Tillamook Cheese Factory Tour - The FPT Team MOBI Report

On our annual team-building retreat, the FPT staff visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory for it's infamous "Free Tour". We were pleasantly suprised that it was also there 100th Anniversary and they were celebrating in style.

Here you see the wooden boat out front and the great big logos on the outside are at top of this post.

We also found this plaque noting a time capsule buried in 1976 here!

Upon entering the self-guided tour area you can choose to sit in a mini-theater and watch some videos about the cheese and look at some wall hangings with more info.

Next, you climb the stairs and can look down upon the huge cheese room #1. This room is where the cheddar is actually sliced up into the loafs, packaged and quality inspected. We watched as the inspector on shift could multi-task - amazing - she was trimming the plastic wrap on one loaf, talking to a co-worker and also yanking cheddar loafs off the belt as they went by.

All along the way we saw signs about sending "cheese mail" - and we were curious. We did find the kiosk and watched as it showed cool videos and talked outloud. Still curious, we pushed one of the buttons and began the process. After a couple of prompts we were suprised that it wanted a credit card inserted and a charge of 5.00. We thought this to be a little bit too much - there was no mention of a cost anywhere before this, and there is PLENTY of things to spend money on after the tour in the gift shop, the chocolate factory and of course the ice cream bar. Anyways, back to the fun!

After this huge viewing window you can round the corner to cheese room #2 - this one is full of huge vats and massive loafs of cheddar. We spotted what we believe was the 'Cheesemaster' monitoring gauges and whatnot. Over here there is also some great vintage cheese machinery and photos everywhere. The FPT staff is very fond of food nostalgia and we spent time looking at all the great stuff.

Upon exiting, there is a cheese sampling area where they serve up little cubes of cheese for all to enjoy at no cost! However, there is more after this. Next you hit the Tillamook Cheese Chocolate Kitchen, the massive giftshop, and the Tillamook ice cream bar. If you have not had the Tillamook ice cream, we recommend you do so ASAP.

Fantastic experience - if you are ever in the area you must go. They are open 7 days a week - some Holiday adjustments.

Vintage Carl's Jr. Sign - From Reader

We received this cool old drawing/photo of what the Carl's Jr. star sign used to look like circa 1950's. The FPT team are big fans of food history and nostalgia. If you have anything cool to share - please email us at: fatprider@yahoo.com

Baked Cheetos - The FPT Team Report

Team FPT acquired a bag of these recently on a super savings deal. They are of the baked, not of the fried like the regular Cheetos. Baked does not taste as good as the fried. We think this is a trans-fat thing - but we have assigned Tom & Lucy to do more research for us on this. More news to follow.

Tillamook Cheese Factory Tour - The FPT Team MOBI Report Pre-Post Teaser

The FPT on the annual Holiday junket to the Oregon coast for our team-building retreat made a stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory for their always free factory tour. WOW - upon arrival we found it to be their 100 year anniversary and they were celebrating in style.

We are going to attempt to give you a virtual tour of our experiences as they happened - thanks to our mobile media device. This will be a long post - this is just a quick teaser as we lay it out for you.

Holiday Ham - The Magnum Method

Not much to say here. 16.5 Pounder. Picture speaks for itself. We should all strive to be more like our reader Magnum.

Happy Holidays from the FPT staff.

Nalleys Walla Walla Onion Chili Can

In the middle of the other night the FPT staff was pulling an all-nighter and when the need to feed hit, we found this can of Nalleys Special "Walla Walla Onion" Chili.

For those not of the familiar, Walla Walla is a small city in the state of Washington. Walla Walla is known for its unique sweet flavorful seasonal onions.

The staff here used Doritos as a transport vehicle for the chili after we heated it up. Some Tillamook cheddar cheese was also involved. Despite the nice accoutrements - this chili was weak and watery. As a special bonus - we awoke bloated and with the gas issues.

This chili is for someone with a strong stomach or a person looking to 'load up' with some truly offensive gas to pass. Overall we found it disappointing and with unwanted side effects.

Snapps Jalapeno and Cheddar Bites (Jalapeno Poppers) - An FPT Bargain Buster

About a month ago the FPT Team endorsed "The Original Poppers" brand Jalapeno poppers. A recommendation that i agree with whole heartedly. The Original Poppers Brand offers a fantastic restaurant quality popper. While recently looking through the local market's freezer section, I came across what appeared to be some value priced popper boxes....Snapps Brand Jalapeno and Cheddar bites.

