Fast Food Review: BK Tries BBQ and Sweet Potato Fries

No shirtless David Beckham's please. Over the last year or so Burger King has been a fast food chain obessed with reinventing itself and marketing itself in new ways, including the aforementioned ploy, in order to regain tons of market share lost to competitors and turn the tide of negative public opinion. Every time I have tried one of BK's latest gimmicks I have been thoroughly unimpressed. I've commented on this blog before that BK's new ideas are basically just crap McDonald's has been doing for a long time. Smoothies, salads, coffee drinks, "premium" chicken, they even made a big deal about changing their fries to compete with McDonald's. The overall verdict? Pretty lame. That's why when I saw the latest commercial for their "Memphis BBQ Sandwich" and sweet potato fries I gave them by my emphatic eye roll yet.

BBQ. My personal favorite and something sacred to a lot of people and a lot of cultures. Burger King doing a version is practically food sacrilege. In spite of all of that I decided I had to give it a try. Honestly, I have to say that in terms of all the bbq I've ever ate it was probably not near the top half of the list. However, it's important to note that, for a Burger King product, it was surprisingly good, and I would even venture to say that it's the best new item BK has put on the menu in years. The bbq meat itself was very finely shredded (probably too much for my liking), and the flavor of the sauce was sweet but subtle. My sandwich also had a strange kind of sauce in addition to the red bbq sauce that seemed almost like a honey mustard. At first I was apprehensive but I didn't hate it. The sandwich was topped with some pitiful looking raw onions which I removed. They simply don't belong on a bbq sandwich. Granted, there was absolutely nothing that made this sandwich "Memphis" bbq which usually means heavily spiced meat and no sauce, but I understood from the get go that labeling it "Memphis" is just marketing.

The sweet potato fries are another matter altogether. I have to confess I'm a total sweet potato addict. I've ate them since I was a little kid, and in recent years when sweet potato fries have been the trend I've been a happy man. It was about time that a fast food chain jumped on this, and I think it was especially a good move for BK. Their regular fries are something I wouldn't feed to my dog so anything is a step up. Unfortunately, the sweet potato fries must not be a huge hit because the ones I had must have been sitting out quite a while and were rather soggy and cold. That being said I still can't hate too much on sweet potato fries and at BK I'd get them over their regular fries any time.

Taste 7.5/10 A fairly solid effort from BK that exceeded most of my admittedly low expectations. I would order both items again.
Value 8/10 I got a medium combo with upgraded fries and a special sandwich and it was basically the normal combo price. The Girlfriend got a Whopper Jr. combo and our bill was still only 11 bucks or so.
Misc I would be remiss if I didn't mention the entire experience of going to BK. Two words: it sucks. Burger King can revamp their menu, add a bunch of sundaes and drinks, and replace the traditional menu board with LED screens, but one thing hasn't changed. The service. The employees are easily the  worst in all of fast food. We got ignored when we walked in, no one smiled, tables were dirty. It's just the type of thing you don't normally see at McDonald's. It's the reason my fries were cold, and that's why it's hard to go back.

Patty Melt Obession Part 3: Hardee's Southwest Patty Melt Review

Over the last several weeks I've expressed on this blog my recent obsession with the patty melt sandwich.  Truthfully it's probably only slightly more healthy than the obsession some of my more romantically challenged male readers (sorry mom's basement dwellers) might have with Kate Upton, a Southwest Patty Melt "enthusiast in her own right.  On a more serious note I wanted to try the Hardee's Southwest Patty Melt because it not only fits my patty melt meme as of late, but it's also 1. a new-ish fast food offering 2. a Hardee's offering of which I'm mostly a fan and 3. the combo came with a free Oreo icecream sandwich.  How would this stack up compared to other melts I've had as of late?

The Hardee's Southwest Patty Melt might be a new sandwich to the Hardee's lineup, but there are definitely some derivative elements here beyond what constitutes the normal patty melt toppings.  The bread is Hardee's famous toasted sourdough that has accompanied their Frisco Burger for so many years.  The additions that make it different than the standard patty melt are the pepper-jack cheese substituting for swiss, jalapeno slices, and "Southwest sauce".  I've seen all those elements on other burgers and sandwiches before with mixed results so I was a little worried how they would work here.  Surprisingly, I think the answer is those elements work quite well.  The jalapenos, sauce, and cheese definitely added some kick, but I was a little amazed at how mild the flavor actually was.  Granted, I'm not someone who is that sensitive to heat but I definitely expected more heat from a sandwich with sliced jalapenos.  The 1/4 lb patty size was adequate and juicy compared to other "large chain" fast food burgers.  I think the sourdough "bun" with it's toasted yet soft texture made this better than if it was just served on a regular bun.  However, I think there were some drawbacks here as well.  Between the cheese and sauce I found the overall texture far too creamy. With the jalapeno slices it almost tasted like bland ballpark nachos.  Also, the Hardee's website makes no mention of it, but I could have swore my patty melt had mayo on it which I found to be serious overkill.  Also there were supposed to be grilled onions here, but they were somewhat hard to find.

