The official ATOT Fast Food discussion thread

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Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
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I tried a McRib about 5 years back to see what the fuss was about. It was revolting, one of the absolute worst things I've ever had from a fast food restaurant.

The trick is to only try it every few years, that way you forget & eat it again! It's a viscous cycle lol.
 
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Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,387
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Peppermint M&M's:

1. I can't quite place the flavor. It's like Lacroix but for Andes Mints. Like the idea of a peppermint stick is there, but not in-your-face.

2. Creamy, mellow mint. I don't know how else to describe it. It's low-key chill to munch on. These would be good in a small bowl with a cup of hot cocoa topped with whipped cream.

3. I don't love them, but I...like them. I honestly thought these would an an instant write-off. I would take this over a peppermint candy cane.

 

Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
30,244
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I tried Popeye’s chicken sandwich. It was okay, a bit sweet.


I don't care for the rolls they use ... to me they taste like stale movie theater pop-corn butter!

Popeyes chicken is really good though ... I get tenders instead!


The trick is to only try it every few years, that way you forget & eat it again! It's a viscous cycle lol.


Not sure how I missed this! :D


McRib is back December 2ed
 
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Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
30,244
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136
I always get the spicy. It's superior to Chick-fil-A but Shake Shack's is probably the best.


I like both seasonings ... usually when I go I get the $20 14-tender family meal w/2 sides and get a 50/50 mix. It's like 5lbs of food and lasts me a few meals.

However if in a hurry I suggest going with spicy only because it seems like they run out of it less often no idea why.

I enjoy the food at Chick-fil-A but I always feel "dirty" after eating there.
 

MrSquished

Lifer
Jan 14, 2013
21,004
19,443
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I like both seasonings ... usually when I go I get the $20 14-tender family meal w/2 sides and get a 50/50 mix. It's like 5lbs of food and lasts me a few meals.

However if in a hurry I suggest going with spicy only because it seems like they run out of it less often no idea why.

I enjoy the food at Chick-fil-A but I always feel "dirty" after eating there.

I haven't had food delivery since spring but I just ordered a 4 pack of Popeye's sandwiches meal, 2 spicy and 2 regular, with a large side of slaw. Inspired by this thread. God bless us all.
 
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ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,689
2,811
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I gave Popeye's chicken sandwich two tries. It's inferior to Chick-fil-a. First time I tried it, Popeye's sandwich used large piece of chicken breast. But I figured that wouldn't last and they would soon switch to smaller breast pieces. Sure enough, when I tried it about 2 months later, the Popeye's chicken breast patty had shrunk drastically and was now smaller than Chick-fil-a patty. Chick-fil-a around where I live are very good. It might be because I'm in GA, and I've good operator but both Chick-fil-a locations near me are top notch.
 

MrSquished

Lifer
Jan 14, 2013
21,004
19,443
136
I gave Popeye's chicken sandwich two tries. It's inferior to Chick-fil-a. First time I tried it, Popeye's sandwich used large piece of chicken breast. But I figured that wouldn't last and they would soon switch to smaller breast pieces. Sure enough, when I tried it about 2 months later, the Popeye's chicken breast patty had shrunk drastically and was now smaller than Chick-fil-a patty. Chick-fil-a around where I live are very good. It might be because I'm in GA, and I've good operator but both Chick-fil-a locations near me are top notch.
I have four, well now I have two left, Popeye's Chicken sandwiches here that are in no way noticeably smaller than your average Chick fil A sandwich, and not noticeably smaller than the sandwiches I had getting Popeye's when they first came out, and better than chick fil a in pretty much every way. The crust is just crispier and higher quality while the interior remains juicy. Chick fil A is never dry, but their crust just can't compete.
 

MrSquished

Lifer
Jan 14, 2013
21,004
19,443
136
I'm just a single guy living alone so sometimes I go for convenience. I try to avoid very processed foods, besides canned corned beef hash - but Costco has some stuff that is very minimally processed with no crazy ingredients I can't pronounce. I checked out their Turkey Gravy, Mashed Potatoes and their Sous-Vide Turkey breast and all three were delicious. They had some Brussel Sprouts dish to complete the squad but I didn't try those this time, I'll have to check out the ingredients and make sure they are also minimally processed but this was a fast food meal done right. I nuked the mashed potatoes while simmering the gravy and sauteeing the turkey in it's juices. It was absolutely delicious.
 

