Fast Food

Chicago >> St. Louis….sometimes.

by Stephanie on December 15, 2010

in American, Fast Food

I’m not going to lie. I love Chicago. I love the food, the busy city life, and did I mention the food?

You may remember my post way back in March when I visited Chicago. One of my favorite food spots was Portillo’s:

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They have amazing Chicago dogs!

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Aren’t you glad I have a fancy DSLR now? Those pictures are terrible!

The food in Chicago is so good, I practically dream about it. Especially those delicious Chicago dogs. But hopping in a car and driving 5 hours to Chicago just isn’t feasible. Not when the craving hits you like a ton of bricks. No. I need my Chicago fix now.

So imagine my excitement when I stumbled upon this little gem:

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That sound you hear, friends? That’s the sound of angels rejoicing. Yesss!

Angelo’s Chicago taste is a cute little shop nestled in Hazelwood, a suburb of St. Louis. They serve tons of food, but I was here for one thing, and one thing only: their Chicago dogs. I walked in on a quiet weekday afternoon. It was pretty empty inside.

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Okay, it was totally empty. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about people staring at me while I took pictures of my food! Smile

I ordered the Chicago dog with the works: poppy seed bun, yellow mustard, white onions, sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices, pickled sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt.

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Oh. My. Word.

This baby was delish! Does it come close to Portillos? Well…kinda. It will never replace my beloved favorite, but this sure comes close!

Score time!

Food: 4 stars (out of five)

Ambiance: 3 stars

Service: 3 stars

Value: 5 stars

I’ll certainly be back to Angelo’s the next time my hot dog craving strikes. It’ll have to do until I can go to Chicago again.

 

Pssst…don’t forget to enter my $10 Wendy’s Gift Card giveaway! It closes this Friday at 8pm CST.

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New Sea Salt French Fries at Wendy’s, and a GIVEAWAY!

by Stephanie on December 10, 2010

in Fast Food, Foodbuzz

Alternate titles for this blog entry:

 

- Why Food Blogging Rocks!

- Yes, Food Bloggers are Crazy…

- Why yes, I am going to take a picture of those french fries!

 

I think the original title works just fine. Smile

I went to Wendy’s on Friday, December 10th. The Foodbuzz tastemakers program gave me a $10 gift card to Wendy’s to try their new sea salt french fries. Free food? Count me in!

 

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It was nice to see Wendy’s advertising their new fries. Signs were everywhere!

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Reason #273 why food blogging is not for the faint of heart: People will stare at you as you snap pictures of the interior of Wendy’s. I tried to be as inconspicuous as possible, but it’s pretty hard to do when you’re lugging a camera bag, a huge DSLR, and you’re taking pictures inside of a Wendy’s. Hey, I can swallow my pride in the name of food blogging! Of course, curious bystanders had questions and comments. Some of my favorites:

“Are you really taking pictures of your french fries?” Why yes…yes I am. Smile

“Are you a health inspector?” No, but how sweet of a job would that be?!?

“Is this a project for your school newspaper?” Woohoo! I’m 25 and I still pass for a student? I’ll take it!

Anyway, on to the food. I was really excited about Wendy’s new fries, mostly because I wasn’t a huge fan of their old ones. Bring on the change!

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These babies were good. They were perfectly salty (which I loved!) and super crispy and hot. They were good all by themselves, but I decided to be a bit daring and dip them in ketchup.

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Yumtastic. BBQ sauce would have taken this to a whole new level.

I would definitely order these fries again. Wendy’s, you’ve redeemed yourself in my book. You know what would have been amazing? These fries dipped in one of their Frostys. Mmmm!! Does anyone else do that?

French fries + Vanilla Frosty == food nirvana.  Why didn’t I think to order a frosty? I guess that means I’ll have to return soon!

So I’m sure you’re dying to try these fries for yourself (aren’t you?). You’re in luck – Foodbuzz gave me an additional $10 Wendy’s giftcard to give away to one of my readers. Entering the contest is super easy, and I’m giving you two chances to win. Each option counts as a separate entry, so doing both will increase your chances of winning!

 

1. Become a fan of Off The Eaten Path STL on Facebook, and leave me a comment telling me you’ve done so. If you’re already a fan, leave a comment telling me so.

2. Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you’ve done so. http://twitter.com/OffEatenPathSTL

 

The contest closes on Friday, December 17th at 8 p.m. Central Standard Time. Good luck!

FTC disclosure: As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received 2 gift cards to use at Wendy’s.

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Don’t Judge Me!

by Stephanie on May 6, 2010

in American, Dinner, Fast Food, Lunch

It’s okay…you can go ahead and judge. I’m going to show you where I went a few weeks ago (April 12, to be exact!) and you can try to guess what I ate:

Have you guessed yet? Let me give you one more hint:

Yes…I tried the infamous Double Down. I’m hanging my head in shame right now.

So why the huge gap between my consumption of the Double Down and my blog post? Well…I wasn’t going to post about it on here, to be honest. I don’t typically eat at chain restaurants, and I DEFINITELY limit how often I eat fast food. Why waste money at McDonalds when I can go somewhere nice and have decent food?

But all of the hype surrounding the thing had me intrigued. I’m a scientist at heart (and by trade!) so let’s just call this an experiment of sorts? If I say that I did this in the name of science, will you promise not to judge me so harshly?

Anyway, I tried it. Ready for pictures? Here we go.

Caution: consumption of this product may lead to a heart attack!

What’s in this thing, you ask? Well, I think KFC describes it best, so I’ll take an excerpt straight from their website: “The new KFC Double Down sandwich is real! This one-of-a-kind sandwich features two thick and juicy boneless white meat chicken filets (Original Recipe® or Grilled), two pieces of bacon, two melted slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese and Colonel’s Sauce. This product is so meaty, there’s no room for a bun!”

Wow.

The important question: how did it taste? Well…it wasn’t bad. It was exactly what you’d expect. Two pieces of fried chicken surrounding bacon and cheese. Nothing more, nothing less. I didn’t drop dead after taking a bite, but I wasn’t eager to eat more. In fact, I could only eat about half of it before I started feeling queasy. Maybe the thought of it all was finally getting to me.

The next day I felt seriously ill. I felt like a bloated whale. Perhaps it’s the 1380mgs of sodium this little bugger contains? Whew!

So there you have it, guys. I did this so no one else will have to. And trust me, you really shouldn’t. Taste-wise, it wasn’t anything to go crazy about. And the after effects were definitely not worth it.

I promise I’ll have a real blog post coming up soon. I’m going somewhere super special this Saturday…I can’t wait to share it with you all! Good food will be in GREAT abundance. Mmmm.

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