Taste 6.5/10 I'm giving this an above average score because even when Hardee's has somewhat of a miss their burgers are still better than what BK, Mickey D's and Wendy's are putting out.  Real solution though is just to go to Culver's if one is nearby.
Value 6.5/10 I'm giving a similar slightly above average score here because I did get a free icecream sandwich with my combo, and it was quite a filling meal.

Additional Note: While I appreciate Hardee's offering free icecream with this combo it's pretty hard to get it back to your house or office without it turning into something messier than Curtis Painter's future career prospects.  Hardee's at least tried by putting it in a separate bag from my hot food, but in the end it was a ride on the failboat.

Fast Food Review: McDonald's Chicken McBites

In the last few years it seems more and more like the old standby fast food places are always trying to give us something new, different, and "lighter" to keep us coming in the door.  This is of course despite the fact that the reason most of us go there in the first place is to get old standbys that we're used to from long ago.  This is especially true when it comes to chicken products.  Burger King already had chicken tenders on the menu when they introduced the more-or-less terrible chicken fries.  Now it seems that McDonald's has had a similar idea. 

McDonald's has had their famous Chicken McNuggets on the menu since as far back as I can remember.  They have more than their fair share of detractors, but they've always been a personal fave for whatever reason.  The appeal may be more nostalgic than taste related.  Nonetheless McDonald's has introduced a "new" chicken product called Chicken McBites.  I put new in scare quotes because other than just being added to the menu there is nothing new at all about them.  This is popcorn chicken plain and simple.  And guess what?  It sucks.  Popcorn chicken always sucks.  It's small.  It's dry. There's more breading than chicken.  Oh but it's portable they tell us.  Yeah so it almost everything on  Mickey D's menu.  Popcorn chicken is ok I guess if you're 6 years old, but they are marketing this to adults. I guess some will fall for it, but I'll probably stick to the dollar menu.

Taste 2/10 Hey they didn't make me vomit so they've got that going for them.

Value 0/10 The Girlfriend picked these up on the way home from work one night to try them.  I don't really know what she paid or how much they cost.  It doesn't matter.  Whatever it is is too much.

Fast Food Review: Culver's

When you go out to grab lunch during a workday it's really easy to get stuck in a rut.  Out of all the times I've went out to lunch in the past 6 months (usually only about once a week) I've probably went to Taco Bell for a plurality of them.  I do like Taco Bell, but let's face facts I go there because it's quick and cheap.  The other day I decided I had enough of the same old same old and decided to not only try some place different but some place I had personally never been to before.  That place is Culvers.

If you're unfamiliar with Culver's they are a Wisconsin based regional chain that has a diverse menu, but one that primarily focuses on their signature "butter burgers".  The butter burgers are fresh ground beef smashed thin on the flattop with crispy edges on a butter toasted bun.  Despite hearing from my co-worker that Culver's serves up a mean fish sandwich also I decided I was in the mood for some red meat.  I decided to go with the double mushroom and swiss burger combo that comes with a drink and Culver's crinkle cut fries.

The first thing I did when I unwrapped my burger was take note of it's appearance.  After all people do say if your food looks good it's more likely to taste good. That is exactly why Sarah Jessica Parker has nothing to fear from cannibals, but I digress. In this case I noticed the size of the burger, with the double patty, was definitely an ample portion and the crispy edges were evident.  The 2 slices of swiss were nicely melted, and the bun looked pillowy and soft.  What turned me off a little was the way the thin sliced mushrooms seemed to be few in number and scattered haphazardly.  Luckily there were more mushrooms on top of the bottom bun and the flavor and aroma of them came through nicely.  There was no mayo or extra "mushroom sauce" here that sometime come on other burgers of this genre.  They were not needed.  The mushrooms here complemented the nice flavor of the meat, and muddling that with sauce would have been a crime.  The crinkle cut fries were also a nice change of pace.  While I'm not putting them on the same level as my favorite fries that are always fresh cut they were crisp and had good potato flavor.  The medium portion size was also larger than I expected.  I should also point out that I tried Culver's own root beer, and while it was good I wouldn't be able to differentiate it between other mainstream brand.

