The Remains of the Holiday

Well, since I've got these previous posts written unusually fast this time, I guess there's time left to add another post with the aforementioned remains of the holiday. Some side-notes about fastfood and schnapps.

On our way back from the UK to the Netherlands, we stopped at a road-side restaurant, which housed a Wimpy burger restaurant. Initially, when entering the place, I didn't feel like having fastfood, but the other restaurants didn't seem to offer that much interesting alternatives. So in the end, I ended up having the fastfood any way.

I should note that the burgers I'm familiar with, are the ones that are sold at the Mac or the Burger King, since those two are the only fastfood burger joint chains we've got over here where we live.
At the Wimpy restaurant, I decided to order a cheeseburger. Because we were planning to get to our boat in time, I took the burger back with me to the car and while N drove, I took pictures of the burger and ate it.

The box seems like a very common fastfood burger box, perhaps with more of an 'eco' feel to it

Well, then, the burger itself. Since it seemed to have a whole-wheat bun, I was expecting a heavy chunk of fastfood-bun. However, I was pleasantly surprised by its lightness. I guess it can be compared to the lightness of a standard Mac or BK bun, but in turn it seemed to have much more flavor.

In addition to the bun and the cheese, there was also iceberg lettuce on the burger, adding a crisp and fresher taste compared to a typical Mac or BK cheeseburger, which would be offered without veggies (if we leave the pickles out of this comparison). Remembering the taste, a few weeks later now, I think there must have been some sort of sauce on it as well, though I can't tell for sure. The patty was a standard patty you'd get at other fastfood joints. All in all, it did leave a positive impression on me. That's what I remember.

While typing this review, I checked out the Wimpy menu on their website, as I usually do when I want to recall some of the things that were on the menu. Now, there doesn't seem to be a cheeseburger in particular; there does seem to be a  quarterpounder with cheese however, which kind of like lives up to the memory I have in my mind of what I ate. So I guess, I didn't have a cheeseburger at all, but instead a quarterpounder with cheese. Which would explain the nice meaty memories I also have when thinking about this burger.
No matter, I can just say that, whenever you'd happen to be in the UK and would want a change from your regular BK and Mac burgers, I could happily recommend the Wimpy restaurant.
Additionally, they seem to have a whole range of other menu options, including interesting breakfast options. In case we ever happen to visit the UK again, I'll try to review this joint again. Just for the sole purpose of this blog of course. Ahem.

Now then, the final part in this remains-of-the-holiday post, should go about a dinner we had in Germany, when visiting the wedding of our friends B & F. However, no pictures were taken (just from the complimentary schnapps, more on that later). So instead, I'll let a description of the event suffice.
We were searching in the sleepy town of Datteln for a place to eat. No restaurants seemed to be present at all, but one, a local steak house. So, despite it not looking like the most modern of restaurants, we decided to try and get something to eat there. I can say that we had a very decent meal with schnitzel there, all for very decent costs. The funny part in this description will undoubtedly concern some alcohol again.
First, when we were seated, we got complimentary schnapps when we were handed the menus. Since N was driving, she gave me her schnapps as well. It was sweet alcoholic liquor of some sort. So, in addition to the traditional Warsteiner beers you're supposed to drink when you're eating at a German restaurant, this resulted in me getting in a happy mood :). Anyway, in the end when we asked for the bill, again we got complimentary schnapps. So, since N wasn't having any, again, I was having a third and then a fourth schnapps. *hips*.
Then, when we had paid, I guess our waiter was feeling sorry for N not having anything alcoholic to drink. So when we got up, he brought her a complimentary bottle of white wine, to take home with us! An amazing display of hospitality and a warm recommendation for anyone to visit this place. Be sure to visit Steakhaus International whenever you're in Datteln!

*hips*

Hamburgers

Fear not, beloved readers. Kurger Bing is still alive.

However, since the Rest of my Life has just kicked in two weeks ago, and I was more busy with starting up at my new job, food-blogging got a little subdued.

No matter, today I've returned with an appropiate post:

Hamburgers!

I chose to create them McDonald's' style: A very thinly patted patty (hm, would that be why it's called 'patty'?), some mustard and ketchup, a few slices of pickles and some raw onion.

However, since I saw the Keuringsdienst van Waarde TV-show episode on hamburgers, I had always wanted to make them once the way they were made in the show:

Putting sliced onions on top while frying the patty, so the onions get partly steamed by the juices released from the patty - and when flipped over, they get an additional frying.

On the plus side, when the onions create a little space between the patty and the pan, they prevent the patty from being cooked too much, so it's easier to get a rare patty.

The buns were roasted.

Well, it was nice. And easy to make.

McDonalds: Great Tastes of America burger no. 2

This blog post will serve as an excuse to my arteries. They are the main sufferers from the enduring eating-out experience, especially when eating out at the well-known fastfood restaurant chain, marked by two golden arches for its logo.

So there was this lunchtime, when I had not planned any eating-out event. Instead, N wanted to make something tasty for lunch so she made pancakes. Just as the first pancake got served, A asked when we'd be going to the Mac. I told him, if he'd been just a little earlier, I could have gone with him there and enjoy something there. However, N said she didn't mind -- all the more pancakes there would be for her. So A and me agreed to go to the Mac.

Of course I couldn't let her pancake making go unnoticed, so I had to try one. They were very tasty! Almost that tasty, that I was tempted to stay home instead. But alas, I had already made a Mac pact (Mact?) with A.

