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Summer Megaparty: Micro Magic French Fries!

It's July! We still have a month of Megapartying to go! Let's start with potatoes.

As a kid, any excuse to use that wonderful thing called a "microwave" was a good one, but even without the thrill of cooking my own food like a superstar, I still would've adored "Micro Magic" fries.


There was a whole line of Micro Magic microwaveable foods available in the '80s, but the fries...there was nothing on the planet like those fries. They were kind of like the fries you'd get on the hot lunch line at school, assuming you took them home in a napkin, chilled them, and nuked them back to the appropriate level of hot, oily fun. After opening the boxes, you zapped 'em right inside the package, which served the dual purpose of making the fries taste something like cardboard and making the cardboard smell something like fries. They were crude, disgusting and absolutely delicious.

I went on a little Internet hunt that took me to the poorly translated webpages of Japan, where the Micro Magic line has evidently lived on for all of these years. I've never had much of an interest in world travel, but for these fries, I think I'd do it. From what I could gather, they're pretty common over there.

I really should credit the blog I found the picture above on, but I totally lost it. Had like fifteen tabs open in Firefox, all in Japanese, and I just got overwhelmed. Sorry, mystery blog. I owe you one.

What are some of the foods you wish you could eat one more time? Answer in the comments!

Posted by Matt on 07/01/2007. E-mail me!



Discussion Thread: 263 comments
1 … 3 4 5 6 7 … 11

Ya know reading about all this food from back in the day is making me think either I missed out on a lot of good food when I was little, or Canada sucks when selling food. Half of this stuff I have never heard of.Mostly the cereal, I remember seeing Cookie Crips commericals when I was little but we never had it in Canada then when I was in high school I finally bought, but it was nasty, I guess reality is a hard blow sometimes.

I like hearing about all this food and thinking about what it would taste like though, I live through your memories.

Chestnuts roasted by IHAQ @ 07/01/2007 5:45 PM

I think it just ate my comment about the micro magic fries being awesome and the ones today being a huge mess to deal with. If it didnt eat it…well…sorry :P

Or I hit post too quickly while discussing the cheese flavored ramens that came in packages like the soups but were alfredo and cheddar sauces.

Most of all I miss friendly’s reese’s pieces sundaes and the white cake from Bill Knapps. I know you can get the chocolate from a lot of stores but meh…I loved the white.

Chestnuts roasted by Skywalking @ 07/01/2007 5:48 PM

It’s okay, Manimal. The soundtrack is indeed just magnificent. I can’t think of a part of the movie that I don’t love for one reason or another, but the last 5 minutes is an animated joygasm for me. I wish the last chapter on the DVD went back another 30 seconds so I wouldn’t have to hit back and then rewind a bit when the credits roll. Oh well.

I’d apologize for dragging the convo to TF so much this week, but hey this is the week to do it, am I right?

Thanks for fixing that spam setting Matt. It’s nice to be “back.”

Chestnuts roasted by Knegative @ 07/01/2007 5:49 PM

i loved those fries as a kid and have been tryin for years to figure out what they were called, thank you, i can now rest easy.

i remember when i was a kid and jurassic park came out they made these little candy dino eggs. i dont even remember if they tasted good, i just liked em cause they were jurassic park. i also miss pop quiz colored popcorn :’(

Chestnuts roasted by Phil @ 07/01/2007 5:59 PM

They were raptor eggs and they were good. They had a thick layer of the sugariest sugar to ever sugar.

Chestnuts roasted by dohopoki @ 07/01/2007 6:02 PM

Kneg and Manimal: I love that song. It reminds of the movie “Boogie Nights” when Mark Wahlberg trys his hand at Pop Rock in the studio.
“You gotta win to be a winner! Never give up when it’s tough. You gotta fight to be a fighter because only the strong will survive!”

I forgot how the song went so I completely made up those lyrics. But you get the point.

Chestnuts roasted by Bill @ 07/01/2007 6:08 PM

Big Mark Yes! 1-800-ifeelok was the greatest invention. I still have the letter that Cocacola sent me in about 1997 saying thank you, but there’s no way we’re gonna bring that stuff back. Or something along those lines.

Chestnuts roasted by kb @ 07/01/2007 6:10 PM

Surge! like some others mentioned. thats all i can think of right now.

