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!

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.

Chick-Fil-A Chicken and Waffle Sandwich Review

You know me, I loves me some limited edition fast food. And when you're one of two (!) regions in the country offering said sandwich, well, wild horses couldn't keep me away.

So, on a COLD December afternoon, I ventured out to the local Chick-Fil-A to try the Chicken & Waffle Sandwich. Also available in a slightly smaller breakfast version, this twist on the classic Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich features a traditional Chick-Fil-A fried chicken breast between two fragrant, sweet waffles (which immediately began to fall apart as soon as I picked up the "sandwich"). 

Crisp, actual bacon—not that fast food stuff that looks, tastes, and smells like dog treats—subs in for the pickle, and the whole thing is served with a syrup packet and a Wet-Nap. 

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to pour the syrup over or on the sandwich, but had I done so it would have been impossible to eat with my hands. (Maybe that's why the nice, freezing young woman at the drive-thru gave me a packaged knife and fork.)

Politics aside, I do love a Chick-Fil-A sandwich every now and then, and the chicken was the definite highlight. The limp waffles fell apart, though I did like the bacon, but even the usually-dependable waffle fries were lukewarm and limp. Considering how the drive-thru was humming you would expect a volume mover like fries to be hot and crispy. Alas...

At $12 for the sandwich and waffle fries—no drink—this is no value meal. The sandwich needs a BBQ mayo or something, but I fear that any kind of sauce/condiment would have just rendered the whole thing a sloppier mess.

Back to the drawing board, Chick-Fil-A. If you expect to keep pace with Raising Cane's, Popeyes, Slim Chicken's, Dave's Hot Chicken, etc., you're going to need to step up your game. Or stick with the one that brung ya. — Dan Taylor

Dan Taylor is the editor/publisher of The Hungover Gourmet and issue #13 will be heading to the printer after Christmas. Stay tuned to this blog as well as HungoverGourmet.com for ordering details.

The Hungover Gourmet Meets The Food Enthusiast!

Had a blast spending some time this afternoon chatting with longtime friend Dara Bunjon on her podcast, The Food Enthusiast. We talked about zines, cheesesteaks and pork roll, grocery stores, pop culture, and much more. 

If you missed the live stream you can check out the archived video here.

 

Fishy, Fishay!

I know you've all been breathlessly awaiting my take on the new, limited time only Fish McBites from McDonald's.

Wednesday Roundup

Lotsa food and drink stuff in the news lately and not enough time to cover each and every thing in depth. So here's a quick roundup of stories that have been piquing The Hungover Gourmet's interest...

• The Senate Finance Committee is looking into a tax on vending machines, cigarettes and liquor in the hopes of finding a mix of tax increases to pay for a health overhaul. Proponents of the plan suggest slapping a $2 tax on a pack of cigarettes and a higher excise tax on alcohol. Taxing junk food, alcohol and tobacco could raise $600 billion over 10 years.
• I'm on record as a big fan of the fish tacos at Rubio's, the California fast-food taco chain. Their fish tacos make other quick fix Mexican fare pale in comparison so I was surprised they were branching out with the first ground beef menu offering in their history. I was even more surprised that the new All-America Taco features a flour tortilla wrapped around a char-grilled, beef patty seasoned with spices, topped with melted American cheese, salsa fresca, smoky garlic-chipotle mayonnaise, a jalapeno pepper and lettuce. I'm thinking Rubio's should stick to their awesome fish tacos.
• Speaking of fish tacos, I might be heading over to Baja Fresh today to try their new Taco Trio, a taco platter featuring a grilled shrimp taco, a grilled mahi mahi taco and a crispy mahi mahi taco.
• Both Popeye's and Kentucky Fried Chicken have had unfortunate PR issues in recent weeks when the establishments ran out of chicken and could not/would not honor publicized promotions.
• One person who does not seem to have been affected by the chicken shortage is producer/musician and now food blogger P Diddy (aka Puff Daddy, Sean Combs, Diddy, etc). While in the studio earlier this year Diddy decided to review the fried chicken offerings from the rival establishments. You can check out the video below:

Could White Castle's Timing Be Any Worse?

When Louis Fowler and I were in Ohio last month we lamented the fact that the local White Castle had not started its Pulled Pork Sandwich promotion yet. Because what you need after you've ordered 90 Slyders, three orders of Family Fries, a couple sacks of Onion Chips and some Clam Strips is a couple Pulled Pork Sandwiches. From White Castle.

Little did we know that a few months later the world would be facing a possible pandemic of something called the Swine Flu Virus that isn't actually caused by exposure to pork products, despite the highly misleading name.

Whether pigs are to blame or not, this White Castle commercial for the aforementioned Pulled Pork Sandwiches probably won't allay the fears of those who think our porcine pals are at fault...