Meal Fit For A....

I really need to cut down on my eating.  I've put on some weight of late.  But since yesterday was the last Monday of the month I decided to have a cheap lunch.  Of late Burger King in Canada has been advertising their $4.99 King Meal Deal.  You get a small fries, small drink, and your choice of two cheeseburgers, 2 Chicken Jr. chicken burgers, or one of each.  I took one of each.

The Chicken Jr. is the equivalent of A&W's Chicken Buddy Burger, with lettuce instead of pickles.  I think it's a better tasting chicken patty than A&W's offering, although both are skinny.  BK didn't skimp on the lettuce on mine, and I ended up pulling some of the bigger chunks out.  The cheeseburger is the typical BK cheeseburger, and I think the size of the patty they use in this and some other sandwiches has shrunk over the years.  If you've had one before you know the taste.  I actually didn't mind the small fries here, but would prefer a larger drink.

All in all it was about what I expected.  It won't set the world on fire, but it's sure to appeal to BK regulars.

On the other hand I think I prefer the competition, in Saskatoon at least, for a five buck combo.  Various Dairy Queen restaurants here(I'm not sure all do) offer a five dollar double cheeseburger lunch special between 11 AM and 2 PM , with fries and a regular size drink.  I like their burgers better these days than BK's, and you get more fries and a larger drink.

Reverse From Expected.

Tim Hortons dominates the take out coffee business in Canada.  There are more than 3500 outlets in Canada, and that number continues to grow.  So it's kind of odd to think of one shutting down, but that's exactly what happened to one of Saskatoon's Hortons.  Driving by on the weekend I noticed that the sign had been removed from the front of the store at 8th Street and Acadia Drive.  A visit this morning proved my suspicions were correct.  A small sign announced it was permanently closed as of December 1st, and there was someone who was removing chairs from the restaurant. 

This was one of the oldest Hortons locations in Saskatoon.  I'm not sure if it was the first, but it was definitely amongst the first.  In a way it's surprising it stayed around this long, as another Hortons is a short walk away at 8th Street and Moss.  The store was renovated a few years ago, but apparently that wasn't enough.  One of the disadvantages it had was that it had no drive through, unlike other stand alone Hortons.  The one on Moss Avenue does, meaning it generates a lot more revenue.  On the other hand I could imagine a Hortons kiosk going into the nearby Centre mall at some point, as it would be unlikely to steal customers from the 8th and Moss outlet.

At the moment the Tim Hortons website lists 26 Saskatoon stores, but one of those is the one that just closed. 

Subpar Sunday Sundae.

Last night I had some food from Burger King for supper.(Cue someone's overwrought gasp of horror.)  I decided to get a caramel sundae to go with it.  I'm afraid I have to give it a thumbs down.  The ice cream(or perhaps to be technically accurate, soft serve) was alright,  but the caramel sauce largely sank to the bottom of the cup, and it tasted bland.  It definitely comes in a very poor second to McDonald's version of the same product, and I won't be ordering one again.

BK Chicken Fries.

Chances are you've seen the ads for them if you're a Canadian.  After being bombarded by them for several weeks I decided to try some today.  I don't think I'll buy them again.  They weren't horrible, but they were kind of tasteless, and the chicken seemed a bit rubbery.  Perhaps my package sat on the warming tray too long, and I suspect the amount of chicken in each one is a bit too little for good flavour.  On the other hand a combo with medium fries and medium drink was $6.30, which is a nice price.

I Did It.

I did my stupid thing, which was to go to the drive through at McDonalds.  Not only did I buy a 6 Chicken McNuggets meal, I bot a caramel sundae as well.  So I'll probably end up with heartburn, or stay awake all night because of the caffeine in the Coke Zero.

In one sense I've already been punished.  They didn't give me a straw for my drink!

Another Choice, But Not For Me.

If you're a poutine fan you now have another choice.  McDonalds is now offering poutine.  I tried some today, but I don't think I'll buy it again.  The bigger fries Burger King uses seem to work better for poutine, and I think the serving size of the BK version is bigger.  Not to mention BK's poutine can be ordered with bacon.  On the other hand the paper container McDonalds uses might be better for the environment than the plastic one Burger King uses.

Those Things, Those Whatchacallems.

If you've watched even a bit of US TV lately you've probably seen the ads for Burger King's new SatisFries.  They're a crinkle cut style French fry that apparently have less fat and calories that other fast food fries.  But you won't be eating them in Canada.  Here you'll be eating GratiFries(and MagniFrites in French speaking Quebec).  "But they look the same," you might say if you've seen both Canadian and American ads. And they are the same.  But apparently the different branding is because focus groups found Canadians liked the GratiFries name better.  Go figure.  They're a product developed by Burger King with Canada's McCain Foods, who make one third of the world's French fry products.

I haven't had any yet.  I did have some of BK's Poutine With Bacon today for lunch.  No, you don't want to know what my blood pressure is.

