Almost five stars - with a caveat
First, the caveat: if you're looking for a perfect protein bar replacement that walks like a Quest bar, talks like a Quest bar, and tastes like a Quest bar... while ALSO demanding it be paleo, non-dairy, low carb, and grain-free, you're just not going to find it. Science isn't there yet. If you don't want the fillers and blood sugar rush and everything else that comes with mainstream whey protein bars you're just going to have to suck it up and accept it's going to be a different experience. That said, these are decently tasty for what they are.<br /><br />Texture: Julian Bakery could probably get fewer negative reactions if they advertised from the get-go that these are taffy-ish in consistency, rather than insisting on calling them &#34;cake like.&#34; Taffy's pretty good. Trying to soften the blow and appeal to the Quest bar crowd will get you nowhere, they are what they are. So they lose a star for willfully bad advertising.<br /><br />Flavor: I wouldn't call this a truly convincing caramel flavor, it's a bit more like sugar-free caramel syrup flavoring... but asking a non-dairy/low carb bar to taste exactly like something that's literally heated milk/sugars is a pretty tall order. If you're sensitive to whey products or on a dairy-free keto diet you could do a lot worse than these.
Rating: 4 stars