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.

Philadelphia Cream Cheese: The Fat Pride Size 3 Pound Tub

What a great find this was. Philadelphia Cream Cheese - the good stuff - has begun selling their spread in a 3 pound plastic tub. As the photos show, it is app. 4 1/2 inches tall and about the same in diameter. Not only will this big boy keep you stocked up with the cream cheese, it also is very cost efficient when compared to buying it by those little tubs that sell for around 3.00. Franklin, one of our staffers lost the receipt so we cannot quote exactly what we paid for the big size at this time.

Subway 5 Buck Subs

This has been going on for at least a week and not sure when it ends - they say 'limited time only' on the menuboards at Subway. Any footlong sub is 5.00 flat rate. Pictures above is the chicken bacon ranch (toasted) with shredded cheese, lettuce, red onions, jalapenos, chipotle sauce and the sweet onion sauce (sugesuggests.net). This sub is normally 7.79 - that is why the staff does not go there during normal pricing.

If you would like to rate my sub, please use a scale of 1 to 10 with the comments link below.

Burger King NEW Potato Chips Fries & Ketchup Flavor

Now when we saw these, it really put us over the edge. All the new Doritos flavors banging out and then BAAM here comes Burger King into the game. These were like strip shaped chips that seriously smelled and tasted like fries and ketchup - however who like cold fries and ketchup? There is now a new flavor - something "baked" and we will be sampling those later this week. Worth trying out just for the novelty taste.

McDonald's Testing Outsourcing Their Drive-Thru Order Takers

In the Northwest U.S., we have been told by one of our thinktank members that when you talk to to the drive-thru box next time at McDonald's you may be speaking with someone at a call center as far away as another state. We belive that this may be the first step to the fully automated restaurant with no actual humans employed. This outsourcing is being done to improve correct order-taking - something that has been a problem since day one. Regardless how this pans out, we always recommend you check your order before leaving the drive-up window and if the person behind you honks impatiently just flip them the bird.

New Companion Blog: The Fat Pride Video Booth

The staff here has been trying to re-tool our international thinktank mission and we have decided to add another adjunct blog to our family. Now along with The Fat Pride Roundtable, we are pleased to present The Fat Pride Video Booth. Our new video site features embedded on-demand videos regarding our interest in the foodstuffs. Our goal is to bring you the best and forget the rest.

The Fat Pride Video Booth

Anonymous Photo: ??Cocktail??

We received an anonyomous photo of what appears to be a couple of mixed drinks - interesting thing is what the heck is floating in them? Your guesses will be forwarded to our thinktank team.

Shopper's Choice Brand Mini Pies 4 Pack

Thanks to Harold from our janitorial staff who brought this item to our attention. This must be a new brand as nobody here has seen "Shopper's Choice" before. Sort of a generic name - and the price is also quite nice. Most importantly, the little pies are excellent. Inside the box are four individually wrapped mini-pies - shaped like turnovers. The Dutch Chocolate ones are awesome - and we will be trying the others soon. Once again, the staff here went into a feeding frenzy and we forgot to photo the actual pies before they all had been eaten. The FPT management has scheduled a staff roundtable meeting to discuss and solve this ongoing problem. Please bear with us.

The Hibachi House Microwave Chicken & Rice Bowls

On a recent group shopping trip we found this unique frozen/microwavable item. Hibachi House offers a variety of styles of LARGE portions of white rice and chicken breast strips. The staff chose to sample the General Tsao's Chicken but there are 2/3others as well. Normally this sort of item would not even be considered for review as they are generally overpriced and bland. Hibachi House has broken the mold - this is true restaurant quality meal - and the portion is huge covering one dinner plate in a colossal mound. Price is fair running around 5.00 on sale and 6.50 normal.

Yes, we know there is no picture of the actual food above but staff got busy on this and then there was nothing left to photo. Will get another soon and post.

