Friday, October 31, 2008

Our Reader Chris Norton's Special Hard Boiled Peppered Egg Coins Platter

Chris sent along thse photo taken of the cooking and presentation of his hard-boiled peppered egg coins. With not much information from him on this platter - we asked him to say a few blurbs to which he replied: "Its the right thing to do, and a delicious way to do it" "sometimes i put them on salad but i've gotten so lethargic these days as i wither away" "feeds me. 2 eggs"

Thursday, October 30, 2008

The FPT Tries: Frozen Dwight Yoakam's Chickin' Lickin's Chicken Fries

On a recent shopping excursion we came across these unique frozen chicken fries endorsed by Dwight Yoakam and made by Bakersfield Biscuits. There were two other items in this line - macaroni and cheese stuffed somethings and something else unusual - thats all we remember. Not a large portion here - but they were easy to microwave and while they easily passed our basic standards test, we would not give them a 5-star foodstuff rating. These scored a 3.5 out of 5. We include the price in this grading scale and at 99 cents as marked on the packaging - its a decent spent dollar. On a sidenote - we actually paid $1.29 for these from Walgreen's. We did not notice this until we had allready purchased them or we would have protested. One thing that really gets under the skin of the Fat Pride Times is truth in packaging. We will be doing an official complaint to the location these were purchased from.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Foodstuff Flashback: A 1940's Era Carl's Jr. Drive-Thru Hot Dog Stand In Los Angeles

FOODSTUFFS FLASHBACKS POST #9 IN A 7 PART SERIES One of our staffers was inside a Carl's Junior picking up lunch for our meeting when he spotted this snapshot in time framed by the restroom doors. This drive-thru hot dog stand was at the corner of Florence & Western in Los Angeles and at the time was considered 'modernized'. Named Carl's at this time - the same organization would eventually run the Carl's Jr. locations you see today.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Florida's Frodo Vegetable Soup Preparation Media Explosion!

Our friend Frodo in Florida spent this weekend making up a big batch of his legendary vegetable soup, and as always he has provided us with fantastic media of the big event. Frodo obviously takes his soup making to another level this time around and he chose the perfect time of year to remind of us how great soup can be on a fall day.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Dr. Pepper & Guns N' Roses Make Good On Free Soda For Every American Promise

Dr.Pepper is making good on a 'hedge' promise to give every American citizen a free bottle of soda if Guns N' Roses released their long-awaited "Chinese Democracy" album before the end of 2008.
The new album, the bands first in 15 years will be released on November 23rd. Keep that date handy if you want your free 20 ounce bottle of Dr. Pepper - as you must visit their official website - http://www.drpepper.com/ - and register for a free coupon on that exact day.
The staff here at the FPT is predicting multiple crashes for servers that host their official webpage. Thanks to regular reader Tom Sawyer for passing this info our way.

Name This Meal Contest: The First Close Answer Wins Prize

The meal shown being prepared in the FPT test kitchens is a rather unusual one. So for this contest we will declare the first guess that is 'close' by our standards to be the winner. Prize being free burger coupons sent via snail mail to you. Use the comments link below to enter.
Clue: one of the ingredients is not commonly served with the others involved.

Friday, October 24, 2008

The Monster Breakfast Sandwich From Carl's Jr. Meets The FPT Staff

One of our staffers brought a few of these big boys into the FPT test kitchens yesterday. This is one mean breakfast sandwich. Sporting 2 eggs, bacon, sausage, 2 kinds of cheeses & sourdough bread it will fill any belly it enters.
Price is around 3.00 to 3.50 depending on loction - but this sandwich is stocked with enough goodness to equal well over 2 sausage mcmuffins with cheese which would hit you for 4.00.
This sandwich just tastes better than the options from other drive-thrus as well.
5-Star Choice

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Reader Spots Distressing Food Packaging and Labeling Information

The staff here at the FPT is always keeping an eye out for mis-leading labeling regarding quantity of foodstuffs. Our regular contributor Etathed has sent us this breaking food news that he spotted for us:
From MSN Money's Michael Brush:
"Slammed by the skyrocketing costs of agricultural goods and energy, many companies are quietly shortchanging their customers by putting a little less into bags, jars and boxes.
"We are tightening our belts," PepsiCo chief Indra Nooyi said in a company conference call last week. PepsiCo recently reduced the amount of Tropicana orange juice you get in a large container by 7%, from 96 ounces to 89 ounces. Bags of Doritos, also made by PepsiCo, have been trimmed by as much as 2 ounces.
PepsiCo is not alone in subtly cutting size as a substitute for raising prices. Kelloggs, General Mills, Unilever, Wm. Wrigley Jr., and Proctor & Gamble have quietly trimmed the amount of cereal, ice cream, chewing gum, paper towels and toilet paper you get.

