The Junk Food Junkie
I eat bad things.
Monday, April 8, 2013
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Vol. 38: Popeye's Strawberry & Cream Cheese Pie
Those of
you who follow me on Facebook may have seen recently (okay, okay, around
flippin’ Valentine’s Day, ugh) that I had posted I was going to try this
deliciously-insane concoction from Popeye’s, that looks like something that
Paula Deen would concoct in her wet dreams.
Well,
bottom line was, I did. I suppose you
could say the delay in my posting this review is enough to express the soul-crushing
let-down indifference with which I have to type this. Let’s start with the photographic crap:
The official shot
My shots
Notice I
had to take two (2) shots to fully illustrate the utter absence of
filling. Sure, I told myself, it’s okay,
you just got a bad one and all the filling leaked out. Well, I might be persuaded to believe that if
the seams weren’t intact, so there wasn’t
anyplace for the filling to leak from.
It was
truly a depressing moment. What I did
taste of the filling, a gooey and not-too-sweet mix of delicious, creamy
strawberries and satiny cream cheese – imagine, if you would, a slice of
strawberry cheesecake wrapped in a condom of dough and dropped gently into a
loving vat of oil until it’s all warm and ooey and try not to get hard at
the thought – was absolutely amazing.
The problem was, as you can see from the photographs.. there wasn’t
hardly any of it present.
Yes, I
even took a second shot in the same pose with the flash on so you can see allll the way back into the end of that
cave of would-be heaven, only to find that it’s not hiding in the back like
filling is so wont to do in Lukewarm Pockets.
All in
all, it’s a great theory. I’m not sure
if they’re trying to keep the filling to a minimum to minimize the caloric
damage eating one would do – although, let’s be honest, if you’re eating a deep fried strawberry cheesecake you’re
probably not worried about calories. So,
to Popeye’s, I declare: More filling =
more delicious!
The Verdict
2/5. It’s a good start, but needs refinement. I’ll eat another one if I have a coupon or
get one free, but I can’t see myself paying for it again.
The Broke Bloke Muses: Almost-Chicken Flavor Ramen
First things first, no, I'm not dead. I have, however, been working on getting my first book published, which it has been. YAY! You can check it out at this fancy link here, if you'd like, or ignore it completely. If you ignore it, however, I do reserve the right to hunt you down and fill your ears with potted meat while you sleep. Which is far more disgusting than it sounds. (I can attest to this from personal experience.)
I refer to it as "almost chicken" flavor for the rather obvious reason that it "almost" tastes like chicken. (Do not confuse this with the Roast Chicken flavor, which is actually pretty decent.) Easily one of the nastiest flavors of ramen to this amazing humble writer's taste palate, almost nothing can redeem it's nauseatingly salty aftertaste and disturbing, too-yellow color. These are the ramen packages I use when I want the noodles and nothing else, and the seasoning packet goes in the trash.
But I digress. My idea was simple: combine several other things I have on-hand in an attempt to improve the flavor of Almost Chicken. This is what I came up with:
Yes, this means I put Szechuan style peppers and gag Vienna Sausages into a prepared pack of Almost Chicken flavor ramen. The results were... surprising, actually.
- The Szechuan peppers, while great on their own and in other ramen flavors, did literally nothing to mask the suck that was Almost Chicken.
- Vienna sausages, even rinsed of their vaguely animal-product-like canning goo, also did not improve the suck factor.
- However, the Szechuan-infused faux-poultry broth did improve the flavor of the Vienna sausages, making them actually palatable.
- Note that I said "palatable" and not "good."
So the next time you're browsing about your kitchen, wondering what you could possibly do to improve the flavor of that one lone orange pack of noodles that you're trying to use up before they expire but don't really want to, keep this little tidbit in mind. Save your peppers.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Vol. 37: Taco Bell's XXL Nachos
According
to the file date on this picture I took, I ate these, like, almost two weeks
ago. And haven’t written about them
yet. Yeah, I’m slacking, especially
since I’ve made another two posts
since then. Life happens and/or I’m a
slacker.
So I’ve
seen them several times on the windows of Taco Bell as I drove by, and told
myself, “Self! That’s creative
photography. The XXL Nachos aren’t going
to be that big. Just a fancy version of
a Nachos BellGrande.” That’s what I
said, at least, until I got the order and they had to bust out a special bag
and hold it sideways to get it through the tiny drive through window. Observe:
XXL Nacho Glory
There’s no
camera tricks in that shot. My pinky is
actually touching the plastic base.
These things are friggin’ huge quite large by fast food portion
standards. I’d bet two “normal people” could share an
order and be quite happy with the results, and there’s no shortage of cheese,
both nacho and shredded.
Just make
sure you wash your hands, first. Or be
a preppy wuss and use a fork.
I know you’re
probably expecting some enlightening and witty commentary on how good they
are. Well, for Taco Bell, they’re pretty
danged good. The fact that there’s over
a pound on that tray lends itself absolutely no bias to my gluttonous
opinion. The truth of the matter is, it’s
standard chips, TB guac, sour cream, TB “beef” (or steak or chicken, depending
on which one you order), sour cream, refried beans, nacho cheese sauce, the
cheddar/jack shredded blend, and some fancy-lookin’ pico de gallo.