Pringles Goes Premium New Pringles Select Brand - Sold In A Bag Not A Can

Pringles is now offering an upscale gourmet version of their 'potato crisps' called 'Pringles Select' and comes in a variety of flavors. We tried the parmesan garlic flavor here at the FPT test kitchens and indeed found them to be pretty tasty. They are still not called 'chips' (legally they cannot call them chips as they are made from a dough) but have much more body than regular offering of canned/tubed Pringles.

Keep in mind the price of these are also upscale. They seem to run around 3.00 on average per bag, which we had issues with as to how full it actually was in relation to its size.

Other flavors of this new offering are: Sun Dried Tomato, Szechuan Barbecue, Cinnamon Sweet Potato, Parmesan Garlic & Honey Chipotle Barbecue.

FYI: The picture above is of a 'pringles select', we just had a can near us when we took the photo and it made a good stand.

The odd thing our thinktank decided was that these are not called anything individually - like a chip or a crisp, leaving us to think they are called 'selects' when speaking of an individual one.

The Mystery Meal Contest Is On - A Loyal Reader Has Sent This Photo For You To Identify!

Game on. Use the comments button to name this plate. The most correct answer will win an assortment of fast-food coupons and condiments. Chicken and pasta is a good try - but a more specific answer will be the winner. This is an app. 5-day event with the closest guess winner announced this thursday evening.

Heide Candy Company Since 1869 - Still Making The Good Stuff - Red or Hot Raspberry Dollars

An American standard in the candy business, Heide is a legendary producer of a variety of candies. Most are packaged in the 'movie theater size' boxes and can be found from 99 cents to around 1.50 for a nice healthy sized portion.

Take a look at the picture above where they have a dollar sign right on top of each piece of candy. These are raspberry dollars, but they also have red hot dollars. Leading us to think that they use the same 'machinery' to produce both - an excellent example of strong management and good business. Why have two machines if you are just swapping flavors?

We here at the Fat Pride Times hope Heide continues to spoil us with their candies for another 100 plus years.

Alligator Chili Recipe - Tested and Ingested!

From the man whom brought you the BBQ Rabbit post, we now have a tested and proven excellent reciped for Alligator Chili. We trust our reader Magnum's palate, however we are arranging for a Fed-Ex overnight of this stuff as we must try this ourselves.
Recipe is as follows:
2 pounds of alligator meat
1 cup chopped onion
1 large green bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 jalapeno peppers chopped up
1 or 2 tablespoons chili powder
garlic powder to taste
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 teaspoon sugar, or to taste
2 cans (approx. 16 ounces each) crushed tomatoes
1 can (16 ounces) tomato puree
1 can (16 ounces) dark kidney beans
2 cans (approx. 16 ounces each) Bush chili hot beans
that is the ingredients
cook on low for about 8.5 hours
preheat the meat and sautee the veggies in the grease

Many thanks to Magnum for his fine contribution.

From Reader 'Magnum': - MMMM We Have BBQ Rabbit

Our longtime East Coast correspondant checked in with his latest culinary venture. Marvel at this wild bbq rabbit picture - it was 22mb when we received it, so we shrunk it down some. If you would like an original please contact Gerry in the media lab.

Reader Spots New Con Queso: Tostitos Monterey Jack Queso Dip

While the staff here has not seen this new offering from Tostitos, one of our regular readers spotted it in the grocery store and took a picture for us. He was a little excited, thus the shaky picture - but we appreciate the chance to sneak a peek very much.

Freschetta "Pizza Amore"New Baking Tray Introduced!

Freschetta Pizza, allready respected around here as a great frozen pizza, has a new unique oven safe baking tray. Makes for an easy in and out of the oven and easy servings. How the tray does not melt in the oven, I have no idea - so we are just going with it. Pictured above is the 6-cheese variety, from box to oven to done.

Crim's Standard Pizza Bread Recipe

This is your standard pizza bread.

