Oregon Reader Reviews Pizza Hut New Tuscani Pasta & Pizza Special

Our long time correspondant from the Oregon coast took a 'leap of faith' and had the new Pizza Hut "Tuscani Pasta" and medium pizza combo and bread sticks for $19.99 delivered. You may have seen the commercial on television where they 'borrowed' the 'fake restaurant' premise from Carls' Jr./Hardee's to see if diners think its from a fancy white tablecloth restaurant. (come on now Pizza Hut - get your own advertsing ideas) Here is our reader review: Photo is of the Pizza Hut "Tuscani Pasta" and medium pizza combo which came with bread sticks for $19.99. It was the bacon macaroni - cheese variety of pasta. overall it was not bad, the pizza was a bit light on the toppings, but their consistency is never great. I was mainly getting the pasta but was down for the bundle. I would reccomend this as a good meal for 2-3 regulars, or 1 prider. GRADE: B-

The FPT Team Puts The Carl's Jr. 6 Dollar Burgers To The Test

Perhaps you have seen the commercial on television where Carl's Jr. sets up a "fake restaurant" and lets diners order fancy burgers in the 15.00 range from a menu and waiter. They then serve them one of their 6 dollar Angus beef burgers and their responses. The FPT test kitchens are on the west coast, these same burgers are also served in the east at Hardee's. Carl's had an elaborate well done set-up with white tablecloths and chefs with tall hats in their fake restaurant. The staff here at the FPT wanted to try the same switch-off on some unsuspecting friends, however we did not do it such a grand style. (you can watch the commercial and more with the link at the end of this post). Our switch was pulled off by telling a friend that we had some gift cards for a local "fancy pants" restaurant that were going to expire soon. We recommended that they try the 'prime rib burger' as it "was the best and most spendy burger that our gift card restaurant offered. Both of our 'guinea pigs' happily said that sounded good and to keep them fooled, fake cell phone calls were made to order the burgers for pick-up. Using a simple made-up excuse, we arranged it so that we could swap the Carl's Jr. burgers into plain white to-go containers. We also got french fries to go with as Carl's now serves a new 'some skin left on' fry that are REALLY good and look like something from a sit-down restaurant as well. The pictures above are from the pick-up - we did not think it smart to take photos of them eating the burgers as they know us well enough that they could figure out that "we might be up to something". What happened? Our friends never had a clue - they ate the burgers very slowly (maybe when you think you are eating a 15.00 burger you think it deserves more face time than something from a drive-thru). They both absolutely loved them and the fries as well. Nothing but thank you's and WOW that was really really good was said from our 'fooled' friends. We did let them in on the whole thing after letting the meal get settled in their bellies. Laughs were had by all. During both experiments we both had our own burgers as well. The 6 dollar prime rib burger is truly excellent - especially the ciabatta bun. Also special props to the new french fries - best 'drive-thru' fries that you can find right now. Official Fake Restaurant Website

Mickey's Beer Cap Puzzle Answers Website With Photo Gallery and More

Tory, our long-time web researcher/crawler stumbled upon what appeared to be the ultimate collection of 'rebus' beer cap puzzles with answers. He found the official Mickey's Beer webpage - which is very well done - with one exception. Upon clicking on the 'puzzle generator' and 'answer center', he found that there is nothing there to view. The gallery of cap images does not load up, you can generate your own cap puzzle however it does not save it for show on the webpage as stated. Obviously, the entire staff here at the FPT test kitchens was very disapointed. On the webpage is a link to 'talk to us' (Mickey's Beer Co.) - we encourage all who read this to contact them and let them know that we would like to see this website up and fully stocked with cap answers and the other offerings. www.mickeys.com October 2009 Update: Our team has launched a new site with symbol by symbol answers for the Mickey's beer cap puzzle collection. There will be new cap answers posted daily until we get the whole known collection up.

We are looking for photo submissions of caps if anyone can help us with that. If you have a specific cap you are trying to solve, please email us with the link found in the right column of this page. We will solve it and post it ASAP.