If you
didn’t like Taco Bell beforehand, this isn’t going to be some manna-from-heaven
specially blended mixture that’ll convert you into a tacobellian. (For that, go to Salsarita’s.) On the other hand, if you are already a
semi-regular partaker of the Fourthmeal, and like nachos, then this needs to be
on your to-try list. Eat all the
goodies. All of them. THINK OUTSIDE THE BUN. And all that noise.
Key
differences between the XXL Nachos and the BellGrande:
1.) Guac and pico come STANDAD on the XXL. (Shout-out to CrandyBole for pointing out the typo. -Ed.)
2.) There’s like, a pantload more in the
XXL.
3.) They’re called “XXL Nachos” in an attempt to
make you feel fatter than saying BellGrande.*
Cuz, that’s like, two more extras than the Spanish word for “big” alone. (Pfft.
Silly mortals, thinking that would dissuade me.)
4.) The tomatoes aren’t spread around on the XXL,
but rather clustered into a scoop of pico.
That doesn’t bother me, as it allows for more controlled mater
distribution on a per-chip basis.
5.) NEITHER OF THEM HAVE GREEN ONIONS. (wtf, TB?
Get with the game. Bring them
back!)
*this statement is not approved or
endorsed by whatever Buttweasel Legalhonker at Taco Bell wants to sue me for
making false claims. Get a sense of
humor.
And, for
you skinny-no-appetite-having types out there, the XXL’s are $4.99 for an
order. Split it with a friend and it’s
two fifty apiece. Can’t beat that. Those of you that can actually finish a
Triple Baconator (fancy link) might want to get a MexiMelt to go with it.
The Verdict
4/5. Pretty big and pretty good value for the
money, considering the hefty amount of toppings piled on. If they jack it up too much higher, though,
it’ll fall to a 3. Because, when all is
said and done, it is still Taco
Bell. This does not mean that I have not
eaten them several times already.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Broke Bloke Gourmet: Spicy Tuna Nachos
It’s about
that time, folks… time for me to share a bit of the culinary MacGyver-ing that
I’ve been up to in the last month week.
Actually, I made this a few nights ago, but just haven’t gotten around
to posting it up. Because I’m lazy like
that.
This last Friday
night, I found myself hungry, with no real possibilities in sight. The only things that were sticking out in my
pantry as not moldy or expired “edible” were a can of tuna and half a
bag of tortilla chips. Thus was the birth
of…
Spicy Tuna Nachos!!!
Don't knock them before you try them. I don't post my failed experiments (like the gin martini with hot dog water instead of olive brine) here, unless it's pointed mockery. So here’s
the dealie-o.
yeah, yeah, so nearly
everything in the picture is from Wal*Fart, gimme a break
Step
1: Artfully arrange your tortilla chips on
a plate so that they’re not overlapping much, but close enough together so that
no large white spaces are showing through.
This is best done with care, and not dumping them on a plate and shaking
it. Which works, but your nachos will
just suck.
Dump a
small apocalypse of cheese onto the chips, as illustrated above.
the cup was for the
tuna water. mmmmm. tuna water
Step 2: Drain the tuna into a cup. I meant the tuna water, not the actual
fish. Drink said tuna water. Engage in salty fishy yummy noises of delight
that mimic porn stars clydesdales in heat. Okay, I suppose that part is optional.
Anyway,
once your tuna is good and properly drained, drop little bits here and there
around your nachoey-ness. In the picture
above, I only used about 1/3 of a “normal”-sized can of tuna, so your mileage
may vary on how many plates of Spicy Tuna Nachos of Amazingness you’ll get out
of a single can.
more cheese
Step
3: MOAR CHEEZ!!!
Then pop
the sumbiotch into the microwave and nuke it for approximately 30 seconds or
until cheese is melted. Radiation
cookers differ by wattage, so take that into consideration with your zapping
time by consulting the chart below:
Wattage Cook Time
===== =======
1200W 26 seconds
1100W 30 seconds
1000W 34 seconds
900W 1.2 hours
please consult
manufacturer instructions
before following these
cook times.
Step
4: Now that the highly dangerous cooking
phase is completed, you can apply an artistic drizzle of your roommate’s
hot salsa over the top. Make sure to follow
the precise pattern outlined above exactly to ensure maximum flavor. Failure to do so will result in your death by
tonsil cancer. Or something.
And, last
but not least….. GO EAT THEM ALREADY!!!
Vol. 36: Pizza Hut's Overstuffed Supremo Pizza
So, for
real, I’m not even gonna beat around the bush on this one.
This is,
by far, the biggest disappointment Pizza Hut has crapped out launched in
the past several years. After launching
and then almost immediately yanking the P’zolos from my market area? Argh!!
