Just The Specials — Eggo X ‘Stranger Things’
by Anton Kromoff
Welcome to the table,
Just The Specials is where I try limited releases, holiday offerings, and special meal items from across the food world and report back on what I have found. I’m really excited about this one. More than many other easy-to-make breakfast options, Eggo has always been a favorite of mine.
Let’s get into it…
Netflix’s Stranger Things is prepping to launch its final season in just a few short days. A multitude of brand tie-ins and collaborations have emerged to showcase and capitalize on this moment in pop-culture history. This creates a sense of cohesion in the cultural zeitgeist that feels comforting in a landscape that has felt fractured and divided due to global events and turmoil.
I’m already in awe of Stranger Things for what it has done for the tabletop gaming community and the injection of interest it provided in the hobby, with its cast of protagonists being players of the pastime.
Adding an additional layer of nostalgia for me, my go-to breakfast food, on the days when breakfast food was available, was a toasted homestyle Eggo. No butter, no syrup, no toppings to speak of, just the delicious base flavor of an Eggo would be a thing I looked forward to.
As a kid, I would fish the yellow discs of deliciousness out of the freezer, fumble them into a toaster, and shove a handful of comics and TTRPG books into my backpack. Then I’d gently pinch the edges of the piping hot waffles as soon as they popped up out of the toaster, slip them into my second-hand store green canvas jacket pocket, and swing out into the world on unsteady crutches. I was prepared to start my day knowing when I took my seat on the city bus or in the uncomfortable desk at the back of the classroom those brilliant little crispy circles were going to sustain me until lunch.
More than cereal, more than candy, more than pre-packaged breakfast pastries, an Eggo was my way to go. I love sauces and complex flavors, don’t get me wrong. There is just this brilliantly tasty simplicity to a warm Eggo that can’t be found in other packaged breakfast foods, and they have always held a special place in my heart because of that.
So, when my pals at the Kellogg Company sent me a box, I was doubly delighted to dig into what was inside.
The box that arrived at the door was massive. Inside was another large box bearing the iconic yellow of the Eggo boxes with the crimson logo emblazed on the top.
Upon opening the lid of the box, I discovered a delightful demogorgon, the iconic first-season creature from Stranger Things, leering at me from the lid. Within the yellow box was a Styrofoam cooler with a small Stranger Things X Eggo collabo postcard, and a little card that said “This Box Contains Dry Ice.”
My anticipation was tangible as I fumbled to open the cooler within.
While I was not able to capture it on camera, a cloud of haunting vapor issued forth from the box, creating this absolutely magical moment in my living room. The vapor drifted up from around two boxes of Eggo breakfast waffles. One was strawberry flavored and the other homestyle.
The packaging managed to somehow be as iconic as they have always been, and also locked in on the look of Netflix’s Stranger Things, showcasing Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Will (), Lucas (), and Duncan () on the Strawberry box, and Eleven, Steve (Joe Keery), and Robin (Maya Hawke) on the Homestyle box.
The Strawberry Waffles are touted to be the first-ever strawberry red waffles made with colors from natural sources. The crimson color is clearly inspired by the rifts to the Upside Down, and the flavor is not bad at all. I was worried there would be a bit of a “fruity cereal” feel to the flavor, as that typically is what happens when something in the frozen food space gets a “Strawberry” flavor infusion, but these have definite notes of an actual strawberry to them.
The Homestyle waffles are honestly as perfect as I remember them being when I was a kid. What is wild is that I have been skipping breakfast for months now due to anxiety, stress, and rushing around in the morning. I’m kinda proud to say, in the interest of self-care and because I love them so much, I have picked up additional Homestyle boxes as they have become part of my morning again.
It’s wild to think that this pop-culture column and my desire to report on Just The Specials have resulted in me taking better care of myself. The power of a warm Eggo is still just as magical, and I had two out of the toaster before I sat down to work on my stack for the day.
Until next time, you can catch the newest season of Stranger Things on Netflix on November 26th, and you can grab both the Strawberry and Homestyle Stranger Things Eggo wherever delicious breakfast foods are sold.
