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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

New Chef Boyardee "Sealife Forkables" With The Easy Open Can!

Jason from our purchasing department found this unique new offering on his latest foodstuff quest. This Chef Boyardee product has pasta shaped not only as sealife, but to also specifically be 'forkable', however we think a 'spork' would work well here too. For the sale price of 99 cents we thought this was a nice offering. Plus, as all Priders know, the easy pull tab can earns bonus points of course.

THE CARL'S JR. GUACAMOLE BACON BURGERS EXPAND OFFERINGS - Also To Be Honored As Official Burgers of the California Avocado Festival

CARPINTERIA, Calif. September 24 It is not easy to make really good guacamole, which may explain why Carls Jr. is the only fast-food chain to have had so much success with guacamole-topped burgers and chicken sandwiches in the past that it made the Guacamole Bacon Six Dollar Burger a permanent menu offering in 2003. Carl's Jr. prepares its guacamole fresh daily, mixing real salsa also made fresh every day – with real avocado and starting today the chain's customers can order from a full line of Guacamole Bacon Burgers, including the single, double and Six Dollar Burger varieties. 'Carls Jr. has always had great success introducing menu items that deliver more authentic tastes and flavors than our competitors would ever attempt' said Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing for Carls Jr. 'So, we naturally wanted to prepare guacamole like people do at home, with real avocados and fresh salsa, to make our Guacamole Bacon Burgers taste like something you'd be more likely to find only in sit-down restaurants. It's that kind of quality that helped get the Guacamole Bacon Burgers selected as the official burgers of the California Avocado Festival, and those people know good guacamole when they taste it!'. Already hailed as 'Best Burger 2007' by Best of Citysearch, the Guacamole Bacon Burgers will be feted as the official burgers during the 2008 California Avocado Festival. One of the largest street festivals in California, the Avocado Festival takes place in Carpinteria,CA, home to Carls Jr. corporate headquarters. 'We are proud to name the Carls Jr. Guacamole Bacon Burgers the official burgers of the California Avocado Festival. We are especially excited to celebrate it from right here in Carpinteria,' said Gary Dobbins, president of the California Avocado Festival. 'We are the third largest avocado producing region in North America and the festival is a great place to celebrate and sample the fruits of our labor.' The 22nd Annual California Avocado Festival kicks off October 3 and is a free three-day celebration of avocados in downtown Carpinteria. The event includes 30 food booths, 40 musical and entertainment acts on three stages and more than 70 arts and crafts vendors. The event even includes a guacamole competition. For more information, visit www.avofest.com. The Guacamole Bacon Six Dollar Burger features a charbroiled 100 percent Black Angus beef patty topped with guacamole, two strips of bacon, two slices of pepper-Jack cheese, Santa Fe sauce, red onions, tomato and lettuce on a seeded bun. Carls Jr. will also now offer a single Guacamole Bacon Burger as well as a double Guacamole Bacon Burger version. Price for the Guacamole Bacon Six Dollar Burger is $4.99 a la carte, $3.29 for a single, and $4.29 for the double. Prices may vary. About Carls Jr: Carls Jr. is celebrating more than 65 years in the quick-service industry. What began as a lone hot dog cart in Los Angeles , Calif. in 1941 is today an international organization that employs nearly 30,000 people worldwide. Carls Jr. is a wholly owned subsidiary of CKE Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: CKR) of Carpinteria , Calif. As of the second fiscal quarter ended September 8, 2008, CKE Restaurants, Inc., through its subsidiaries, had a total of 3,100 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 42 states and in 14 countries, including 1,170 Carls Jr. restaurants and 1,917 Hardees restaurants. For more information, or to find a Carls Jr. near you, go to www.ckr.com or www.carlsjr.com. CLICK BELOW TO VISIT: 2008 California Avocado Festival

The FPT Oregon State Drifter Reviews: Pizza Boys Plus LLC

Our friend in Oregon, who drifts from town to town has checked in with another restaurant review for us. This time he drifted into Lake Oswego, Oregon and visited Pizza Boys Plus LLC. Here are his comments: "Having just got off the train (hobo style), I wandered into this smaller sized place that is located in the middle of a small strip of assorted storefronts. It caught my eye as they have the walls decorated with actual vintage rock album covers. They offer a wide variety of items besides pizza - all of the items are named after rock and roll stars or albums. For example they have the "Meaty Ted Nugent Pizza" & the "Fly Like An Eagle Burger", among many other clever names. I was not in the mood for pizza or a burger so I went with the "Grace Slick Chicken Strips and Fries" (partially pictured above). Cooked fresh to order these were excellent - portion was nice and large: 3 large chicken strips on a large bed of fries and lots o' dippin sauce provided (as was the price for lunch - 7.00). Many unique things about this restaurant. Perhaps the most unique is that it is an LLC (limited liability company). I have been drifting all over for years dining and this is the first time I have seen this type of corporation for a restaurant. I have seen this business set-up mostly with law offices and doctors myself." For those not up on their legal terms: Limited liability is a concept whereby a person's financial liability is limited to a fixed sum, most commonly the value of a person's investment in a company or partnership with limited liability. A shareholder in a limited company is not personally liable for any of the debts of the company, other than for the value of his investment in that company. Pizza Boys Plus LLC Website

Who Can Guess The Crawfish Crate Weight?

Nobody said it would be easy. Based on what you can see in the above photo the FPT Team is asking readers to guess how many pounds of crawfish (crawdads) are in the above box? Please use the comments link below to enter. First "Prider" to hit the mark will win a bundle of drive-thru coupons.

Jelly Belly "Buttered Popcorn" Flavor Jelly Beans - WOW

WOW - most of the staff here could not say much else after trying these truly unique jelly beans. The fine folks at Jelly Belly nailed this flavor. They taste like warm popcorn - hard to explain - we recommend you just get a box and enjoy. Nuff said. Notice we got ours on special - originally 2.29/marked down to 99 cents. A steal for that price.

The FPT Team Chooses Best Dollar Spent On Food In All Of Las Vegas.

Black2ooph, our Las Vegas team member checked in tonight with what he he believes is the best spent buck in all of Las Vegas. For priders, the strongest point on this good-looking special is the option to purchase and consume another 2 more shrimp cocktails at the same price as many rounds as you can keep eating. "The shrimp cocktail at the Golden Gate Casino in Downtown Las Vegas is the best deal in town at only .99 Cents!! The cocktail sauce is good, has a nice kick to it. The shrimp are always fresh and tasty. Only problem is it is a limit 2 per person. But you can eat your two, and then go back and get two more!"

Mickey's Beer Cap Puzzle Website With Symbol Clues, Puzzle Generator And Visitor Submissions Gallery Fixed!

The fine people at Mickey's Beer have stepped up to the plate and got their beer cap puzzle section of their website fixed up very nicely. As a visitor you can get clues for symbols in the library, generate your own personal puzzle cap and download the image, and view the visitor generated "6-pack Hall of Fame" puzzle gallery. Below we have a cap puzzle generated by one of our readers for you to decipher. Please post your answers to the puzzle by using the comments link below. First prider to get it dead right will win a fast food coupon bundle via USPS from the FPT test kitchens. 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

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!