These poppers do not contain whole jalapeno peppers stuffed with cheese, but small chunks of jalapeno mixed in amongst the cheese (if you remember the poppers that Burger King offered a few years back, these are similar). Notice the picture on the box is in no way misleading, and actually looks very much like the final cooked product!

These are very tasty poppers, though not quite "restaurant quality" like the original Poppers brand. However These Snapps Jalapeno Bites where only ONE DOLLAR for a box of EIGHT! A deal that makes these well worth it! I bought 5 boxes. Thats 40 Poppers for 5 bucks! If you are short on cash and cant afford the higher quality popper brands do not hesitate to grab a couple boxes of Snapps Jalapeno Bites as they are sure to satisfy any prider! And as always, be sure to have some ranch for dippin.

Thanks to Etathed for the guest review!

Southwestern Chicken Salad - New Salads at Carl's Jr. - The FPT Team Report

Carl's Jr. has rolled out yet another unique menu offering - Grilled Chicken Salads in 3 varities. You can pick The Southwestern, The Original, or the Cranberry Apple Walnut.

The FPT team debated and finally chose to try the Southwestern one - as it had the most of our favorite extra things. Here are the specs: grilled chicken, roasted corn and black bean salsa, red onions, shredded cheese, bacon bits, Santa Fe tortilla strips and chipotle caesar dressing.

When we got this nicely packaged salad back to the FPT test kitchens, we decided to sort it out and used the lid to do so. The result was that there is so much food here it actually filled both the lid and the bottom of the plastic sanp-tight container - thats awesome!

These salads run 4.99 - if you were at a sit-down casual place this would be a 9.50 to 12.00 salad.

We are gonna try the Cranberry Apple Walnut one next with the balsamic vinegar dressing.

Carl's Jr. is running a great Facebook promotion right now: The Ultimate Salad Lunch date with Kim Kardashian. The FPT staff recommends you join Carl's Jr. on Facebook and Twitter for this and other cool contests & coupons not found elsewhere.

Also while we are talking about vegetables, we noticed that Carl's has an alternative options menu for those seeking low-carb, gluten-free, all-veggie and will custom make any menu item as desired.

Mongo Mongologues #9: The Wonders of The Samatsu Tangerine

Today, IaM brings to you the wonders of the Samatsu Tangerine.

This is a rare citrus fruit, and I am not going to tell you my source (FP does not like to talk about land-fills). The Samatsu Tangerine is possibly the best citrus fruit; those lovers of the Blood Orange may possibly disagree. The Samatsu is very easily peeled and has a deep citrus flovour (I spelled it that way for our readers in the Commonwealth countries).

In any case, this is a rare and delicous citrus fruit, does not contribute to diabetes, and is adored world-wide.

Please send any questions about this delectible fruit, or diabetes prevention, to the owner of this wonderful site, FP.
Sincerely, IaM

Corona Beer & Shotglass Mystery Art Photo Submission - Our Bad

Every year at this time we try to re-organize, back up files and clean up the FPT kitchens and offices. Which is not easy as we are located 2000 feet under the ground.

Again, we have found some photos that reader's submitted but got lost in the shuffle. Here we have an interesting one that could easily be a painting - it is like art. If you took this - please contact us so we can give you some props!

The Giant Cheetos

The FPT team sampled these awhile back but Sarah our database manager misnamed the image and we are just now posting our take. This package was app. 6 inches long and maybe 2" wide and sold for under a dollar. It intrigued us as we could not tell if it was one long bar - or chunk portions - without opening it. What you see above is the answer. There were maybe 4 or so of these inside. We found them too big to enjoy - but they are a neat novelty item. The FPT team guard dog loved them.

Uncle Ray's Salt & Vinegar Chips

Uncle Ray's is truly a unique brand of chips and snacks. They are quality - we have tried many flavors and always happy to have made the purchase. The "Cheese Puffers" are another one of our favorites - like a puffy "Cheeto". Today we are sampling the Salt & Vinegar which make the grade. These are a low-price item and we take that into account when recommending them or not. We get the standard single serving bag for .89 cents - which is nice savings considering the same size of Doritos will run you 1.29 at most places. These Salt & Vinegar chips are fresh and got the flavor to savor. We recommend you give some of their other flavors a go as well.