Mickey's Beer Caps Answer Board

Win Food & Beverages Online With McDonald's "Stack My Mac" Game

McDonald's has put a video game online that you can play and try to win Big Mac sandwiches and Dr.Pepper beverages. It plays kind of like a Tetris game - with the player moving icons to create rows of three and trying to keep the Dr.Pepper glass full as well - which if goes dry, your game is over. Rodney in our digital photography lab is the current FPT staff leader. Post your score/prizes below in 'comments' if you think you are the real deal. Stack My Mac Video Game

We Endorse The Petition For A USPS Colonel Sanders Postage Stamp

Kentucky Fried Chicken has launched a campaign to honor the man who has provided us with countless buckets of tasty bird withh 11 herbs and spices for decades by lobbying the United States Postal Service to issue a stamp bearing his image. The staff here at the FPT test kitchens strongly encourages you to visit the link below where you can read and 'sign' the petition online. KFC Colonel Stamp Petition Page

New "Name This Foodstuff" Contest - Running 5 Days Only

Think you can recognize the foodstuff above? Think you can handle a page of Arby's coupons and a page of KFC coupons by being the first to post the correct answer? Then use the comment link below to go for it. Easy to play - No need to sign-up or anything to post a comment.

Thanks For Your Support - Sometime Today The Fat Pride Times Passes The 30,000 Unique Visitors Mark!

We like to think we are a modest thinktank and this is the first time we have pointed out when our unique visitors count has reached a numerical benchmark. The staff and management here would like to thank our loyal readers and give big props to the great people who have contributed to the FPT with their recipes, photos, food news and input. The Fat Pride Times will stay strong and our thinktank will continue to debate over all you can eat buffets to make sure we post food news that you can truly use. UPDATED: We are pleased to announce that one of our regular readers Black2ooph was our 30,000 unique visitor at 6:25 am PCT - USA. Nancy and the others in the front office will be assembling some sort of prize for him hitting the big number for the FPT!

A FPT Reader Claims To Have Deciphered The Big Mac Secret Sauce Recipe!

Thanks again to one of our East Coast reader's for another great submission to the FPT. We did not ask how he came into this recipe - but it apperas to be something quite tasty. The weekend staff in our test kitchens will be making a double-batch and pitting it head-to-head with some we will purchase from McDonald's. READER MAGNUM'S SECRET SAUCE RECIPE: 1/4 C. KRAFT Miracle Whip 1/4 C. mayonnaise 2 T. heaping, WISHBONE deluxe French salad dressing (the orange stuff) 1/2 T. HEINZ sweet relish 2 heaping tsp. VLASIC dill pickle relish (Heinz dill relish also works) 1 tsp. sugar 1 tsp. dried, minced onion 1 tsp. white vinegar 1 tsp. ketchup 1/8 tsp. salt Mix everything very well in a small container. There better be no streaks! Microwave 25 seconds, and stir well again. Cover, and refrigerate for at LEAST 1 hour before using (to allow all of the flavors to “meld”). Makes nearly 1 cup…enough for about 8 Big Macs.

Correspondant Ethadad Warns Of Possible Guns & Roses/Free Dr. Pepper Hysteria

From Ethadad: "I came a across this today....Appearently a few months back Dr. Pepper said if Guns N Roses releases their long awaited album "Chinese Demacracy" in 2008 that they would give one can of Dr. Pepper to EVERY AMERICAN IN THE COUNTRY! Looks like it may just happen....." Here is a link talking about negatiations for the album's release..... Guns N' Roses Record Releae? And here is a link to the Dr. Pepper story.... Free Dr.Pepper Facts

Fat Pride: Every Group Has It's Bad Seeds

For this post we are going to take a look at the ugly side of Fat Pride by learning about 2 individuals who truly give our movement a push backwards. Some of the staff here did not want to give these 2 freaks anymore press than they have gotten, but in the end we decided it important these stories be shared. Our first person we will mention is Mayra Lizbeth Rosales, whom has been charged with one count of first-degree murder and on one count of injury to a child in the death of Eliseo Gonzalez Junior. Basically, she smacked her 2 year old nephew twice causing him to die from the blows. Problem now is how do they get her to the courtroom? She weighs 1000 pounds and cannot leave the house as no doorway is wide enough. Her attorney is also arguing that she would die in jail or court due to her condition. We suggest bulldozing the house, putting her on a flatbed truck and hope for the best. Next we have the "Honorable" Judge Elizabeth Halverson from Las Vegas, who has been suspended from the bench since September 2007. While we cannot find numbers on her exact weight, she is real scary big. Her suspension is over her conduct, more specifically, falling asleep on the bench, mishandling cases and mistreating her staff. If the allegations prove true, she will be a black eye on the Fat Pride movement forever. Watch the video below as her bailiff describes her asking for footrubs and spitting sunflower seeds on the floor for him to pick-up.

