Admission of Guilt: I’m not necessarily proud of my actions, but I will admit that I totally picked this up with my McGriddle combo for breakfast when I saw it on the menu!
Expectations: After my first MickeyD’s shake a couple of years ago amidst all of the Wedding Planning Chaos™, I honestly wasn’t expecting anything too impressive, but when I noticed the flashy, new name on the menu and pondered some of the other McChanges that Ronald’s world has seen since then, they’ve really managed to class up the joint and I thought that maybe there was a change that their shakes have improved, too.
Level of Impressed-ness: Sky High!!!
Why So???: This shake was the perfect blend of smooth and creamy, with tons of pumpkin flavoring in it without just being too ridiculously thick.  It didn’t just “leave a pumpkin aftertaste” or “vaguely kinda-sorta resemble pumpkin” … this milkshake was the embodiment of pumpkin, frankly, McDonald’s deserves major kudos for turning this one around!  I don’t know if it was ingredients, or methods of preparation, or maybe both, but believe it or not, the Pumpkin Pie McCafe Shake is the new champion to which all other ice cream-based treats shall be compared going forward.
Final Words: Good job, guys – this shake rocks.

The Menu:

• Thai Pumpkin Soup
• Pumpkin Dip
• Pumpkin Juice

The Soup: Admittedly I was a bit skeptical, as one properly should be when there are ingredients like fish sauce and strange Thai spices involved, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a subtle resemblance to Campbell’s Cream of Shrimp soup that I always have a hard time finding at the grocery store.  It didn’t really taste spicy, although maybe that’s just a stereotype with Thai food, and I definitely enjoyed it better with a few Saltines, so maybe the salt helped to keep the fishiness in check.  Still, I finished my entire bowl…
The Dip: I think I underestimated just how thick and filling the soup would be, but I’m not sure what else I could’ve come up with as a light accompaniment for this lunch, anyways!  This dip had a great flavor, though, and I was happy that it tasted more like a stand-alone dip than just your average pumpkin-pie-flavored whatever. I would’ve liked it just a tad bit thicker, but still very sweet and delicious – the brown sugar and cream cheese really compliment the pumpkin extremely well here.  Also, just a fair warning – the recipe as-is makes a lot, so either size it down or make sure you’ve got plenty of crackers on hand!
The Juice: I kind of had a feeling that this would end up being thick, especially after triple-checking the recipe to make sure that I wasn’t supposed to add the pumpkin while it was still on the stove-top to give it a better chance to dissolve.  On it’s own, I guess it wouldn’t have been too bad, but I really wanted a nice and light beverage to go along with the creamy soup – in hindsight, some sort of Pumpkin Iced Tea would’ve probably been better.  Too bad, really, because the cider mixture cooking with the ginger and cinnamon the night before made the kitchen smell great … adding half a can of pumpkin puree to the mix just made it too much to swallow with this meal, though.

The Menu:

• Pumpkin French Toast
• Pumpkin Maple Syrup
• Pumpkin Smoothie

The French Toast: …in a word, was great – truly the highlight of the meal, and a fine way to kick off The All-Pumpkin Meal Plan, if you ask me!  The flavors in this recipe from Closet Cooking were strong, but not overpowering, and really, I think I might argue that they bring enough to the table that you could really eat these without any sort of topping whatsoever.  Of course, I’ve eaten syrup with my french toast since I was five, so…
The Maple Syrup: Admittedly I was a little skeptical about this one going in, mainly because I vastly prefer regular pancake syrup to actual maple syrup*, so realistically I should’ve just taken the recipe and substituted regular syrup instead.  Nonetheless, I had a little maple syrup leftover from when a friend probably went to Vermont or something, so I gave it a try anyways.  My wife said that it looked like baby food when I was preparing it, and you can tell from the photo that it definitely had more of a puree appearance than actual syrup.  I definitely want to try this one again with regular syrup, but for the time being I can’t really recommend this one on its own … the french toast indeed was better off without it.

*Fun Fact: While I’m not really a fan of maple syrup itself, I absolutely love those maple sugar candies that are prevalent around Christmastime!  Just a thought if you happen to be shopping around for something special for your favorite pumpkin blogger…  *hint hint*

The Smoothie: And as for the beverage, I knew that this one was going to be thick, but frankly, I was hoping that it would have a bit of sweetness to it as well.  Instead, it ended up coming off as kind of flat. I even tried the recipe twice – once with vanilla yogurt and a second time with milk because I didn’t care for the aftertaste of the yogurt, but ultimately it just needed a little something extra to sweeten the taste.

