Is it Dr Pepper or cream soda?

Dr Pepper Berries & Cream. Diet and Regular. $1.09 per 2-liter bottle or $3.99 per box of twelve 12-ounce cans.

Bonnie: Dr Pepper is an acquired taste that I have never acquired. So to be extra fair to this new flavor, I tested it with a number of Dr Pepper lovers. Most thought these new sodas tasted more like cream soda than Dr Pepper. Many stopped drinking after only a sip and poured the remainder of the can down the drain.

Based on this, I'd say Dr Pepper Berries and Cream is only for cream soda lovers. Personally, I prefer and recommend water, regular or sparkling, over either of these.

Carolyn: The 2004 launch of Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper was one of Cadbury Schweppes' most successful new product launches in more than a decade. So what does this company do in 2006? Come out with a new product that is a near clone of it.

I say near because Cherry Vanilla Dr Pepper tasted like a combination of Vanilla and Cherry Coke. This tastes more like cream soda with a cherry whiff. And though I usually prefer diet sodas, the regular version of this has a much richer flavor.

Ben & Jerry's The Cone. Cherry Garcia, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. $2.19 per 4.6-ounce cone or $3.99 per box of three 4.3-ounce cones.

Bonnie: Ben & Jerry's usually comes up with some innovative new products at the beginning of summer. Among this season's offerings are two varieties of The Cone.

The cones consist of vanilla or cherry ice cream with chunks of cookie dough or cherry bits and fudge chips in a waffle cone. Neither is very inventive. And neither tastes like premium ice cream, nor are they worth their respective calories or fat — specifically, the Cookie Dough's 380 calories and 20 grams of fat, and Cherry Garcia's 300 calories and 16 grams of fat.

For that, I expected something at least as delicious as Haagen-Dazs' new 290-calorie frozen novelty. Forget The Cone: Haagen-Dazs Mint & Dark Chocolate Bar is The Best.

Carolyn: Ben & Jerry's is not known for its restraint. But over-the-top flavors like Chubby Hubby and Chocolate Overload are practically demure compared to this cone partner to The Bar (ice cream on a brownie), which is obviously aimed at convenience-store consumers of the similarly sized Big Gulp and King Cone. But The Bar and The Cone are not just big: They're also gross — as if this company had just unthinkingly thrown together a bunch of indulgent ingredients.