Cinco de Mayo - The Mexican Holiday that isn't UPDATED

During the mid 70's I lived in central Mexico. I met the best people in the world and some delicious foods, many of which I had never tasted, or even knew existed. I tasted cactus pads (nopales), crushed worms as the base of a Salsa, Molé, Mangos, pigs feet, and many more. I discovered too, a language that was beautiful in it's simplicity and consistency. In short, I loved everything about Mexico, it's people, it's culture, and it's places.

Which brings me to this post. It is the 5th of May, or Cinco de Mayo. Never in my years in Mexico did I see any signs of "Cinco de Mayo". It wasn't a celebrated holiday. Only years later did I even learn what it was. In the U.S. it is a celebration of the Mexican Culture rather than brief, morning-to-evening battle during the Franco-Mexican War.

So, in recognition of my only second home, I am linking to my older posts where I have cooked Mexican foods or reviewed Mexican Restaurants.
Salsa Verde Poached Eggs  
Pulled Pork Quesadillas
Tacos on Taco Tuesday
All of my posts about Mexico & Mexican Foods
I will make and eat something Mexican today in celebration of a great people and their culture...

...instead, I wanted a guacamole burger with bacon from Carl's Jr. If you haven't tried one of their THICKBURGERS (they used to be called their Six Dollar Burger but now they are more than that). Anyway, the burger was their Guacamole Bacon with plenty of bacon, a good 1/3 pound burger pay and nice lettuce and tomato and onion, topped with pepper jack cheese and a nice guacamole. It was delicious and reasonable. Perfect for Cinco de Mayo. It's not strictly Mexican, but neither is the holiday!

While I was there, I tried their limited edition Bacon Truffle Fries and they were GREAT! I highly recommend them!

McDonald's Does BACON in a Big Way - A Review

Two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese,
pickles, onions – on a sesame seed bun and now with BACON!

I  don't have  anything good or bad to say about McDonald's as a general rule. It does seem that they try to get away with as little quality and innovation as the market will bear. That said, today's fast food market in the U.S. is driven by McDonald's! They could use this power for good, and now they have! They are offering BACON on several dishes including their flagship BIG MAC®. They also have a Quarter Pounder® with Bacon and Cheesy Bacon fries.

As anyone who knows me can attest, I like bacon. I have tried bacon gum, bacon toothpicks, bacon toothpast, bacon floss...I have a bacon necktie and a shirt with a bacon slogan on it. I have tried it on many dishes but until now, never on a Big Mac®. It was lunchtime and I was passing a local McDonald's so I thought it was a great way to buy and try their newest offering. Pictured at right is a comparison with mine on the left side and theirs, (as pictured on their website), on the right. I don't think any restaurant can claim their food tastes as good as they MAKE it look, so I am always willing to TASTE it and decide. I may be at a bit of a disadvantage since the Big Mac® has never been my favorite burger at McDonald's, but when I worked at Wal-Mart, you could smell the bacon cooking as it wafted through the vents.
Let's begin:

The Big Mac® Bacon: This was a good burger! The bacon made it better and I don't have anything bad to say. They actually put a fair amount of bacon on each burger and though I would like more, that's my problem. I would recommend they make this a permanent menu item!

The Cheesy Bacon Fries: Normally, I like fries at McDonald's. These were NOT good! The bacon was okay, but the cheese was HORRIBLE! It was worse than any canned cheese I have ever tasted. Next time I might say "Cheesy Bacon Fries please...hold the cheese!" No. I will never order these again.

As always, McDonald's knows how to cross promote. Left is a clip of the bag my food came in. I have yet to try the Quarter Pounder® with Bacon, but I am sure it will be good too. Funny thing, the Quarter Pounder is Daughter #1's favorite, but she doesn't much care for bacon (we're still awaiting the DNA test because she might not be related😊)

Try the Big Mac® Bacon! DO NOT TRY THE CHEESY BACON FRIES!!!

Earl Eats Wendy's Giant Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger Meal - A Review

It seems to me that when I see an ad for a new food product, I take it as a challenge! I don't know why but I want to compare and contrast whatever they are offering with their prior offers or similar offerings from their competition. This post is no different. Wendy's advertised a limited time offering of a GIANT Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger, I had to give it a go. The pictures on the left show mine on the top with a side view. And below the picture Wendy's has. I am no food stylist, but you can see the difference. This combo is only $5 and includes 4 chicken nuggets, a small fry, the Giant Jr. and a drink. My break down is $1 for the fries, $1 for 4 nuggets $1 for a small drink, making the Giant Jr. $2.

Results & Conclusions:
First let me say that I will buy this again if the limited time isn't too limited. Next let me tell you that the Wendy's original JBC has always been one of my favorite bargain burgers because, well, BACON! And while this did not look like the advertised burger, it was good and relatively tasty!. You can get bigger drinks at other fast food places and you can get 10 nuggets for a buck at Burger King, though Wendy's are the second best (the best being Chick-Fil-A), and fries are, well fries.

When compared to the other $5 combos out there, this is at the top of the pile and blows away Taco Bell's $5 offerings. If you like Wendy's burgers, you should try this.

