Tag Archive for "fast food"

[Kicking Back with Jersey Joe] A Chicken Big Mac?

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Posted by :Jersey Joe On : May 15, 2014

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Category: Columns, Going, Kickin' Back with Jersey Joe, Topics, Travel

Tags:Big King, Big Mac, Burger King, burger wars, cheeseburger, Chicken Big King, dinner, drive thru, fast food, food, hamburger, McDonald's, restarant, Whopper

Just about all of us have had a meal at McDonald’s at one point in our lives. Everyone is equally familiar with their signature Big Mac sandwich. Those two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onion, on a sesame seed bun. The sandwich has gone unchanged for half a century, but now thanks to competition – another restaurant is trying to “one up” the Golden Arches, by replacing those beef patties – with chicken!

The McDonald’s Big Mac

The Big Mac was developed by a Pennsylvania McDonald’s franchisee in the 1950’s. The special or secret sauce that makes up the sandwich is rarely used by McDonald’s on any other products.

In fact, it has happened only twice.

McDonald’s once sold a Mac Jr., which was a single cheeseburger, topped with the Mac sauce, lettuce, and pickles. For a brief time in 2011, a Mac Snack wrap was also sold which featured half of a hamburger patty, the secret sauce, cheese, lettuce, pickles, and onion wrapped up in a flour tortilla.

This year, McDonald’s has expanded their Quarter Pounder sandwich line by offering a new Bacon Clubhouse burger which features a quarter pound beef patty, cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and the Big Mac secret sauce on a special Kaiser roll. This is the first time the sauce has ever been used on different burger. McDonalds also has a chicken option, where you can get chicken instead of beef, but with the secret sauce the taste, just isn’t very good.

The Big Mac is sold at most worldwide McDonald’s locations, but there are several variations, including versions that replace the beef with a chicken patty and more. (read more about the international versions here). But, none of these have ever been sold in the United States.

McDonald’s has been facing some stiff competition lately in a fast food burger war, by their greatest opponent – Burger King.

The Burger King Whopper sandwich.

Burger King has its own signature sandwich, The Whopper. But, they’ve fired a torpedo at the Golden Arches by creating their Big Mac knockoff – the Big King.

The Big King was first introduced back in the 1990’s, but was reformulated and only sold for a limited time. However, it made a big return last year worldwide and is now once again assembled identically to a Big Mac.

For my money, the Big King just tastes better. I like the flavor or BK’s flame broiled patties and I think their sauce is just a hint more subtle. I think you can swap Big Mac sauce for regular tartar sauce and not know the difference. BK’s sauce is more similar to Thousand Island salad dressing. (which, maybe it is?)

The Chicken Big King.

Burger King is going for round 2 in the burger war, by adding a chicken version to their menu. Introduced a couple weeks ago, America can now feast on the Chicken Big King.

I decided to finally give one a try and Burger King is making it easy by offering two for $5 as a special, which really is a deal. The sandwich uses two of the basic lightly spiced chicken patty BK uses on their value chicken sandwiches.

Once again though, I don’t think the special sauce works with chicken. It tastes like a fish sandwich with tarter sauce.

That was the same issue I had with the chicken version of McDonald’s Chicken Clubhouse sandwich (which they gave me by mistake the time I ordered, but I tried it anyway.) The special sauce just doesn’t work for chicken. The taste reminds me of the Filet-O-Fish.

But, for a limited time BK is selling these on their 2 for $5 promotional menu. These items rotate on a regular basis, so if you are interested in trying one, I wouldn’t wait around that long. The sandwich is sold for a limited time only.

But, thanks to the fast food war, Americans can now experience what diners in other countries have for years and that’s the chicken version of the Big Mac or Big King.

The Chicken Big King contains 660 calories and 37g fat.