Now, don’t
get me wrong. I love my Pizza Hut. (See fancy link, here.) And I’ll freely admit that has made me
somewhat biased. But this? This isn’t a matter of opinion on pan vs.
thin vs. original crust, or pepperoni vs. sausage (the correct answer is
“sausage,” anyway), or any of the multitudes of other possibilities that can
turn a pizza from “amazing” to a chewy case of toe jam “mediocre.”
This is
just bull honkey pathetic execution.
No two ways about it. In fact,
let me count the ways.
The initial product
shot
At first
glance, this looks to be pretty good.
That’s part of the reason I got it in the first place, thinking to
myself, “Hey, Self who should really eat a salad instead! This looks like a gigantic P’zone! That’s AWESOME!” It smells good, too. Don’t be fooled by it’s siren’s song of
deceit.
Further down the
rabbit hole
Then you
start eating it. For the first several
bites, you’ll try and convince yourself that, oh, I’m just at the beginning,
it’s mostly crust because it’s that stuffed thing, and I’ll have to get to
where the crust opens up to get to the goodies” – like this is a dollar Hot
Pocket and not a $13+ pizza – except the
crust never f%&$ing opens up.
Don’t believe me? I ripped apart
the slice out of sheer frustration to reveal the following male bovine fecal
matter disappointment.
WTF. For real?
I wish there was a rabbit in here.
There’d be more meat.
Really. Really??
THIS is what constitutes “overstuffed?”
This barely even qualifies as “stuffed.”
Unless you want to say it’s stuffed with more crust. What. The.
Hell.
The whole
breadth of that slice, and there’s one squirt of sauce and an onion? Oh, and one pepper over there somewhere? Where’s the friggin’ beef? Hell, where’s the friggin’ anything but crust? This is the kind of stunt I’d expect Red
Baron to pull. Or Tony’s. Or some other frozen pizza brand. Not what I expect from Pizza Hut, and certainly not what I expect to spend
more than I would on a regular large pizza on.
Get your s#!%
crap together, Hut Peeps. This level of
weaksauce is not very enamoring. I’m not
even finishing slice number two – and that’s not because I tore the other
slices up looking for meat, or cheese, or hell, even sauce, anything but friggin’ crust.
It’s
because I don’t feel like eating an over-glorified breadstick.
Oh, and
because I’m supposed to find something
positive? Here’s a positive. It’s not greasy. It’s not greasy because there’s nothing delicious to create grease in or
on it.
The Verdict
2/5. This only gets a two because, if it was lying
around and I was hungry, yes, I probably would eat it. After doctoring it up and cussing whomever
ordered it out for wasting their money.
Get a $10 large any way you want it and give the rest to the delivery
guy if you want.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Vol. 34: Domino's New Pan Pizza
So I forgot to take a lunch to work the other day. And, naturally, I was starving within minutes of arrival. This is nothing new. Not being entirely sure of what I wanted to eat, however, is somewhat new. Ish.
After perusing a number of online menus, I stumbled across an advertisement for Domino’s new Pan Pizza. Crustless, with two layers of cheese and toppings all the way to the edge. It aroused me piqued my interest. And yes, I’ve been informed this has been advertised on television for weeks. I don’t have TV, so I didn’t know. Don’t judge me.
The bottom line is I had completed the order for a $7.99 medium unicorn & rainbow sausage and mushroom pie before I realized I had even picked my toppings. There was a minor incident where I nearly peeled a coworker’s face off with my teeth out of hunger because it took almost an hour to arrive - although, in Domino’s defense, it did say that it would take 56-66 minutes on the order confirmation - but that particular crisis was averted through the judicious application of Nutty Bars to my face.
And then, it had arrived, and there was much lewd pelvic thrusting rejoicing. Or both.
On the box, I couldn’t help but notice the following:
At first glance, this box topper may illustrate why it took a sodding hour to get my grub, and appear to be nothing more than soliciting employees from their established customer base. Fine, right? Except the last bullet point, where it says “Hustling is a must.”
Really, Domino’s? I’m all down for making your paper however you can and getting ahead of The Man, but I’d feel kind of awkward if Huggy Bear delivered my pizza. I’m just sayin’. Especially when it is immediately followed with “Domino’s Pizza is a drug free environment.” Trying to find a drug-free hustla? Next they’ll want an honest politician. (Zing!)
Upon returning to my desk, I opened the box and molested inhaled a slice before realizing what had happened. This is evidenced in the above picture, which shows that they weren’t kidding - there’s plenty of crispy burnt cheese on the edges (which is, like, foodie porn) and it has a nice balance of toppings and cheese distribution. Oh, and sauce. Yeah, that stuff. The red stuff that makes it easier to swallow.
As for the dough, I was pleasantly surprised. This pan pizza could seriously give the legendary Pizza Hut pan pizza a run for the money. Not only is it nicely flavored and textured, but the bottom retains its crispy texture without swimming in grease like its obvious competitor’s. Not that the box-soaking grease levels are a bad thing. It’s like grub lube. But after eight or nine slices, it tends to get a bit much. Which is why I’m giving the crust points to Domino’s. Shockingly.