One of the things I like about this burger is that it has leaf lettuce and a nice slice of tomato. Their meat is never frozen and I think that shows, mostly in the texture. They say it is twice the beef and twice the bacon, and it tastes like it!!

Earl Cooks Sausage Gravy Over Fries - Who needs Poutine?

Poutine (pu ˈteen) is a dish originating from the Canadian province of Quebec consisting of French fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. I like fries, cheese curds AND brown gravy but I must say, I have been a bit unimpressed by those I have tried at food vendors, and my attempts to make them myself have only been half-hearted at best. But I came across a dish I developed a while back that puts poutine to shame...country sausage gravy over fries! 

What you Need:

• Fries - homemade, cooked from frozen, or leftovers from your takeout.

• Breakfast Sausage - This can be cooked from the package or from the microwavable precooked versions, or from the Sausage McMuffin you ordered with fries and saved for this.

• Country Gravy - This can be from a package, bottle, or can, or you can whip some up yourself,  just make certain you use a lot of fresh ground pepper. 

The fries will need to be as hot as you can make them, but DON'T USE THE MICROWAVE. Microwaves will make the fries soggy. Use a skillet or the oven to heat or reheat them. After mixing the crumbled sausage into the the country gravy, pour over the fries.

These can be eaten with your fingers, but you will want a knife and fork to get every drop. Try this with a runny egg on top to make it even better. It is a great way to use up leftover gravy from biscuits and gravy too!

Earl Eats at ✪ SPECIAL COURSES with Grandboy #2 - A Review

I guess I should complain more. Just when I started posting about not getting to spend enough time with my grandboys then BAM! Three times in two weeks we get to share a meal! Once with #1, once with both, and today, out of the blue, a call to eat from #2! I didn't know if I would be very hungry, since I had just finished breakfast, but I am not going to pass-up time with my grandboys. He said he was thinking a burger, and that he had eaten a good burger at the mall food court! Well, so far I am questioning how good it could possibly be. When I worked at Wal-Mart, one of the places in this same food court bought their burgers from us. They bought the cheapest frozen patties we sold. This shows how times change. I no longer work at Wal-Mart and the mall has been totally revitalized & remodeled. Change is good!

TOP: Mine as delivered
Bottom: As advertised.
I think mine was better than their photo. That NEVER happens!

The new discovery by my grandboy is called Special Courses. It advertises itself as a Veteran Owned business, which I am happy to see. I guess they started with a food truck and have branched out. Their menu features dishes titled in a clever way to reflect their military foundation. It seems the star here is their fries, which are hand cut and topped with every topping you might think of and some you probably haven't! I mentioned that I might not be hungry but looking at their menu made me salivate! I had a very hard time making up my mind. I trusted my grandboy that their food was good, but he hadn't tried everything. I decided to try the one I could compare to other local burger places. It was on the menu board, but I didn't find it on their website menu. It's called the "Berserker", a cheeseburger topped with pastrami and slaw, on a toasted bun and it was a lot of food. I ordered the "Ranger" fries, hand cut potatoes topped with bacon and cheddar. They were a meal in themselves. My grandboy went for their chicken sandwich and fries with Parmesan. He finished first, and I had enough fries to share.
The menu is extensive, but one thing worth noting is their "Brinner" section (Breakfast for Dinner). You can get eggs on fries or burgers and all I have to say is "Merica!" and thanks #2. It was great!

By the Numbers:
Food  ✪✪✪✪½  (Excellent)
Service  ✪✪✪  (Good)
Price 💲💲💲💲½ (a bit pricey, it was $15 for my 2 items, a bit less for grandboy #2)

If I were to change anything, I would post the prices more prominently, but the food is worth it. 

This is a great place for two to split a meal, and it would be a deal!

Earl Eats Wendy's Four for $4 - A Review

I don't often go to Wendy's. During the day I am not often out eating fast food lunches, and for dinner, we don't eat much fast food, and my wife (a.k.a. "Turkey") doesn't much care for Wendy's. But today I was on a shopping marathon and passed a Wendy's and thought I would try their Four for $4 offering. 

I have always felt that Wendy's tries to be on the higher end of fast food, and they do have some elaborate menu offerings, but today I was going for the value. And how often do I get to post Four 3 ways! I chose their Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger for my 444. It comes with a small fry, small drink and 4 piece chicken nugget. 

This is more like what mine looked like. Flatter
and a paper cup rather than a Coke® glass.

I find Wendy's nuggets to be better than some, but I am not a nugget fan. They have good fries, although I am not a frequent fry eater and they didn't offer fry sauce, which is a requirement for the best fries. 

Their Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger is the best of the value burgers and includes a tomato slice and lettuce that is NOT shredded, the only way lettuce should be included on a burger. For review purposes, I try not to make requests so my burger will be like the burger you have there.