Being a guy that likes fast food from time to time I can't believe I've slept on Culver's for this long. It might still be fast food but they are doing it at a higher level than almost every other fast food burger joint.  I'm looking foward to my next visit, and maybe I'll try some custard next time.

Taste 9/10 Probably my favorite fast food burger.  Could have used just a few more mushrooms. Crinkle cut fries were good, but not as good as fresh cut variety.
Value 9/10 My double mushroom swiss combo cost $7.62 including tax.  Considering how much I enjoyed it that's pretty good in my opinion.  You get enough food that there is no need to upsize. It might be a little more expensive than a medium combo at Wendy's, McDonald's etc but it's not by much.

Indiana's First Jack in the Box to Open Monday

I'm not that interested in this news other than to say that JITB is a place I've never been to before, but based on this blog's web traffic it seems like a helluva lot of you are interested so I wanted to keep you posted. According to this article on Indystar.com the first location will be opening Monday 1/16/12 at the intersection of US 31 and County Line Rd on the South side.  I honestly doubt I'll be driving that far just to pick up fast food, but if my travels take me that way for some reason I might stop in for a bite to report back to you other interested parties.

Fast Food Review: Hardee's Steak and Egg Burrito

If you have read this blog for awhile you probably know that I make no secret of the fact that Hardee's is one of it not my favorite fast food restaurant.  They were a company that used to be an absolute loser of a chain with bad service, bad food, pretty much bad everything.  But here's the interesting thing.  They recognized that they sucked and totally turned the corner.  They downsized and focused their remaining stores on doing more food fresh and from scratch than any other fast food chain in the business.  The results are pretty tasty.  If you don't believe me go out for lunch today and get their chicken tenders.  However, even before their revamp Hardee's was known for their breakfast menu.  They're still putting out favorites like from scratch biscuits, but when I saw they were promoting a steak and egg burrito I figured, in the interest of science, it was worth a try.

As you can see from the picture (I used the pen to give perspective) that the burrito is a nice size.  It's bigger than the dollar menu sausage burrito from McDonald's, but smaller than a Qdoba monstrosity.  Certainly nothing to be disappointed about.  However, when I cut it open I was at first a little bit alarmed at the lack of steak I saw in relation to the amount of scrambled egg, but when I took a bite I discovered that there was actually more steak in the burrito than I really even expected.  It just seemed to be hiding out in the back and in the folds of fluffy egg.  The steak, while a little on the chewy side, also had a nice flavor.  It was as though it had actually been seasoned!  Also present were a melted cheddar cheese and a queso cheese that was a nice surprise.  In the words of Anthony Bourdain I'm a total egg slut so I was also happy with the warm fluffy folded eggs inside that were present in a generous portion.  However, you might notice that one or two things are missing that would make this a really great breakfast burrito.  I think some salsa (which is only available if you ask I found out later) and maybe an extra element of potatoes or hashbrowns inside would have made it a little bit better.

Taste 7/10 Definitely an above average breakfast burrito that you can get quickly on your way to work in the morning.  It might be missing some elements, but let's be honest it's not trying to be the giant Qdoba breakfast burrito here.  It's trying to be Hardee's, and in that regard I think it does it's job quite well.  If you're someone who likes a good breakfast burrito give this a shot. Maybe pick one up in the morning on your way to a holiday celebraish, you guys.

Value 8/10 At $3.63 with tax it is not the cheapest thing on the Hardee's breakfast menu.  In fact depending on if the special is running you might be able to get 2 bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits for less. How is it a good value then? Well #1 it's steak, and it's not a total ripoff like Taco Bell's steak items, #2 it was pretty tasty and a lot cheaper and quicker than going to Qdoba, #3 I'm not a big eater in the morning, but I would venture to guess that people would think this filling enough.

Burger King Still Sucks: New BK Fries Review

I don't know if I've ever voiced this opinion explicitly on this blog, but Burger King flat out sucks and has for a while.  You might be saying, "Hold up it didn't make your list of overrated fast food restaurants. What gives?" I'd say you're right it didn't.  To be overrated there has to be some perception out there that it's good.  Burger King is long long way from that.  Every time I go there I see dirty restaurants, few customers, slacking, poorly dressed employees who aren't even wearing clean cohesive uniforms, long waits in the drive thru and burgers that have shrank more than Obama's approval ratings.  It's so sad because I remember BK being one of my favorite places in fast food when I was a kid.  The charbroiled burgers were always especially enjoyable.  I think BK management has recognized their company's slide, but are there efforts enough to reverse the trend?