All it really takes is some leftover rolls, some prego tomato sauce (my favorite canned sauce),and some supermarket mozzarella.

Slice your rolls in half and cover them in tomato sauce and some mozzarella. I like a lot of sauce and light cheese, but this can be created to cater to anyone pizza taste. I ended up slicing them into smaller pieces to make my life a lot easier.

I usually make this when there is not much lying around, as it makes perfect for drunken nights, or just a quick meal to fill your belly.

Nice work Mr. Crim.

The Fat Pride Times: Our Heinz Commercial Entry For The"Take 2" Television Contest

The staff here has been working long days this week to catch up from the holiday season, and entering this contest was at the top of our list - right after cleaning up the mess from the benders that went on in the test kitchens again this year. The video could be sharper and the production values are low - we know this. If you can do better, please do so and we will post your clip right here for all to view.

Another New Doritos: Sizzlin' Picante Flavor Limited Time Offering

The staff here at the FPT was able to get our hands on one of the "Sizzlin' Picante" limited edition flavors from Doritos. This was a small snack sizer in a unusual purple color bag. While we have really enjoyed the other recent new Doritos flavors, this one did not have much of a personality. The chips just tasted hot, not flavorful hot, but just temperature hot. When we looked over the chips for photos for our media library it appeared that some of the chips had more of the "flavor dust" than others - meaning that one chip would taste hotter than another. Not much to get excited about here - not the next X-13.

Charm City Cakes: Redefining What We Call A Cake

Charm City Cakes is an amazing business out of Baltimore, Maryland in the USA. The leader is Chef Duff who creates things that are redefining how the world views 'A Cake' as a concept. One of our regular readers pointed out his work to us and we encourage you to visit the website linked below for a great time.

Chef Duff has done many many television appearances and has had lots of press during his established career. However, we think that his appearance on the "Food Network Challenge: Rice Krispie Treat" must have been exciting.

Want a cake from Charm City? Book early as possible. The website states that he is booked - not taking new orders - until March 2008.

This all leads to Chef Duff's new tv show on the Food Network "Ace of Cakes" which has begun airing.

Charm City Cakes

Guest Recipe From Etathed"Simple Chicken Nacho Dip"

Simple Chicken Nacho Dip. I made this for the first time today. Thought it would go good with some of my award winning soft tacos.

1 CAN CHICKEN
1 CREAM CHEESE
1 CUP RANCH DRESSING
1 CUP HOT SAUCE
1 CUP CHEDDER CHEESE

Mix all that stuff up in a baking dish and bake at 350 until the edges brown.

Took longer than expected to bake and turned out pretty decent. And now a few observations..... I think i the one cup of franks was a bit much. 1/2-3/4 cups should do it, as it was overpowering in this mix. It is not a "hot" issue as i do not find franks "hot" it is just that the distinct franks flavor is too strong in such large quantities. Extra ranch may be another way to go.

I also think it could be improved on by substituting beef, perhaps taco meat, in place of the chicken, as the chicken seemed rather tasteless amidst the other ingredients. I believe a taco meat or chili sauce could really ad some body to this dip. So I believe there is a future to look into with this foodstuff.

If i were to grade this dip i would give it a C. However it is truly simple to make, thus i am going up it to a B-.

Heinz Top-This TV ChallengeHome Made Commercial Contest2nd Round Due To Popularity

The good people at Heinz has so much interest in their 'Top This TV Challenge' make your own Heinz catsup commercial that they have opened up round two. They are calling out for video submissions with the winner receiving 57,000 and a spot on national television!

This second round began accepting videos on December 14th and runs thru March 14th. We expect this to be a fierce battle and we will be submitting an entry from the FPT Test Kitchens. Heinz judges will pick 10 finalists and then the public will decide the winner by voting via the website linked below. This website also has much more info and videos from the first round to watch.


Heinz Top This TV Challenge Take Two