Also, Domino’s has better mushrooms than Pizza Hut. The rest of the toppings, however, are individually up for debate. As is the cheese. And sauce. In short, they’ve raised the bar up to meet and/or exceed the expectations set by the arguably best chain pan pizza around. As for Papa John’s joke of a pan pizza? It can’t hold a candle.
The Verdict
4/5. At the price it is, it’s a steal. However, that’s probably just an introductory promo price, which will go up later. With that in mind, I’m classifying this a four. I can’t in good faith say that I’d pay more than Pizza Hut’s offerings for a similar pizza. Pizza Hut better take notice of this one, though.
After perusing a number of online menus, I stumbled across an advertisement for Domino’s new Pan Pizza. Crustless, with two layers of cheese and toppings all the way to the edge. It aroused me piqued my interest. And yes, I’ve been informed this has been advertised on television for weeks. I don’t have TV, so I didn’t know. Don’t judge me.
The bottom line is I had completed the order for a $7.99 medium unicorn & rainbow sausage and mushroom pie before I realized I had even picked my toppings. There was a minor incident where I nearly peeled a coworker’s face off with my teeth out of hunger because it took almost an hour to arrive - although, in Domino’s defense, it did say that it would take 56-66 minutes on the order confirmation - but that particular crisis was averted through the judicious application of Nutty Bars to my face.
And then, it had arrived, and there was much lewd pelvic thrusting rejoicing. Or both.
On the box, I couldn’t help but notice the following:
At first glance, this box topper may illustrate why it took a sodding hour to get my grub, and appear to be nothing more than soliciting employees from their established customer base. Fine, right? Except the last bullet point, where it says “Hustling is a must.”
Really, Domino’s? I’m all down for making your paper however you can and getting ahead of The Man, but I’d feel kind of awkward if Huggy Bear delivered my pizza. I’m just sayin’. Especially when it is immediately followed with “Domino’s Pizza is a drug free environment.” Trying to find a drug-free hustla? Next they’ll want an honest politician. (Zing!)
Inside the actual box
Upon returning to my desk, I opened the box and molested inhaled a slice before realizing what had happened. This is evidenced in the above picture, which shows that they weren’t kidding - there’s plenty of crispy burnt cheese on the edges (which is, like, foodie porn) and it has a nice balance of toppings and cheese distribution. Oh, and sauce. Yeah, that stuff. The red stuff that makes it easier to swallow.
As for the dough, I was pleasantly surprised. This pan pizza could seriously give the legendary Pizza Hut pan pizza a run for the money. Not only is it nicely flavored and textured, but the bottom retains its crispy texture without swimming in grease like its obvious competitor’s. Not that the box-soaking grease levels are a bad thing. It’s like grub lube. But after eight or nine slices, it tends to get a bit much. Which is why I’m giving the crust points to Domino’s. Shockingly.
Also, Domino’s has better mushrooms than Pizza Hut. The rest of the toppings, however, are individually up for debate. As is the cheese. And sauce. In short, they’ve raised the bar up to meet and/or exceed the expectations set by the arguably best chain pan pizza around. As for Papa John’s joke of a pan pizza? It can’t hold a candle.
The Verdict
4/5. At the price it is, it’s a steal. However, that’s probably just an introductory promo price, which will go up later. With that in mind, I’m classifying this a four. I can’t in good faith say that I’d pay more than Pizza Hut’s offerings for a similar pizza. Pizza Hut better take notice of this one, though.
Monday, October 22, 2012
The Broke Bloke Gourmet: Let's Go Tupperware Diving!
suggested by Deena716. Props be to her.
Sometimes,
one of the most frightening things you can do is open your refrigerator.
Opening
some of those plastic containers without proper protection, including (but not
limited to) plastic gloves, respirators, goggles, and a full biochemical
warfare suit, can result in anything from nauseating smells and loss of
appetite to a full-blown mutant broccoli monster attack.
So, natch,
I’m gonna go through a few ways to use some of those tidbits up, jazz ‘em up,
and provide some helpful tips on chowing down on your leftovers before they
turn into a 1950’s B-movie cast member.
Hambooger Helper
So, this
one’s actually pretty easy. According to
the website, there are 27 varieties of Hamburger Helper currently in
circulation. It’s easy to get rid of
these morsels, since they all taste like the same thing – salty goopy crap
grown-up Chef Boyardee. Which means you
can do pretty much anything with it to resuscitate it or stretch it out
again. Here are some of my quick fixes.
·
spread
butter/margarine on a hoagie roll, add garlic powder, and grill in a skillet
until golden brown. Smother the whole
thing with Hambooger Helper that’s been zapped in microwave and eat it
open-faced, or go greedy and eat it like a fancified sloppy joe.
·
Add
the leftovers (nuked to heat through, of course) to a pot of Kraft Side Dish (I
refuse to call it “dinner” on principle).
