The Food Thread (Non Instagram Edition)

[fuzzygobo]

Okay, so we've discussed our preference for pizza toppings and hot dog toppings, but we only kind of skimmed on our preference for burger toppings. . . . So, what are yours?

For me, it kind of depends on whose burger it is, but generally speaking, my one consistent burger topping is pickles: no matter what the burger or who made it, pickles are a must for me. As a matter of fact, there used to be a local chain of ice cream parlors in my town called Kay's, and they made great burgers: juicy, greasy, delicious . . . just a squirt of ketchup, and a pile of pickles, and I was most content. Conversely, the one burger topping that is an absolute no for me is tomatoes; I hate tomatoes (and yet, I can consume ketchup, tomato soup, spaghetti/pizza sauce no problem, but actual tomatoes I can't stand).

I find McDonald's put too much ketchup on their burgers, so that's usually the only thing I'll leave off. Similarly, Krystal (the southern version of White Castle) tends to go overboard with their mustard at times. Then there's Sonic, who does mayo. I don't mind a little of any of these sauces, but too much of any of them can ruin the burger for me (lookin' at you, Burger King, drowning your burgers in ketchup and mayo).

In all honesty, I find it's the smaller, local/regional burger joints that make better burgers than most of these national franchises.

I worked at Burger King when I was 16. For a lot of high schoolers, it was their first job. Back in 1984, you made a staggering $3.50 an hour.
I actually made the burgers. The patties were frozen. (still are!) There were two sizes. Regular and big for the Whoppers. You stick the frozen patties on a conveyor belt. They get flame-broiled and their telltale grill marks. At the same time you run the buns through on a lower belt so they get toasted. The patties and buns come out the other end, you slap a patty in a bun, and put them in a warmer where someone else puts on the toppings.
Inevitably, after 15 minutes in the warmer, the patties get cold and the buns get soggy. Most customers didn’t know the difference.

The main attraction of working there (like my sister before me) was all the burgers you could eat. After working there one summer, I couldn’t stand the smell of BK and I didn’t set foot in another one for three years.

I think I burned my uniform, it stank so bad.
Management didn’t care. They know they’ll have a high turnover. So every semester a new crew of kids would take my place.

At least the uniforms got better. We had plaid shirts, courderoy vests, and these god awful hats. Perfect to wear in a hundred degree kitchen. At least kids now have golf shirts and baseball caps.

 

[D'Snowth]

My sister worked at Burger King when she was a teenager as well, and yes, apparently back then, working in fast food (especially at Burger King) was considered very cool . . . unlike today, where if you're working in fast food, regardless of your age, it pretty much means your life is in the crapper and you obviously can't do any better than that.

 

[LittleJerry92]

I get that feeling, and to be honest I just blame it on egotistical people who think they’re above everyone else.

If you work at a fast food resteraunt and it helps pay the bills, or if you’re using it as a backup job, whatever it may be, props. Job shaming someone in the end is just stupid.

 

[fuzzygobo]

Most people knew that going in. Nobody ever made a career out of flipping burgers for a living. Unless you were a manager or an owner, and it was your job to order ingredients, schedule the staff, do the payroll, all the administrative stuff.
There was one kid I knew who really put his heart into Burger King. He actually thought this was his lifelong ambition to work a minimum wage job. Not out of necessity, but because he loved it so much.
He was also an usher at the movie theatre.
Both the theatre and BK closed. Last I heard he’s a mall cop now.

 

[LittleJerry92]

I’m not someone who’s quick to get food ready like that. And don’t even get me started with customers who are quick to be like “uM, yOu PuT pIcKlEs On My BuRgEr”

 

[D'Snowth]

I may or may not have toyed with the idea as a kid of becoming a mall cop when I grew up . . . not an idea I toyed with for long, mind you.

 

[D'Snowth]

I've been noticing in recent years that Olive Garden gets a lot of hate, with some people saying it's basically a glorified Italian McDonald's.

Okay, so I'll give some people benefit of the doubt - I've had actual Italian-Americans tell me Olive Garden is not authentic Italian food; fair enough. But really, an Italian McDonald's? I'm not saying that Olive Garden is a fancy, upscale restaurant by any means, but it's certainly no little cheap fast food joint either.

Nevertheless, personally, I love their food. Their chicken and shrimp carbonara is one of my favorite dishes of theirs.

 

[fuzzygobo]

Olive Garden is better than Macaroni Grill ever was. Their chicken piccata is fantastic.

 

[LittleJerry92]

I mean I’ve only been there once and had their fettuccini Alfredo, very appetizing none the less. Otherwise I don’t have much to say on them.

 

[D'Snowth]

As I said before, I find theirs to be the best restaurant-style fettucini alfredo I've ever had - specifically, their chicken alfredo.

Do you guys have any "fusion" restaurants where you live? We used to have a little Asian/Mexican joint downtown that was pretty interesting - it was the first time I had ever tried a Bento box, which came with pieces of steak, some crab rangoon, fried mushrooms in a dipping sauce, and, of course, rice. I'm not much of a fan of Mexican food, but one interesting side item they had was angel hair pasto with queso cheese as the sauce.