Earl Eats Two Fast Food Bacon Burgers - A Review

It may seem unfair to compare a premium burger from McDonald's to a Junior offering from Burger King. But on this day, that's what I set-out to do...The Flame Grilled Bacon King Jr. from Burger King vs. the Bacon Smokehouse Burger from McDonald's. Both are similar in their descriptions but very different in their price points. How do they stack up, and which one is the Best Burger Bargain.

Let's start at Burger King: they describe their BACON KING™ Jr. as a "smaller package, same BIG taste. Two flame–grilled 100% beef patties topped with thick-cut smoked bacon, melted American cheese, ketchup and creamy mayonnaise on a toasted sesame seed bun." 

McDonald's describes their Bacon Smokehouse Burger as "A burger made with unexpected flavor combinations, including crispy Applewood smoked bacon, smoky bacon-onion sauce, real white cheddar(sharp), mild sweet mustard sauce and in-house fried onion strings. With a 100% fresh beef 1/4 lb. patty that’s hotter, juicier and cooked when you order. Served on an artisan roll." 

I liked both of these burgers very much. The BACON KING™ Jr. from Burger King had 2 patties while the Bacon Smokehouse had just the one, but it is a quarter pound patty. I have always liked the flavor of Burger Kings Flame Grilled patties, although a good friend of mine is just the opposite. The bacon was good on both too. The sharp white cheddar on the McDonald's offering was a pleasant addition but 2 slices of American from BK was good too. McDonald's "artisan bun" was nice and soft but the BACON KING™ Jr.'s bun was nicely toasted with the traditional sesame seeds.

I do like the addition of fried onion rings on the McDonald's burger as well as their bacon-onion sauce. I also like the creamy mayonnaise BK ads to theirs. I don't think the ketchup added to the  Burger King sandwich was necessary since it tends to cover up the flavor of the beef, but the mustard sauce on the McDonald's burger added a light tang without covering the beef flavor.

Results & Conclusions

As mentioned earlier, I liked both of these burgers. It seems like McDonald's is really trying to improve their fare. The Burger King sandwich is not really anything new, but is re-imagined and slightly downsized. If I were judging on simply which is best, McDonald's Bacon Smokehouse Burger wins. The fried onion rings,  sharp, white cheese and condiments won the day. However...

Burger King's is the best VALUE, by far! The McDonald's was nearly $6 for the sandwich alone. Burger King's price was around $3. Is it as good? NO! Is it good? YES!

Earl Cooks the Best Burger I have Ever Cooked!

I love hamburgers. A good burger combines the best of meat, veggies, dairy, and bread all in one handy package! The burgers usually include 2 meats and cheese. Most often, the type of cheese doesn't matter to me, but it must be one that will melt easily and cover the patty with gooey smoothness. This burger was born from leftover ingredients from my Cinco de Mayo meals this past weekend. I had crispy flour tortilla shells, cheese, taco seasoning and avocado.

I started with one pound of 80/20 ground beef, which I seasoned with simple taco seasoning. I used a package, but it is easy to make your own. Now the uniqueness begins. I had some delicious flour tortillas left over from my fish tacos from Cinco de Mayo, which I CRUSHED into fine flakes and added them to the seasoned ground beef.  I divided that into four patties, and placed an indentation in the center to prevent cupping when the burger cooks.

I lightly coated each patty with the same seasoned coating I had used on the fish. Dixie Fry & Taco Seasoning (Dixie Fry is a simple coating for chicken & fish that my grandboy introduced me to.  After searing on both sides I added a dash of Weber® Gourmet Burger seasoning. I topped that with cheddar jack shredded cheese and covered the pan for just a moment, to melt the cheese.

To top the burger off, I used a perfectly ripe avocado. for a side dish I roasted some baby broccoli. This need no bun, just a knife & fork.

Results & Conclusions:
As I said in the title, this is the best burger I have ever cooked. Maybe not the best I have ever eaten, but I have never considered my burgers flavorful enough to rave about. The crunch from the tortillas and the mild taco seasoning worked almost to perfection. It was like Taco Tuesday!

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 & "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 with "Turkey" at Red Robin and We Both "Pig Out"

Our favorite place to have a 'burger night' is closed. It was the Applebee's near us. In search of another sit-down, dine-in restaurant that serves a good burger that isn't way out of our price range, I thought we would try Red Robin. It isn't close to home, but is on the way home from my wife's workplace...sort of.

Over the years we have eaten there only a couple of times, and those were not memorable enough to bring us back, but they are offering their $6.99 Tavern Line-up with bottomless steak fries right now so it seemed like a good time to go back.