The unique thing about Uncle Ray's chips bags are the 'stories' on the back. They are titled "The Life & Times of Uncle Ray" - and each has a different story with a moral to be learned (or not). This bag says Chapter 24 on the back - our staff can only recall seeing maybe 5 different ones. After roundtabling on this we have decided to begin a collection of the bags and stories for the FPT Foodstuffs Mobile Museum (Beta V1.2).

The Carl's Jr. Tribute to Carl & Margaret Karcher & Oregon's Carl's Stars Hood To Coast Run For Charity Success!

On one of our recent FPT team junkets to the local Carl's Jr., we happened to notice some very nice photos and plaques hung on the wall in the alcove by the front doors.

First there is a very nice plaque commemorating Carl & Margaret Karcher who founded Carl's Jr. and notes the story of how they borrowed $311.00 against their Plymouth Super Deluxe to open up a hot dog stand in Los Angeles - which would eventually become something bigger than anyone would imagine. The history behind Carl's Jr. is truly a great American success story.

We also saw that the KWK Foods/KWKG Inc. team "Carl's Stars" particpated in the annual Oregon Hood to Coast Run event. This group of locals raised $7,465.00 for The American Cancer Society - very nice work.

Egg Nog Expiration Date Dare - MOBI media from Chris Norton

One of our regular MOBI reporters is pushing the envelope by trying to consume about to expire egg-nog that were on super sale.

As he says: "Gingerbread eggnog expires today. Pumpkin eggnog expires tomorrow. 99 cents each."

Stay tuned for the damage control post - hopefully it will not be from an urgent care facility or the emergency room.

The FPT does not endorse this reckless behavior in any way.

Mongo's Mongologues #8: Point/Counterpoint

Dear FPT Readers,

IaM is confounded by the recent interest taken in my column. I had no idea that you blubbos would take any interest in that which I have to say, and would take any initiative towards losing the 75 pounds that you need to lose. Well, IaM is glad to have you aboard.

Today is Point/Counter-Point with the FPT. The food stuffs of which the FPT babbles lead to weight-gain and the possiblity of diabetes.

Let me begin with the dangers of processed foods: Brian in Collections died this year at the age of 51. Many FPT readers might ask why he died at such a young age. IaM explain. It was because he was of the largess and powered the salty snacks all the time. He was a known diabetic, but that did not stop him from eating "foods" he should not have been eating. A glucose level over 100 is trouble. Diabetes is a disease, the cause of which is "insulin intolerance." Insulin is a hormone, and enables the cells in the body to accept glucose and burn it (for energy, like college football). Insulin intolerance is generally caused by powering "foods" that the body is not used to. By that, I mean foods that the body has not seen, except for those within the last 50 years out of its 500,000 years of existence or so.

I could get further into that, but contact kiwi for more details. In closing I say that the human body is not used to such things as High Fructose Corn Syrup, Partially Hydrogenated Oils, and so forth.

FPT Counterpoint: We respect your info - and am sorry that your friend passed. However, there is such a thing as being large and healthy. Everyone is different - and they should eat accordingly. There are many things in our culture besides food that can be abused and lead to health issues.

Cheesy Cheddar BBQ Cheetos - Limited Time Only Offering - Get Them Now!

Another unique offering from Cheetos was found by one of our staff at the market yesterday. This limited time only offering "Cheesy Cheddar BBQ Cheetos" is a winner. They are the crunchy variety and truly have the flavor that they advertise. Subtle BBQ smoke taste blended with deep cheese overtones. If you can find these - grab two bags. You might not get the chance again.

General Tso's Chicken - From Walmart Deli - A MOBI Review From Blak2oof

Our embedded MOBI reporter in Nevada recently sampled the General Tso's chicken from Walmart - lured by the 1.80 for a 1/2 pound price. The Blak2oof MOBI report included the following quote "The chicken was good, tangy, and a little spicey. No bad after effects."

While the price was excellent, the mention of 'no bad after effects' makes us wonder if that is a concern at the Walmart Deli?

Please email us if you have had any experiences with Walmart Deli foods - good or bad - thank you. The staff here has never tried their Deli.