These mince pies are the second-best, according to this nonsense article at The Grauniad. We will see about that.
The pastry is a touch too firm, bordering on tough, and while it has a pleasant sweet taste, it is a bit sickly.
The filling alas, is weak, with none of the brandy, cider, and port promised on the box, and almost no flavour at all.
The Guardian is wrong. Again. 2.5 out of 5.
#MincePieFest2022 #MincePieADay #mincetagram
I'm Kelvin Green. I draw, I write, I am physically grotesque, and my hair is stupid.
Friday, November 18, 2022
Mince Pie Fest 2022: Aldi Specially Selected
Labels:
mince pies,
MincePieFest,
MincePieFest 2022
Thursday, November 17, 2022
Mince Pie Fest 2022: Greggs
Ah, Greggs, the titan of the British high street! I don't tend to review "fresh" mince pies, but I was in the area anyway so...
The pastry has little taste, and what there is, is of cardboard, but it does have a pleasant firm texture with a bit of crumble.
Unlike many pies, there's no hint of alcohol to this one -- insert joke about the working classes and alcohol dependency here, if you're a bastard -- but it's still very tasty; it's rich and tangy and full of fruity flavour, and to be honest, you don't miss the booze.
Shame about the pastry though. 3.5 out of 5.
#MincePieFest2022 #MincePieADay #mincetagram
The pastry has little taste, and what there is, is of cardboard, but it does have a pleasant firm texture with a bit of crumble.
Unlike many pies, there's no hint of alcohol to this one -- insert joke about the working classes and alcohol dependency here, if you're a bastard -- but it's still very tasty; it's rich and tangy and full of fruity flavour, and to be honest, you don't miss the booze.
Shame about the pastry though. 3.5 out of 5.
#MincePieFest2022 #MincePieADay #mincetagram
Labels:
mince pies,
MincePieFest,
MincePieFest 2022
Monday, November 14, 2022
Mince Pie Fest 2022: COOP
These have a sweet pastry, not unlike that of their fancier cousins, but far softer, to the point that they tend to disintegrate in your hand as you bite. The filling is a little bland, but has a nice tangy aftertaste. As far as “cheap” pies go, these are pretty decent.
3.5 out of 5.
#MincePieFest2022 #MincePieADay #mincetagram
3.5 out of 5.
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Labels:
mince pies,
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Sunday, November 13, 2022
(Turn) Limit Break
Stuart and I played another game of Stargrave Notromunda this week at the Dice Saloon; our rival crews entered an abandoned high-tech factory -- loot rolls after the skirmish indicated that the place only produced pistols, much to our disappointment -- and things got very ugly indeed!
Stuart's crew escaped with two bits of loot -- pistols, obviously -- while Fateweaver Duu'ey and his inscrutable space elves only managed to get one crate... of pistols. On the other hand, the aliens only took two casualties while Stuart's band of pirates and mutants lost seven (!) members. Duu'ey himself was reduced to only two hit points and was lucky to survive, not least because the factory's half-functional security robot was stomping around nearby, making an I-have-a-machine-gun-ho-ho-ho nuisance of itself.
We are both very much enjoyingStargrave Notromunda but we have yet to complete a full game, always with at least two turns to go when a member of the Dice Saloon team politely suggests we stop so they can close up and go home. I'm not sure what's taking us so long as it's a simple enough game, and crews are limited to about ten models, but we are only managing about three or four turns in three hours and we haven't achieved either of the game end conditions -- all loot recovered, or only one crew left on the table -- so far. I don't remember us having this problem in Mordheim Frostgrave.
I assume we're doing something wrong, because the game's author Joseph A. McCullough hasn't included any way of resolving a "time out" situation, which suggests it never occurred during playtesting.
Here's one potential resolution. I'll put it to Stuart next time we play:
If a game runs out of time, then a crew scores any loot that was extracted, as normal, plus any loot that is held or controlled by a crew member that is not in combat. Any loot that is "loose" or contested by a rival within 1", or is held by a crew member in combat, is lost. Any loot that has not been unlocked is also lost.
This is more or less what we decided after the game anyway, but I feel better having it written down. Er, typed out.
