Good & Gather Sweet Heat BBQ Trail Mix

I've lived in the Northeast, the South, the West Coast, and now the Northern Midwest. Of all those regions, there's only one where you can get fried cheese curds instead of French fries with your burger at fast food places, fairs, malls, and amusement parks.

On the back of this bag, there's a serving suggestion: "...make your own snack pack with trail mix, cheese curds, and your favorite dried fruit, like pineapple." Okaaay.

I'm not saying it wouldn't work, because it totally would, but it just seems kinda arbitrary to me. I'm wondering if the marketing folks at Target included cheese curds because they're based in Minnesota, where cheese curds are common fare.

Also...dried pineapple? Really? Okay, Captain Random.

Again, not saying it wouldn't work. But the funny thing to me is that this trail mix is actually pretty splendid on its own. It lives up to its name with a decent amount of sweetness as well as spicy heat.

It's very crunchy. Every element in the bunch is crispy and salty. There are corn nut things, sesame sticks, almonds, and "cracker-coated peanuts." The peanuts are probably my favorite, although every ingredient in here is delicious. It's that spicy barbecue flavor that permeates every element in the bag that really sets this mix apart from other run-of-the-mill trail mixes.

I recently had a wisdom tooth pulled, and I'm still in the process of healing, so I really shouldn't be eating something this crunchy, but lemme tell ya, this resealable bag keeps calling my name. Mmm. So good it hurts. The wifey keeps offering to take one for the team and finish the bag herself—you know, to help with my teeth. One way or the other, this bag will be finished soon.

I give this trail mix 8 out of 10 stars.