My wife gets off work kinda early, (I felt like I was early enough for senior dining), but at least the parking lot was fairly empty! They had remodeled since we last ate there, and I liked the style. I was greeted by two young ladies who were happy to see a warm body and took me to a secluded table (all the tables were secluded!) though a work Christmas group of 8 to 10 people were seated near me almost as I arrived. Our server was very nice and attentive, and promptly offered a drink while I waited for "Turkey" to arrive.

Above:Their Advertised. Below:Our Reality

There were 4 or 5 offerings from their Tavern line-up of burgers, and a couple more for only 50 cents more. We both ended up wanting the same burger—their "Pig Out" Tavern Double. To quote from their menu "A bacon lover's dream—hardwood-smoked bacon with creamy smoked-bacon sauce, lettuce, tomatoes and American cheese. It's bacon and more bacon." It didn't quite live up to it's hype though. The image here shows the picture from their menu and the reality, but I don't care that it is as tall. How did it taste?
—The patties were nicely cooked and had a great flavor.
—The bacon was almost non-existent. I had almost forgotten it came with bacon. I had to check to see if they forgot it.
—And the creamy smoked bacon sauce was just a sauce. No discernible bacon flavor.
—The Lettuce was great! It was a curly edged green lettuce in a full leaf that didn't overpower, but added a nice freshness that that is often missing.
—The cheese was fine. It was properly melted American.
—The steak fries were a BIG disappointment. Lukewarm and limp we both thought they may have been under a heat lamp for some time. They are bottomless, but we had no desire to ask for more. They do come with a fry sauce. It was okay. BBQ Sauce & Mayo is my guess. However, after trying it, my wife made her own.

Conclusion:
The best thing I can say about this is I feel we got what we paid for. We will probably try it again, but it may not become a regular stop. Too bad. I wanted it to.

Rating: ★★★✰✰

Earl Eats with the Grandboys at Freddy's

My Grandboys called me today to see if I could go with them to lunch. I said sure! Then I asked where and they said they didn't know. Well I did a review of the hot-dogs awhile back at Freddy's Steakburgers, and we were close so I suggest that!. On my last visit, I lamented the fact that I didn't try their flagship burger, so this became a great opportunity to make-up for that! Two of us ordered the double steakburger combo with bacon, and one of us the triple. The orders got shuffled a bit and I didn't get bacon, but got the triple. It wasn't any fault of theirs, we just grabbed the wrong trays.

We were very happy with our meals and one grandboy RAVED about the slender fries, which are tasty. I was impressed with the pickle chips served on mine. My one grandboy is a former McDonald's employee, and I think he prefers Mickey D's fries.

We ate inside the restaurant which was a good idea. Their service was great and everyone was very helpful. Also when you eat in they offer additional seasoning for the fries. They also have their own in-house fry sauce, a must for me. They serve Pepsi products, and that was fine with all 3 of us.

The restaurant was clean and well organized and we were served in a very timely fashion, although we were just ahead of the lunch rush, so that helped.

Conclusion: 
Go and try this place if you have one nearby! Not cheap, but very tasty.

Earl Eats at The Habit Burger Grill

Hungry for a burger we visited the nearby Habit in South Jordan, I had eaten there a couple of times before and found them to be good, but it had been quite awhile. They pride themselves on the fact that their burger is charbroiled, which I like, but so does Burger King.
The staff was very good and the atmosphere is fine. The parking lot is a JOKE however. The traffic in the shopping center was impossible to navigate and we parked so far away it seemed like we walked there!

The Habit's Advertised burger vs. Reality

• Burger 🍔🍔🍔🍔(my wife said hers was slightly under-cooked) 
• Lettuce-shredded(yuck for me) 
• Bun🍔🍔 
• Price$$($3.75) 

I would definitely try their Tempura green beans again...and again!

Summary

I would go back and liked the burger I was served, but probably won't because my wife's was undercooked for her taste...happy wife, happy life!

Earl Eats at Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers

As so often happens, I was on my way to discover somewhere else, and got a bonus discovery! I had never eaten or even heard of them, in fact I thought it might be a gas station of a similar name or a car wash, also the same name. With steakburgers prominently displayed in the the name I thought I should give them a try. As I pulled up to the drive-through, I almost gave them a pass because it was quite busy even though it was past the lunch hour, but as I watched the line moved quickly so decided to go ahead and try it. And the line moved very quickly.

 I wanted a Steakburger, but my approach trying someplace new is order their basics. Their menu says they serve Vienna Beef  hot dogs and they use what has become known as the "Top Slice" or "New England" style bun often associated with lobster rolls, so I ordered their Chicago Style Hot Dog and to try their burger, I ordered their basic.  I also ordered fries and a drink. They serve Pepsi Products, but not a great selection. Their fries are like shoestring potatoes almost but they do offer fry sauce!

Their burger was not as good as I paid for so that is a negative.