THE 411

Name: Chicken Big King

What: chicken version of McDonald’s Big Mac or Burger Kings Big King sandwiches

Where served: Burger King restaurants worldwide

Introduced: 2014

Availability: Limited Time Only

JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS:

While I again applaud Burger King for trying and testing a new sandwich, I say skip this one. You’re better off just going for the regular Big King.

Image credits – Don, Chandra Marsono

[Kicking Back with Jersey Joe] The Great Ketchup Challenge: Could You Tell the Difference?

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Posted by :Jersey Joe On : April 3, 2014

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Heinz, Hunts, or generic? We all use ketchup, but in a blind taste test can you tell the difference? I assembled a panel of 9 friends and co-workers and put them to the test.

Ketchup or catsup is a delicious red sauce made primarily of tomatoes, vinegar, and sugar. Generally used as a condiment for hot foods such as French fries and hamburgers, it can also be used as an ingredient to add additional flavor when cooking.

The first form of ketchup (I’m not calling it catsup) was originally made in 17^th century China, where it was a brine for pickled fish. The sauce was discovered by English explorers a century later and then made it to the new colonies in the United States. The Chinese pronounced it kay-chap, but when the English got a hold of the sauce, it was changed to our common word, ketchup.

While there are many variations on the recipe, the American tomato version was first created and published by Sandy Addison in 1801. The English version used at that time contained anchovies!

As the 19^th century went on, the popularity of ketchup skyrocketed. Being made and sold by local farmers, Americans could eat the sauce without having to worry about the shelf life of tomatoes.

In 1876, the Heinz foods corporation was the first to launch a mass produced ketchup to stores and advertised it as “Blessed relief for mother and other women in the household.” Years later, after concerns over sodium benzoate, Heinz changed the recipe to remove the controversial preservative. Ketchup now has an additive, usually xanthan gum, which gives it a thinning property. The harder you slap or shake the bottle, the more liquidity it will become, allowing it to be removed easily. Once it is no longer in motion, the ketchup will return to a more solid, thicker state.

Heinz ketchup main rival in the United States in Hunts. Hunts started out as the Hunts Bros. Fruit Packing Company of Sebastopol, California in 1888. It wasn’t until the 1930’s after a company takeover they decided to focus on canned tomato products and prepared tomato sauce.

As with most common household products, most stores have their own private label generic brand products. For this taste test, I went with Shop-Rite brand generic ketchup, but the store name was not disclosed until after I finished the test.

I placed a small serving of each in secretly labeled clear plastic cups and then gave one cup each to my panelists. 7 of them tried the ketchup with standard French fries, 1 with sweet potato fries, and 1 ate some off a knife because we ran out of fries.

I asked three simple questions:

Pick your favorite
Tell me which is Heinz, Hunts, and the generic brand
What brand do you usually buy?

They each first picked their favorite. The brand was not disclosed at this point, but here’s what they chose:

FAVORITE KETCHUP

Heinz 3

Hunts 3

Generic 3

It was split right down the middle. Not even the lottery has these kinds of odds!

“I was really stuck between Hunts and generic,” said Mike from Jersey City, New Jersey.

But, when I asked them what brand they usually buy:

BRAND USUALLY BUY

Heinz 5 2 incorrect

Hunts 0 2 incorrect

Generic 3 1 incorrect

Doesn’t buy ketchup 1

Three of the panelists missed identifying their favorite brand in the blind test. One Heinz buyer picked generic and one picked Hunts. One generic buyer picked Heinz as their favorite. One Hunts buyer picked generic, while the other picked Heinz. The third Hunts panelist said he usually doesn’t buy ketchup.

That means that 33% of those taking the taste test could not identify their favorite brand.

“Heinz is the gold standard in ketchup,” said Max from Cranford, New Jersey.

When asked to name which brand was which, based on flavor, here’s how many out of the 9 panelists got the brand correct:

CORRECTLY IDENTIFIED

Heinz 5

Hunts 4

Generic 5

More than half of the panelists correctly picked both Heinz and the generic brands. 3 panelists got zero correct, while 4 guessed all three correctly.