The New Doritos Collisions: Pizza Cravers and Ranch Flavor Review

This review just in from one of our loyal readers, Chris Norton:
"I liked them overall - tastebud confusion can occur but the surprise is delightful. I would call them the feel good chip of the fall."

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Still No Winner In The "Guess The Crawfish Crate Weight" Contest

Last month we ran the contest to guess the weight of the crawfish inside the shipping container in the photo above. We had many responses but none were on the money. This time we are offering a hint: "the answer is very easy to find".
Good Luck! Winner gets coupons for free burgers via mail.
Use the 'Comments" link below to post a guess.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

The Best Hot Sauce You Can Buy: Pico Pica

Pico Pica is something that we have taken for granted over the years and it is time to acknowledge this hot sauce as the standard to which all others should be measured against.
It has been around since 1937 and is now available in other markets besides the Southern California areas where it is bottled in the city of Wilmington.
It does come in two temperatures - regular and hot, with the hot being a true 'hot'. It has a flavor similar to an enchilada sauce and it goes well with many foodstuffs. We recommend you try a bottle out and enjoy the ride.

McDonald's Sausage McMuffins Now $1.99 - Seems Too Expensive To Us

We here at the Fat Pride Times have been loyal eaters of the Sausage McMuffin from McDonald's for quite some time - however times they are a changin'.
When the price went up from 1.39 to 1.69, that was tolerable, but now they are selling for 1.99 and we are not sure that are worthy of this price. Its a small sandwich and you need a minimum of two, sometimes three to get any satisfaction.
Picture above is of the old standard 'Prider' breakfast - Diet Cokes and McMuffins - If the price comes back down we will reconsider.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Our Staff Samples The Carl's Jr. Guacamole Bacon Cheeseburger

This afternoon our staff at the FPT test kitchens was able to sample and rate the Carl's Jr. Guacamole Bacon Cheeseburger. We went for the 6 dollar version - as there were 3 of us present and it doesn't really cost 6 bucks, they just call it that.
Our three tasters came from across the board in re. to guacamole, one taster who loves it, one taster who dislikes it and one taster who is "on the fence".
Every taster ate their entire third of the burger and all found it tasty in different ways. The guacamole lover said then guac was very nice because it has larger tomato chunks in it and it was not sweetened. The taster who claimed he disliked guacamole alltogether said the nice big bacon strips blended well with the guacamole taste and then he declared that he had forgotten why he disliked guacamole and could not even actually remember trying it (he just knew he doesnt like avacodos by themselves). Our man who was undecided put bbq sauce on the burger and said it was an awesome burger - then remembered we were focusing on the guacamole and then apologized for 'spacing out'. He promises to try it again this time with no added sauces and let us know if he becomes a guac 'convert'.
Must mention that the new fries Carl's serves are truly the best "fast food" fries you can get from anywhere. They are the long plank style with some of the potato skin still on them.
As with the other 6 dollar burgers we have tried from Carl's this one was all-over excellent. Comes with nice thick bacon strips, large slices of cheese, nice lettuce & tomatoes and it was (as always) cooked fresh to order.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Road Trip Reports: Florida Food Report, Part 1 - Schooners - From Ethaded

This past week I was in beautiful Panama City Beach Florida for a few days to attend a conference for work. The weather and beaches there were beautiful, the sand soft, and the waters warm. Just as enjoyable was the fantastic food i got to sample. As you can imagine I feasted on as much fresh seafood as i could. Another conference attendee actually owned two beach front retaraunts in town and treated our group to free dinners on monday and tuesday night!
These were no ordinary dinners either, full four course meals that had this prider F-U-L-L FULL.
This report covers the first dinner held at Schooners (pronounced Skoo'-ners.) This place was right on the beach and is refered to as The last local beach club and restaraunt. Like all good beach food places Schooners is out in the open air and offers a beautiful view of the setting sun. Now onto the meal. The appetizer i chose was scallops and greens baked in a fresh pastry like shell served with a lobster sauce. While not a fan of pastry, this unique plate proved to be delicious. The flakey outside shell mixed well with the scallops and greens inside, and the lobster sauce was top notch.
After a salad it was time for the evening's main course. While there were several options including filet mignon that looked fantastic, there was no way i was going to pass up some fresh fish. I went with the Snapper and rice. This is what eating in florida is all about, fresh caught, and grilled to perfection and served over rice with asparagus on the side (which i didn't touch.)
After all that dessert was served in the form of an amazing tiramisu. Sorry, i ate that before snapping a pic.
From its prestine location and unparralled sunset views, to the gracious staff, cold beers and cocktails, and of course the delicious grub Schooners is a must for anyone visiting Panama City Beach. It very well may be the not only the last, but the BEST local beach club and restaraunt.
Up Next, Part 2: Dinner at The Boatyard