If I had to answer that question with one word I would say no. Their most recent effort the new BK fries are trying to be presented as some kind of savior for the company. I understand why they are trying considering how bad their old fries were, but in my opinion there just isn't a lot new or enjoyable about these.  The only, and I mean ONLY, discernable difference was the size.  They are slightly thicker than the old fries.  There you have it.  That's it.  They could have gone with new seasoning, fresh cut, the appearance of fresh cut (Wendy's), but they didn't do any of that at all. Burger King seems to think that the idea of being new also means better.  I assure you this is not the case.

Besides the fries I decided to try one of their new BK Toppers burgers.  I went with the cheeseburger that comes with bbq sauce and onion rings, The Western BBQ Cheeseburger.  It was honestly one of the worst "new" menu items I've ever had. The cheese was not melted, the onion rings were cold, the bbq sauce was barely there and had no flavor.   If the burger had 2 patties or if it was a dollar cheaper I may not have hated it as much, but as it is I consider it a total ripoff. 

Taste 0/10 I will not be going back to Burger King again. Period. Unlike Hardee's they have shown me nothing that proves they are really trying to improve their brand.  They have bigger problems than just the menu or the food, but considering they haven't solved those yet I see no way they can pull off a top to bottom overhaul

Value 0/10 Even if it was free I don't think that would be good enough.  Too many other choices in fast food that are competitively priced with much much better quality.

My Blogging Debut At PJ Lifestyle

It is with much pleasure that I get to announce that I was offered the opportunity to do some food blogging for the lifestyle section of Pajamas Media.  Today is the debut of my first blog: But I Love That Place: The 7 Most Overrated Fast Food Restaurants.  It was a piece that I had a lot of fun writing, and hopefull people will have fun reading it as well.  It's important to note that this doesn't mean Random Dude Eats Random Food is going on hiatus.  I'm still going to try to do reviews here with an emphasis on Indy/Indiana specific locations.  In the meantime come on over to PJ Lifestyle and check us out.  Here's a little taste.

French fries sizzling in hot oil. Fresh (at least at some point) hamburger searing on the flat top grill. Squeaky-voiced teen messing up our order and saying he’ll have to ask his manager. This is the fast food experience Americans are all familiar with. When we walk into a fast food restaurant we all have a certain set of expectations about the food and service based on our previous experiences. That’s why we continue to go back — no matter where in the country we are, we expect the same McDonald’s or Taco Bell meal.



However, it seems to be increasingly evident that fast food restaurants are trying new gimmicks marketing techniques to change both our expectations and perceptions of what they’re serving and how they’re serving it. If my business was being endlessly attacked by nanny-staters that want to dictate what I can and can’t serve my customers, I’d probably try almost anything to keep them coming in the door. But when you try to create the perception of better food and better value instead of actually giving it to your customers, you become a prime candidate for today’s list.

Fast Food Review: Taco Bell Bacon Ranch Chicken Flatbread Sandwich

Ok let's admit something right up front.  I am a Taco Bell junky.  You can talk trash about it all you want, but there is nothing short of telling me that Taco Bell meat is people that would make me stop eating there.  That being said I'm not always a fan of their "new products" aka the stuff they make out of stuff they already have on hand.  The new kid on the block is the Bacon Ranch Chicken Flatbread Sandwich.

Now, honestly this isn't completely new.  The regular Chicken Flatbread has been a limited offering in the T-Bell lineup before, and although I didn't blog about it then I remember having it and I was not impressed.  The components are all stuff we've had before: chicken and melted cheese folded into a warm flatbread similar to what is used for T-Bell gorditas.  Those ingredients are all ok, but I found them boring and really in need of some sort of sauce.  Taco Bell must be creepily reading my thoughts because that is exactly what they accomplished with the Bacon Ranch Chicken Flatbread.  It's the same ingredients with a bacon ranch sauce added that really adds a lot of pop in the flavor department.  Don't be mistaken.  We're talking about Taco Bell here.  There is not actually bacon in the flatbread.  However, the flavor is jankily infused in the sauce Taco Bell style and it works.  That smokiness actually comes through and makes a boring sandwich pretty a lot better.  My only complaint is that it's a little on the small side (more or less soft taco size).

Taste 8/10 In terms of Taco Bell menu items this is up there.  The softness of the flatbread and the sauce brought it home.  Still not up to the level of my favorite item, the Cheesy Gordita Crunch.

Value 8/10  Right now this is being marketed on special for only 99 cents.  At this price I feel it's an above average value, but if the price point was higher I think I'd probably pass for other things on the dollar menu taking the smallish portion size into consideration.