Many of the comments they made stated that Heinz has a distinct flavor and texture.

The ketchup taste test underway.

“You can tell one is sweeter and one is saltier,” said Jeremy from Bayonne, New Jersey.

“The generic is watered down,” said Michael from Los Angeles, California.

Our test can conclude that the generic brand is pretty darn close to as good as Heinz, the most indefinable product. When I did the test, I felt that the generic had a very strong flavor and I was surprised when I mixed it up with Hunts in my blind taste test. I always buy Heinz and was able to easily identify that. But, the generic really did have a strong flavor and I did like the taste of all three brands.

But, when you look at the ketchup aisle in the store it can be a bit overwhelming. While there may be only a few select brands to choose from, there are dozens of different varieties.

On some bottles ketchup is labeled as “fancy,” meaning it contains a higher amount of tomatoes and solid concentration, beating FDA standards.

In the Philippines, ketchup is actually made from bananas and has been since World War II, when there was a shortage of tomatoes. To compete with tomato ketchup, it is dyed red.

The number 57 on a Heinz bottle means nothing. Founder Henry Heinz simply thought the number was lucky. There are more than 60 Heinz products on store shelves.

Should you refrigerate ketchup? An open bottle will last one month in the cupboard, but an open bottle in the refrigerator will last up to six months.

Most ketchup sold in stores contains a large amount of sugar. Something may people forget when they are on a sugar restrictive diet.

For quick comparison, according to the bottle, 1 tablespoon of ketchup from each the three tested brands contains:

Calories:

Heinz 20

Hunts 25

Shop Rite generic 15

Fat:

Heinz 0g

Hunts 0g

Shop Rite generic 0g

Sugar:

Heinz 4g

Hunts 4g

Shop Rite generic 4g

THE 411

Name: ketchup or catsup

What: tomato based condiment popular in the United States

First recipe in US: 1801

First sold commercially in US: 1876

JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS

It’s Heinz all the way for me and I was easily able to identify it during my blind taste test. (Yes, I admit I got the other two confused…)

However, you may want to try this test yourself and see if you are purchasing what you and your family really like. You could even collect some sample packets that are given away at restaurants and see which you like best.

Image credit – David Copeland

[Kicking Back with Jersey Joe] The McGangbang & Other McDonald’s Secret Menu Items

(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Posted by :Jersey Joe On : February 13, 2014

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Category: Been, Columns, Going, Kickin' Back with Jersey Joe, Topics, Travel

Tags:California, drive thru, eating, fast food, McDonald's, McGangBang, restaurant, restaurant chain, Ronald McDonald, secret menu

Ordering an item off a restaurant’s secret menu, can give you the feeling that you’re part of a club, where only special people have the privileged information. Many restaurants have secret menus, or items that you can order, that aren’t officially on the menu. Fast food restaurants are no exception, with everyone from Burger King to In and Out Burger getting in on the secret menu act.

Some restaurants are more open about their secret items than others. Dozens of websites and news stories are devoted to finding the newest secret item. While some have been created by the restaurant specifically, others have been created by fans, and have become lore. I recently sampled two of McDonald’s secret menu items: The McGangBang and The Land, Sea, and Air Burger.

The McGangBang

THE MCGANGBANG

The McGangBang may be McDonald’s most famous secret menu item and likely, because of the price. Both items needed to make the sandwich come off the dollar menu, giving you a full meal for only a couple of bucks.

Simply put, the McGangBang is a McChicken sandwich, shoved in between the patties of a McDouble. Each costs $1 on the dollar menu, so for a cheap $2 plus tax, you have this belly busting sandwich!

The name is a nod to the adult term, “gang bang” which means to have intercourse with multiple partners at one time. So, I guess your taste buds are getting multiple flavors at one time? Obviously, this is not officially sanctioned by the McDonald’s corporation.