Saturday, October 11, 2008

BREAKING FOOD NEWS FROM LATVIA: New Hospital Themed Restaurant Opens

We have received word here at the FPT that a rather unique restaurant has opened in the country of Latvia named "Hospital". It is not only named that but actually looks like one. The dining room features surgery tables, skulls, doctor tools and much more. Even the waitresses all dress like nurses.
Most interesting thing is that they have a 'Straight-Jacket' service option. This is where you pay to be tied up in a straight-jacket and be fed by one of the 'nurses'.
That is all we have on this for the monet. More info to follow as it comes in.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

We Test Drive The New Stouffer's "Now With More" Microwave Meatloaf

After seeing the "Now With More" claim on the box, it was decided that we should sample this frozen microwave meatlof meal from Stouffer's. There absolutely is a large sized double portion of the meatloaf along with the mashed potatoes with homestyle gravy.
The FPT staff melted some cheese on top of both the loaves and the potatoes for bonus flavor. Our final take is that this is a big portion - no doubt about it.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Wendy's "Junior Bacon Cheeseburger" Bacon Measures 5/16th of 1 Inch

While running errands today one of our staff members needed food in a hurry and hit a Wendy's drive-thru, as it was right along her driving route. After ordering a few items from the "Value Menu", our staffer got to the "Junior Bacon Cheeseburger" and could not believe what she saw.
The 2 bacon strips were tiny - incredibly tiny, so tiny that she dragged out a ruler from the glovebox and took the above photo to share with us. Measuring in at 5/16th's of an inch, we here at the FPT simply cannot believe that Wendy's serves these so called pieces of bacon. Yes, it is called the Junior Bacon Cheeseburger - but this is even too small for that label or any that we can think up.

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Carl's Jr & Hardees Re-Launch New Truly Cool "Interactive" Websites

The fine folks at Carl's Jr. & Hardee's have given their website a very cool makeover that the FPT staff recommends you visit and check out the cool stuff. What we liked the most was depending on what time of day you visit the site - the food on the table changes. For example if you visit in the morning you see breakfast foods and in the evening you see dinner.
Here is the official press release:
Burger Lovers Can Now Customize Site and Interact With Virtual Roommates
CARPINTERIA, Calif. – Oct. 1, 2008 – Carl's Jr. and Hardee's have again transformed the way fans can bond with their burgers and each other. Both brands re-launched their Web sites this week with an updated look, expanded interactivity and new customer loyalty program.
The sites, carlsjr.com and hardees.com, feature an enhanced "young, hungry guy's" dream bachelor pad, starting with a virtual, 3D living room landing page and a large, flat-screen TV playing Carl's Jr. and Hardee's latest television ads. A library of some of the brands' hottest historical ads is also accessible. Site visitors can now select a virtual roommate who will interact with them each time they login to the site. And because we all know guys like gaming, the site allows visitors to sign up for the "Burger Slayer" loyalty program, earning points that can be used to customize the look of the living room and eventually unlock "hottie" roommate options and other brand fan freebies.
"When we first partnered with Spacedog Interactive, now part of Mendelsohn-Zien Advertising, to design and launch state-of-the art Web sites for both Carl's Jr. and Hardee's in 2005, the sites were unlike anything anyone was doing in the industry because they focused more on an aspirational lifestyle for our 'young, hungry guy' customers," said Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing for Carl's Jr. and Hardee's restaurants. "But since that time, others have copied our approach - in some cases very closely, indeed - so we wanted to regain our leadership with revamped sites that take the virtual living room environment and the overall brand interaction potential to a whole new level. The new 3D capability and full live-action video capability will also allow us to do cool things like have special guests, including hot new bands, make exclusive appearances on the sites in the future."
The living room landing page has been updated with 3D modeling as well as real-time day-to-night transitions. On the coffee table: a full meal from Carl's Jr. or Hardee's, which changes depending on the time of day visitors log on - as does the scene outside the window. The sites were designed by the digital division of Mendelsohn-Zien Advertising, formerly operated as digital design and marketing firm, Spacedog Interactive. Mendelsohn-Zien is the Los Angeles-based agency known for creating the brands' edgy, iconic advertising campaigns.
Visitors to the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's Web sites can also explore and interact in 3D thanks to a partnership with ExitReality. The technology allows users to experience the traditional, 2-dimensional sites as 3-dimensional spaces and even convert their profile pages on social network platforms, such as MySpace and Facebook, into 3D environments. The ExitReality 3D component is available to download on the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's sites.
In conjunction with the launch of these new sites, CKE Restaurants has partnered with Lionsgate for a promotion in support of their recent theatrical release "My Best Friend’s Girl". Consumers visiting the Carls'Jr. or Hardee's sites can click on the movie poster in their virtual living room and enter the "Shave an Eyebrow for Love" contest for the chance to win $1,000. The site will serve as a platform to promote other such partnerships in the future. Movie clips are able to be viewed on the site's flat-screen TV.
Aside from the new and improved interactivity, consumers looking for nutritional information or restaurant location will be able to easily navigate and access the information. Since the sites were created using the Ruby on Rails framework, the information is easily updated and can be customized for visitors wanting to gather nutritional information for each menu item or an entire meal.