Is anyone else out there playingStargrave Notromunda? Have you had the same problem? How have you solved it?
Stuart's crew escaped with two bits of loot -- pistols, obviously -- while Fateweaver Duu'ey and his inscrutable space elves only managed to get one crate... of pistols. On the other hand, the aliens only took two casualties while Stuart's band of pirates and mutants lost seven (!) members. Duu'ey himself was reduced to only two hit points and was lucky to survive, not least because the factory's half-functional security robot was stomping around nearby, making an I-have-a-machine-gun-ho-ho-ho nuisance of itself.
We are both very much enjoying
I assume we're doing something wrong, because the game's author Joseph A. McCullough hasn't included any way of resolving a "time out" situation, which suggests it never occurred during playtesting.
Here's one potential resolution. I'll put it to Stuart next time we play:
If a game runs out of time, then a crew scores any loot that was extracted, as normal, plus any loot that is held or controlled by a crew member that is not in combat. Any loot that is "loose" or contested by a rival within 1", or is held by a crew member in combat, is lost. Any loot that has not been unlocked is also lost.
This is more or less what we decided after the game anyway, but I feel better having it written down. Er, typed out.
Is anyone else out there playing
Labels:
Dice Saloon,
Notromunda,
Stargrave
Saturday, November 12, 2022
Mince Pie Fest 2022: COOP Irresistible
2021’s champions return, but recipes and tastes change (and so must I), so will they be as good in 2022? Let’s find out!
The pastry is sweet and light and perfectly balanced between firm and soft. Inside, there’s a hearty, fruity filling, with warm waves of spicy booze. These pies feel like they warm you up even if they haven’t been heated. Sorcery!
Maybe the filling is a tad too chewy, possibly, a bit, but to be honest, I’m picking for nits at this stage. These are great mince pies.
4.5 out of 5.
#MincePieFest2022 #MincePieADay #mincetagram
The pastry is sweet and light and perfectly balanced between firm and soft. Inside, there’s a hearty, fruity filling, with warm waves of spicy booze. These pies feel like they warm you up even if they haven’t been heated. Sorcery!
Maybe the filling is a tad too chewy, possibly, a bit, but to be honest, I’m picking for nits at this stage. These are great mince pies.
4.5 out of 5.
#MincePieFest2022 #MincePieADay #mincetagram
Labels:
mince pies,
MincePieFest,
MincePieFest 2022
Friday, November 11, 2022
Mince Pie Fest 2022: Tesco Finest
These pies have a gorgeous soft, crumbly, sweet pastry. I adore it. It's the very definition of "scrumptious." Probably.
On the other hand, the filling is a bit bland at first, but then there’s a secondary wave of tangy, rich, almost umami, flavour that comes in and saves the day.
These are good, strong pies. In fact, I’d say they are mighty fine(st)!
Ahem.
4 out of 5.
#MincePieFest2022 #MincePieADay #mincetagram
Labels:
mince pies,
MincePieFest,
MincePieFest 2022
Thursday, November 10, 2022
Mince Pie Fest 2022: Sainsbury's Taste the Difference
Will the fancy-pants versions of yesterday's pies be any better?
Once you manage to crack through the excessive packaging (Sainsbury’s, why?) you get a nice waft of fruitiness. Then you get dry, crispy pastry with a sicky – not sickly, no, I mean the actual taste of vomit – flavour (Sainsbury’s, why?), and a filling that is all bitterness with nothing to balance it.
These pies were great in 2021 but the 2022 recipe is genuinely horrible (Sainsbury’s, why?).
1 out of 5.
#MincePieFest2022 #MincePieADay #mincetagram
Once you manage to crack through the excessive packaging (Sainsbury’s, why?) you get a nice waft of fruitiness. Then you get dry, crispy pastry with a sicky – not sickly, no, I mean the actual taste of vomit – flavour (Sainsbury’s, why?), and a filling that is all bitterness with nothing to balance it.
These pies were great in 2021 but the 2022 recipe is genuinely horrible (Sainsbury’s, why?).
1 out of 5.
