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Home » Culture and Criticism

N Cereal AA: The Final Four

Submitted by on July 20, 2009 – 9:59 PM29 Comments

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Frosted Flakes vs. Honey Bunches of Oats. Honey Bunches of Oats is what I buy so that I can tell myself that cereal isn’t just a sugary snack.   Frosted Flakes dispenses with that fiction, so, although in a vacuum I actually prefer it, it’s HBoO I end up buying.   Don’t get me wrong — it’s a delicious cereal on its own merits (and it mixes really well with yogurt, if you like that sort of thing, which I occasionally do).   But I suspect that its ability to pass as a component in a healthy breakfast may give it an edge here…although Frosted Flakes could take that gr(rrrrrr)ound back with nostalgia.   I can’t even say how I’ll vote; as to how you’ll vote, I think it’s Flakes for the win.

Sarah D. Bunting

Honey Nut Cheerios v. Cinnamon Toast Crunch. If you had told me in the first round that Cinnamon Toast Crunch would make it to the Final Four, I would have told you that you were high (possibly on that brown dust they use to coat Cinnamon Toast Crunch). The fact that it has survived so many potential eliminations proves one thing definitively: I have no idea WHAT you-all are going to do. I want to say that Honey Nut Cheerios will take this round, but given the view that General Mills has changed its formula for the worse, have enough of you turned against it to end its run? I think not…but I’m not that confident about it.

Tara Ariano

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29 Comments »

  • DuchessKitty says:

    So dang surprised (pleasantly) that Cinnamon Toast Crunch made it here but I have no illusions that it will beat disgusting, foul Honey Barf Cheerios. So I’m hoping beyond hope that Frosted Flakes makes it to the final and finally ends Honeynut’s reign.

  • Shannon says:

    I would be delighted if Cinnamon Toast Crunch won, but I doubt that happens. Effing Honey Nut Cheerios. Pfft.

  • Anne-Cara says:

    Honey Bunches of Oats and Honey Nut Cheerios both have my vote…which says a lot about my flavors of choice, I guess.

  • Rebecca says:

    I cannot in good conscience vote for either Honey Nut or Cinnamon Toast.

    Honey Bunches, let’s go!

  • Esk says:

    My all-time favourite cereal is Crunchy Nut Cornflakes (alas not represented in this poll), which is kind of an amalgam of the key components of Frosted Flakes (flakes) and Honey Nut Cheerios (honey and, er, nuts). So, in all good conscience, that’s how I have to vote. No idea how I’ll choose between them if they both make it to the final.

    Mmm, CNC – talk about a cereal you can just snack on straight from the box. Yum!

  • Jeanne says:

    I’m also pleasantly surprised that CTC made it this far, but I gotta go with the good ol’ HNC. I’ve never actually had HBoO so I went with the flakes yet again. I honestly never thought after the massacre of Yogurt Blast Cheerios, Golden Grahams, and all chocolate based cereals that I would wind up liking three out of the final four.

  • Tisha_ says:

    Frosted Flakes FTW!!!

  • J says:

    You people and your Cheerios. Seriously.

    Ah, well. More CTC for me.

  • Leigh in CO says:

    I’m still grieving the ouster of Cracklin’ Oat Bran. It’s hard to care anymore.

  • attica says:

    I sampled HBoO once, under the sway of those adorable ads. But I was not swayed by the cereal itself. It wasn’t nearly crisp enough, got soggy way too fast, and the flavor profile didn’t really blow my skirt up. So: no vote there. FF and HNC are in regular rotation at casa d’attica, and I love that they’re getting Final Four love. Either one could take the crown with no objection from me.

  • avis says:

    How anyone can be around a toddler for any length of time and still think Cheerios are meant to be eaten is beyond me. Maybe it’s like they say – it’s different when they’re your children. Blarf.

    Go Frosted Flakes!

  • Rachel says:

    @avis – I’m with you. I have a 3-year-old and cannot handle the smell of Cheerios in any way, shape, or form. Just say No to the O.

    Frosted Flakes FTW. I remember them when they were still made with real live sugar and we put additional sugar on them. Gooooooood times.

  • Anlyn says:

    I’ve been calling Honey Nut Cheerios for the win, in my head. Now, I’m calling it here. I think it will go all the way.

  • JeniMull says:

    That’s why I don’t like HNC/Cheerios anymore – my kids! I hadn’t made the connection.

    Go Tony, go!!!