12000 Calorie Diet of Olympic Superstar

From Ethadad: GD! Have you seen what it takes to be the best Olympian, Michael Phelps, of all time?!?!!? It takes a lot of food! I am sure you have heard about this story, its all over, but i thought i would send it your way in case you missed it as it is an interesting food story. This link has the full story, as well as meal pictures! I suggest maybe some FPT staff members, or FPT readers try out this diet for a couple days, maybe we too could be olympic heros! Michael Phelp's 12000 calorie diet

Reader Submits: Making Leftovers Magic: Shake n' Bake Boneless Pork Ribs Recipe

Thanks to our correspondant from the Oregon coastal regions for this excellent way to cook up a leftover pork rib. Needed: 1 leftover shake and bake boneless pork rib (approx half pound) 1 heaping tablespoon white flour 1 heaping teaspoon corn starch 2 tablespoons pure virgin olive oil up to 1 cup fat free milk 1/2 cup water salt and pepper shakers Preperation: slice the leftover rib into shreds. simmer pieces over low heat in a 1qt sauce pan until warm. add the olive oil. increase heat gradually to medium, be sure that it does not burn to the bottom of the pan. stir frequently. heat until pork slices are thoroughly hot and grease collects in the bottom of the pan. medium heat should be achieved at this point. add flour to a 1/4 cup of water, stir until smooth. add flour and water mix to pork, stir briskly. add 1/2 cup milk and let mixture heat back up. add corn starch to 1/4 cup water, add mixture to pan, again, stirring briskly. once heated, add milk until you reach the desired thickness (keep in mind this wil thicken up a bit as it cools). salt to taste, should not take much, add a dash of black pepper. simmer over low heat for a good 10 minutes stirring frequently. serve over wheat toast on square plate as shown above.

Jack Link's Messin' With Sasquatch Commercials

The staff here at the FPT test kitchens are big fans of beef jerky and we do like the Jack Links brand. With the recent headline news of a reported 'bigfoot' body being recovered as well as a sighting of a small tribe of other bigfeet in the backwoods of Georgia, Clarence (our new weekend receptionist) suggested we post this clip of ALL of the Jack Link's Messin' With Sasquatch commercials.

Mr. T's Vintage "Take That Speedwalker" Snickers Candy Bar Commercial

Nuff said. Just click the center of video square above to view an all-time classic foodstuff television commercial.

UNUSUAL FOOD NEWS: Oregon's "Fried Chicken Killer" Trades A Plea Deal For A Fried Chicken Buffet

One of our reader's wrote this up and sent to us today: In Oregon, a unqiue legal agreement has been accomplished between a defendant and his lawyer. The lawyer wanted his client to take a plea deal he felt was in the man's best interest - but the defendant waffled. The lawyer then thought of a plan to offer his client a promise of a KFC and Popeye's Chicken buffet as a show of good faith. The defendant had a change of heart, signed off on the plea deal and that same night enjoyed a table full of chicken and sides.

The Construction Worker Meal Plate

One of our readers who works at the 'apprentice/helper' level in the construction business sent in the following take on eating your meal while on a jobsite: Construction is a real man's job. You can't play any games when you are stepping into the workplace with people from 17 other countries who refuse to wear deodorant because the very idea is not man enough. To compete in such an environment one needs real fuel. Were not talking about the bullshit you get from dunkin donuts. Pictured above is the hearty meal that will leave you whipping your ass in the portable toilet with sand paper. - leftover potatoes with garlic and parsley - scrambled eggs with grated parmesan cheese - slice of turkey hill bacon - toasted everything bagel with tuna, chopped onions, mayo, salt and pepper - a full carton of of orange juice "We don't fuck around"

Mystery Image Titled "Unhealthy" Received At FPT Offices

Someone sent us this unique photo of something brown, looks like a foodstuff. They simply titled it 'Unhealthy' and said no more. We are confused, but posting it none the less.

Reader Sends Us Food Pics From Visit To The United Kingdom

Wow. Some great photos from one of our regular readers to share.