Fast Food Review: Arby's Smokin Chipotle Chicken Sandwich

Writing reviews of new or even "new" fast food items is really something I enjoy even if I don't always enjoy the food.  I think it has something to do with possibly finding a new all-time favorite like the Cheesy Gordita Crunch, but when it comes to new menu items as of late I haven't really been so lucky.  The Beefy Melt Burrito and the last Arby's 3 Cheese Bacon Angus offerings were both big strikeouts.  Going into this review I was seriously hoping Arby's could redeem themselves with this latest offering.

Even though Arby's specialty is their roast beef I've always thought their strongest offerings were their chicken items.  During high school the Chicken Bacon Swiss was probably my favorite thing on any fast food menu.  However, I've noticed in more recent years that Arby's chicken just doesn't seem quite as good as it used to back in the day.  I can't put my finger on what it is or why, but the taste and texture is just different.  That being said, since I had a coupon for a free fry and drink with purchase of the Smokin Chipotle Chicken Sandwich I figured it was worth a try.

First of all I have to say I'm glad I had the coupon.  If I wouldn't have my regular sized combo would have been almost $9.  Ouch.  The sandwich was the basic Arby's fried chicken patty topped with the usual thickish "chipotle" bbq sauce, a slice of cheddar cheese, pepper bacon, diced jalapenos and lettuce and tomato which I decided to leave off of my sandwich.  The first thing I have to say here is wholy S this was hot.  I was expecting the usual mildly spicy fast food offering with the jalapenos being sparse and seedless.  Not the case here.  There were a ton of jalapenos on here and it just blew out any other flavors that were trying to come through.  I pride myself on being someone who can take quite a bit of heat, but this was even too much for me.  I had to scrape the jalapenos off just so I could taste a little bit of what else was going on.  Turns out it wasn't much.  The cheese was not even close to being melted which is a pet peeve of mine.  The bbq sauce could as well have been BullsEye.  I tasted no hint of chipotle whatsoever. The bacon was a least redeeming with it being on the crisp side for fast food bacon.  There was also more of it than I expected on my sandwich which was a nice surprise.

Taste 2/10 Damn.  I keep hoping for Arby's to recapture the magic of my high school days, but they just keep failing.  If I want a chicken sandwich spicy or otherwise I'll go to Hardee's or Chick Fil A if there is one even remotely close by.
Value 0/10  This is where Arby's really sucks.  I haven't been happy with the food the last 4 times I've ate there and I practically have to get an Obama bailout to afford it. 

Fast Food Review: Chick Fil A Spicy Chicken Sandwich

The Spicy Chicken Sandwich really isn't that new of a menu item, but I had been really in the mood for a Chick Fil A chicken sandwich as of late but I wanted to try something just a little bit different.  I thought it might be good to write about it here incase any of you have been thinking about stepping outside the box a little bit too, or maybe just want to dip your toe into spicy food waters.

The sandwich was exactly what I expected given my past experiences at Chick Fil A.  It was delicious.  Chick Fil A can be kind of a quirky place, but damn they have the breaded chicken sandwich down to a science.  The piece of meat that I got tasted fresh, juicy and not overly breaded.  Just about perfect.  I was worried at first that the addition of the spicy element might just be too much.  I didn't want it to throw my awesome sandwich out of balance.  Luckily, it actually added another great element in my opinion.  The spicy flavors were subtle enough as to not overpower a great sandwich.  It was that kind of heat that is just a little extra on the back end (Sir Mix-a-lot style?).  If you're not a huge fan of spicy food this is one I suggest you give a try if you want to be a little adventurous.  You might be pleasantly surprised.  I know it's going to be my go-to choice from now on when I pay a visit to Chick Fil A.

Taste 10/10  If I'm comparing it to other fast food and their chicken sandwiches specifically none can hold a candle what Chick Fil A is putting out.

Value 7/10  Combo prices are more or less in line with other fast food offerings.  With the quality is being good here they deserve a better than average score.

P.S.  I've ranted on this blog about places not giving you enough sauces before, but look at how Chick Fil A hooked me up.  Note:  I did not ask for extra sauces or have any extra food orders I didn't mention.  They just gave me a handful of what I asked for like places should.

Burger King's New Chicken Tenders Review: Setting New Parameters In Suck

Sorry I have been lazy on the posting around here lately, but I've been busy at home with the new dog and the recent holiday weekend.  Luckily I should have a couple of new posts forthcoming soon.  However, I did want to let you all be aware of something I tried over the weekend, the new chicken tenders from Burger King.

