‘National Chains’
Chili’s isn’t exactly known for being healthy, making it a perfect place to do some unvegan food reviewing, or so one would think. I went to the Manhattan Beach location with a group of six for lunch and we all decided to take advantage of their 2 for $20. In this nutso deal, two people get to share an appetizer, get their own entrees and get to share a dessert. Since we had six people, we all ordered that special and made sure to get different appetizers. Then the real fun began!
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.
I’m not usually a “go out to breakfast” type of guy, but recently when I was in Lake Tahoe, going out to breakfast was really my only option. Rather than take my chances with a place I had never heard of, IHOP started calling my name, and I answered.
The wait was kind of long, but I knew it would be worth it to get a hearty meal before spending the day hiking. IHOP was having a special called Hawaiian Pancakes at the time, so my eyes immediately started checking them out. This wasn’t simply an order of pancakes though, the special also included bacon, hash browns and eggs. Amazingly, this special cost less than if I had just ordered eggs, hash browns and bacon (without the pancakes) so I knew it had to be mine. Of all the Hawaiian flavors, I decided to get the Strawberry Passion Fruit. The picture of it on the menu looked delicious, especially with the strange yellowish cream spilling out from between the two pancakes.
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.
Stuck in the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport on a layover, I set out to find some good food to eat. This isn’t exactly an easy task, especially considering that I had a very limited amount of time to eat and had to resort to fast food. I found Charley’s Grilled Subs and decided to try it out. The had a grill where you could actually see what was being cooked, plus the prices weren’t out of control.
I quick glance at the menu revealed to me what I needed to eat, the Bacon 3 Cheese Steak, three of my favorite foods in one sandwich. They actually had a pretty efficient system set up, where the guy grilling asked you your order before you made it to the cashier, so it could be prepared ahead of time. I guess when you’re eating in an airport, you notice these things.
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.
Whenever I go to Burger King, I make sure to order without any vegetables. Today a friend of mine told me that I am not alone. A man named Darius Dugger has a lawsuit claiming that he ordered a meal without pickles, onions and tomatoes and Burger King failed to give it to him his way.
According to Hamptonroads.com, Dugger had a “severe allergic reaction” to the vegetables. Now I’m not in favor of suing a corporation over an incident like this, especially when he should have looked between the patties before biting in, however, I am proud of him for bringing the incident to national attention.
It may not be grilled chicken, but Domino’s had their own little free food giveaway yesterday. This was done in order to promote their new Bread Bowl Pastas. It was also probably to make people feel better about going to Domino’s again after a couple disgruntled workers attempted to sabotage the company.
I was already intrigued by the Bread Bowl Pastas because they look so good on TV, but I found out they were free, they become more of a necessity than an intrigue. I went to Domino’s in El Segundo, expecting to wait in a long line like I had at El Pollo Loco, only to find one other patron at the place. Of the five pasta choices, only the Chicken Alfredo and Italian Sausage Marinara weren’t tainted by vegetables. After having free chicken for my two prior lunches, I opted for the sausage instead.
When I first learned of Padma Lakshmi doing a commercial for Hardee’s, I knew I would have to eat whatever she did. Luckily, her burger of choice was the Western Bacon Thickburger.
Now here is where things get a little confusing. In California, there is no Hardee’s. Instead, there is Carl’s Jr., which is almost exactly the same as Hardee’s. A quick look at their websites reveals only a change in the name. The logo and layouts remain the exact same. There is, however, another twist. At Carl’s Jr., there is no such thing as a Thickburger, rather, it is called the Six-Dollar Burger.
As I developed through my adolescence, McDonald’s made a descent to the bottom of my fast food choices. I can offer no clear reasoning for this except that their food just rubs my tastebuds the wrong way. In fact, I am sometimes proud to say that the only time I eat McDonald’s is outside the country. This statement, however, has a minor disclaimer. And that disclaimer is the McDonald’s breakfast.
McDonald’s breakfast has always been something of a mystery. Few people, if any, know when they stop serving it. Sometimes I wonder if even the employees of McDonald’s have a set time that they know when to cut breakfast off. The breakfast is so rare that when you do see one, you almost feel forced to partake in it, whether you’re hungry or not.