Seriously. This works with any
flavor of Double H and also makes your Side Dish last for a little more than
two servings. ‘Cuz we all know they’re
smoking Skittles when they make those serving sizes.
·
stir
it in to your leftover mashed potatoes and pretend it’s a Wawa bowl top
it off with shredded cheese before zapping it in the nuker.
Leftover Cooked Chicken
How directly
the hell did you manage to wind up with leftovers of this? I could go on a completely separate diatribe
on this topic. Matter of fact, I think I
will in the next installment of The Snarky Eyebrow. Look for the fancy link here when it’s
posted.
Kraft Side Dish
Even
though I mentioned it above, this deserves its own special segment. This has got to be the easiest leftover to
work with since plain white rice. You
can literally put almost anything
into Kraft Side Dish. Except toes. Don’t ask, just trust me. Frozen peas & carrots? A can of tuna? Congratulations, you just made ghetto Tuna
Casserole. Leftover lunch meat? No problem.
Seriously,
you can even skip the heating-up step and crumble it over a green salad in place
of cheese. Before you look at me like
I’m crazy, try it. Soon you’ll be
telling your friends to stop looking at you
like you’re crazy.
(That’s
best with Italian dressing, by the way.)
Personal
favorite add-ins:
- can of tuna (with or without
peas & carrots)
- quartered pepperoni slices
- MOAR CHEEZ
- Lay’s original potato chips
(trust me)
Or if
you’re willing to do a little more work, you can mix it well with leftover hash
browns, smoosh it by hand to form patties, and fry ‘em up on a griddle to make
your own cheesy tots.
Have a
suggestion for a topic? Something
unidentifiable in the back of your fridge?
Submit it in the comments below, and I promise I won’t ignore it. But only because I have no life to speak
of.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Vol. 33: 7-Eleven's Smoked Turkey & Jack Cheese Sandwich
Let’s be
honest. At some point, we’re all wishing
we had a quick bite to eat while we’re dashing back and forth between the
various places, appointments, tricks, work, home, whatever in our daily
lives where we wish we could snag a bite to eat. And not always is there a restaurant or fast
food joint open. Thus, we’re stuck with
either a.) driving all the way home and fixing something, or b.) all-night
convenience store food.
The former
isn’t always feasible. The latter isn’t
always edible.
A while
back, I’ll freely admit, 7-Eleven’s sandwiches sucked like Lisa Lampanelli
in an NBA locker room were terrifyingly awful. Dry, flavorless, and depending on the
situation, you may or may not get to put condiments on them. Choking one down without a flavored beverage
of some kind was an ordeal you’d soon rather forget.
Then they
finally realized, “ohai, R sandwichz blow.”
Which is a good thing. That they realized it. Not that... oh, sod it, you get the idea.
Observe
this, the flagship of their lineup:
Smoked Turkey &
Jack Cheese on Wheat
First and
foremost, I’d like to point out the last two words in that caption. “On
Wheat.” Yes, I said wheat. Not white, French, Italian, four-cheese,
ciabatta, focaccia, none of that delicious stuff. WHEAT.
Yes, I’m voluntarily purchasing (and consuming, no less) a sandwich
served on wheat bread. And no, I’m not complaining about it, either.
Why? Because this thing is frickin’ amazing. Here, they’re $3.99 a pop, and worth the
whole lot. If it jumped to $4.99,
possibly even $5.99, I’d still get it.
Yeah, I said it. The wheat bread
is soft without disintegrating or being soggy, the turkey is juicy and tender
and flavorful, the Jack cheese – get this! – actually tastes like Monterey Jack, and it’s crowned off with a
zippy Southwestern Mayo which adds just a hint of spice. On the Taco Bell scale, it ranks somewhere in
the vicinity of “just below Mild” on the heat index, so those who don’t want a
volcano in between their buns (that’s what she said) can rest easy. The lettuce adds just the right amount of
crunch and textural difference to make the sandwich fly as a whole.
Oh, by the
by, each half has more meat on it than a whole $5 footlong at Subway. I checked.
And
they’re delivered fresh every single day, as far as I can tell. I’ve never seen a sandwich older than
“delivered this morning” on the shelves.
And I spend far, far too much time in 7-Eleven to be healthy. Let’s just say the employees at the one by my
house know me on a first-name basis. And
my daughter. And that my daughter likes
Wild Cherry Slurpees. And my cigarette
brand, flavor, and pack preferences. I
could go on, but I think you get the picture.
In short,
unless you’re vegetarian or vegan (and if you are, why are you reading this
blog? No, seriously. I’m curious.
Please leave it in the comments below), you need to get your hands on
one of these ‘wiches next time you’re at Sleven. Seriously.
Your colon will thank you.
The Verdict
5/5. I’d still buy these if the price went
up. However, that’s not a suggestion, if
you’re reading this, Sleven Corporate Drones.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Vol. 32: Great Value Fish Sticks
So I’ve
been on a fish stick craze recently.
Don’t ask me why. They’re not
exactly the best thing on the planet and don’t hold a candle to real fried
fish. Hell, I couldn’t even tell you
what fish these sticks come from. Last
time I checked, fish have sticks like chickens have nuggets.