Chestnuts roasted by ben @ 07/01/2007 6:12 PM

Micro Magic also made milkshakes, they were frozen and you heated them up untill it was half melted, then you would mix it up so the whole thing would get cold again

Chestnuts roasted by Ken @ 07/01/2007 6:14 PM

IHAQ Canada has some great candy that we cannot get in the states. The chocolates in KitKats are way better, Coffee Crisp, Coke tastes different, Smartees have a different meaning. And I hate the heck out of them, but I always used to get Turkish Delights, just cause they reminded me of the Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe. Oh and I used to live 5 miles from Canada and this part of BC had a 7-11 where as the part of the states that I lived in did not.

Chestnuts roasted by kb @ 07/01/2007 6:15 PM

i’m seriously going to kiss the person who said vienetta on the lips because I have been racking my brain for years to remember what that thing was called. thank you so so so so much.
i also loved mcdonald’s pizza.
and i want pepsi holiday spice back.

Chestnuts roasted by danny @ 07/01/2007 6:38 PM

I distinctly remember eating those fries (in the US) as recently as 1999/2000, and possibly later.

Anyway, to answer the question, there are a million things I could pick, but off the top of my head:
-Cheetos Paws
-TMNT Pies (natch)
-TMNT Cereal
-Mario/Zelda Cereal
-Fiji Fruits

Chestnuts roasted by Frostor @ 07/01/2007 6:47 PM

Wow, my first post!
S’mores Crunch Cereal
Clearly Canadian
Pink lemonade flavored ice bars from Disney World
Does anyone else remember S’mores Crunch cereal? Everyone I ask just looks at me funny.

Chestnuts roasted by heeree @ 07/01/2007 6:55 PM

Oh, also Zeltzer Seltzer. I LOVED that stuff! It was a must for camping trips.

Chestnuts roasted by heeree @ 07/01/2007 7:03 PM

Four words…

[b]Nature’s Harvest Orange Banana Juice[/b]

In the early/mid ’90s, I discovered this awesome, awesome, awesome juice. I drank the first glass and expected the usual orange banana flavor. Guess what? It tasted like banana juice, without a hint of orange.

From that moment on, each and every time we went to the grocery store, I made sure we picked up a bottle of it.

Then, just as soon as I’d fallen in love with it and had started drinking it like we all drink soda, it disappeared from the shelves.

I’ve Googled and Googled and Googled this juice many times, to no avail.

Anyone else remember this?

Chestnuts roasted by Jason @ 07/01/2007 7:04 PM

itfemail: Almost Home cookies are not a figment of your imagination–my grandma always used to bring them for me whenever she visited. Nabisco even has them on their list of discontinued cookies.

Personally, I would like to see Giggles one more time, more for the sentimental value rather than some insanely good flavor. I realize that most of the handful of now-discontinued foods I ate as a child in the late 80′s and early 90′s would probably make me vomit at the sight of their over-processed ingredient lists from hell…

Oh, and Crispy Critters. After all, it was the low sugar cereal with lots of KA-RUNCH.

Chestnuts roasted by Ell @ 07/01/2007 7:18 PM

Good Lord Matt you are awesome for loving Micro Magic fries! I used to think I was the only person ever that ate the fries or any of the other products from that company. The Micro Magic burger was really good but the grayness of the patty (even when reheated) was unsettling to me even as a child. Ew.

And to answer the question of what I wish I could eat again: Strawberry Koala Yummies and Rice Krispies Treats Cereal. Oh man that was the best cereal EVER!

Chestnuts roasted by Megan @ 07/01/2007 7:36 PM

Jeremy Whatsisface – Sadly the website isn’t mine, I just wanted to make sure you had gotten to see it.

Ken – Oh yeah, I forgot that Micro Magic also made milkshakes. They were frozen like a brick and you had to heat it up and then mix the warm and still frozen parts together. They were not very good. I had blocked those from my memory. Good catch. I think my family only bought them a time or two. As a kid I was all about making the homemade milkshake. We didn’t have a blender. I just had milk, ice cream, a glass, a spoon and my own sense of determination.