#MincePieFest2022 #MincePieADay #mincetagram
Labels:
mince pies,
MincePieFest,
MincePieFest 2022
Wednesday, November 09, 2022
Mince Pie Fest 2022: Sainsbury's
This is my brother's favourite mince pie. He is often wrong.
The most striking thing about this pie is that it’s not striking at all. It gives new meaning to the term “bland”. It is the Rob Thomas of pies. Honestly, it tastes of nothing, and has nothing interesting going on with the texture either.
The sort of mince pie you’d give someone who doesn’t like mince pies. 2 out of 5.
#MincePieFest2022 #MincePieADay #mincetagram
The most striking thing about this pie is that it’s not striking at all. It gives new meaning to the term “bland”. It is the Rob Thomas of pies. Honestly, it tastes of nothing, and has nothing interesting going on with the texture either.
The sort of mince pie you’d give someone who doesn’t like mince pies. 2 out of 5.
#MincePieFest2022 #MincePieADay #mincetagram
Labels:
mince pies,
MincePieFest,
MincePieFest 2022
Tuesday, November 08, 2022
Mince Pie Fest 2022: Asda Extra Special Luxury
SPOILERS: This is a good pie.
The crust is a little thin and lacking in taste, but does have a nice firmness that avoids tipping over into the dreaded “crunchy”. The filling is packed with fruity flavour, heavy on the orange, and has a lovely cognac-ey splash. If the crust was better this would be perfect, but then I do like orange. And booze, apparently. A strong and surprisingly early 4 out of 5.
#MincePieFest2022 #MincePieADay #mincetagram
The crust is a little thin and lacking in taste, but does have a nice firmness that avoids tipping over into the dreaded “crunchy”. The filling is packed with fruity flavour, heavy on the orange, and has a lovely cognac-ey splash. If the crust was better this would be perfect, but then I do like orange. And booze, apparently. A strong and surprisingly early 4 out of 5.
#MincePieFest2022 #MincePieADay #mincetagram
Labels:
mince pies,
MincePieFest,
MincePieFest 2022
Sunday, November 06, 2022
Mince Pie Fest 2022: Tesco
And we’re off!
For those of you that are new, I’m going to “try” -- by which I mean “eat a whole box of” -- mince pies from the major shops, plus a selection of local Brighton bakeries, then tell you which ones are best. In 2021 I proclaimed the COOP to be the best, and they promptly sold out across the country, so you can see that my word is law.
Or something.
Anyway.
The Tesco pastry tends toward the bland, and is a tiny bit chalky and dry, but better dry than soggy, I say. The filling has a touch of flavour, but it’s gone in a flash. Not bad, not great. These are the sort of pies you’d get out for a visit by a “friend” you are somewhat ambivalent towards. You know the one. 3 out of 5.
#MincePieFest2022 #MincePieADay #mincetagram
I'm doing this because I love mince pies and people seem to enjoy my reviews. I will be buying and eating the mince pies anyway, that's important to understand. That said, if there is anyone out there who is not being crushed by the cost of living crisis and wants to bung me a couple of quid to buy mince pies, then you can do so with the widget below:
For those of you that are new, I’m going to “try” -- by which I mean “eat a whole box of” -- mince pies from the major shops, plus a selection of local Brighton bakeries, then tell you which ones are best. In 2021 I proclaimed the COOP to be the best, and they promptly sold out across the country, so you can see that my word is law.
Or something.
Anyway.
The Tesco pastry tends toward the bland, and is a tiny bit chalky and dry, but better dry than soggy, I say. The filling has a touch of flavour, but it’s gone in a flash. Not bad, not great. These are the sort of pies you’d get out for a visit by a “friend” you are somewhat ambivalent towards. You know the one. 3 out of 5.
#MincePieFest2022 #MincePieADay #mincetagram
I'm doing this because I love mince pies and people seem to enjoy my reviews. I will be buying and eating the mince pies anyway, that's important to understand. That said, if there is anyone out there who is not being crushed by the cost of living crisis and wants to bung me a couple of quid to buy mince pies, then you can do so with the widget below:
Labels:
mince pies,
MincePieFest,
MincePieFest 2022
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