Upon Further Review
To fill out the journal a bit I've decided to review (in short) several random recently experienced items. It is common knowledge that I now reside in the southeast part of america. When you change areas so drastically you have the opportunity to taste local wares, that were not available to you before. In the Phoenix area there are several Food chains that we didn't have on the east coast. As of today I have now sampled: Whataburger, In-and-out Burger, Jack in the Box, Sonic, Carls Jr, and Del Taco. Here are my views on each of these places:
Whataburger: Whataburger is basically McDonalds, at least that's about the quality of the ingredients. I hate McDonalds, so that should give you an idea of how I feel about Whataburger. The way Whataburger tries to seperate itself is through toppings. The Whataburger claim to fame is more toppings for the buck. This part is true, the burger I ordered had 3 slices of tomato, 6 pickle slices, and two piles of shredded lettuce and diced onions. While toppings are nice, it wasn't enough to make up for the cheap tasting buns, meat and cheese. FoodFactor: 6.1
In and Out Burger: This place to me is the biggest joke on the consumer. In and Out is famous for making the "local" customer feel special. On first impressions the menu is beyond lackluster ( meaning it is lacking more luster than lackluster even describes). The menu is about 4 items. The money is made on the secret menu, by being a local you can learn the secret codes of ordering to recieve items not listed on the menu. So in and Out offers pretty mediocre food, but tries to make you feel special, and that earns them the respect that they are given. They have suceeded in creating a fast food chain based on an inside joke, and everyone wants to know the joke. Personally I'm not into it, plus all the food wrappers have bible scripture on them. FoodFacter: 6.8 Animal Style
Jack in the Box: Now we're talking. Best fries of the bunch, open 24 hours, varied menu, and the best commercials. The ingredients are higher quality, it isn't bugerking meat yet, but damn close. They offer a solid array of salads, sandwich wraps, and even tacos. I won't be living on this stuff, but jack in the box made a damn good impression. No glaring flaws, but isn't going to supplant any old favorites: FoodFactor: 7.5
Sonic: Yes techinically there are sonics out on the east coast, but they seem more common out here. Sonic is the shit. The burger could be the best fastfood buger I've ever had. Good quality and not too expensive. I could take or leave the drive-in aspect, but at least they are doing their own thing. I can see where on a warm evening, dinner outside at sonic could be very nice. I'm also a fan of places willing to sell corndogs, chilidogs, and footlongs. Sonic get a resounding Foodfactor: 9.2
Carls Jr: I was convinced that Carls Jr. would be as shitty and second rate as the east coast local Hardees. I couldn't have been more wrong. Carls Jr. turned out to be the Rolls Royce of fast food places. Huge menu, mostly of burgers, but the bugers are also customizable. You choose your menu item then you can choose a style for that Item, i.e. the guacamole buger. The Food is giant and messy, but pretty damn tasty. To top off the experience, your food is delivered to your seat by a server, this person also provides drink refills and condiments. You never have to leave your seat, and perhaps the best part is you don't have to tip these servers. The Food is good, but catering to the fat lazy american is why I gave C Jr. a few extra points. FoodFactor: 8.6
Del Taco: Actually, I haven't been there. I mean, Taco Bell is Accross the street. Fuck Del Taco.
I know many people bought NFL 2K5 because it was cheap and was released early. I'm sure some people have wondered what they might be missing by not playing Madden this year. Well fear not, my suitemate has the new madden, and it does not compare favorably. Playing it last night I had to wonder, why is this one getting good reviews. It seemed to be the biggest dissapointment in Madden's history. It is graphically inferior, the game play is chaotic and confusing, and the presentation is cluttered and appears almost unfinished. Name value is selling this title, but as far as I can tell, 2K5 kicks it's ass.
Speaking of ass kicking, I watched the Monk marathon yesterday. I was just flipping channels and happened to catch that an episode was starting. Before I knew it I hade watched 4 straight episodes. Monk Kicks ass.
Whataburger: Whataburger is basically McDonalds, at least that's about the quality of the ingredients. I hate McDonalds, so that should give you an idea of how I feel about Whataburger. The way Whataburger tries to seperate itself is through toppings. The Whataburger claim to fame is more toppings for the buck. This part is true, the burger I ordered had 3 slices of tomato, 6 pickle slices, and two piles of shredded lettuce and diced onions. While toppings are nice, it wasn't enough to make up for the cheap tasting buns, meat and cheese. FoodFactor: 6.1
In and Out Burger: This place to me is the biggest joke on the consumer. In and Out is famous for making the "local" customer feel special. On first impressions the menu is beyond lackluster ( meaning it is lacking more luster than lackluster even describes). The menu is about 4 items. The money is made on the secret menu, by being a local you can learn the secret codes of ordering to recieve items not listed on the menu. So in and Out offers pretty mediocre food, but tries to make you feel special, and that earns them the respect that they are given. They have suceeded in creating a fast food chain based on an inside joke, and everyone wants to know the joke. Personally I'm not into it, plus all the food wrappers have bible scripture on them. FoodFacter: 6.8 Animal Style
Jack in the Box: Now we're talking. Best fries of the bunch, open 24 hours, varied menu, and the best commercials. The ingredients are higher quality, it isn't bugerking meat yet, but damn close. They offer a solid array of salads, sandwich wraps, and even tacos. I won't be living on this stuff, but jack in the box made a damn good impression. No glaring flaws, but isn't going to supplant any old favorites: FoodFactor: 7.5
Sonic: Yes techinically there are sonics out on the east coast, but they seem more common out here. Sonic is the shit. The burger could be the best fastfood buger I've ever had. Good quality and not too expensive. I could take or leave the drive-in aspect, but at least they are doing their own thing. I can see where on a warm evening, dinner outside at sonic could be very nice. I'm also a fan of places willing to sell corndogs, chilidogs, and footlongs. Sonic get a resounding Foodfactor: 9.2
Carls Jr: I was convinced that Carls Jr. would be as shitty and second rate as the east coast local Hardees. I couldn't have been more wrong. Carls Jr. turned out to be the Rolls Royce of fast food places. Huge menu, mostly of burgers, but the bugers are also customizable. You choose your menu item then you can choose a style for that Item, i.e. the guacamole buger. The Food is giant and messy, but pretty damn tasty. To top off the experience, your food is delivered to your seat by a server, this person also provides drink refills and condiments. You never have to leave your seat, and perhaps the best part is you don't have to tip these servers. The Food is good, but catering to the fat lazy american is why I gave C Jr. a few extra points. FoodFactor: 8.6
Del Taco: Actually, I haven't been there. I mean, Taco Bell is Accross the street. Fuck Del Taco.
I know many people bought NFL 2K5 because it was cheap and was released early. I'm sure some people have wondered what they might be missing by not playing Madden this year. Well fear not, my suitemate has the new madden, and it does not compare favorably. Playing it last night I had to wonder, why is this one getting good reviews. It seemed to be the biggest dissapointment in Madden's history. It is graphically inferior, the game play is chaotic and confusing, and the presentation is cluttered and appears almost unfinished. Name value is selling this title, but as far as I can tell, 2K5 kicks it's ass.
Speaking of ass kicking, I watched the Monk marathon yesterday. I was just flipping channels and happened to catch that an episode was starting. Before I knew it I hade watched 4 straight episodes. Monk Kicks ass.