This image from brandeating.com

If you weren't already aware a few months ago BK decided to start trying to rebrand itself and consequently that meant changing up some of their menu items.  One of the first things changed were their chicken tenders (which are really more like nuggets but I digress).  Working at the Indiana Memorial Union during college I ate a lot of BK since it was in the Union and close by.  Subsequently I ate a lot of their old style chicken nuggets.  Now don't get me wrong they were a little strange since they were crown shaped which obviously made them a little kiddish, but overall I thought they were fairly tasty.  The new ones I had over the weekend, however, were just damn awful.  There's really no other was to put it.  I apologize for not taking pictures, but I didn't originally intend to review them. The funky shapes have been eliminated to appeal to a "more adult audience" I guess, but the new style of breading reminded me of the worst frozen out of the bag chicken nuggets I've ever had.  The taste was horrendous as well.  They were dry, tough, flavorless and tasted like the restaurant had run out of actual product and just pulled leftover Tyson nuggets out of the freezer.  I'd rather munch out of my Pomeranian's dinner bowl than eat these again.

Taste 0/10  If I could give negatives I would.  BK was never high on my list for non-breakfast foods, and I don't think I'll be going back anytime soon.
Value 0/10  I didn't actually buy these for myself so I don't know how much they cost, but based on how horrible they tasted I'm giving them a zero here unless they pay you to eat them.

Fast Food Review: BK Breakfast Muffin Sandwich

One of my favorite meals to get at fast food restaurants is breakfast.  I love a hot breakfast at times, but I don't always want a lot to eat in the mornings so any breakfast sandwich on a dollar menu is the perfect fit.  McDonald's has some offerings in this area, but if you want meat, cheese and egg on a sandwich for only a buck you won't find it there.  Where can you find it?  Burger King.

Yes Burger King, the forgotten black sheep of fast food restaurants.  Admittedly BK is usually pretty low on my list of fast food choices, but with the BK Breakfast Muffin Sandwich they have won me back at least for now.  Admittedly it's nothing complicated and it's pretty much a ripoff of Egg McMuffin with sausage.  However, I found the sausage to be much better than what they're serving at the golden arches.  It tasted fresher, spicier and less greasy.  I could have used a little more toasting on the English muffin, but you can't beat the rock bottom $1 price tag.  It's also worth noting here that the egg is more of a scrambled folded egg as opposed to what's on an Egg McMuffin.  Everyone may not agree, but I enjoy egg sandwiches prepared both ways without a clear preference of one over the other.

Taste 8/10  An overall good breakfast sandwich with good sausage.  Lack of toasting on the muffin holds this back from a truly exceptional score.
Value 10/10  Tasty and everything I want in a breakfast sandwich at the cheapest price.

Fast Food Review: Taco Bell Beefy Melt Burrito

In recent years Taco Bell has become notorious for coming out with "new" menu items every couple of months and placing them at the below 1 dollar price point.   I admit some of these items are tasty.  All of these items are darn cheap as well.  However, the reason for both of these things is that there is nothing new about any of them.  If you like Taco Bell you're going to like these "new" menu items because they consist of the same basic 4 or 5 ingredients just repackaged in different combinations under different names.  When it comes to the Beefy Melt burrito T-Bell has really outdone themselves on this front.

At a menu price of only 99 cents it's hard to be too upset about anything, but holy S the Beefy Melt burrito is so incredibly bland and boring it was like eating a soccer game.  Granted I would still rather eat these burritos for a week than watch one half (Do they even have halves?) of a soccer game but you get my drift.  The contents of the burrito was shredded cheese, ground beef and sour cream and some crappy rice.  It's simply a worse version of the Beefy Crunch Burrito which I referenced in an old post here.  What happened to the old days when new menu items would include things with at least some new elements like the Chicken Quesadilla or the short lived Bacon Cheesy Potato Burrito?  I guess it just comes down to the business wanting cheap products that can create "buzz" and be a big seller.  I fell for it, and I'll fall for it again.  I love Taco Bell, but I won't be getting the Beefy Melt Burrito again.


Taste 3/10  Not inedible, but certainly bland and not good.
Value 4/10  Hard to bang on the value of something that only costs 99 cents, but at a place like Taco Bell with a lot of inexpensive items your 99 cents would be better spent on something else.

Fast Food Review: Hardee's Turkey Burger

Okay, I want to start off by saying that I know I've been slacking a bit on blogging lately.  I apologize, but some extraneous factors have gotten in the way.  No matter because the Random Dude is back with more vengeance than Maria Shriver. 

As you all know I've been trying to cut a few calories here and there and with Hardee's constantly touting their new under 500 calorie turkey burgers I figured it was a really good opportunity for a fast food review.  These burgers were designed with the assistance of Men's Health magazine and consist of a ground turkey patty, toppings and a whole wheat bun.  I decided to go with the Mushroom Swiss Turkey Burger because that was my favorite variety of Hardee's hamburger growing up and I want to see how it translated. 

