Applebee’s Cheetos Wings and Cheese Bites
Despite my interest in fast food franchises and unusual food, I had never gone to an Applebee’s. It’s just one of those places that always seemed out of reach since it was outside my usual restaurant radius, so naturally, I was just never inclined to go.
That is until I found out they were going to release the Cheetos Wings and Cheese Bites. I mean, with a concept that is interesting, how could I possibly say no to trying this out? I had no choice. I mean, I’m sure I had some semblance of a choice, but it was just too compelling.
Let’s be honest, the idea that there would be an Applebee’s x Cheetos collaboration was so far from my mind that when I finally saw the advertisement for it, I sent out a call to several of my friends to ask if they wanted to partake in this culinary journey with me.
Bad News for Everyone
Unfortunately, it looks like the promotion for these wings and cheese bites isn’t available anymore. Honestly, I think I caught this on the last week that they were releasing these items, so I don’t think you’ll be able to get them anymore.
But I think the further you read through this article, you’ll realize that you aren’t missing much.
Presentation
Now, when it comes to food like this, presentation usually isn’t what I would focus on… Unless it looks truly worrisome. And in this case, it was very worrisome.
Let’s start off with the bad. The Cheetos Cheese Bites were sitting on a plate, but underneath the pile of fried mozzarella was a puddle of grease. And it wasn’t just a little bit of grease. It was as if someone had ladled all the grease from the pan onto the plate. But let’s be real, it wasn’t made in a pan or a pot or any other cooking device. It was heated up in a microwave which is why the grease wasn’t filtered out.
Not that I really hold anything against the chefs at Applebee’s for this act. I’m sure that’s just how corporate wanted all their food to be prepared.
The Cheetos Wings were obviously prepared in the same way. However, there wasn’t as an egregious pile of grease on the bottom of the plate. Instead, the Cheetos coating was uneven and inconsistent with some of the wings getting an extreme amount of Cheeto dust and the other side getting nothing.
Overall, it just looked extremely sloppy and not well made. But all of this was to be expected. Which is extremely unfortunate, but I guess it was just fate that it lives up to my exact expectation.
Cheetos Cheese Bites
I can smell the grease from this photo online.
I’ll be frank. After seeing them, I wasn’t expecting anything. And I think I was right to think that way. I decided that we were going to have regular Cheetos dust on the Cheese Bites since we were going to have the wings coated in Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
One thing that I love about mozzarella sticks is the elasticity of the cheese. When it’s breaded and fried, it becomes stringier and thus, a “cheese pull” can be achieved. But when you cut up the mozzarella into these “cheese bites,” you not only remove the elasticity of the cheese but also decrease the natural impact of the cheese.
Because it’s smaller, the cheese loses all the flavor that it would have had if it was just the cheese by itself. It felt like the cheese was just the vessel for the Cheeto dust. So, instead of tasting like a medley of mozzarella and Cheetos, it tasted like sucking the Cheeto dust that covers your fingers when you eat Cheetos with your hands.
And I always feel disgusted with myself when I do that so that only translated to being disgusted with myself after eating them. That, and the grease.
Cheetos Wings
A lovely, uneven dusting of Cheeto breading on the chicken.
Let’s be real. Flamin’ Hot Cheetos are always superior to original Cheetos. It just has an extra spice that we all need in our lives. Like… I could easily eat a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos without hesitation, but I can’t do the same with the original recipe. It just brings all the flavor and spice that I need. Plus, with the texture of an actual Cheeto, it’s hard to beat.
And I think that’s what elevated these wings. They were, otherwise, unremarkable in taste and texture. That’s not a huge issue for me, I was expecting disappointment, and I got something a bit better than disappointment. It’s the little wins here.
Because the wings were microwaved, the chicken was pretty soggy with grease, so I felt disgusting while eating it. It gave it a weird texture that had me convinced for a moment that it had gone bad, but it looks like that’s just how it’s supposed to taste. Very upsetting.
Final Thoughts
For my first meal at Applebee’s, I’m honestly quite surprised. I came in with such few expectations, that they really broke through my preconceived notions and gave me a decent experience. Would I go again? Not really. I’d much rather go to a small business than go to an Applebee’s, but if they were to bring another collaboration or weird food like this again, I could be convinced to consume more Applebee’s.
Cheetos Wings: 5/10
Cheetos Cheese Bite: 2/10
Bonus: Mountain Dew Dark Berry Bash
I do think that it has a beautiful color. Very enticing.
Another reason I wanted to go to an Applebee’s is that they had an exclusive Mountain Dew flavor that is only sold at Applebee’s locations. Now, I’m not exactly sure why that is since it really didn’t justify having its own flavor, but I digress. The point is, while I was having these Cheeto creations, I decided to have this new Mountain Dew flavor to wash it all down.
But if I’m being honest, I’m not really versed in Mountain Dew. It really just tasted like any other soda I’ve had before. Just berry flavored. Nothing really special, but I enjoyed it since I like soda anyways. At least, I could determine what the flavor was instead of guessing like the Taco Bell flavor.
Mountain Dew Dark Berry Bash: 8/10
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