Lanyap

Elite Member
Dec 23, 2000
8,100
2,154
136
I haven't had food delivery since spring but I just ordered a 4 pack of Popeye's sandwiches meal, 2 spicy and 2 regular, with a large side of slaw. Inspired by this thread. God bless us all.




Slaw? Dude, man up, get the dirty/Cajun rice and red beans and rice. I grew up with Popeyes in the New Orleans area and I love all of their stuffs. Don't worry about what's in the dirty rice. ;)
 

Svnla

Lifer
Nov 10, 2003
17,999
1,396
126
I didn't want to eat leftover for lunch today so I stopped by Whataburger and ordered a chicken melt combo. That place was packed at the drive thought lines (yes, plural as in two lines). I did have to wait for about 8 minutes to get my order. That place is always busy, even at midnight.

BTW, I haven't try the Popeyes chicken sandwich yet.
 

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,414
8,356
126
chicken melt
what is this wizardry?

whataburger spicy chicken sandwich is meh. problem is they're using pre-fried frozen chicken. and they want $5.39 for it.

i stick with the burgers. green chile burger minus the chicago mayo, add mustard, grilled jalapenos, diced onion, pickles and tomatoes, on toast. fuck yeah.

fa1aa57420f640e88d8f805f2259a22b.jpg


(chicken strips are good tho)
 
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QueBert

Lifer
Jan 6, 2002
22,378
708
126
Was at Ralphs and saw these, they brought out the kid in me. Use to scarf down Kraft Mac & Cheese as a kid/teen. So I bought all 3, expectations are it will be okay at best. As a kid I would have freaked out to have these. This is not really a fair review of the one I tried, as I made it "better" by using Half & Half instead of milk, a little extra butter and a slice of some sort of cheese. Oh, and I fried and cut up and added a Boar's Head hot smoked sausage with chili peppers. I made the Cheesy Jalapeno one.

When I opened the "cheese" packet, I took a whiff. Smells like the cheese powder they put on the Cheddar Jalapeno Cheetos to me. But the Cheeto's say Cheddar on the box and this is just Cheesy Jalapeno. Either way it's not real cheese, and it's not good quality. There's a small but noticeable jalapeno flavor and a little bit of kick, probably about on par with the chips, err Cheetos. If I was 10 this would have been my favorite meal of the month. But as an adult who has a palet, it was... not too bad. I don't think I'll eat it again, but in a pinch with a few things added Kraft makes a passable super quick dinner. The enhancements I made obviously kicked it up. But in the end, it's still boxed mac and cheese. And I posted a terribly taken picture of the heaty-sized gluttonous 2.5 serving bowl I made myself. I'll eat the other 2 boxes maybe over the next 2 nights and report back. The guy who rang me up at Ralphs's said the Flaming Hot one was pretty good. An unusual recommendation from a person who was probably in their mid 30's, maybe he has kids I dunno lol. But I don't have kids and am trying all 3 so perhaps he's just doing what I'm doing. The box has a recommendation to add crushed up Cheetos on top for extra flavor and some crunch. I've topped my from scratch 5 cheese Mac & Cheese with Cheetos drizzled with butter and it was pretty damn good. Usually I use bread crumbs, but Cheetos are good, and Cheez-It's are great. Perhaps I will buy another box and try it topped it with the Cheddar Jalapeno Cheetos.

I'll give it a 6.5/10 nothing wrong with it, but I'm not it's target audience. Kids will probably really love it, and I did like it enough at least to eat the entire box.
 

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Svnla

Lifer
Nov 10, 2003
17,999
1,396
126
what is this wizardry?

WaB makes the sandwich by putting cheese, mushrooms, onion, and several sauces to make the chicken moist and not dry. I did try most of the chicken sandwiches at WaB and I like the chicken melt the most. Try it next time. Number 16 combo, about $7.80 total including sale tax.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,387
5,255
136
I was at Costco & they had a 2-pack of Cholula sauce. Got some, tried it on eggs & sausage, outstanding!


