The official ATOT Fast Food discussion thread

[zinfamous]

Any of you guys lucky enough to have an El Pollo Campero near you?

fuck man, this might actually beat out Popeye's for me.

damn that looks good.

what is that bean thing in the background?

Oh Snap! looks like I have one a few blocks from me. Makes sense: there are tons of Peruvian and El Salvadoran chicken joints around (I call the surrounding neighborhood Little San Salvador...but it was probably already called that before my meddling)

 

[Ns1]

damn that looks good.

what is that bean thing in the background?

beats me, I'm just in it for the chicken and tortillas.

 

[madoka]

Makes sense: there are tons of Peruvian and El Salvadoran chicken joints around (I call the surrounding neighborhood Little San Salvador...but it was probably already called that before my meddling)

What is interesting to me is that in my area, the best Peruvian chicken is made by Japanese immigrants from South America.

 

[Ns1]

What is interesting to me is that in my area, the best Peruvian chicken is made by Japanese immigrants from South America.

shouldn't be that surprising, given Peru's massive Japanese immigrant influence.

 

[madoka]

I sometimes go to Subway - don't judge. There's one right next to my house and I like their tuna and roast beef sandwiches.

Have the prices at your area Subways gone up?

I'm noticing some of their foot longs are now $9! It wasn't that long ago that you could buy any three foot longs for $13 with a coupon.

A giant from Jersey Mike's is $12 and is about twice the size of a footlong. I think Subway is pricing themselves out of the market.

 

[zinfamous]

shouldn't be that surprising, given Peru's massive Japanese immigrant influence.

I thought it was Chinese influence?

One of my favorite places in Chicago is this Peruvian restaurant and the owner of the place (old Peruvian fella) was telling us that Peruvian cuisine is mostly local versions of Chinese dishes because of chinese immigrants ~100 years prior.

:\

 

[Ns1]

here's a terrible wikipedia link

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Peruvians

 

[zinfamous]

I sometimes go to Subway - don't judge. There's one right next to my house and I like their tuna and roast beef sandwiches.

Have the prices at your area Subways gone up?

I'm noticing some of their foot longs are now $9! It wasn't that long ago that you could buy any three foot longs for $13 with a coupon.

A giant from Jersey Mike's is $12 and is about twice the size of a footlong. I think Subway is pricing themselves out of the market.

I still do Subway from time to time, and I always feel like shit afterward (foot long spicy Ialian). They have definitely gone up, but it's more ~$7 here for a footlong, I think.

In Norcal the last couple of years...I think it was $8-9.

 

[zinfamous]

here's a terrible wikipedia link

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_Peruvians

I dunno, I guess that Peruvian is probably as racist as I am.

:awe:

 

[zinfamous]

beats me, I'm just in it for the chicken and tortillas.

Oh, these are the beans:


campero beans
Slow cooked blend of beans, chorizo, jalapeños, tomatos, onion & fresh cilantro--don't worry, they're not spicy.

 

[TwiceOver]

1. Having previously been off gluten for 5 years & off corn products for a couple years, all of their donuts just taste like corn syrup to me. The Whole Donut is ten times better.

2. Their bagel breakfast sandwiches are pretty lame, very dry ime too. I recently discovered Bruegger's Bagels, which is loads better, but I can still do better than that with just a few supplies from the grocery store.

If I need breakfast in a pinch, I either go with:

1. McDonald's $1 sausage burrito (small but pretty decent)

2. BK's croissant breakfast sandwiches. I usually get the King or some other loaded one that has meat, eggs, and cheese. The only other real competitor is McD's McGriddle.

As a former BK employee, yes, the "crotchwich" is the best breakfast sandwich available. It's unfortunate they continue with the BS potato rounds as a side.

 

[spacejamz]

The weird thing for me about McDonald's is that I really feel like the double cheeseburger tastes much better than the quarter pounder or Big Mac.

maybe it's just me but the double quarter pounder tastes so much better than the just the regular quarter pounder....double the grease/fat maybe?

 

[Adrenaline]

Bojangle's fried chicken:

Better than everything.

review over.