When I have had turkey burgers in the past I found them to be rather dry so I have to say going in I didn't really have high expectations.  However, expectations aside this turkey burger was just plain delicious.  The patty was of a good size, the 2 pieces of Swiss were nicely melted, it had a fair amount of mushrooms and the wheat bun was soft and pillowy.  I found the burger to be adequately juicy with plenty of flavor.  The mushroom sauce and cheese really helped in that regard.  I got the burger only and skipped the fries.  This kept my lunch at a reasonable 480 calories, and to be honest with you I found it perfectly filling.  I would have no trouble ordering the turkey burger again over the regular burger even if I wasn't considering calories at all.

Taste 8/10  Not just above my expectations, but above average taste overall.
Value 5/10  I at first experienced a bit of sticker shock paying 4 dollars for just a burger, but I quickly  realized it's just a normal price for a specialty fast food burger.  I'm just not used to going the non-combo route.

Taco Bell Cheesy Double Decker Taco

I've said it before and I'll say it again.  On this blog we aren't ashamed of at times liking fast food or of liking Taco Bell.  Due to my interest in new fast food items I decided over the weekend to try out the new cheesy double decker taco from Taco Bell.  Granted in Taco Bell's case it should really be called a "new" menu item because it's basically just adding nacho cheese to something they were currently serving which in and of itself was just a different way of combining their 4 or 5 basic ingredients.  Nevertheless, the CDDT is a hard shell taco surrounded by another soft taco shell and layered in between is a fair amount of refried beans and nacho cheese sauce.  I'll admit that this thing isn't winning any beauty pageants anytime soon, and it can also be a little messy to eat.  However, I found it absolutely delicious.  The nacho cheese sauce really adds an element of creaminess that was missing from the regular double decker taco.  It also reminds me fondly of one of the now missing menu items at Taco Bell, the grande soft taco.  Also, right now it's only 89 cents.  That's hard to beat when you consider that a regular crunch taco is 89 cents on the value menu.  If you aren't extremely hungry you could probably just have 1 or 2 of these and possibly be full.  I recommend adding some fire sauce to give it a little more kick.  I'm hoping T-Bell keeps the price point where it's at, but it's likely to go up after the promotional period is over so do yourself a favor and try one now. 

Taste 9/10  A very good upgrade of the regular double decker.  Best "addition" to the menu in a while.
Value 10/10  This is EXACTLY what I want from Taco Bell at an 89 cent price point.

McDonald's Biscuit and Gravy

I'd first like to start off this post by saying how much I love McDonald's breakfast.  Nothing makes me happier than skipping out on my break from work to pick up some good eats off the dollar menu.  I thought I had tried everything that McDonald's had to offer for breakfast.  I was wrong.

The other day I was jonesing for some biscuits and gravy, but even though they are a popular breakfast item in this part of the country you can't get them just anywhere especially when fast food is concerned (didn't have time to get to go from a sitdown place).  I did have some choices such as Hardee's, but I think for the most part their breakfast and especially their made-from-scratch biscuits are a known entity.  As is the style of my blog I wanted something a little more out there.  That's where the B&G from MickeyD's comes into the picture.  As you can see from the photo above this was pretty standard fare for the affordable price of $1.29.  You get 1 biscuit which you have to split and pour the sausage gravy over.  First of all let me say I'm not a fan of that.  Just give me 2 damn biscuits.  Also, the taste here left much to be desired.  The gravy was watery and bland and more or less ruined what I consider a better than mediocre biscuit.  If I hadn't gotten hash browns in addition to this it would have been a very disappointing breakfast.  Now for the ratings.
Taste:  Incredibly sub-par.  I would venture to say maybe the worst fast food B&G on the market.  Go anywhere else.  If you're in Muncie go to Mac's.  Theirs comes highly recommended.  Score: 2/10
Value:  Obviously I can't complain too much here since it was only $1.29, but the problem is the dish itself is pretty cheap everywhere.  Also, you only get one biscuit that is on the small side compared to other restaurants. 4/10
Randomness:  Okay, so overall McDonald's is about the least random of a place that you could possibly eat.  However, how many of you even knew they had biscuits and gravy?  7/10.

Mac's---Sketchy but awesome

Today's post is a guest blog from my two co-workers Laura and Claire reviewing one of Muncie's more peculiar fast food stops.  Enjoy.

So if you have ever spent any time at all in Muncie then more than likely you have heard of Mac’s.  Mac’s has 3 Muncie locations...each in a building that used to be something else…like the location that we visited was an old Rax, so this is no chain restaurant.  Inside is very basic not much going on but maybe a few old timers in the corner drinking coffee and reminiscing about old times. On this visit we choose to drive thru, since it was breakfast time and we were on break from work. 