When I tried ordering this at my local New Jersey McDonald’s, the woman had no idea what I was talking about. Sadly, she spoke little English, so even ordering regular items became a challenge. Armed with my knowledge of the sandwich, I ordered the McChicken and a McDouble and assembled them, myself.

The taste was pretty good and the sandwich is definitely filling! The chicken and the beef patties go well together. The mayo from the McChicken worked well with the ketchup, pickle, and onions of the McDouble. Each time I chewed, I got a little flavor of chicken and then a little flavor of beef. The sandwich was a little heavy with all the multiple patties of meat.

Maybe a more “in the know” cashier will know about this sandwich, but my first secret menu ordering attempt was a bust. Some online reports list this as being first served by employees at a Daytona Beach, Florida McDonald’s. (Again, probably without the consent of the McDonald’s corporation.)

According to recipes online, you can replace the McDouble with a Big Mac, but I’m not sure how that would work with the secret sauce. You can also spice this up, by replacing the McChicken with a Spicy McChicken. I’d definitely try this again, but keep to the original McDouble recipe.

Apparently, there is another version known as a McWhitey, which features a Filet-O-Fish sandwiched in between two McChickens.

The Land, Sea, and Air Burger

THE LAND, SEA, AND AIR BURGER

This giant sandwich looks really nice once assembled! The land, sea, and air burger consists of a patty of beef (land), fish (sea), and chicken (air) all placed together. Yes, I know chickens can’t really fly… I’m not responsible for naming this thing! Would you rather call it the Land, Sea, and Embryo Hatcher Burger?

To enjoy this monstrosity, you will have to pony up several bucks. Only the Hamburger and McChicken are on the dollar menu, so you will need to pay the full price for the Filet-O-Fish to finish this giant sandwich.

This time, I tried ordering at a New York City McDonald’s and again, she had no idea what I was talking about. So, I ordered the three sandwiches separately and assembled everything myself.

The taste was really gross. The tarter sauce from the Filet-O-Fish drowned out all other flavors and the fish was really nasty with the hamburger and chicken. While it looked impressive when plated, the taste prevented me from finishing this one.

I couldn’t find who first came up with the idea for this sandwich, but it is not as much of a cost saver as the McGangBang. Do yourself a favor and pass on this one.

The internet is full of McDonald’s secret menu items, but it looks like only fans or bored employees are responsible. None of these are sanctioned by the restaurant.

A few other popular so called McDonald’s secret menu items are:

• Big McChicken – a Big Mac, but with the buns replaced with McChicken patties, similar to the KFC Double Down sandwich a few years ago

• Chicken McGriddle – a McGriddle breakfast sandwich with a slab of fried chicken instead of the sausage, egg, or bacon

• Grilled Cheese – cheeseburger with no meat patty or condiments

• Mc1035 – only available from 10:35-11am, when breakfast service is switching over to lunch, featuring two burger patties and cheese (from a McDouble) sandwiched inside an Egg McMuffin

• McCrepe – an order of hotcakes, with a yogurt parfait folded up inside

• McKinley Mac – this was actually served at one time and still is overseas, featuring Quarter Pounder patties, instead of regular burger patties, on a Big Mac

• Monster Mac – 8 burger patties piled inside a Big Mac, variations have appeared on overseas menus

• Pie McFlurry – a McFlurry with an apple pie blended inside

While some of these may sound crazy, McDonald’s has an interesting assortment of sandwiches, which ARE being served by their restaurants overseas. While there are hundreds of sandwiches we never see here, here’s a list of a few more novel ones being offered in foreign markets:

The Ebi Filet-O in Japan

• German Sausage Chicken – served in Japan, fried chicken patty, pork sausage, sauerkraut, cheese, and mustard

• Mega Sausage – served for breakfast in Japan, a hot dog with relish and ketchup or mustard

• McPork – served in Japan, a sausage patty with lettuce and sweet & sour sauce

• Ebi Filet-O – served in Japan, a shrimp patty with Thousand Island dressing and lettuce