I can’t
find the nugget on a chicken, either.
The
problem I have with fish sticks is they’re too damn munchable. Like popcorn or infant ears. The fillets?
Those you feel like you’ve actually eaten something. Sticks?
Not so much.
So I was
looking for an alternative for these:
….which
are awesome. Plus, Gorty’s kind of cute. Which is totally
a reason to purchase food. Then why,
you might ask, was I looking for an alternative? To that, I direct you to the newest
segment. My behind is broke. These fish sticks are like, five bucks for
eighteen. But you can trust the Gorton’s
fisherman. Who probably looks nothing
like the box. (Who is, reportedly, the
grandfather of one of the founders of the company when it was still John Pew
& Sons Fishery, and was named Angus.
True data.)
You don’t
want to know how fast I can go through 18 fish sticks. Let’s just say it’s “less than one sitting.”
So, of
course, when I was shopping at Wal*Mart and came across their Great Value Fish
Sticks, I was leery. Some of the Great
Value products are decent and some of them taste like diseased monkey
carcass are not so good. But, for
the sake of junk food science, I had to jump in, fins first.
Note the absence of
product close-ups and fishermen. This is
suspect.
The first
thing I noticed was this box of a gazillion cost less than the box of Gorty’s
eighteen. This was either going to be a
good thing or a bad thing.
Appearance-wise, there wasn’t too much difference, but then again, I
didn’t hold them side by side. I did
notice there was a lot more breading crumbles in the Great Value box. They smelled frozen.
Half the box. I’ll save you the counting. It’s 28.
So I
unceremoniously dump and arrange half the box onto a cookie sheet. Yes, I know the image is displayed above, you
twerp. Some people read this blog via
email and don’t get the images. SO
THERE.
I
digress. Half the box is already way
more than Gorty’s (Angus’?) had in it.
There wasn’t a discernible size difference between them, either. That’s what she said. Eighteen minutes at 425 later, I was sitting
down with my plate – yes, I fit them all on one plate – full of fish
sticks.
With
ketchup. Or catsup. Or catchup.
Ketsup. What the hell ever, you
get the idea.
Truth be
told, Gorty’s sticks are slightly firmer.
(lolz.) A little bit crunchier,
but other than that? The minor
differences between the two do not
make up for the absurd difference in cost.
Four bucks and change for 18, or three dollars and change for ten
zillion? No contest.
Every once
in a while, Great Value knocks one out of the park. This might not be a home run, but it’s at
least a triple play. I think that’s a
baseball reference. And I think it was
used properly. You get the idea.
The Verdict
4/5. The value per-dollar when compared to the major brand (which should be called Angus’ Fisherman) is mind-boggling. Quality is comparable. Obviously, if they wanted to charge the same amount per-stick, I’d grab the yellow box. But since it’s close to a five-to-one stick ratio for less money? Pfft.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Introducing the Broke Bloke Gourmet
There’s no
way for me to hide that I love junk food.
The problem with loving relationship, however, is that it costs money. Money is something that we don’t always have,
particularly right before payday (now).
Of course, I’m not the only one with this particular combination of
loves and lack of money, so I’m starting a new segment on The Junk Food Junkie –
the Broke Bloke Gourmet.
Or, at
least, that’s what it’s being called right now.
I reserve the right to change it at any time with or without giving a
crap advanced notice.
Here’s
where I’ll share some of my crazy-delicious and just plain crazy concoctions I’ve
made during dry spells between proper junk food binges. I’d love to say this is going to be a weekly spot,
but that’s laughable who knows if I’ll be reliable enough to stick to
that schedule.
Without
further ado, I give you the first entry:
Freezer Breakfast Sliders.
Ingredients
2 Eggo
Cinnamon Toast waffles
4 Banquet
Brown ‘n Serve sausage patties (I like original, but whatev)
1 slice
cheese, quartered
Preparation
Start up
your sausage patties however you feel like doing them. For a quickie, I do these in the microwave –
four patties in an 1,100 watt oven take just over a minute. I put them on a paper towel, zap them on high
for 45 seconds, then put one of the mini-squares of cheese on each one for the
last 20 seconds.
Put
waffles in the toaster. Turn it on. Don’t light things on fire.
When the waffles
are popped, tear them into their little bread-shaped quarters, place one
sausage patty with cheese on top, and crown it with another waffle toast
thing. Drizzle with syrup, if desired.
Yield:
4 sliders
Servings: ½
Deliciousness:
4 pork snickerdoodles out of 5 possible apple pies
These tiny
little nuggets of joy are wonderful, and a great way to use up the last couple
of waffles or patties in a box that aren’t enough to make a full
breakfast. The only problem? They are
sliders. Which means you need to make
like, forty to get full up. Okay,
perhaps you skinny types “normal” people might not, but I do. They make a good snack, anyway.
Blatant
Self-Promotion:
Have a
suggestion to be reviewed by the Junk Food Junkie?