The Menu is very basic but not normal flair for a fast food joint.  You can get anything from Chicken Fried steak to Grilled Cheese to Beef Manhattan to a western omelet.  Since it was 9 am it was not a good time to order the Grilled cheese which is a favorite of ours. What we did order were things that you can’t get at a McDonald’s.  I, Laura, chose to go with the Veggie Omelet, which is of course egg, green peppers, onions and lots of melting cheese. The omelet combo comes with hash rounds and a biscuit. The Omelet is huge as you can see by the picture.  It is filled with a lot of veggies and cheese. The biscuits are made fresh and are moist yummy goodness. The hash rounds are your basic bag hash round but are perfectly cooked to have that nice crunchiness.

Also on the agenda were the French toast sticks.  I, Claire, happen to be something of a French toast fiend, and enjoy it in all of its forms.  The sticks come 5 to an order and are delightful pieces of crispy carbness.  They come with syrup for dipping which is good, but could be better if it was more maple-y.  In addition I enjoyed the Egg and cheese biscuit.  As you can see, Mac's biscuits are square, a bit on the dense side, unlike their fluffier counterparts found at other fast food stops.  This texture enables them to stay warm longer and crumble less, definite plus's in my book.  The egg is super thin and fresh and they do not have a problem with it not fitting completely on the biscuit.  It looked it may have been able to fly but I saw no problem with this.  Overall, a lot of yum for a little coin.

Taste: If we have to compare it to the Chain fast food restaurants then 8/10. The freshness of the food is a 10.  You can’t get the biscuits this fresh at other chains, plus the eggs are fresh and light as well as the veggies.

Value: 10/10. My (Laura) omelet combo was $3.99; I added a medium drink, so my total with tax was $5.92, a great value for the large amount I received.  For my counterpart, she had the French toast sticks and Egg and Cheese Biscuit for $3.87 with tax. YOU CAN’T BEAT THAT!!

Randomness: 10/10. This is a unique place, from the people that work there to its clientele, I mean where else can you go and have someone serve you that has summer teeth and piercings but it doesn’t matter because the food is great and so is the service!

Hardee's Hand-breaded Chicken Tenders or How I stopped worrying about bringing my lunch to work and started eating awesomeness

So a couple of days ago I found myself in a predicament that thrusts itself upon me from time to time.  I had brought my lunch, Thai peanut noodles(perhaps to be covered in a future blog), but I wasn't terribly interested in eating them when lunch time rolled around.  In the past in an effort to save money I have swallowed my pride in these matters and choked down whatever mediocre food item I had packed in my lunchbox plastic Wal-Mart bag of awesomeness.  However, on this particular day due to working some substantial overtime I had a little change in my pocket and I decided to go out for lunch.  Man am I glad I did.

I was in the mood for some tasty fried chicken.  KFC was out due to my personal vendetta against them(definitely to be covered on another day) and trying to access the McDonald's on  the other side of 82nd St at lunch time is more effort than I wanted to put in.  That left Hardee's and their new hand-breaded chicken tenders.  Much has been written about these on various other food blogs around the interwebs with mixed reviews, but my opinion being that Hardee's generally puts out a fairly high quality product I decided to try them out for myself.

The first thing I noticed was the cost.  The combo with 5 tenders, fries and a drink was around 7 bucks.  Even before tasting the food I thought this was more than reasonable and comparable to almost any other fast food restaurant's chicken tenders.  However, the thing that I simply could not believe was the quality of the product.  I decided to start this blog after having ate the meal so I apologize for not having a picture, but the tenders were quite sizable, juicy, and fresh in both taste and the amount of time they spent out of the fryer before being served.  The color was a nice golden brown and the breading was light and crispy being more similar to KFC's Original Recipe than the frozen strips that you would get at someplace like DQ or Arby's.  This allowed for the juiciness of the chicken to come through more.  I chose to dip these in their honey mustard sauce, but even if they had forgot to put the sauce in the bag it still would have been a tasty meal.  The bottom line...Hardee's promises in their commercials that their chicken tenders will taste better than their fast food competitors' because Hardee's are fresh and not frozen.  I wholeheartedly agree.

Taste:  If I'm comparing with other fast food joints these are a 9 or 10 on scale of 10.  If I compare them to most fast causual places they probably still rate an 8  or 9 only losing points because of the smaller portion size.
Value:  10/10.  I was fuller, more satisfied and no lighter in the wallet if I had bought a comparable product.
Randomness:  7/10 It wasn't exactly fried chicken bought out of some guys trunk in a gas station parking lot, but come on it's Hardee's.  Most people probably don't even know they still exist as a chain.