Remember in the movie Ratatouille when the food critic tastes the ratatouille and he is immediately taken back to when he was a kid? I have always believed that this is totally possible and have had it happen to me on many occasions. It is true bliss when a food tastes so good that it conjures up a good memory.

On the other hand, there are also times where you look forward to eating something and are completely disappointed. That just happened to me this week.

On a recent trip to Sam’s Club, we loved seeing all of the Halloween decorations that were on display. With Halloween, they usually bring out the “Monster” cereals that I loved as a kid. We happened to see a display where they had packaged 3 of the well known flavors with a new flavor. My wife chuckled and said to buy it.

Count Chocula and Frankenberry were always my favorites. I couldn’t wait to crack open a box and eat it. The kids had tried the Count Chocula, so that was the one I tried first. It was the first disappointment.

As soon as I poured it into the bowl, I noticed that it smelled as good as I remembered. When I took a bite, though, it was a major let down. I felt like there was no taste whatsoever. I remember it tasting chocolatey – like a good bowl of Cocoa Puffs – but that was not the case. It was disgusting. I felt like the box would have tasted better.

I decided that maybe something with a bit more flavor might be better, so I tried the Frankenberry the next day. Again, the smell was as good as I remember, but there was barely a hint of “berry” to it. It was so bland.

What happened, General Mills?! I know that if the cereal tasted like this when I was a kid, I would not have been so excited to have a bowl as an adult. What a let down. I suppose from now on, I will look at the characters on the box and smile while I remember that it USED to be good.