Got a
better name than Broke Bloke Gourmet? Impossible.
Want to
share your own semi-junk concoctions?
Leave them
in a comment, below, or as a comment on The Junk Food Junkie on Facebook or
Google Plus!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Vol. 31: Stouffer’s Southwest-Style Chicken Panini
So, frozen
food hasn’t been doing so hot on the JFJ lately. It might just start giving people the
impression that I’m just a picky bastard too much of an aficionado to be
an impartial judge. Or maybe that I’ve
just eaten too dang much of it to properly assess the contents of a freezer box
“meal.”
Unto them,
I say go lick a squirrel tail nay, and henceforth I shall prove it.
Also,
ads. Hell, I gots to get paid somehow,
right?
Today’s
adventure was from Stouffer’s, which I’ve always thought of as “rich people TV
dinners.” Of course, compared to Banquet
and Michelina’s, everything but ramen seems expensive. But I splurged, because I was an idiot and
went grocery shopping while starving, and that is just never a good idea. ‘Course, these days, that seems to be the
case more often than not. (Being hungry,
not being an idiot, you jerks.)
Without
further ado:
The Official Photo
The prepared
version - with Taco Bell size reference (TBSR)
Now, with
something called “Southwest-style,” I admit I was kind of thinking something
zippy, Tex-Mex, maybe black bean and corn salsa with peppers and zippy holly-penyos
in it. It was still Southwestern-“ish,”
but I wouldn’t necessarily use that word to describe it. It was, however, very good.
No
shortage of meat, the bread came out buttery and crisp on the outside and soft
inside, quite a significant amount of filling, a healthy dose of cheese, and
what tasted like a zesty Ranch sauce on it.
Not spicy, or even mild, by any means, but just something to add a tiny
bit of zing to the sandwich. Best of all, it wasn’t dry at all.
As far as
frozen sandwiches go, that was easily one of the better ones I’ve had. Probably in the top 5 list. Now keep in mind, this IS frozen, so it won’t compare to your fresh-made ones from
bakeries/deli places, but for microwave convenience, it was certainly pretty
tasty.
Don’t let
the looks deceive you – it may seem tiny, but that thing is loaded. Normal humans (read: those who do not eat
like I do [read: the rest of the world]) would likely feel right at that
“I’m full, but not stuffed” point. Which
is great for staying awake at work keeping alert after consuming. All in all, this sandwich should make its way
onto your grocery list – or at least your “things to try” list.
The Verdict
4/5. Danged good in the perspective of a frozen
sandwich, but I can’t see myself paying a dollar or two more if the price went
up.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Local Spotlight: The Route 58 Delicatessen
So this place shows up and starts offering a "brown bag lunch" special at my place of business. New York style deli, I says? I've seen New York style delis on TV. Like that Fööde Netwörken or some such. Stuff looks good. Huge, but good.
I like huge. Huge is good. (That's what she said.)
So I check out the menu. It's here at this fancy link if you'd like to check it out for yourself. And that starts me drooling like ahomeless Ethiopian at a buffet profusely. So, of course, I order.
Now, before you all protest about the prices (which are, admittedly, high), let me point out that I haven't been posting recently because I've been sobloody poor broke that I've been eating peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and ramen almost exclusively for the past two weeks. If you really want me to put posts up about that, well, shoot, I'm a sell-out (that's why there's ads, now, to help me afford this stuff) and I'll do it. But they'll be very boring posts. So I splurged. Sue me.
Actually, don't. It'll be pretty much a waste of time and lawyer fees.
ANY-hoo.
Let's fast-forward to the good stuff. Here's thealmost before-and-after:
I like huge. Huge is good. (
So I check out the menu. It's here at this fancy link if you'd like to check it out for yourself. And that starts me drooling like a
Now, before you all protest about the prices (which are, admittedly, high), let me point out that I haven't been posting recently because I've been so
Actually, don't. It'll be pretty much a waste of time and lawyer fees.
ANY-hoo.
Let's fast-forward to the good stuff. Here's the
Route 58 Deli Corned Beef lunch box - Half gone :-)
The Aftermath
All over their menu and delivery van was plastered the slogan, "If you finish, we made a mistake!" Well, clearly, they hadn't met me yet. If a 2 1/2-lb. burrito with chips and salsa, a taco, and half a quesadilla didn't tackle me, this sandwich wasn't going to.
And, as shown by the aftermath photo (timestamped thirteen minutes and eleven seconds after the halfway point - plus an interruption to talk smack), they did make a mistake. They didn't give me enough Russian Dressing. (Note to your staff there, Mr. Owner Guy.)
(Russian dressing, by the way, is not Russian. It was invented in New Hampshire by James E. Colburn.)
The corned beef was very lean, a little on the dry side, which was fixed extremely well by application of deli mustard and said misnamed condiment. It came on rye bread, which was a little hard around the crust, but had a good flavor in the middle. As for the meat? Well, it was certainly loaded. Hard to complain with two inches (that's NOT what she said) of solid corned animal. Dead animals on bread is good.
