I asked 5 Starbucks baristas to make me their favorite off-menu drinks. I'd order them all again despite the prices.

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Author Paige Bennett holding Starbucks drink
I tried custom off-menu Starbucks drinks from baristas in California.

Paige Bennett

Sabrina Carpenter's new album 'Short n' Sweet' is a masterful indictment of modern dating

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Sabrina Carpenter press photo short n sweet album
Sabrina Carpenter in a press photo for "Short n' Sweet."

Courtesy of Island Records

I tried all the doughnuts I could find at Dunkin' and ranked them from worst to best

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16 doughnuts on a white oval plate sitting on a wood table.
I tried 16 different doughnuts from Dunkin'.

Ted Berg

I tried 3 chefs' loaded baked potato recipes. They were all good, but my favorite tasted like a pasta dinner.

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three loaded baked potatoes on a plate
You can add so many different flavor combinations to a baked potato.

Meredith Schneider

I stayed in a bare-bones bungalow inside Kruger National Park. It was a good value, but I'm not sure I'd do it again.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
Zebras, elephants, giraffes, and other animals drinking from a watering hole in Kruger National Park in South Africa.
Although I enjoyed the bare-bones experience, I'd pay more for a private lodge in the future.

WOLF AVNI/Shutterstock

After trying on shirts at Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Gap, I found the most expensive items weren't worth the splurge

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Ted wearing three different black polos. On the left, a polo from Old Navy. In the middle, a polo from Banana Republic with four buttons going down the top. On the right, a polo from Gap with two buttons going down the top.
I tried on similar shirts at Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Gap.

Ted Berg

I tried ice-cream bars from Costco, Whole Foods, and Wegmans. The winner had an extra ingredient that gave it an edge.

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A gray counter holding a purple box with illustrations of ice-cream bars, a white box with a red, blue, green, and orange design and images of ice-cream bars, and a red-and-white box with an ice-cream bar on it sitting next to blue, green, and purple plates holding ice-cream bars
I tried ice-cream bars from Wegmans, Whole Foods, and Costco.

Ted Berg

I ranked every sausage I could find at Trader Joe's, and I think the best could be used in almost any recipe

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Selfie of the writer at Trader Joe's
I went to Trader Joe's and bought every kind of sausage I could find.

Ted Berg

I compared 3-course meals at Chili's and TGI Fridays. The prices were nearly identical, but the differences in the food were stark.

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intercut photos of meals from chili's and tgi fridays
I had three-course meals at Chili's and TGI Fridays.

Steven John

I spent 9 hours in Qatar Airways' newest airport lounge. It had perks, but the quiet rooms felt like a dentist's office.

Tech Insider : Travel, Travel
Al Mourjan Business Lounge
I visited Qatar Airways' Al Mourjan Garden Lounge.

Tammy Barr

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