We do not have a Bojangle's here. I have a coworker that raves about them. So, I tried three different locations in two weeks while traveling and I just do not see it compared to Popeye's. Do you have something I can try on their menu next time I am by one? I do not mind trying them again, but Popeye's is fantastic. We have Zaxby's here and their chicken with Zax sauce is really good.

My favorite fast food choices are:

1. Arby's
2. Popeye's
3. Chick-fil-A
4. Sonic
5. Taco Bell

I gave up candy this year. Nestle Crunch bars are my favorite candy bar followed by a Watchamacallit.

I really really really like Ghirardelli Malted Milk Balls. They are awesome.

The one fast food place I think is awful for their lunch and dinner menu is Burger King. The only thing good there is their breakfast for a croissan'wich and cini minis. My kids like their french toast sticks.

 

[zinfamous]

We do not have a Bojangle's here. I have a coworker that raves about them. So, I tried three different locations in two weeks while traveling and I just do not see it compared to Popeye's. Do you have something I can try on their menu next time I am by one? I do not mind trying them again, but Popeye's is fantastic. We have Zaxby's here and their chicken with Zax sauce is really good.

As I mentioned, one of the problems is that they are hit or miss. Some locations are just plain bad, some are usually amazing. Regardless of location, depending on when you are in line, the fries are either mind-blowing amazing or the worst you have ever had--because thick cut potatos, they can easily get soggy if they are at the end of a batch or the manager's stay-at-home nephew is running the fryer that day.

Without question, they have the best biscuits compared to anyone, and they have tons of biscuit options, including the country ham biscuit that you won't find at comparable restaurants, and they have breakfast all day--it goes without saying that their B, E &C biscuit is better than anyone's--that biscuit, yo. And the bacon is real bacon.

A never-fail is usually the cajun filet biscuit. Do that, and prey you get crispy fries on the combo. Avoid the dirty rice, it's usually just pasty and kinda meh.

 

[Kaido]

I sometimes go to Subway - don't judge. There's one right next to my house and I like their tuna and roast beef sandwiches.

Have the prices at your area Subways gone up?

I'm noticing some of their foot longs are now $9! It wasn't that long ago that you could buy any three foot longs for $13 with a coupon.

A giant from Jersey Mike's is $12 and is about twice the size of a footlong. I think Subway is pricing themselves out of the market.

On a tangent, one of the most hilarious lawsuits of modern times:

http://nrn.com/subway/subway-gives-inch-lawsuit-settlement

Yes, Subway lied about footlongs being 12" in length. They wrote it off as some marketing BS. Got sued. Got trampled on. Results:

The settlement, which has been in the works for two years, will require Subway franchisees to use a tool to measure bread in its restaurants and ensure that sandwiches are either six or 12 inches. The franchisor will also include sandwich length as part of its inspections and would institute penalties for violations.

The settlement is an outgrowth of a 2013 social media uproar, after a teenager in Australia posted a picture to Facebook claiming that his Footlong sandwich was only 11 inches.

The post went viral and generated media attention. Attorneys began investigating and filing lawsuits in various courts. The two sides decided to mediate, and while that session did not resolve the case, “the plaintiffs realized that their claims were quite weak” once that session was over, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman wrote in her order. Plaintiffs then focused on efforts to ensure that Subway adopted measures to ensure its sandwiches are the proper length.

:biggrin:

 

[nakedfrog]

Steak n Shake is super greasy and disgusting. The only thing worth getting at BK are the Whoppers (Texas Double Whopper, Angry Whopper) and their fries. Everything else at BK is blech.

I've always founds Steak'n'Shake tasty.
But I also don't care for Whoppers, and think BK has pretty much the worst fast food fries at this point.

maybe it's just me but the double quarter pounder tastes so much better than the just the regular quarter pounder....double the grease/fat maybe?

I don't like the double QP either.

 

[renz20003]

A personal favorite of mine would be White Castle jalapeño cheeseburgers.

 

[ponyo]

Any of you guys lucky enough to have an El Pollo Campero near you?

fuck man, this might actually beat out Popeye's for me.

I'm a big fan of Pollo Campero. http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=31073384&postcount=120

They fry it very crisp so the chicken can get little dry. So legs and thighs are great there. I think I read they copied Korean fried chicken but used Latin influenced spices. So if you like Korean fried chicken, you should like Pollo Campero. If you fan of juicier chicken like Bojangles, then you probably won't like it.

