Burgers, Dogs, & Pizza, Oh My!

Posts Tagged ‘fast food burger’

Can’t say who thought of this concept, but naturally the “Mushroom Council” is excited about it.

The idea is to use finely diced mushrooms and seasonings as an extender for beef with a two-fold goal: to make hamburgers juicier and more flavorful, and also to do a bit for the environment – if we’re using less resources for beef, that’s supposed to be a good thing.

Seems like the suggested percentage is ‘shrooms in the 25-30% range.

Boldy going where no chain has gone before, the people at Sonic jumped on this, and are currently offering two different LTO blended burgers which they call “Slingers.”  Bigger than a slider, not as big as a “regular” burger (tho I have strongly suggested they get with that!).

The “Classic” is cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayo. An upgrade gives you bacon/cheese without the produce. $1.99 and $2.49, respectively.

An affinity for mushrooms came to me quite late in life. I could possibly be a little shy about some of them still.  But I was committed to diving into this for the sake of you, dear reader.

Glad I did. They ARE tastier. They ARE juicier. You can’t see or ‘taste’ anything mushroomy. At least I couldn’t.

I did enjoy them. I would prefer them over most fast food standard burgers. Nice brioche bun, as well. Soft but sturdy, how we like ’em!

So that’s that.  Sonic menu. All items available all day.  (I like their breakfast “toasters” too, and I’ll always go out of my way for tots over fries).

“Classic”

Bacon Cheese Edition

Sonic Drive In “Slingers” Review

Sonic Drive In “Slingers” Review

I am (was)  a virgin when it comes to Whoppers and Big Macs.  Just have never been inclined to try one.  Closest I came to a Whopper previously was living in Paris, and my girlfriend went on a trot to find one for me as a treat.  She was unsuccessful, I think it was a time issue, and came home with the ingredients to make me one.  Outstanding effort on behalf of a beautiful vegetarian girlfriend.

The Whopper was invented by one of the Burger King founders in 1957 and originally sold for 37 cents.  It has become one of the most iconic fast food offerings in the U.S. and has gone through several different recipes and configurations in its history.  The current version is a single quarter pound flame-broiled hamburger patty, sesame seed bun, mayonnaise, ketchup, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and sliced onion.  Keeping to its marketing slogan of “have it your way,” stores will add additional condiments upon request, and cheese, bacon and more meat patties at an additional price.  There is also a “Whopper Jr” available.

The occasion for me trying one as stopping in this Arkansas town late at night, few other dining options, and a having a coupon that reduced the price to “free.”  My second favorite “f word.”

It doesn’t suck.  The flame grilling method (or smoke flavor) in the meat gives the sandwich  a distinct beefy flavor other fast food burgers lack. At least among the big three – as I have never found McDonalds or Wendy beef patties to have much if any flavor, beyond those of the condiments.  The Whopper can be a messy affair however, probably not suitable for eating while driving.  Just ask my shirt.

But having bravely tackled my first Whopper and lived, perhaps a Big Mac is in my future?  BTW, Burger King has added a burger called the “Big King”, which is their two patty, three bun version of the Big Mac.

The fries don’t suck either, I had the original ones, not the new reduced fat version.  Fry wise, I continue to think Wendy’s natural cut sea salt fries are the best, as long as you get them right from the fryer and eat them immediately.  But my favorite side remains Arby’s steak-house onion rings, the best rings ever offered by a fast food giant.

Burger King Whopper Review