As far as Micro Magic fries go – they were terrible! For some reason or another they were a staple in our fridge around 1987. I think they always sounded good until you actually started to eat them. Then you were like, “oh yeah, these are terrible. I should have just had a bowl of Rice Krispies.”

Chestnuts roasted by Magic Toe @ 07/01/2007 7:40 PM

I almost forgot. Did anyone else drink New York Seltzer? They may still make them, but I haven’t seen one in a store around here for years. I went through a phase in 1988 where I think I lived off of those weird flavor combinations in the 10 oz. glass bottles.

Chestnuts roasted by Magic Toe @ 07/01/2007 7:43 PM

Megan – Kellogg’s still makes Rice Krispies Treats Cereal. In fact they have a locater on their site to find places near you that sell it. And Koala Yummies are still made, too. :)

Chestnuts roasted by Mystie @ 07/01/2007 7:45 PM

Just thought of a 3 more food items I want back.

The Hidden Valley Ranch kids flavors. Came in Nacho, Taco, Pizza, and Super Creamy. I actually ate quite a few salads as a kid with those things. I’d probably eat more if they came back.

Mountain Dew Pitch Black II. I loved the sweet and sour grapeness of it. Although that PB Target Icee sucked.

Pepsi Holiday Spice- BEST SODA EVER!

Just got back from “Live Free or Die Hard” and it ROCKED! Although it’s below 1 and 3, it’s definately better than 2.

Chestnuts roasted by Anonymous @ 07/01/2007 7:46 PM

*Heeree- I remember eating a smores cereal when I was around 4 or 5, so it would have been mid 80s. I seem to remember there being a wizard on the box maybe? But I just remember it was the most amazing tasting cereal I have ever tasted. It was like golden grahams, small but normal shaped marshmellows…and to be honest, I dont remember how they worked the chocolate in??? I am so glad someone else remembers this cereal!

In addition to that…

*Smurf marshmellows! Blue of course, with an odd light cotton candy taste to them

* I lived on the Keebler pizza chips and Potatoe skin chips! I cannot find either of these anywhere in any type of incarnation!

* Severly missing Planters brand cheese curls in the canisters. I cannot find them anywhere in Colorado!! Are they even still being made???

* TMNT cereal, I dont care what anyone says, I liked them, and if you let them sit in the milk for a couple of minutes, your throat and mouth wouldnt get torn up! LOL.

* Sunshine punch kool aid.

* Jello 1-2-3 and banana flavored pudding pops- if they existed and my mind isnt playing tricks on me?

Chestnuts roasted by Crazy_Mainer @ 07/01/2007 7:52 PM

Oops All Berries cereal, Strawberry Shortcake cereal, Giggles cookies, Apple Fruit Roll-Ups… There’s more and it’s sort of ironic because I had written a blog about this very subject a week or so ago.

My boyfriend misses Jell-O Pudding Pops, not the crappy version they released a year or two ago.

Speaking of Showbiz Pizza, I have a Showbiz Pizza record. I pulled it out a couple weeks ago for a blog entry about music. I thought that place was awesome.

I also own

Chestnuts roasted by iAMYou @ 07/01/2007 7:57 PM

Cereals:
Ice Cream Cones (I heard this was revived a few years ago, but I didn’t know and I missed it), Rocky Road.

Candy/Snacks:
I second Fruit Bars, Fruit Wrinkles, and Bar None.

Restaurant Foods:
Santa Fe Gorditas (Taco Bell),That Batman burger with the three patties from McDonald’s that Matt showed us on the tray liner. That thing was so awesome!,Snickers Sundae (Friendly’s),The Chicken ‘n Dumplings from Homestyle Buffet in Richmond, VA

Misc.:
Fruit-T’s from Kool-Aid, Stuffed Gravy Biscuits from Schwan’s (I still crave those things)

I’m sure there are more. My approval of foods often means they will be discontinued. :(

Chestnuts roasted by Lori @ 07/01/2007 8:08 PM

I miss those garfield fruit snacks, squeeze-its and dunkaroo’s. Oh and my absolute favorite: They were these Disney character shaped fruit pops that i haven’t had for 14 years. Then there was rice krispy treat cereal which i used to eat out of Ninja turtle cereal bowls. I think i still have those somewhere.

Chestnuts roasted by Nicole @ 07/01/2007 8:09 PM

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