Freddy's #4 Combo

Conclusion

Their Hot dog was okay with a nicely toasted bun but when compared to their competition, not as good as other Chicago Dogs at fast food restaurants. The help was courteous and friendly and as mentioned, the line moved rather well. I won't be trying these 2 items there again, so next time, it will be their steakburger, if there is a next time.

Earl Eats "The Hog Burger" at Britton's Restaurant in Sandy

Britton's Hog Burger

The last time I went to lunch with one of my grandboys, we went to Britton's in Sandy, UT. I had the Louisiana Heart attack and loved it. Today, my other grandboy and I went back to Britton's. I showed him the menu description of the Louisiana Heart Attack and he wanted to order that for himself. But he pointed out to me something I had missed on my previous visit...The Hog Burger! Here is their description:
-Hog Burger-Two Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, One with Bacon, One with Tomatoes, with a Burger and Grilled Onions Stuffed in between

How could I go wrong! I love EVERY SINGLE COMPONENT. Again it is:

• Grilled Cheese
• Bacon (It gave the whole sandwich a rich smokiness) 
• Tomatoes
• Burger
• Grilled Onions
• Fries with their own Fry Sauce

Everything was done to perfection, even the server who was wearing a tiara because it was his birthday.

Conclusion

I couldn't finish it, but not for lack of trying. It was just fries I had to leave behind, but only a few. Go try this all you who love Burgers, Grilled Cheese, Bacon & Tomatoes!

 Britton's Louisiana Heart Attack w/Veggies Removed (kids!)

Sonic's "Car Hop Classic"

I revisited Sonic after giving their cheeseburger a less-than-positive review a few months back. I tried their cheeseburger as part of their "Car Hop Classic", a combo which included their onion rings for just $2.99! That's what I paid for just the burger last time. The Surprise was...it was much better! This time I was at another Sonic. It was still the same burger, but the American cheese was melted, and the seasoning was even better...AND IT WAS HOT! I know, all burgers should be hot but we all know the difference between heat lamp hot and fresh cooked hot, and this was FRESH! But enough about the burger, the Onion Rings are the star of this combo. They are hand-made and piping HOT. Perfectly crisp coating and al dente onion slices which make you happy to indulge in deep fried food (and they included an ample supply of Fry Sauce)!

So, to properly compare this to my previous experience, I went back to the original Sonic where I had tried the burger months ago, to try the combo there. To my surprise it was much better than my first experience but not quite as good as the other Sonic. Everything was much the same, but not as hot and NO FRY SAUCE! I probably could have asked, but one of the great experiences at the other Sonic was they delivered how I wanted without any fuss on my part.

CONCLUSION
Go try the "Car Hop Classic" before it disappears!

Sonic's "Car Hop Classic"

Sonic's Cheeseburger

Sonic® Cheeseburger

Tried Sonic's Cheeseburger today and it was pretty much as advertised, which made me ask "Why Advertise this?"




This is exactly what their site advertises, but I was still disappointed. The first thing I noticed was that it is more expensive than othe competing national chains cheeseburger. It had some things I don't care for in a burger. The patty was nicely seasoned, but  the lettuce is shredded, a bit of a pet peeve of mine. In addition the patty was not HOT. The pickles were crisp and plentiful, if picles are your thing. I like them so I consider that a minor plus. The American cheese slice was the same as most other chains, and not melted.

Earl & "Turkey" Eat Crown Burgers - A Review

Went Crown Burger tonight...it was great! I Had the Crown Burger,  and "Turkey" (a.k.a. my wife) had the Crown Burger Jr. 

The burger was tasty but the pastrami was awesome! They use shredded lettuce, which I don't think is right for hamburgers, but several have told me they like their lettuce shredded.

It's in the higher mid-range but worth every penny!

By the numbers:
Burger: 🍔🍔🍔🍔(would have been 5 with better lettuce).
Cheese: 🧀🧀(American)
Price:$$$$ (a bit pricey but matches the taste & quality

Conclusion:
Our burgers didn't need anything else, there was ample food! In fact Laurie could only get through half of her Jr...so I sacrificed!

Winger's "Fowl Cow" Burger (it's a meal really)

Fowl Cow Burger at Winger's

I Went with my Grandsons to Wingers' this afternoon to try their new Burgers. THEY ARE THE BEST WE HAVE EVER TASTED!
Fowl Cow Burger (a House Specialty) is Fresh ground chuck, a juicy chicken breast, sharp cheddar and pepper jack cheese, mayo, applewood smoked bacon, and topped with a fried egg! The Porker (Burger, Pork, Bacon, Cheddar) was very good too, but Fowl Cow...Freaking Amazing!

Applebees All In Triple Bacon Burger

Had the Triple Bacon, All In Burger at Applebee's last night...it was great.
Bacon cooked in the burger,

bacon ON the burger and bacon-aoli dressing!