• Mega Tomago – served in Japan, a double Big Mac with egg and bacon

Ad for the Mega Tomago

• McD Chicken Porridge – served in Malaysia, porridge with onions and chicken

• Prosperity Burger – served in Malaysia, looks like a McRib, but with black pepper sauce and onions, may be chicken or beef

• McSpaghetti – served in the Philippines

• Seaweed Shaker Fries – served in Asia

• Chicken Maharaja Mac – served in India, a Big Mac with spicy grilled chicken, instead of beef

• McAloo Tiki Burger – potato and chickpea patty with tomato, onions, and tomato mayonnaise

• Brie Nuggets – served in Russia

• McTurco – served in Turkey, two beef patties, lettuce, tomato, cayenne pepper sauce on a pita

The McLobster

• Kiwi Burger – served in New Zealand, with beef, tomato, fried egg, lettuce, and beet root

• McLobster – served in Canada & parts of US, lobster salad on a roll

• Lakeswrap – served in Norway, fried salmon filet, lettuce, cheese, in a tortilla

• McKroket – served in Hungary, fried pastry filled with beef stew on a bun

• McPumpkin Omlet Sandwich – served in Hungary, vegetable beef hash brown, egg, cheese, lettuce, mayonnaise, on pumpkin seed roll

McDonald’s first opened in 1940 in San Bernardino, California and along with the rise of the automobile, helped fuel the fast food craze that swept through the United States and now globally. Their menu of quick service burgers and fries, along with their mascot Ronald McDonald, has become an American icon.

While McDonald’s does not have an official company sanctioned secret menu, many other fast food chains do. Pass along the info if you know of or have tried any!

McDonald’s restaurant in Miles City, Montana

THE 411

Name: McGangBang and Land, Sea, and Air Burger

What: so called McDonald’s restaurant secret menu items

First served: approximately 2006? Popularity spread with rise of internet

Website: mcdonalds.com

JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS

Don’t be surprised if you get shot down when you ask for one of these at your local McDonald’s. I don’t want to discourage you from giving it a try. But, if they have no idea what you are talking about, just do what I did, and order the parts to assemble the sandwiches yourself.

Just stay away from the Land, Sea, and Air burger… this thing is just gross!

Image credits – loop_oh, albedo20, Tony Chung, Canadian Pacific, and Dave Schott

[Kicking Back with Jersey Joe] Burger King Tries to Invent a Healthier French Fry & Goes to War

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Posted by :Jersey Joe On : November 14, 2013

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Category: Columns, Kickin' Back with Jersey Joe

Tags:BBQ Rib Sandwich, Big King, Big Mac, Burger King, fast food, French fires, McDonald's, McRib, New York City, restaurant, Satisfries, World Trade Center

Can you take the classic deep fried, golden brown French fry and make it even healthier? Burger King thinks so with what they are calling “Satisfries.” I find out exactly how much healthier they are and if you should make the switch.

Burger King, opened their first restaurant known as Insta-Burger King in Jacksonville, Florida back in 1953. After the first concept failed, a year later the restaurant was re-launched as simply Burger King focusing on fast food hamburgers, fries, sodas, and milkshakes.

Many people now simply refer to it as BK for short.

French fries have been a fast food meal staple since the launch of the drive thru restaurant concept in the 1950’s. Before that, they can be traced all the way back to Belgium in the 17^th century, where they were often deep fried alongside fish as a meal for the poor.

French fries eventually made their way to the Americas and were even served at a White House dinner by President Thomas Jefferson in 1802.

Generally regarded as not the healthiest of meal options, the thin sliced potatoes are deep fried in oil or fat, until crisp and a golden brown. They are then generally seasoned with salt and served with ketchup. (Yes, I know some people love gravy, cheese, mayonnaise, etc.)

Burger King has decided they want to offer a healthier French fry and have created a version that they advertise as 40% less fat and 30% fewer calories than McDonald’s fries.

