Today, Nicole, Dave, and I decided to go to Pop Tarts World in Times Square. Yes, you read that correctly. Someone, somewhere, thought this was a good idea. The store is located on 42nd, in between Broadway and 6th.

The store itself is kind of cute, it’s very colorful and open, but I kept thinking “Why does this place even exist?!”  The “Varietizer” is a machine from which you can select all different flavors to make your own Pop Tart variety pack, which actually costs way more than just buying a few different boxes in the grocery store.  There is strange and overpriced merchandise like a laptop case that is basically just a large Pop Tart, because who wouldn’t want that?  I mean, they did try to be creative with this, but is anyone actually buying anything??

Where the store must at least make *some* money is with the full menu of sugary snacks with different varieties of Pop Tarts crushed on top of them.  I ordered chocolate ice cream with chocolate chip and chocolate chip cookie dough Pop Tarts on top.  It was pretty delicious, and I never thought to use Pop Tarts as a topping before, so I might be tempted to do that again.  That is one of the ideas for this store, for people to learn how to use Pop Tarts in non-traditional ways so they will buy more.

I had looked at the menu previously and have been talking about getting the Pop Tart Sushi for a while. For some reason, every time I mention “Pop Tart Sushi” to people, they shrivel up their faces in disgust, not realizing that this type of sushi would not actually have fish in it.

So I was excited that one of the “attractions” at Pop Tart World was to learn how to make this Pop Tart Sushi – for the ridiculous price of $7. Luckily, some woman next to us asked the employee how to make it at home, and we all learned how for free, rather than paying to make it right there.

I, of course, went to the grocery store immediately and purchased Wild Berry Pop Tarts (apparently any berry flavor will do, but the chocolate flavors are a no-no) and Fruit Roll-ups (which I shockingly think I have not purchased since I’ve started living on my own and buying my own groceries). The sushi chef insisted that the Fruit Roll-up MUST be cold, so I put a few in the fridge for a couple hours, because I did not want to mess this up. After dinner, I crushed two Pop Tarts in a plastic baggie, rolled them “like a sausage”, then wrapped a strawberry Fruit Roll-up around the tube and sliced it into individual sushi pieces.

I don’t know why, but my friends both refused to try my masterpiece.  Oh well, more for me.

xx