a fast food chain specializing in roast beef sandwiches. The roast beef is very thinly-sliced. Their big claim to fame is their sauce, though. Arby's Sauce is weirdly delicious - and it's not really a barbecue sauce. In fact, they DO have a barbecue sauce that you can get for chicken dishes.

But who goes to Arby's for the chicken? Seriously.

They also have the best curly fries in the fast food industry.

Since it was her first taste, I selected a regular Roast Beef combo meal with the seasoned curly fries for Dasha.  I also ordered a side of cheddar cheese sauce for her to dip her fries into. Dasha likes cheese.  For her drink, I chose Dr. Pepper - I know she likes it, and it goes well with the Arby's menu.

When I set the food in front of her, the first thing she asked was, "What kind of meat is this?"

It's not an unreasonable question - the texture is unlike anything I've seen elsewhere.

Her next question was about the sauce: "What's this? Does it go on the sandwich or the fries?"  Personally, I put it on both. And by "Both," I mean "Every single non-dessert item on the menu which is set in front of me."

She opened one of the packets and squeezed a little onto her finger.  "It's good," she said - and then squeezed the rest of the packet onto her sandwich.

After a bite, she said, "This is good!"

Upon trying the fries, she said to me, "This is better than Jack in the Box fries!"

Note to self: She knows Jack in the Box. Scratch that off the list.

After she finished eating, she pointed at the logo.  "If you change the last letter to a 3, it almost looks like the Russian word for ... " and she trailed off.  A quick Google search later, and there was a picture of a watermelon on screen.

"Watermelon?"

"Yes. In Russian, it's Арбуз"

It was odd to me, because the Greek word for Watermelon is καρπούζι - if you check with Google Translate, you can hear similarities between the Russian and Greek words.

But that's beside the point.

Verdict for Arby's: Success. She found something new that she liked.

Pop Rocks

Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Creative Commons licensed by  Evan-Amos

There is a 7-11 within a very few minutes of the office. I go there all the time. It's overpriced, but convenient.

Often, they have Pop Rocks near the registers.

Now, I'm really just a big kid. A big, sarcastic, people-hating child.

Pop Rocks are one of my favorite things. I love them. A sugary blast of fizz with every mouthful!

Dasha had never had them. So I asked her if she'd like some the next time I made a snack and beverage run. She told me she'd like to try them, so I brought some in the next day.

Now, Dasha loves junk food and sweets. A lot. So watching her with the Pop Rocks was hilarious.  She mimicked me, and poured a few from her packet into her hand and then tossed the handful into her mouth.

"This is," she started - and then they started popping.  "Um ... wow.  Really weird."

"Do you like them?"

"They are a little too sweet, but I like them. Where do you find these?"

Verdict: Moderate success.