Conclusion

For $4, this 4 for $4 is good! A bacon cheeseburger with beef that has never been frozen, a drink, fries and chicken nuggets. This is exactly as advertised (except for the pictures). I look at it this way, 2 dollars for the burger, and one dollar each for the nuggets and fries. I think the drink is more an enticement, because you can get a LARGE drink anywhere for a buck and this is a small drink. The star of the meal is the burger which is satisfying, and better than most value burgers. The nuggets and fries round it out and make it feel like a meal. The lettuce and the tomato are much better than other fast food places and add a fresh element.  It is a good value and a good option for a fast food meal.

Earl & "Turkey" try A&W's Tuesday Combo Meal...We Should Have Had the Pot Pie

You may remember, as I do, going to your local A&W drive-in for a frosty mug of their root beer, or even filling up a glass jug with the same, because your local A&W was not very close, but their root beer was more like frosty nectar. Well, I am happy to report that their root beer is still great, if their other offerings are, well, sad.
I took my wife there for their Tuesday Special, a Papa Burger Combo. It was buy one, get one free, which seems like it would be a good deal...it's not.

Let me say from the get go, that in our neck of the woods, all A&Ws are in a KFC, not stand alone—Strike 1, but I can live with that. The combo costs around SEVEN BUCKS. A bit much for a double cheeseburger with fries and a drink, but that's okay, we get one free, right. It is free, but it is not okay. Where do I start...
From the beginning. We walked in and nobody helped us for what seem a long time. There were several customers waiting for their orders, but none EATING. A bad omen? When someone finally noticed we were there, they didn't say "be right with you or welcome, they just finished what they were doing and then came out. But life goes on, so we ordered. I also saw that they had POUTINE, something that seems to be the rage these days and I wanted to try it. A big mistake.

Because of some upcoming tests, my wife couldn't have raw veggies on hers, which is one of the biggest reasons she eats fast food burgers. As my graphic shows, the Papa burger looked nothing like the advertised picture, and without veggies, it was basically a McDouble, with an extra slice of cheese. But the problems only started there. The fries were almost INEDIBLE. Dry and crunchy but not crispy. And the same goes for the fries in the poutine. The gravy on the poutine obviously came from a powder and my wife commented that she could not taste the flavor of the cheese curds which were advertised as Wisconsin White Cheddar.

Results
What we ended up with were 2  not-very-good-burgers for the price of 2 pub-style burgers at Red Robin, which includes bottomless fries. The root beer is still awesome!
Food ★
Price 💲💲💲💲
Service ★
They still offer glass jugs or frosty mugs, go for that or a nice root beer float. Or go get a Chicken Pot Pie, since you are in a KFC and that is the only thing we ever buy there anymore!

Earl Eats Lunch with the Grandboys at Black Bear Diner

I have reviewed the food at Black Bear Diner in prior posts, but today was a special occasion. My oldest grandboy wanted to grab some lunch and I am always up for time with my Grandboys, so we went to the Black Bear near his home. He had never been, so it seemed the stars were aligning for a good lunch. But wait...right after ordering, my grandboy #2 was looking for Grandboy #1. We were able to make it a trio and we all tried basically the same burger! The real problem was they both remove ALL the veggies from theirs! Pickles, tomatoes, lettuce GONE. They didn't get THAT from me!



I ordered the Classic Burger Basket, which came with a lovely burger and fries in a plastic diner basket. The boys ordered the same basic burger on a nice plate with an additional side dish. Then we each added an over-easy egg to the burgers, which made it very, very good. The fries were nice and crisp and we all ate our full portions. The burger was dressed nicely. If I had a negative comment, it would be that it was a bit on the pricey side for a burger and fries lunch, but we went dutch, and the grandboys didn't complain, so I guess it was worth it.

Food ✰✰✰
Price 💲💲💲💲
Service ✅✅✅✅

Earl Eats Chick-fil-A Fillets

My earliest memories of Chick-fil-A are walking by people in the mall who were offering me tasty samples of waffle fries and chicken to entice me to buy one of their savory fried foods. I will admit that I loved their fries, but didn't often buy their chicken. At that time, I didn't really know what a chicken sandwich was. My chicken came on the bone from the Colonel, or from home. Since that time a lot has changed! The Colonel has passed on and his recipe seems to have gone with him. Kentucky Fried Chicken is now KFC, and the best fried chicken is NOT on the bone, replaced by the ubiquitous chicken strip, the best of which are found at Chick-fil-A.

Some time in the past 35 years, someone thought it would be a good idea to change the Colonel's recipe. Even though KFC rules the fast food market in Asia, it is tough to get a good piece of fried chicken on-the-bone there today. In my opinion Chick-fil-A rules the roost in fried chicken taste & texture and their service is terrific. I don't eat their sandwich, although for years my wife "Turkey" loved them. Then they changed the cheese offerings, and she now eats the strips along with me. She likes their honey-mustard dipping sauce, though I rarely need the sauce, their strips are so tender and tasty.

...And I still love their waffle fries, though I wish they offered fry sauce.

Chick-fil-A has succeeded by focusing on what they started doing and do so well, fried chicken breast fillets. Sure they have added and changed some since their beginnings, but what they bring us is an amplification of the original, not a deviation. And they have some very clever TV and billboard ads too!

As and aside:
The chicken pot pie at KFC keeps me going back there and is something everyone should try, so they haven't totally lost me!