This time, during the "Great Tastes of America" week, a second burger was featured, the "Chicago Works" if I remember correctly.

Health-wise, I shouldn't have sampled another burger that quickly already, but of course I need to review these burgers for you, my faithful readers! Burger-duty so to speak.

Anyway, I felt it was a better burger than the previously sampled "Chicago Works", even though all three theme-burgers look exactly alike on official product-pictures, except for their buns. However, this one had discernible cheese, a better tasting white sauce, raw onion and an altogether better flavour.

Just to be clear on the onion rings however: I didn't order those, A did! After having been pressured into sampling those, by me of course. I mean, you can't miss out on great onion rings for a great price (1,-) -- and even non-vegetarian at that too! We agreed on finding McDonald's phone number, to ask why in heaven's name these onion rings are non-vegetarian. Haven't found that yet. Have you, A?

On a positive note: the onion rings seemed less burnt than the ones I had at this restaurant; also, they did come with chili dip! Can you tell us something about your onion ring experience, A?

However, the artery torturing didn't end there. In the evening, N and me had actually agreed to make some simple stew before heading over to her parents. Somehow we ended up again at a McDonald's, near the highway this time.

Since my arteries were already protesting, this time I had a simple side salad (better tasting without dressing than with), a Filet-o-Fish, a yoghurt and a small coke. Of course, a Filet-o-Fish contains deep fried fish, does come with (half) a slice of cheese and some sauce which probably won't be all that fat-free, the yoghurt is sweetened to such an extent that it's more of a sugary gooey substance and my coke wasn't a diet coke -- but in my defense, I didn't finish the coke (which I found out today when I saw there was a half empty cup of coke still in the car), I had a plain salad which was just lettuce, some corn kernels and some carrot, and there was fish instead of a meat patty.

I think that should fool my arteries enough to keep on sampling fast food!

For tomorrow, we will be enjoying a seven course dinner at the fancy 't Diekhuus restaurant in Terwolde, near Deventer. Let's see if I dare to take pictures or whether it'll even be allowed. If so, you may expect some fancy fine dining experience blog post soon!

Burger King Transformers Sixpack

Today was that most glorious of days. Apparently, there's a new Transformer's movie out there. In honour of that event, the Dutch Burger King restaurants serve a limited period only special Transformers burger. Or, should I say, six burgers?

A sixpack is offered for 4,25 (a meal setting you back at 5,95). They're six mini-burgers, all joined together by their buns. Half of them are covered in cheese, an onion ring and some red sauce; the other half are covered in one or two jalapeno slices and more of that red sauce.

The fastfood-connaisseurs we pretend ourselves to be, A and me agreed to sample some today. Because of time constraints, we had agreed to meet at 11:45 AM. I only woke up at 11:00, so I skipped breakfast and had these things for breakfast.

First, I ordered the sixpack and a separate coke to go with it. Turned out, at 6,20 that cost more than a meal. So I changed my order to a meal.

Having these for breakfast turned out to be a bad idea. I now know I shouldn't have fastfood for breakfast, or anything with jalapenos in it, for that matter.

The pack measures 17x11,5 cm or 6,5"x4,5". The buns aren't separated, but can be easily broken off.

However, it turned out, a single patty covered two buns. One of them the onion ring part, the other the jalapeno part.

Even though we are usually capable of stowing away EAM (Endless Amounts of Meat), we humiliatingly had to admit being quite stuffed after eating just two. Just two! Like, we're only worthy of a Happy Meal nowadays.

So, while A still pondered on whether to eat another set of burgers, I decided to play tough and just eat more. Bad idea. Having finished the third burger, my stomach was protesting already. But I just had to finish the fourth one. For those of you who have seen the Monty Python move "The Meaning of Life" and recognize that scene where a very fat man eats everything that's available from the menu, and eventually explodes - well, that's what I was afraid of, would happen. And they were just a measly four little burgers!


Of course, A couldn't stay behind. In the end, we both took the remaining two little burgers and fries with us home. The placemat covering the tray had a picture of a cutout-crown on it, which, the printing said, was meant for the Whopper. But, because the sixpack had beaten us, I crowned it.

We are not worthy, I guess.

Now, while typing this, I get a craving for the remains of the burger and the fries. Let's see whether I can still explode...

Ciabatta Grande Salsa

What better way to start a blog which is anagrammically named after a well-known hamburger fast food chain, than with a review of one such burger?

Today, I tried the Ciabatta Grande Salsa - a McDonald's special burger, temporarily available in McDonald's restaurants in Holland. Like its name implies, there's a special ciabatta-like bun, encasing a nice big (grande) patty of meat, topped with a slice of cheddar cheese, tomato slices, lettuce diced onions and two sauces: salsa (duh) and some white sauce which I couldn't quite figure out (...nooo... not that, you perverts).


The last two times I ordered something at McDonald's, I took the Big Mac. I was a little disappointed, because it had so much sweet stuff on it, you couldn't actually taste any meat anymore. So, now I felt like ordering a burger that had a little more meaty taste.

The Ciabatta Grande Salsa complied with that. The patty delivered a nice punch of meat and the rest was, well, bareable. I was a little afraid before ordering, that the ciabatta bun would have a hard crust. Fortunately, it didn't, making the burger easier to eat. Of course it was some kind of blasphemy to call it a genuine ciabatta bun, but at least it was shaped like it and its flavour hinted somewhat at what you'd expect a ciabatta bun to hint at. There was too much sauce in my opinion, but the addition of tomato made it all in all a nice burger with a recognizable McDonald's flavour to it.