 

[Kaido]

Dunkin Donuts:

Maple sausage breakfast sandwich: Wow, don't even bother. Sounded good - has egg, Wisconsin aged white cheddar cheese, oven-toasted croissant - but tasted like disappointment. Sorry guys, BK is still beating you by a mile.

Wildberry smoothie: Dunkin Donuts has always has very bland smoothies; this was no exception (which is weird because their Coolatas are pretty decent). I don't know what a wildberry is (probably like a snozzberry), but it just tasted like a watered-down smoothie. If they had added maybe yogurt & half a cup of sugar, it might have been good. Plus some Torani strawberry syrup :biggrin:

 

[Linux23]

Tried the BK "Mac & Cheetos" today:

http://www.bk.com/menu-item/mac-n-cheetos

I think it was 5 for $2.49 (should be 10 for the price!). They are maybe a little bigger than a puffed Cheeto. The macaroni is actually pretty good - really creamy, not crazy salty; I would definitely buy standalone mac & cheese in a small tub from BK if they sold it (Boston Market-style). It's basically a stick of macaroni & cheese, rolled in ground-up Cheetos, and then fried. The aftertaste is pretty good (if you're a Cheeto fan). I wouldn't say they're like phenomenal, but they are pretty decent.

Also I can't remember if I reviewed the BK chicken rings or not - I'm not a fan of the chicken fries at all, but the chicken rings are like flat little donuts & are super awesome. I gotta figure out how to clone those at home! Apparently White Castle sells something similar; there's a Youtube copycat recipe here that uses ground chicken:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQPhaGS_tRI

I'll have to give these a try in my airfryer...

those look yummy. are they creamy inside?

 

[Linux23]

Ya, and Burger King's chicken sandwiches on that 2 for 5 I just did not like.

BK taste like shit. That 2 for $10 whopper promo is a joke. They really need to go out of business for producing inedible and non-competitive shit food.

Hey if you like flame broiled ass then BK is the place to go. lol.

 

[Kaido]

those look yummy. are they creamy inside?

Yes, creamy mac & cheese on the inside, Cheetoh powder on the outside. If you like the mac & cheese from Boston Market, it's very similar to that.

 

[KMFJD]

Bacon Poutine Pie

 

[Ns1]

evidently this one dude in italy makes a real, legit, stuffed crust pizza:

 

[Kaido]

Whopperito review:

https://www.bk.com/menu-item/whopperrito

BK is now offering the Whopper as a burrito. Macros are surprisingly decent:

* 570 calories
* 29g protein
* 59g carbs
* 26g fat

Thoughts:

1. I like Whoppers, so I wanted to try this.
2. Mine was fat not skinny. Pretty wide, like Chipotle, not like BK's advertised picture.
3. I would not call this a burrito. I would call this "a Whopper chopped up & wrapped in a tortilla". It's not a cohesive food item. When you put peanut butter together with jelly on bread, all of a sudden you have a thing - you have a PB&J. This is not the PB&J equivalent of a Whopper. It's just a sandwich wrap.
4. They replaced the mayo with queso (nacho-style liquid cheese, pepper-blend). That with the Tex-Mex taco sauce gives it a bit of a kick. The cheese is pretty decent.
5. I feel like I'm chewing a lot of veggies, especially tomatoes. Which wouldn't be bad, except it's advertised as a burrito, not a wrap. Also, it's weird having pickles in a burrito.
6. The meat looks like they simple sliced a patty into a few pieces. It's not even ground up. I was assuming it was going to be like Whopper-flavored ground beef. It would have been way better as Whopper-flavored ground beef. With the queso. That actually would have made for an awesome Whopper burrito!

TL;DR: It's not a burrito, it's a wrap. If you want a chopped-up Whopper thrown into a flour tortilla, then that's exactly what you'll get, minus the mayo, plus liquid cheese & taco flavoring. It's not bad, it's just not...awesome. I really wish they had done a Whopper-flavored hot dog instead (in the same vein as a bratwurst or knockwurst).