You wouldn’t necessarily want to eat six cheese sticks in a row.
They come in all shapes and sizes and with their own unique marinara sauce renditions.
An order of the mozz sticks and sauce cost me $13.99the highest price in the taste test.
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Underneath, the milky mozzarella is more firm than melty with little to no dramatic cheese pull.
There are so many other tastier apps it’s possible for you to get BJ’s.
Or, you could skip the starter altogether and just focus on a pizookie dessert.
Megan Hageman/Eat This Not That
They are priced at $10.49.
The Look:There was something so aesthetic about these mozz sticks lined up perfectly in the plastic tray.
They came in a shorter size compared to BJ’s but a more golden hue.
Megan Hageman/Eat This Not That
The marinara, on the other hand, was lighter and more pulverized.
The Taste:The cheese is once again kept simple with a mild taste.
The sauce, though, is where things go a bit off the rails.
Megan Hageman/Eat This Not That
It has an intense smokiness to it starkly different from your average, everyday marinara.
It’s almost like smoked paprika or something of the sort was tacked onto the recipe.
It’s not what I was expecting and truthfully I didn’t prefer it.
Megan Hageman/Eat This Not That
For $9.99 the cheesy snack comes with eight total sticks and the obligatory marinara sauce.
The Look:Long, skinny, and covered in a dusting of powdery Parmesan cheese.
With a runny consistency, the red sauce was more reminiscent of tomato soup than a marinara.
Megan Hageman/Eat This Not That
The Taste:Red Lobster nails the mozzarella stick outer coating.
As for the sauce, it’s certainly thin as I suspected.
A bit odd for mozzarella sticks but fitting if you consider the source.
Megan Hageman/Eat This Not That
Most often, the specialty is ordered as part of the chain’s viral Triple Dipper.
The Look:Browned cheesy blocks.
The marinara is acting like bright with a standard consistency.
The Taste:This cheese pull is social media-worthy (as many TikTokers have already proven).
The tasty and pure mozzarella seems as if it could stretch for milesalmost creating a choking hazard.
On the outskirts, the delicately-applied breading is crisp with a light seasoning.
The chain really allows the cheese to do all the talking.
Olive Garden
Italians love their cheeseespecially mozzarella.
So, it’s not that surprising to find a fried mozzarella posted up on its menu.
The appetizer is served with house marinara sauce and rings up an affordable $8.29.
The Look:A mini, paler version of Chili’s squared-off monstrosities.
The bright red sauce is chunky, almost like salsa.
The Taste:I could have sworn another cheese was at play here aside from the standard mozzarella.
The sauce, though?
That’s where this dish really shinedas it should at an Italian restaurant.
It was thick and garlicky with large chunks of tomato and onion.
But, trust us, crispy fried cheese is in fact a small plate option at the restaurant.
This is one rendition that does things a little differently, however.
In addition to mozzarella cheese, the app also packs in fontina, a rich and creamy Italian cheese.
Escorted by a trusty side of marinara sauce, the fried cheese is priced at $13.95.
The Look:So dark that the coarse breading looks burnt.
The hunks also come in a half-moon taco shape and are sprinkled with parmesan similar to Olive Garden’s.
Vivid but thin, the sauce didn’t inspire much confidence.
But what’s hiding underneath this herby exterior is even better.
The blend of cheeses is ooey gooey with a bolder, richer flavor than any of the rest.
It stretches far and wide, filling each mouthful with a glob of creaminess.
Just as I predicted, the marinara proved to be of average taste.
It didn’t matter, though, because the breaded cheese could stand by itself.
For just three pieces, it is on the pricier side, but well worth it.