I want to try the other flavors now! Haven't seen it for sale locally anywhere though.

1606403453668.png
 
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Captante

Lifer
Oct 20, 2003
30,244
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I was at Costco & they had a 2-pack of Cholula sauce. Got some, tried it on eggs & sausage, outstanding!


I want to try the other flavors now! Haven't seen it for sale locally anywhere though.

View attachment 34611


I snagged that exact deal but they carry Cholula in grocery stores in my area too.

This is my favorite flavor:

cholulaCHILIgarlic_1024x1024.JPG
 
Feb 4, 2009
34,502
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I was at Costco & they had a 2-pack of Cholula sauce. Got some, tried it on eggs & sausage, outstanding!


I want to try the other flavors now! Haven't seen it for sale locally anywhere though.

View attachment 34611

About one hour ago I read a cnn story on how this company wants to normalize and sell more of this sauce in the US.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
48,387
5,255
136
About one hour ago I read a cnn story on how this company wants to normalize and sell more of this sauce in the US.

McCormick (they own Frank's Red Hot sauce) actually just bought them:


I like Frank's on wings...I melt butter, mix it 1:1 with the hot sauce, air-fry the wings, and then coat the wings in the sauce. Very simple, VERY good!

Cholula is really good on eggs...I'll be using it for eggs, egg bites, breakfast burritos, etc. I'll probably order the variety pack for myself for Christmas to try them out!
 
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MrSquished

Lifer
Jan 14, 2013
21,004
19,443
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Up here in Northern NJ Cholula is in like every grocery store, many with multiple flavors. Perhaps because we have a solid Latino population in various areas. I always keep a bottle on hand - either the original or chili garlic. I saw those bottles at Costco - they were enormous! I'm not sure what normalizing this hot sauce means. It's not an exotic hot sauce IMO, just a really good and consistent hot sauce from South of the Border.
 
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ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,689
2,811
126
Cholula is pretty common hot sauce. I don't buy it because I think it's overpriced and I like Louisiana Hot Sauce the best.

000033387
 

ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,689
2,811
126
I had major revelation recently about balsamic vinegar. Good balsamic is nothing like the crap that's sold at normal grocery stores. That's all I ever had and didn't know better. But I bought and tasted more expensive balsamic and it's like day and night difference. Almost mind-blowing experience. Now I want to buy the 25 years aged $180 for 100 milliliter bottle balsamic to see how much better the.top stuff is.
 

sactoking

Diamond Member
Sep 24, 2007
7,507
2,703
136
I had major revelation recently about balsamic vinegar. Good balsamic is nothing like the crap that's sold at normal grocery stores. That's all I ever had and didn't know better. But I bought and tasted more expensive balsamic and it's like day and night difference. Almost mind-blowing experience. Now I want to buy the 25 years aged $180 for 100 milliliter bottle balsamic to see how much better the.top stuff is.
Be sure to bring your ID, I hear that all kinds of stores are prolifically requiring ID for "the good stuff."
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
110,512
29,098
146
I have four, well now I have two left, Popeye's Chicken sandwiches here that are in no way noticeably smaller than your average Chick fil A sandwich, and not noticeably smaller than the sandwiches I had getting Popeye's when they first came out, and better than chick fil a in pretty much every way. The crust is just crispier and higher quality while the interior remains juicy. Chick fil A is never dry, but their crust just can't compete.

popeyes puts mayo on their chicken sandwich, which is also required for the "spicy" part of it, two major fouls. Like, humanity-ending fouls.

Popeyes chicken sandwich can not be defended by anyone with any moral center. It is an affront.
 
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zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
110,512
29,098
146
what is this wizardry?

whataburger spicy chicken sandwich is meh. problem is they're using pre-fried frozen chicken. and they want $5.39 for it.

i stick with the burgers. green chile burger minus the chicago mayo, add mustard, grilled jalapenos, diced onion, pickles and tomatoes, on toast. fuck yeah.

fa1aa57420f640e88d8f805f2259a22b.jpg


(chicken strips are good tho)

damn, that sounds and looks glorious.