The Unvegan

Recent Posts

10 Years of Unvegan
A Quick Bite at Burrito Express
Serendipity at Northern Waters Smokehaus
Twerks and Burritos at Casa Amigos

‘Fast Food’

11/13/2009 Culver City

Sweet and Fiery with Panda Express

A little rice with my meat?
A little rice with my meat?

For the longest time I have avoided stepping into the Panda Express across the parking lot from my local grocer. It’s not so much that I disagree with the existence of Panda Express or think I’m too high and mighty to lower myself to the level of Chinese fast food. No, the real reason is that I just feel like there are some better Chinese restaurants around that serve food just as fast. Nonetheless, every time I would walk by, the strong scent of glazed Asian-ness would be quite enticing. Finally, I gave in to that noxious perfume and took a plunge into Panda Express.

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10/19/2009

Taco Bell’s New Black Jack Taco

Black is in?
Black is in?

I started seeing ads for Taco Bell’s new Black Jack taco last week and I knew I had to test it out. There is just something so intriguing about taco shells in different colors, like when they did the red Volcano Taco. As long as they don’t release some sort of awful green-shelled taco with organic vegetables, I will continue checking out these taco color varieties.

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10/7/2009 Boston

Dinner with Dunkin’ Donuts

Straight from the freezer.
Straight from the freezer.

While there is no shortage of donut shops in LA, in Boston you can’t walk for more than five minutes without seeing a Dunkin’ Donuts. It’s like the city runs on this doughnut franchise. So, before I parted ways with Boston, I made sure to stop at the Dunkin’ Donuts in Boston’s Logan Airport to grab something to eat.

I was expecting to be stuck eating a doughnut for dinner, but instead I found that Dunkin’s had started offering flatbread sandwiches, and for pretty cheap. None of them really had vegetables, but I ordered the Chicken Parmesan flatbread one thinking it was the most dinner-like of all.

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7/31/2009 Los Angeles

Rethinking Fast Food at Rally’s (CLOSED)

Things between buns should always have double-meat.
Things between buns should always have double-meat.

Edit: This location may be gone, but Rally’s is definitely still a thing.

Some days, typical fast food restaurants just aren’t enough. Enter: Rally’s. It’s like fast food, but with a few little twists. In fact, it isn’t always called Rally’s. Supposedly it is called Checker’s in some strange parts of the country.

What really drew me to Rally’s in Palms was the sign that said “2 for $4 Double Bacon Cheddar Burgers and Double Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches.” After seeing these options, I didn’t even need to look at the menu except to decide which fries I wanted. One thing that sets Rally’s apart from other fast food places is that they have two drive-thru windows, ensuring speedy ordering. In-N-Out could certainly learn a lot from this. They also have a window that you can just walk up to for ordering, if you want to sit in the nice outdoor dining area.

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7/28/2009 Hawthorne

A Less Than Stellar A & W Experience (CLOSED)

Just not what it used to be
Just not what it used to be

Edit: This location is gone, but A & W still lives elsewhere.

I always have fond memories of trips to A & W from when I grew up. I always loved their root beer floats and their curly fries. So when I stumbled upon an A & W in Hawthorne, I knew I had to return to relive my glory days.

Unfortunately, as with so many other childhood favorites, my hopes were too high for A & W. This particular A & W was merged with Long John Silver’s, which made me sad to hearken back to the days when an A & W could have a restaurant all to itself, and not just any restaurant. These were the drive-thru sorts where you parked next to a menu and were waited on in your car. It seems those days are all but gone, and despite the generic and washed out design of this A & W/Long John Silver’s amalgamation, I hoped that the food would make up for it.

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7/21/2009 Culver City

Eating Greek the Fast Way at Daphne’s Greek Cafe (CLOSED)

What's Greek for burger?
What’s Greek for burger?

Edit: This location is gone, but Daphne’s as a whole is not.

Since the entire concept of Greek fast food is a bit confusing, I decided to check out Daphne’s Greek Cafe in Culver City and see what it was all about.

A quick perusal of the menu revealed the Pitaburger. This burger is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, because instead of a bun, they use authentic Greek pita. The differences between this burger and other burgers does not end there, however. Rather than typical burger toppings, this one comes with Greek offerings like feta cheese and for an additional bit of pocket change, you can get gyros added to the burger to make it as meaty as possible. This burger was not without fault in its intended version, though, as it also came with burger killers like lettuce and tomato.

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7/9/2009

Free Food Alert: Chick-fil-A Cow Appreciation Day

July 10th, Chick-fil-A will be having a Cow Appreciation Day to try to get people to eat more chicken. Honestly, I couldn’t think of a better way to appreciate a cow than by eating it, kind of like how in the movies some Native Americans would eat the heart of a warrior they just killed to show their appreciation. But I digress. In Chick-fil-A’s case, all you have to do for Cow Appreciation Day is show up to one of their restaurants dressed up as a cow. If you do, they’ll give you a free meal of chicken, which I hear can be quite tasty.

6/8/2009 Carson

Eating Like Obama at Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Juicy and delicious.
Juicy and delicious.

Through a buddy of mine and my girlfriend, I learned of a burger place called Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Although originally from the east coast, Five Guys has an outpost down in Carson, which is about as south as you can get in LA County without crossing the border into the OC.

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6/3/2009

Even Jim Cramer Likes Carl’s Jr.

A friend of mine told me that Jim Cramer did a special on Mad Money about Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr. Apparently he loves their stock, but “…wouldn’t enter a Carl’s unless 24‘s Tony Almeida had planted a canister full of pathogen there, millions of lives were on the line and [he] was the only person who could diffuse it.”

As a result, Andy Puzder (the CEO) came on the show to talk with Cramer about his company, their burgers and, most importantly, their sexy ads with Padma Lakshmi and Paris Hilton. In the end, Cramer tried one of their burgers and loved it.

Looks like I’m not the only one who enjoys a burger from Carl’s Jr.

5/28/2009 Culver City

Attack of the Baconator

The burger that eats you...
The burger that eats you…

The Baconator.

It sounds like something from a movie. A robot powered by bacon? A statue of Arnold Schwartzenegger composed entirely of bacon? Or, perhaps, it is just the name of Wendy’s greatest hamburger creation.

Despite the beauty of Wendy’s Value Menu, the Baconator is always the unvegan choice. This heart attack between buns is made of two 1/4 pound burger patties, two slices of cheese and six strips of bacon. The best part? Not a vegetable in sight.

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