And speaking of fast food differences if you're an American looking for your Popeye's chicken fix keep your eyes open if you're in Southern Ontario.  Ads during the Major League Baseball playoffs alerted me to the fact that the chain, which I've seen ads for a lot on some US TV channels, has set up franchises in Canada.  Only in Ontario at this point, so I won't be making their spokeslady happy and chowing down on some anytime soon.  Their Canadian website is here.

Not A Russian Politician.

We tend to associate fast food restaurants with a sort of cultural imperialism.  The perception is that the food at one in the US will be the same as the food at one in Tokyo.  But that often isn't the case.  Fast food chains often regionalise their menus to reflect local cultures.  For example in Canada Burger King offers poutine.  A dish originally created in Quebec poutine is french fries covered with brown gravy and cheese curds or some other form of cheese.  A few days ago I tried out BK's version with bacon added.



Given the plastic lid I assume this stuff is made elsewhere for Burger King and just heated up at the restaurant.



As you can imagine a combination of these ingredients tastes quite salty.  I like salty, but eating this stuff probably upped my blood pressure for a while.  I'm sure someone who has eaten poutine made in a Quebec restaurant would turn up their nose at this stuff, but I liked it and may try it again someday.

Spare Me A Buck Or Two?

Well, okay, it's more like a billion, but hey, you know I'm good for it, right?  It's been reported that Wendy's intends to sell off their Arby's division due to the latter's poorer than expected performance.  The two companies only came together in 2008, making for a pretty quick marriage and divorce.  Sources estimate Arby's will sell for an estimated 500 to 600 million, and I'm sure one of you reading this can spare that kind of money for a bit.  I promise I'll let you have all the free Arby's roast beef sandwiches you want.  Or if you're willing to put up a bit more I can buy Long John Silver's and/or A&W, although I'm less interested in the latter since it doesn't include the Canadian restaurants of the chain, which currently have no connection to the US parent.

On a more serious note I've always wondered about Arby's operations here.  They used to have outlets in a number of mall food courts but these have all vanished.  The chain is left with two stand alone restaurants, neither of which, at least at the times I've been in them, seems to do heavy business.  Obviously they must do enough business since they're still around.  More importantly these restaurants are both on the city's west side, and there is no Arby's on 8th Street, which despite its innocuous name is one of Saskatoon's main business areas and an obvious place to put a restaurant if you want lots of customers.  It will be interesting to see if the sale has any effect on the fate of the two here, as the first thing a new buyer may want to do is shed underperforming locations if possible.

Well Supplied.

If you're planning on visiting Saskatoon and are worried about getting your Tim Hortons fix, don't be.  Saskatoon currently has 21 different Hortons outlets.  And we'll soon have a symetrical number of them, as a new downtown location will open early next year on 22nd Street.  Non-Saskatoon readers may be surprised to learn that this will be the first Hortons outlet downtown.   For whatever reason no one set one up in the city centre until now, the closest being the outlet on 33rd Street just across from Kelsey Institute.   And there are also rumours that if the city ever gets around to building a new 23td Street bus mall it may contain a Hortons kiosk.

Given our population this works out to roughly one Hortons store per 10,000 people.  And if you go to some outlets at certain times of the day it seems like every one of that 10,000 will soon pass through the doors.

As for the donut competition?  There are still 5 Robin's Donuts outlets, the chain that previously dominated the Saskatoon market before Hortons moved in.  Country Style once had a presense here but it is long gone.  There was no indication that Krispy Creme ever planned to set up shop here during their ultimately disastrous attempt to enter the Canadian market.  Dunkin' Donuts have no stores here. 

Given the number of food posts I've written of late perhaps this blog should have a temporary "Reading this may make you hungry" warning.

The Onslaught Begins.

I just saw my first Canadian commercial for KFC's Double Down Sandwich.  If you chomped down on one today feel free to leave a comment on what you thought.  I doubt I'll be eating one anytime soon.  For those rare times I go to KFC I'll stick to their Big Crunch chicken burger.

Oh, KFC, You Shouldn't Have.

In the paper this morning was KFC's latest coupon flyer, which included the announcement that their Double Down Sandwich will hit the Canadian market(or the Saskatoon market at least) October 18th.  That's my birthday, so I'm really flattered you guys went to all the effort of getting it out in time to honor me.  But really, you didn't have to.

To be more serious a lot of people are probably saying "Oh no, they shouldn't have!" for rather different reasons.  For those not familiar with it the Double Down consists of two chicken fillets with two slices of cheese, bacon, and "secret sauce" between them.  No bun, leading some people to dispute it's actually a sandwich.  The amount of calories and fat in this thing has of course led to criticisms that it's an unhealthy addition to an already unhealthy fast food market.  It's also very high in sodium, no doubt due to the spices used in the chicken and the bacon's inherent saltiness. 

Will I eat one?  Perhaps some day.  But really, the last thing I need is another fast food/junk food item to salivate over.  I eat too many different kinds of crap as it is.