Bottom picture: "Authentic UK breakfast - I even ate the black hockey puck-lookin thing...black pudding"

Above picture: "best meal of the trip, got this in London, just off Picadilly Circus"

Mystery Image Titled "Healthy" Received At FPT Offices

Someone sent us this unique photo of something green, looks like a foodstuff. They simply titled it 'Healthy' and said no more. We are confused, but posting it none the less.

Another Food Photo By Popular Demand From Frodo In Florida

'Baked Ziti' by Frodo in Florida

Want the recipe?
Frodo has posted it in the comments for this post - the link is below. It is also available on our FPT Team Recipe Blog.

Regular Reader Crim's Chunky Meat Sauce Over Cellentani Recipe

This recipe is actually very simple. Brown up some ground beef in a skillet. Seasoning doesn't have to be anything special, just some salt and pepper. Add some Prego Sauce, traditional flavor, which can be found in any supermarket. Then you can add as much sauce onto the meat as you prefer.

You can even chop some onions or green peppers to add to the sauce. Let it all simmer for around a half hour or longer if possible. The longer the better. Cook your favorite pasta and use the pasta as a bed for the sauce. Some freshly grated parmigiano reggiano can be put on top of the sauce. That cheese is VERY expensive, but it is amazing with tomato sauce.

Free Tacos Day At Jack In The Box June 26th - With Gas Receipt

Etathed, one of our regular correspondants passed on this info on free tacos from Jack on June 26th, 2008. Jack is trying to help us all ease the pain at the gas station right now by offering 2 free tacos to anyone with a recepit from a gasoline purchase. As Mr. Jack says "It's getting more expensive to fill your gas tank, so Jack In The Box is giving you a little help with filling your stomach".

Be prepared for massive crowds like the one pictured above.
For detailed info and video message from Jack himself visit link below:

2 Free Tacos From Jack

North Carolina is Birthplace to World's Heaviest Born Twins

The stork had a big job to do recently. Ray, who is working the phones tonight just got a call from one of our contributors with some heavy duty news. Apparently a North Carolina couple are the proud parents of the world's heaviest at birth twins. At this time we know the combined weight of the two is 23 pounds - but we are waiting for the individual weights of the newborns.

FPT Staff Doritos Favorite: Salsa Verde

The staff here at the FPT wanted to publish our favorite Doritos flavor since we were quick to mention how we did not care much for 'The Quest' flavor.

Salsa Verde (Green Salsa) has been around for a few years and its a great chip. It is spicy - but not too much heat to kill the subtle green salsa flavor. The FPT is proud to endorse this fine chip bag.

Doritos Quest Flavor Guess Was Incorrect The Quest Website Is Snack Fun!

OK, well just after our so-so review on the new Doritos 'Quest' chips our IT staff wandered on to the website to what all the hype was about. They immedialtely sent out an organization wide email encouraging us all to see this thing for ourselves.

This website, and this whole Chip Quest deal is actually pretty entertaining and the production values on the webpage are outstanding. They do help you guess the true flavor and you will be suprised - very suprised when you hit it correct. Knowing the flavor seems to somehow make the chips taste better in some weird fat pride way.

Get on over and see this:
DORITOS THE QUEST

New Doritos Mystery "Quest" Flavor Bag CAUTION FLAVOR REVEALED BELOW

Our staff got their hands on the new Doritos mystery flavor called 'Quest'. Comes in a black colored bag with fire and 'hulk' green lettering. Before we reveal the flavor, we must report that we were not impressed with these chips. On a scale of 1-10 our staff gives these a 6 rating.

The flavor is lime - with a hint of something else which we think is cilantro.

According to the bag, guessing the flavor is just the beginning and you can go on some sort of adventures on their website. Weot had time to check that out but when we do a report will be posted.

Pringles Can Inventor Passes Away & His Ashes Are In A Pringles Tube - Per His Written Request

Fredric J. Baur, the ma who invented the now classic Pringles can, passed away last month. The FPT staff honors him for his contribution to snack containers. However, his contribution will not be forgotten as he requested his ashes be put in a Pringles can and be buried in it.

His son made sure his wishes were respected.

Frodo in Florida's Steak Grilling Slideshow

Steak. Proper cuts. Professionall preperation and presentation.
Nuff said.

Sorting Thru The 5 Dollar Sub Sandwiches Specials: Arby's, Quizno's & Subway

Subway's 5 dollar sub special has started a sandwich battle among 3 players now. Currently, Quiznos has the limited choice 5 dollar regular sub special going, and Arby's now is offering 2 of their regular toasted subs for 5.00 - we have not seen the size of these but we assume they are probably equal to one regular sub from Quiznos or Subway.