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Coffee Mug Chocolate Cake Recipe

Barnabus, our Oregon coast correspondant recently stumbled upon this recipe which he swears to us he actually invented himself app.10 years ago. We have no reason to doubt his claim. In an unrelated matter, Jake from the FPT test kitchens janitorial staff has told various staff members that he was the first person to freeze yogurt.
Coffee Mug Chocolate Cake:
1 coffee mug 4 T flour (plain flour, not self-rising) 4 T sugar 2 T baking cocoa 1 egg 3 T milk 3 T oil 3 T chocolate chips (optional) some nuts (optional) small splash vanilla
Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well again. Add the chocolate chips (if using). Add the nuts (if using). Add the vanilla, and mix again.
Put mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed.

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

What Would Happen If a Thickburger Jumped into a Cold Swimming Pool?

Answer: Shrinkage! BREAKING FOOD NEWS: ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Not all burger lovers have big appetites but they all want big taste. So now, five years after Hardee's first raised the quality bar for fast-food hamburgers with its revolutionary line of charbroiled, 1/3- and 2/3-lb., 100% Black Angus beef Thickburgers, the chain has created a reduced-size version of the popular items especially for smaller appetites. Starting today, Hardee's is introducing Little Thickburgers for those who want a little less burger but aren’t willing to settle for lower quality value menu fare. "Ever since we first introduced our signature line of Thickburgers in 2003, our research has consistently shown that people recognize and appreciate their superior taste and quality," said Brad Haley, Hardee’s EVP of Marketing for Hardee's restaurants. "The only complaint some people have ever had about our Thickburgers is that they were either too big or too expensive to order as much as they would like, particularly in this challenging economic environment. So, we created Little Thickburgers specifically for those people. Starting at just $1.99 and made with quarter pound, charbroiled, 100% Black Angus beef patties, Little Thickburgers may be smaller than the original Thickburgers, but they are definitely not small on taste." Weighing in at a robust quarter of a pound, Little Thickburgers are smaller than a regular 1/3-lb. Thickburger but, even so, they still rival the size of most other chains' big burger offerings. Little Thickburgers are made with the same 100% Black Angus beef and topped with premium ingredients like fresh diced red onions, whole lettuce leaves, sliced tomato and dill pickles on a grilled, seeded bun, just like their popular big brothers. An entertaining new advertising campaign illustrates the size difference between the classic 1/3-lb Thickburger and the new 1/4-lb. Little Thickburger in various humorous ways. In one ad, the Thickburger is described as a "Jock" while the Little Thickburger earns the "Jockey" title. In another, the Thickburger earns a Badonkadonk rating, while the Little Thickburger squeaks by with a Badinkadink. The ads were created by Los Angeles-based advertising agency, MendelsohnZien, the masterminds behind many iconic Hardee’s ads including the memorable Paris Hilton commercial, "That’s Hot" from 2005 and the Fake Restaurant campaign from earlier this year. To view the ads, visit http://www.mzad.com/demos/littlethickburgerads/. Little Thickburgers are available in two versions: one fully loaded with cheese, produce and all the condiments and the other topped with cheese, diced onions, pickles, ketchup and mustard. The new burgers are available at all locations and start at just $1.99. Prices may vary.

Report From World Famous Roadkill Cookoff in Marlinton, West Virginia

From Regular Contributor Etathed: A few years ago the state of West Virginia made it legal to to take home - and use - animals killed by cars. Thus the Roadkill Cookoff was born. This past weekend I was fortunate enough to attend the World Famous Roadkill Cookoff in Marlinton, West Virginia. This is a unique food fest featuring cooks from all over the region competing for cash and prizes. The only rule is that the foodstuffs must be made from animals commonly found on the side of the road. While not for those with a weak stomach, there is a great variety of unique foods to sample at this yearly event. From bear, to deer, to turtles, this is truely an event that would make any Prider proud. There where three foodstuffs that really knocked my socks off this year. They are, in no particular order: - Smeared Hog, a wondefully and surprisingly tasty Groundhog recipe. - Barnyard Buzzard, BBQ Buzzard grilled to perfection. - Turkey Chili, A nice Spicy chili. While these were my top 3 favorite samples of the day, I also tried two snapping turtle recipes, one a soup, the other just meat. While the soup was not very good at all, the meat dish was rather tasty. Thanks to my friend and recent FPT Prider, mecoleman for taking these photos at the event.