April 2014 Mantry Review – “Thai Game”

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Mantry
Cost: $75/month
Ships To: United States.
April 2014 Mantry Review
April 2014 Mantry Review

B’s April 2014 Mantry, also known as the Modern Man’s Pantry, arrived earlier this afternoon. If you aren’t familiar with them, Mantry is a food of the month club that lets you discover the finest american artisan foods – and gives you ideas of what to do with them.  At $75/month it’s a spendy box for sure, but B totally totally loves it.

April 2014 Mantry Review
The Box

Mantry ships via UPS Smart Post.  It starts out as UPS and then typically ends up being delivered by the Post Office.  Mantry ships around the 21st of the month and took two days to arrive this month.

April 2014 Mantry Review
Mantry Crate

Mantry now allows you to “Opt Out” of receiving the wooden Mantry crate each month.  Your items will just come securely wrapped in a the cardboard package instead.  If they offered a discount for opting out I’d totally do it, but they don’t so I am still opting to receive them.

April 2014 Mantry Review
First Look

The first look was great!  I knew B would be excited about that top item!

Mantry
The Information Card

The April 2014 Mantry theme was “Thai Game” and includes some far east flavors for your next game day feast.  Here is what was inside:

~Apinya Thai Chili Sauce ($7): My eyes started watering as soon as I looked at this!  Totally not my kind of thing.  Mantry suggests using this on wings on game day.  Or it can be used in place of ketchup, cocktail sauce or other hot sauces.  I have no idea what B will make with this, but I hope it’s not too crazy spicy.

April 2014 Mantry Review
Apinya Thai Chili Sauce

~Gordy’s Pickle Jar Thai Basil Jalapeños ($10): Our jar opened a bit in shipping and some leaked out, so I need to e-mail Mantry about a replacement.  Mantry recommends throwing these (and some apinya sauce) on some nachos.  I can see that working.

April 2014 Mantry Review
Gordy’s Pickle Jar Thai Basil Jalapenos

~Dang Toasted Coconut Chips ($4.49): These are okay (not awful but not my favorite either), but they pop up fairly often in subscription boxes.  I wasn’t sure how they related to Thailand, but it turns out that they were inspired by Bangkok street hawkers.  Totally makes sense for them to be included now.

April 2014 Mantry Review
Dang Toasted Coconut Chips

~Pok Pok Thai Basil Som ($15): Oddly, we received this (but a different variety) last April from Mantry!  I am not totally sure what B ended up doing with that one.  Mantry has (or will since it’s not up right now) a recipe for Basil Margaritas on their site or another suggestion is to mix with soda for a bit of a kick.  I’ll go the margarita route ;).

April 2014 Mantry Review
Pok Pok Thai Basil Som

~Lord Nut Levington Thai Curry & Lemongrass Peanuts ($5.49): Did anyone else see Lord Nut Levington on Shark Tank last week? They didn’t end up getting a deal, but the Sharks all seemed to enjoy their product.  They are always a big hit with B as well.

April 2014 Mantry Review
Lord Nut Levington Thai Curry & Lemongrass Peanuts

~Dried & True Sriracha Lime Jerky ($11.99): Ohh, this is amazing.  B is going to go crazy for it.  Dried & True is located in California and promises to bring you the freshest, tastiest jerky out there.  They also appear to have a jerky of the month subscription, which B would love!  I am going to have to remember that for Father’s Day.

April 2014 Mantry Review
Dried & True Sriracha Lime Jerky

All totaled I came up with a value of $53.97 for the April Mantry “Thai Game” box.  I know that this subscription is more about the curation and experience and less about the cost of the box, however, I would still like to see the product value come a bit closer to the cost of the box.  Mantry does say (in their FAQ) that they pay for the items that are included in the box (some of the boxes get free products / reduced cost products from companies), so it’s likely more difficult than I think to put out a high value box and pay for shipping while still turning a profit themselves.

Did you get Mantry this month?  What’d you think?  If you are interested in subscribing or just want to learn more, click here.
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Jennifer

Jennifer is the author and founder of Subscription Box Ramblings. She first discovered subscription boxes in 2012 and has been addicted since. Current favorites include CAUSEBOX, Boxycharm and Beachly!

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