The all sub 5 dollar special is over at Subway. However, they have now made these 8 footlongs permanently all 5 dollar subs: Spicy Italian, Cold Cut Trio, Tuna, Bacon Lettuce Tomato, Black Forest Ham, Meatball, Veggie Delite, & Oven Roasted Chicken.

More sub news to follow as it comes in to us.

Quiznos 5 Dollar Subs: The Fine Print

Our team finally emerged from the test kitchens to visit Quizno's and get in on the five buck sub special that everyone has been talking about. Upon arriving at our local Quiznos we found the window ads and the menu regarding what was on the five dollar plan and what was not. Subway's special applies most of their menu, only one section was not included we believe.

After sorting thru the fine print, the real five dollar deal at Quiznos is extremely limited and only applies to one section of their menu called the "Deli Favorite Subs". These are basically boring standard sandwiches that have no frills or tasty sauces. The four in this category are: Turkey & Cheddar, Ham & Swiss, Beef & Cheddar and a Tuna Melt. The only extras/toppings the menu states are cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo. All boring and uninspired.

When I go to a sandwich shop it is to get something out of the ordinary - like toasted chicken subs with bacon and chipotle sauce. Subway understood this and their five dollar deal is WAY more expansive in choices.

The actual deal at Quiznos should be called the 5-7-9 deal, as that is how they break it down once they get you inside the shop. Boring lame subs are 5 bucks, decent real subs (like chicken with bacon) are 7 bucks and the specialty subs (like prime rib) are 9 dollars.

The person who came in while we were ordering our 7 dolar subs was obviously having trouble figuring out what the 5 dollar deal was about. We watched him scan the menu, then the ad signs, and back to the menu. As soon as he realized the five dollar deal was really a 5-7-9 deal, he turned around and walked out. Even though the subs we got were very tasty, perhaps we should have done the same.

Asian Sensations Frozen Eggrolls

The first of the new foodstuffs the team sampled yesterday was the Asian Sensations brand frozen eggrolls. These come with 4 eggrolls which are individually wrapped. We found them a chore to microwave just right - you need to turn them over and back as you heat them.

Tastewise these are adequate - expectations were not that high to begin with for a deep fried frozen microwave thing. Our team found that they really need a sauce for dipping - so if you get these make sure you got your favorite dippins.

Our team found the brand name to be sort of risque as it sounds like an asian adult movie. Also interesting is that on the front of box is an ad for a contest to win a concert with Julie Roberts. Who?

New - Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Crackers

Our west coast drifter correspondant took the time to send us this nice picture of a new offering from Kraft Foods - Macaroni & Cheese Crackers.

However, he sent us no info on the quality of this unique item. So we are seeking input from any readers who have eaten these. Our staff cannot find them in the local area as of yet.

Very bold offering from Kraft - will it go away like so many of the new flavors trend in brand name foodstuffs? On the other hand, perhaps this will become a mainstay in the snacking arena.

McDonalds Free New Chicken Day!New Southern Style ChickenGiveaway Day May 15th(with beverage purchase)

Be prepared people on March 15th to take advantage of a free chicken sandwich from McDonald's. They are rolling out a new 'Southern Style' breaded filet - some say it will be similar to the 'Chick-A-Fil' brand.

You can get a free breakfast sandwich in the am and a free regular sandwich after breakfast up until 7 pm. There is that have to buy a beverage catch - which prolly covers their rears on the cost and maybe then some.

Shelton's Brand Turkeys Do Not Use Drugs!

Respect to Shelton's brand turkey for keeping their birds substance abuse free. Makes one wonder where how other brand birds are getting their drugs and what they are using.

5 Dollar Subs at Quizno's? Is It Rumor or Truth?

We heard a rumor that Quizno's is taking over the 5 buck sub special now that Subway has dropped it. This is not verified yet and any info would be appreciated.

Cheese Bender Is Called Off We Are Back Posting Again

Please excuse the lack of activity the past few weeks, we received 3 boxes of sample cheeses and went on a cheese bender. We encourage the consumption of fine cheeses, but do not be like us and just shut down your lives and simply eat cheese until there is no more. New posts soon to follow.