At 8PM, I'm Foodette, reporting from the front lines of hazardous
demographic research and intensive Millenial indulgence with the latest
and sadist from Campbell's Go line, the perfect on-the-go meal for starving hipsters and barely intrepid foodies. This quippy meatbag, one in a line of six, screamed out at me from the desperate second-to-last shelf in Target. It's so twee I wouldn't be surprised if it had its own Tumblr. So, in a desperate attempt to stay relevant, I grabbed it for work lunch and ended up eating it when I ran out of food today. Yes, Campbell's, I am the representative for this glamorous demographic you whimsically refer to as "unexpected."
As I waited for the soup to heat, I enjoyed the lengthy commentary on the Campbell's Go website,
which, in addition to informing me that I was indeed ingesting a record
75% of my daily recommended intake of sodium, provided me with
whimsical images of kittens and advice about getting over an ex. Spoiler
alert, it includes "ziplining." Wow, Campbell's, you slay me, but I think
I'll stick with therapy for now.
After appeasing the microwave gods and heating the soup, I couldn't tell if my satisfaction
derived from the simple pleasure of not inducing 3rd degree burns from a
boiling bag full of meat or performing a plastic lobotomy on the manic
package model. In ether case, the anticipation outweighed the results.
This soup is bland, man, bland with the power of a thousand OkCupid
profiles whose aging users enjoy Kubrick and halfheartedly admit they're an INTJ. Its inclusion of
large chunks of chorizo sausage and distinguishable black beans and corn
do little to ameliorate the fact that all have the consistency of damp
paper towels. I sought, but found no pulled chicken.
"Microwave, what hell hath you wrought?"
The broth, thick and meaty, is arguably the most
tolerable part of this complete breakfast, but just barely, and has a
gelatinous, somewhat dirty consistency better suited to a cooking sauce than a meal
base. It is unfortunately about as smoky as an electronic cigarette, but
a quarter of a bottle of hot sauce accentuated its cumin-heavy base
flavors. One could easily achieve the same results by spooning the last
of a jar of chili into a can of Dinty Moore and letting Jesus take the
wheel from there.
Can I take the heat? Campbell's asks me. I can, but in the words of Truman, if this is the only option, I'll just stay out of the kitchen. For all its buoyant exuberance, Campbell's Go line tries hard but ultimately falls to the mediocre wayside in the face of discerning, flippant palates.
Labels: 5, dinner, lunch
"Microwave, what hell hath you wrought?" 