BK introduced the Satisfries on September 24^th as part of a end of the year marketing push with a big media blitz. The restaurant sent hot samples to many TV shows and food critics. They also gave away free samples at restaurants.

My friend Max, along with several others who seem to be concerned about my terrible eating, gave me the suggestion to give them a try. For those who’ve read this blog for years, know that I am generally open to trying a new fast food item.

The Burger King restaurant located next to the World Trade Center construction site in New York City.

The two level Burger King restaurant located next to the World Trade Center construction site in New York City.

On a recent commute home from work, I stopped by the Burger King restaurant located directly next to the World Trade Center construction site in New York City. 4 World Trade Center now towers high above the two story restaurant.

I went inside a little before 7pm and there were hardly any customers. I was greeted by two BK employees arguing in the back, while others watched and laughed. The whole place had an extremely unprofessional feel, but I was promptly greeted at the cash register.

I placed an order for a sandwich and a side of medium Satisfries. She did the usual, try to get me to buy the value meal speech, but I didn’t want to handle a drink on the train. I placed my order, paid and then waited… and waited… and waited… and waited.

The idea of being a fast food restaurant, means serving up fast food. While they had an entire bin of regular fries ready to go, they had to special make the Satisfries. It took about 7 minutes and multiple times yelling at the back to get my order complete.

An order of Burger King Satisfries.

The first thing I noticed is that these fries are crinkle cut, as opposed to the straight slim cuts of BK’s regular fries. BK did this on purpose, so employees are quickly able to distinguish between the two.

I took a bite and they are quite good, but nothing special. The taste honestly reminds me of opening a bag of frozen Ore-Ida fries from the freezer section of my local grocery store. To me, there is really no difference is taste or shape.

The cost for my medium order of Satisfries was $2.89, while a medium order of regular Burger King fries was $2.59 according to the price posted on the menu board. That’s a 30 cent markup for health.

And now the health breakdown:

Judging by information provided on both restaurants’ websites, the Satisfries are much healthier than the regular BK fries and it does appear they are 30% healthier than McDonald’s as advertised. It’s up to you if the extra time and cost are worth it.

Burger King BBQ Rib Sandwich, their take on the McDonald’s McRib.

The Big King, Burger King’s take on the McDonald’s Big Mac.

And Burger King is not done yet. They’re in the process of dropping a bomb in the fast food war against McDonald’s by adding the new Big King and BBQ Rib sandwiches to their menu. They are BK’s version of the popular Big Mac and McRib sandwiches. BK has already scored a victory in the harsh New York City market, by getting their items in the hands of hungry customers, first. MYC is still patiently waiting for the McRib, while BK is already offering theirs for a $1 bargain.

THE 411

Name: Satisfries

What: healthier French fries served at Burger King restaurants

Cost: $2.59 for medium order in NYC

JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS:

Skip these. They may be a little healthier, but they’re really no different from frozen fries you can buy in the grocery store. They are also not worth the wait. This is fast food, after all. And if you are a health nut, you’re most likely skipping the fast food fries, anyhow.

And for some fun, flip over the wrapper for the BBQ Rib Sandwich and you’ll find a surprise! BK restaurants in Wisconsin and Illinois are also serving a Bratwurst Sandwich, which consists of 2 Johnsonville Brats, mustard, onions, and pickle on a long roll for football season. It is currently not a nationwide promotion.

Inverse side of the BBQ Rib Sandwich wrapper which could also be used for the Bratwurst sandwich.

[Kicking Back with Jersey Joe] A Chicken Big Mac?

THE 411

JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS:

[Kicking Back with Jersey Joe] The Great Ketchup Challenge: Could You Tell the Difference?

THE 411

JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS

[Kicking Back with Jersey Joe] The McGangbang & Other McDonald’s Secret Menu Items

THE 411

JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS

[Kicking Back with Jersey Joe] Burger King Tries to Invent a Healthier French Fry & Goes to War

THE 411

JERSEY JOE RECOMMENDS:

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