Disneyland Locale: Downtown Disney

Initial Reaction: “Ooooh – pumpkin!”
Rethinking It In Line: “Hmmmm – this might not actually be any good after all…”
Financial Exchange: “Five bucks for a smoothie?! A small smoothie?!?!?!”
Beverage In Hand – The Actual Opinion: “Holy cow – this little puppy ain’t bad!  Worth every penny!”

Exposition: This one was definitely an unexpected surprise, but in retrospect I’m certainly glad that I took the leap because the flavor in that styrofoam cup was fantastic. For a minute there I had genuine concern that this icy treat might contain actual chunks of pumpkin, which admittedly was somewhat less than appetizing, but fortunately if there’s one thing the fine folks of Jamba Juice have under wraps, it’s the art of the blend, and by the time I had reached the bottom of this Smash Hit, you’d better believe that this pumpkin aficionado had a new frozen favorite!

Found At: Wal-Mart, Publix
Flavor Rush: Like any ‘nog, T.G. Lee’s pumpkin eggnog is very thick and creamy, and although the pumpkin flavor itself doesn’t assault you like a bad movie that people keep flocking to the theaters to see anyways.  It’s almost as if the pumpkin lingers back, waiting to introduce itself when the time is just right.  When enjoyed with a fresh (out of the wrapper) pumpkin muffin like I had, it made for a quite enjoyable pumpkin breakfast!
Best Enjoyed: in front of a roaring fire, with the quaint smell of homemade pumpkin pie wafting in from the kitchen after a delicious Thanksgiving feast

Caloric Side Note: If you’re wondering just how many calories are in a glass of this splendid holiday beverage, you probably shouldn’t be drinking it!  They say that the delicious eatings of the winter holidays lead many people to pack on some serious pounds and at 200 calories for a 1/2 cup serving of this yummy ‘nog, chugging down the better portion of a bottle with breakfast will pretty much do in your caloric limits for the day.

Of course, you should still drink up and enjoy anyways because:
A) it’s delicious!
B) it’s pumpkin-y delicious!!
C) New Year’s resolutions are just around the corner and you don’t want to come to the table empty handed!!!

Surprise: Who knew they made pumpkin-flavored booze?!
Reality: Actually, accordingly to these guys there are a whole bunch!
Disappointment: Too bad I couldn’t find one of those other ones on their list to sample instead because in my eyes, this one barely even earned the C+ that the fine folks of BeerAdvocate.com awarded it.
The Skinny: I’ve never really been much of a beer drinker – these days when you do happen to find a drink in my hand, it’ll most likely be one of those fruity drinks that this area and further south are famous for – but when I did drink beer, I was a Corona guy through and through. And mind you I’m obviously not much of a beer connoisseur so I haven’t really sampled a lot of beers, but needless to say compared to Corona pretty much everything else tasted like nasty to me.

So fast forward to November 2nd, 2008 and two bottles into Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale, it saddens me to admit that this stuff tastes like nothing more than maybe slightly spiced Corona to me. As far as pumpkin resemblance is concerned, in my book the pumpkin-headed scarecrow on the outside of the bottle is about as close as this beer (or ale, or whatever…) gets to being pumpkin-flavored. And although I’m no beer snob, I even did a little experimentation and poured my second bottle into a glass to see if any magical sensations might somehow be released in such a manner … but nothing.
Final Verdict: It’s kind of orange-ish colored, and it’s got a pumpkin on the label, but that doesn’t make it pumpkin-flavored ale…

Time of Night Purchased: 9:26pm
Fatigue at Time of Night Purchased: VERY HIGH
Likelihood That Fatigue Made This Treat Taste Better Than It Actually Did: ALSO VERY HIGH
Pumpkin-y Thoughts: Said milkshake may or may not have actually been pumpkin-flavored, similar to the whole Shamrock Shakes Incident. Nonetheless, at 9:26pm after many a sleepless night of last-minute wedding planning, it was as acceptable of a milkshake that I was going to find in this small town – pumpkin-flavored or otherwise.
Final, Sleepy Verdict: If you fancy pumpkin and you’re eating at McDonald’s anyways, then sure – go for it, but I wouldn’t exactly make a special trip out of it….