Here To Eat: Ace Eats America 10 Plates at a Time

Price: $2.00
Rating: *** / *****

Another Lean Cuisine review, or "gay food" as a friend of mine calls it. There's just so many of them, I feel compelled to try them. Though Lean Cuisine sometimes fails to deliver on taste or portion size, it usually comes out looking the way it does in the picture. This meal is no exception. It is "grilled white meat chicken with broccoli and garlic flavored radiatore pasta in a parmesan-caesar sauce". I had never heard of this type of pasta, but it looks like a shape that you would find in a limited edition Power Rangers pasta can. There are also some pieces of red bell pepper thrown in for good measure. This is not a surprise, as Lean Cuisine seems to put red bell pepper into every meal to make them seem more colorful than they would normally be.

I, however, see right through this. This is especially concerning when they add it to dishes that should have nothing to do with red bell pepper. This would be fine if bell peppers didn't have such a distinctly bell pepper flavor. Someone needs to a create red parsley or something...an herb that adds color to everything but doesn't offend any taste buds. I'm also waiting for my strawberry sushi, GMC scientists!

But while the garnish is a knock, the chicken actually tastes pretty good. It appears to be grilled(or run through a blistering tunnel...I'm not convinced that there are chefs firing up grills for these things) and well-seasoned...and isn't processed chicken cubes! I've spent too many years eating Banquet turkey meals...this "real meat" business is such a shock to the system.

The sauce is very different from typical creamy pasta sauces. The sauce was slightly tangier than I had expected. I was thinking that it would be like an alfredo sauce, but the consistency and taste is closer to a salad dressing. This is not necessarily bad, as the broccoli helps to cut this and helps with texture contrast. The meal is alright...but there are many better chicken and pasta options. Try it if you want a tangy change of pace.

Posted by Anthony Nguyen on Sunday, January 28, 2007 at 7:51 PM | Permalink