March Madness and Filet-O-Fish with The Hungover Gourmet

 

The Hungover Gourmet celebrates the start of March Madness with his annual Filet-O-Fish from McDonald's. Are they still great? Are rumors of shrinkage true? Will Cosmo make another appearance?

Watch and find out — plus all the details on this weekend's BaltoZine Fest with The Hungover Gourmet, Saltbox Concern, and Kinema at Atomic Books from 6-8 pm.

VIDEO: The Hungover Gourmet Tries the McDonald's Big Arch Limited Time Sandwich

 

Longtime readers of The Hungover Gourmet know that I'm a sucker for a limited edition fast food offering. So, when The Big Arch finally arrived on our shores after years of international availability, well, you know I had to give it a try.

What's the verdict? Watch and find out!

REVIEW: ALDI Fremont Fish Market Sweet & Spicy Crispy Battered Shrimp

It's an ALDI Thing: I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with ALDI shrimp products. Sometimes they're great, like the Tempura Shrimp, Shrimp Skewers and the Wild Caught Argentine Red Shrimp. Sometimes they're not, like the Boom Boom Shrimp, Dynamite Shrimp, Popcorn Shrimp, and Creamy Wonton Stuffed Crispy Shrimp. I could go on.

So, when my daughter and I swung into ALDI to grab brownie ingredients, something for dinner, and a quick appetizer for that evening's neighborhood happy hour, these caught my eye. They're not even on the ALDI website yet, so I think my store might have been a little premature in putting them out in the case. (It wouldn't be the first time. They jumped the gun a couple weeks ago and had the faux Filet-O-Fish patties out a few days ahead of time.)

Anyway, I knew I was risking my Happy Hour Appetizer Guy reputation by bringing something that I hadn't tried or read any reviews of, but I wasn't bringing the stuffed clams (might as well just make some Stove Top), the Reuben Bites scared me a little, and while the Chicken Momos were excellent, they would have required too much work.

Turns out the Fremont Fish Market Sweet & Spicy Crispy Battered Shrimp were far easier to make than to say. (What a mouthful!) I bought two boxes, preheated the oven while I cracked a beer, and saved half a box since my wife wasn't going to make it to happy hour. (After I have a few random bags of leftover uncooked apps in the freezer, I'll throw them all on a pan for an appetizer assortment.)

After ten minutes in the oven I turned the shrimp over, warmed up the sauce packets (two per box), and got my serving tray ready. 10 minutes later the resulting shrimp were definitely crispy and battered, but hidden inside were plump, tasty shrimp and the chile dipping sauce gave them the promised sweet and spicy kick. So, in retrospect, I guess the product needed all those words in the name after all.

Verdict: The Fremont Fish Market Sweet & Spicy Crispy Battered Shrimp (whew) were a big hit and were quickly devoured by our Happy Hour Crew. Even the most judgmental attendees gave them a raised eyebrow, appreciative nod, and a return visit to the tray. Leftover sauce was also used for dunking whatever else was around the table. – Dan Taylor

Dan Taylor is the editor/publisher of The Hungover Gourmet (new issue out now!) and his Happy Hour Appetizer Guy reputation remains intact.

REVIEW: ALDI Journey to Nepal Chicken Momos

IT'S AN ALDI THING: Bought these Journey to Nepal Chicken Momos on a whim yesterday while picking stuff up for dinner. We love dumplings, pot stickers, etc., so I figured these would be right up our alley. 

Turns out I was correct! I didn't feel like pan frying them or hauling out the air fryer, so I ended up steaming these (half a bag at a time) for the recommended 12 minutes. 

The resulting momos were tender and delicious, and they are as packed with ingredients as the packaging suggests. Also, it's super fun to say "momo". 

Naturally, these are an ALDI Find so grab them while you can. They're also available in a vegetable version and they come with a sesame dipping sauce. 

$6.50 for a bag of 12 with dipping sauce. 

Momo. – Dan Taylor

Dan Taylor is the editor/publisher of The Hungover Gourmet. Get your copy of our latest issue at our store!

Baltozine Fest at Atomic Books in Baltimore on March 21

 

Join The Hungover Gourmet and other Baltimore independent publishers for the Baltozine Fest on Saturday, March 21 from 6-8 pm. 

We'll be joined by publishers from Salt Box Concern and Kinema: A Japan Travelogue at Atomic Books in Hampden.

Come on out, mingle, buy some zines, and support local retail and indie publishing!

VIDEO: What's The Hungover Gourmet #13 All About? Watch and Find Out!

 

It didn't make the cut for the Super Bowl—they said I had to pay to air it—but here's a new promo video for our latest issue.

You Know it's Almost Lent When...

You know it's almost Lent when Popeyes puts out the "Seafood is Back!" banner. 

Besides McDonald's Filet-O-Fish, what's your favorite meatless fast food meal?

Herr's Kettle Cooked Spinach & Artichoke Dip Flavored Potato Chips

Well these were a big disappointment. Had you not told me they were supposed to taste like Spinach & Artichoke Dip I'd have never guessed that was the flavor. Crisp and salty as the roads around Baltimore, but not worth the price ($2.69 per small bag). – Dan Taylor