The sandwich itself ran $6.99, which I'm down for. The "lunch box" was $11.99... the difference was it came with a black & white cookie, halved pickle, and small tub of potato salad. While the potato salad was decent, let's be real - it's still potato salad. I find it hard to justify a $5 price hike for a pickle, tater salad, and a cookie. Apparently, the pricing is a little different for what they serve in-restaurant, so I'll have to take that into consideration when I roll up there one day. To put it in perspective, here's a shot from a coworker's visit where he ordered the Hot Pastrami Burger (yes, there is a burger underneath all that):
The Pastrami Burger
What does this mean? In short, for the take-away lunch boxes, get just the sandwich. It's enough for two normal meals or my gluttonous behind. But the price jump for the box.. not so much. In the restaurant, it appears that your money is WELL worth it to order, well, whatever you damn well please.
The Verdict
Due to the nature of my decision, I'm going to have to split this into a few parts.
Sandwich Only (Lunch Box Take-Away): 4/5. Good stuff for your buck, and not skimping on the carved cow carcass. Don't push the price too much higher, though.
Sandwich & Sides (Lunch Box Take-Away): 2/5. The inclusion of some "side dishes" to jack the price up really knocked the overall value down. I can't say I'll get the box again (although I'll certainly eat it if someone else is buying!) but will definitely get the sandwich on its own.
Anything In Restaurant: 5/5. That Pastrami Burger runs $14.99. You couldn't get that much lean pastrami at your grocery store for that much. Plus there's a burger and slaw and cheese and dressing and ZOMG brain hemorrhageeeeeeeee/////////////////////////////////
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Vol. 30: Boston Market’s Chicken, Broccoli & Cheese Casserole
I
consider Boston Market to be part of the “premium” line of frozen dinner makers
– up there with Stouffer’s and Marie Callendar’s, where almost anything is a
safe bet to at least not suck be pretty decent.
So when
I saw this conveniently located in my grocer’s freezer, enticing me with its
faux homestyledness, it didn’t take much debate before I tossed it into my
shopping cart. It pretty much sounded
like this:
Freezer Case: [stoic]
Me:
Oooooh! *grab*
Freezer
Case: [stoic]
As you
can see, the freezer had a very convincing argument. Here is the evidence presented by the freezer
case, and the cooked version:
The box is deceptive
Oddly… it looks
pretty close to the box.
As this
was cooking in the ‘wave, I noticed something that made my hair stand on
end. On the back of the box, next to the
innocent cooking instructions, were two little pieces of info that weren’t so
innocent. The first was the fact that
the “serving size” was 14oz – but contained only
500 calories. What sort of deceitful
bull$hit trickery is this?? Lure me
in with the false pretense of a stick-to-my ribs plastic platter of comfort
food and then pull some diet crap on me?
No self-respecting dish with the words “cheese” and “casserole” in the
title has a measly 500 calories per near-pound.
500 calories per tablespoon is more like it. This can only mean one of two things: they skimped on the cheese, or worse – they
replaced it with “cheeze sawse.” Which
is better suited to stripping paint from cars than consumption.
Also,
this beast has an ungodly 1,200mg of sodium.. which I totally don’t care
about. But after bite one, I have to
question Boston Market on the following point:
HOW DIRECTLY THE F*@# IS IT
THIS THING HAS 1,200 MG OF SODIUM AND STILL NEEDS SALT?!?!?! Seriously??
This is worse than the Arby’s Steakhouse Salt Lick (see Vol.18 –ed.) in the sense that particular failure actually tasted salty as
hell. This thing has an abhorrent
amount of salt and still needs more.
Ugh.
So I
guess you can tell which direction this review is going. But I’m going to surprise you with a
curveball.. it’s not going down as far as you think. Other than the fact this thing needs salt,
it’s remarkably… tasteless. The “cheeze
sawse” tastes like.. warm. As for the
rice? Well, I have to give props where
props are due, and Boston Market’s frozen food chef-things actually did a
pretty darned good job of making the rice come out close to decently cooked and
not tasting like crunchy termites the way most places do. But that in and of itself is not enough to
offset the utter lack of…. any other redeeming quality from the dish.
It’s not
a good sign when the only item in the “Pro” column from the reviewer (me) is
“the rice doesn’t suck.” On the other
hand, the meal as a whole rang in with a final score of “it’s not inedible.”
I can’t
say I want to eat it again. On the same token, I’ll definitely eat this
to avoid being really hungry (well before “starving”). Given a choice between the Chicken, Broccoli
& Cheese Casserole or Taco Bell’s Pacific Shrimp Tacos…….? (fancy link –ed.) Hunh. That’s like a high-noon showdown of
mediocrity, a fistful of apathy of such magnitude no one would even bother to
show up to laugh at it. I’d probably go
for the casserole, but solely to avoid risk of being TBONED (Taco Bell
Overdose Nitro-Explosive Diarrhea).
The
Verdict
2/5. It
doesn’t suck…? *shrug*
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