Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

@boobird - We already had our elements assessed - they are not broken (and they both stopped working simultaneously, which is another indicator that it's not the elements). It's an issue with the control panel itself, which obviously neither myself nor my husband can fix.

@Teachertalk - I think the review was appropriate, given the context. I think it's inappropriate for food reviewers (or any, for that matter) to blindly review food without accounting for the intended audience or context within which it was produced. This food is mass produced chain diner food, which typically costs less than $10 a plate. You get what you pay for, and you can expect a certain quality (and quantity!) for your money. Some people simply enjoy the occasional foray into processed fast food (I certainly do, from time to time). The review seems to provide helpful and relevant information to someone who would consider eating at IHOP and purchasing these items.

@aharste - Building on what I said above, I don't think it makes a whole lot of sense to hold all food to one standard, based on a past experience. I've had excellent burgers, but that doesn't mean that I don't occasionally want or don't enjoy a Wendy's burger. Different times, different foods, different quality, different price, different cravings.

Is any of this available in Canada? I'd like to give it all a try. Loves me some Arby's!

I agree with ctfoodcritic - this really was a well developed review of the mix.

I'm intrigued and going to try this in the upcoming weeks.

With all the add-ins (celery, onion, olive oil, chicken stock) this mix probably comes in at $14 or $15.

I've got to wonder if you put all those add-ins into the Stovetop mix, if you'd get something with comparable flavor (maybe not the same, but pretty decent) except at maybe $3 or $4.

@CJ McD; @carmason - My house as well. Bread topped with gravy was a regular lunch, snack or even dinner at our house after my mom made roast. It never occurred to me as a child that it was "cheap" food; I just thought it was delicious!

My husband thinks this is the most disgusting thing he's ever heard of, but to me, bread and gravy is comfort food!

@dmcavanagh - Surprise! You're right - you win a prize! According to this website:

http://www.pillsburybaking.com/products/ProductDetail.aspx?catID=297&prodID=700

the number 1 ingredient is sugar, followed by flour, soybean oil, starch and baking powder.

maztec - First off, this is a "mixed review," not a "recipe review" - thus, Lucy reviews mixes. If you want a brownie recipe, go to the recipes tab at the top and search brownies.

Second of all, I've never seen French sea salt kissed toffee at my local grocery store, so I'm actually pretty confident that it would not, in fact, be easier to make these brownies from scratch. Gathering together the correct ingredients would undoubtedly be a headache, and more work that it was worth if I could just pick up a box mix. Particularly for those of us who don't have any intention of making this sort of recipe frequently.

@dbcurrie - You got it, and with rhyming no less!

Pretzels are such a pain in the butt to make, but SO delicious that it's almost worth it. The baking soda bath is what takes them to another level, but also (at least in my kitchen) what makes the biggest mess, takes the most time and it's the most labour intensive part (putting them in 1-2 at a time, pulling them out, drying them off, etc).

"My mother actually had a pair of these for over two decades that were still going strong the last time I saw them."

This is totally bizarro (or maybe not) because as soon as I scrolled down to the image, I thought "those are the "kitchen scissors" from my childhood!"

I actually received my grandma's pair (along with a ton of other kitchen stuff) when she moved into assisted living and no longer had need for kitchen items. They're my kitchen go-to scissors now, as they were my mom's!

I think @chardonnay has the right idea - if everyone had a mini-fridge for vodka, the world would be a better place, lol.

My husband eats EVERYTHING at a much faster pace than I do, so if I want some of something, I usually just tell him he needs to leave some for me - and I have to specify how much I want, or else he'll leave me a drop or crumb and say he left me some, lol. We'll buy a 24 case of Dr. Pepper and he'll drink 22/24 cans - so when we get near the end of the case, I have to be very clear that he'd better leave me at least one more can. Or else I'll go downstairs and suddenly realize that the case is empty and I didn't have any!

Even things that he doesn't really like and I like A LOT - he ends up eating more than I do!

I somehow grew out of a milk allergy in adolescence, and subsequently into a peanut allergy, but there was a few years during my teenage years where I could eat both milk and peanuts.

My favourite at the time was Mr. Big and Sidekicks. I don't know if you have either of these in the states, but Mr. Big is a long, delicious layered vanilla wafer, coated in caramel, peanuts and rice crisps, which is then covered in a chocolate coating. Delicious!

Sidekicks are just PURE sugar. They probably disgust most people, and I don't even know if they're made anymore. If memory serves me, it's basically the equivalent of the Reese interior (peanut butter whipped with sugar) and the topped with nugget, then covered in chocolate.