  • KimJ says:

    CTC kills children! Okay, not really, but I started laughing out loud thinking of this poll when I heard this on the local news: http://www.channel3000.com/news/20127198/detail.html

  • K. says:

    What Shannon said. Those jolly fat bakers make me happy, and CTC milk is deliciously sweet but not cloying. CTC is my go-to sugar cereal (followed by Lucky Charms). CTC for the win!

  • Tarn says:

    I kind of have a sentimental appreciation for Honey Nut Cheerios…my mom pretty much ate no cereal but that until she discovered the late lamented Crispy Wheats and Raisins (it was like Raisin Bran except the flakes didn’t get soggy and the raisins were plump and juicy and not nasty and shriveled!). I liked the flavor of HNC dry, but they also helped me discover at an early age that I CANNOT ABIDE soggy cereal. HNC dry? Awesome snack. HNC in milk? Soggy and disgusting little slime-Os.

    So I wouldn’t be terribly disappointed if HNC won. That said…Cinnamon Toast Crunch FTW!

  • LisaD says:

    I think the grocery stores are on to us. Two stores here in WA are advertising CTC and HNC for $1.50 each in the ad circular. So, if you’re still on the fence I guess you can go get some of each for cheap. LOL!

  • Maren says:

    CTC, as we call it in my household, is the food of the gods and the favored snack of our college years. I still bring a box when we visit my husband’s old roommate. But I have no illusions — I knew all along that Honey Nut Cheerios, the lowest common denominator and cereal equivalent of vanilla ice cream — would win this thing. Sigh.

  • Peter L. says:

    I’m just having a moment of silence for my beloved oatmeal…

  • Kida says:

    I’m still pissed Lucky Charms got canned from the race. How CTC ended up in the Final Four I’m sure I don’t know, because I think it tastes like vomit (possibly this is because it was once my only cereal choice on a flight to Chicago during which I was desperately fighting morning sickness). I’ll choose a Cheerio over that crap any day of the week.

  • Valerie says:

    @attica – you’re right, HBoO doesn’t hold up to milk very well, but it’s delightful with yogurt. And some berries. And a few extra almonds….mmmm

  • Mel says:

    Damn you TN, Frosties (as they’re called over here) are impossible to buy ia Australia, they’re not even advertised anymore – havent thought about them for years, but i want them NOW

  • Debby says:

    Reading these posts about how awful certain cereals smell and taste, (especially the Cheerios/kids comments), always leave me thinking “Whaaaaa?’ Until I realize: “Ohhhh, they eat cereal with MILK!”

    I don’t put milk in cereal (cannot abide any form of sogginess) except for raisin bran, but then it is just a splash.

    Funny thing is, I have a 10 year and he loves NHC and ACC and regular ones, too. And he has never had them with mikk :)

    I do agree, though, after babysitting and nieces nephews galore, that Cheerios and milk? Gross

  • Debby says:

    Wow, sorry for all the spelling errors in that last one :( Phew…..

  • Cath says:

    HBoO has the BEST almonds. Most cereals get the almond wrong (chunks, takes on liquid too fast, too sugared, etc.) but the slivers in the honeyed oat bunches are thin and crispy and now I’m craving them.

  • LALALA says:

    All I’m saying is that we just can’t have a final of Honey Nut Cheerios and Honey Bunches of Os. We can’t. Honey and nuts in both? oy.

  • Annie says:

    I think the nature of the game will result in staple items winning every time: vanilla ice cream, mozzarella cheese, Honey Nut Cheerios, etc. For me, the fun is reading the comments during the rest of the tournament and seeing which cereals have the most passionate followers/haters. Although I knew babies were the natural predator of the Cheerio, I never realized people decided Cheerios were gross because of that association. I know baby drool makes them stinky, but I always felt that was because BABIES are gross, not the simple, reliable Cheerio.

    If not for the NCerealAA, I never would have branched out to try Yogurt Burst Cheerios or Fruity Cheerios, which I never had noticed before because I just headed straight for the Honey Nut. Now, for the first time in years, I don’t even have a box of Honey Nut Cheerios in my house because I have Yogurt Burst and Fruity going on.

  • Leigh in CO says:

    @Tarn: OMG I had forgotten all about Crispy Wheats and Raisins. Now THAT was some good cereal. Except sometimes the coating on the raisins would coat the roof of the mouth. But other than that! Yay!

    Anybody remember Donutz? I wonder if those would be as appealing to me today. Probably not, but they sure were yummy.

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