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Foodapalooza - the longest food draft of all time - The beef finally arrives in rounds 51 & 52 (1 Viewer)

8.13 - Fast Food -Taco Bell's Chilito, AKA the Chili Cheese Burrito.

  It amazes me that Taco Bell discontinued Chili across most of the country.  The Chilito was originally brought down by the cancel culture back in the late 90's.  I guess Chilito means something bad in some language. So Taco Bell breifly changed the name to Chili Cheese Burrito, before finally just canceling it. 

   I won't even try to explain how good the Chilito tastes. Chili, melted cheese, and some secret sauce that seems to harden it up perfectly. Wow.  If you don't already know that flavor, you can't imagine.

   Last I checked there were still some rogue Taco Bell's around the country still serving them.  One of my bells randomly had chili for a week (another different name) about five years ago.  They said the chilli's were back for good, before they just dissappeared again.  That was a huge letdown.  Believe!


Oh yeah, I inhaled a number of these and knew you could still order them if you asked into the late 90s, but haven't gone back to a TB in several years since my official medical diagnosis in the early aughts.  But yeah, this was ALWAYS the highlight of any late night/early morning TB run.

 
It's not better.  It's not even close.  The Popeye's version is 10x that weak offering from Hate Chicken.
my easiest political cause. there is not a ChicFilhAte in VT. neither is there a Popeye's  :kicksrock:

ETA: What i miss most in this frozen tomb is Carl's Jr. they always had a craveworthy sammich. their ol' roastbeef & green chile or the $4.00 $6 burger always hit the spot

 
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8.07 - Fast Food - Avocado Bacon Burger - Shake Shack 

Billing itself as "Fast Casual" and with over 300 locations globally, Shake Shack moved into Beaverton (I'm telling you, we're cool now!) this past summer to much fan fare and unbridled enthusiasm.  Located about half a mile from our house, my 16 year old son saw this as an opportunity to land his first real job.  And boy, am I glad he did because as soon as this place opened, the lines to get in made the lines for Star Wars movies look like an ATM machine on a Tuesday in Omaha.  Even when the Pac NW reached record temps (118 DEGREES!!!!11) the lines snarled out the doors for Shake Shack.

Every time I passed this line (usually headed to Rite Aid for their cheap beer and superlative butter selections) I laughed to myself and pooh--poohed the great unwashed willing to wait in oppressive heat for a hamburger.  What a bunch of dolts, I thought.  I mean, there's a 5 Guys a 3-wood shot away standing there empty, just waiting to scream at ANYBODY willing to walk inside their doors.  

Meanwhile, my son would come home from work past midnight, exhausted, smelling like grease, looking defeated, exasperated from the hungry, hangry hordes of customers who never stopped ordering, a never ending stream of fries, shakes and burgers exiting the kitchen and entering meat holes.  But they paid him $15/hour AND he got a steep discount on grub.

So one night, he texts me and says "Hey, do you want me to bring you home a burger and fries" and I fired back "Yeah, sure.  I mean, I ate dinner but I can take it to work tomorrow, thanks".  I thought nothing of it, put my daughter to bed, closed my eyes and awoke to a text at 11pm from my son saying "Your burger is in the fridge - I got you the special of the month, avocado bacon".

I decided to get up, head down the kitchen and take just a small bite before it got cold, fully believing I'd save the balance for lunch at work.  45 second later the avocado bacon burger was a brilliant memory, seared into my brain like the first hit of good drugs I took in my early days.  All the pooh-poohing of the silly citizens waiting in line erased with an understanding that THIS burger - whatever it is they do to it - WORTH IT.  

And so it was that I found myself slipping the boy $20 on his way to work, asking him to think of his old man upon the close of his shift.  He'd always ask if I wanted to try another iteration of their offerings - "Nah, I said.....there's nothing that can top that".  It's amazing that I can still tie my own shoes after this past summer's indulgence.  

Sadly, all good things come to an end.  My boy quit Shake Shack to play football and now works at Target.  I still drive by Shake Shack and there are still lines, though not as long.  I'm always tempted to stop in and get a reminder of the glory days, but I'm working hard to stay away and have succeeded since August.  But boy, I'll tell you - when I get down to my weight goal, I'm going to barge in there and order four of these things.

 
OMG- that looks amazing.  I want it now.

Edit- my local HEB carries their ice cream.  They don't have that flavor, but they do have vanilla bean.  Is that tasty?  It's a favorite of mine.
Oh yeah, I'm a vanilla bean fan myself and theirs is outstanding.  The Marionberry is seasonal and not easy to find in Oregon, so it might be really tough to find elsewhere.  But if you see that deep purple tub staring you down from behind the frozen door, don't push the cart an inch farther without grabbing one.

 
I'm always tempted to stop in and get a reminder of the glory days, but I'm working hard to stay away and have succeeded since August.  But boy, I'll tell you - when I get down to my weight goal, I'm going to barge in there and order four of these things.
WIll you make a movie like Harold and Kumar?

 
8.13 - Fast Food -Taco Bell's Chilito, AKA the Chili Cheese Burrito.

  It amazes me that Taco Bell discontinued Chili across most of the country.  The Chilito was originally brought down by the cancel culture back in the late 90's.  I guess Chilito means something bad in some language. So Taco Bell breifly changed the name to Chili Cheese Burrito, before finally just canceling it. 

   I won't even try to explain how good the Chilito tastes. Chili, melted cheese, and some secret sauce that seems to harden it up perfectly. Wow.  If you don't already know that flavor, you can't imagine.

   Last I checked there were still some rogue Taco Bell's around the country still serving them.  One of my bells randomly had chili for a week (another different name) about five years ago.  They said the chilli's were back for good, before they just dissappeared again.  That was a huge letdown.  Believe!
The Chilito as a fast food item traces back to Zapata, a quick service Mexican restaurant that opened its first location in Minneapolis in the late 1960s.  In the mid-70s, Zapata got sold to corporate suits and rebranded as “Zantigo”.  By the early 80s, Zantigo is all over the upper Midwest and the good news of the Chilito is spreading.

Mid-80s, Zantigo gets sold to PepsiCo, who also owns Taco Bell.  Pepsi doesn’t want to run two Mexican fast food chains, decide Taco Bell is the brand they want to roll with going forward, all Zantigos become Taco Bells.  The Taco Bells formerly known as Zantigos keep the Chilito on the menu as it was a huge hit with Zantigo customers.

90s, Taco Bell takes the Chilito into wide release, calls it the Chili Cheese Burrito.

When Taco Bell officially dropped the Chili Cheese Burrito, the locations that either were once Zantigo or are in old Zantigo territory keep them on the menu officially or unofficially.  If you’re in a Taco Bell in Minnesota or a state that borders Minnesota, you can probably still get a Chilito/Chili Cheese Burrito there.

Meanwhile, late 90s/early 00s, a couple of restauranteurs in the Twin Cities with no connection to Zapata/Zantigo’s roots hop in the quick service Mexican business locally, starting out selling Chilitos and Taco Burritos.  They acquire the old Zantigo trademark and currently run a few Zantigo restaurants in the Twin Cities.  And their Chilitos are delicious.

 
The Chilito as a fast food item traces back to Zapata, a quick service Mexican restaurant that opened its first location in Minneapolis in the late 1960s.  In the mid-70s, Zapata got sold to corporate suits and rebranded as “Zantigo”.  By the early 80s, Zantigo is all over the upper Midwest and the good news of the Chilito is spreading.

Mid-80s, Zantigo gets sold to PepsiCo, who also owns Taco Bell.  Pepsi doesn’t want to run two Mexican fast food chains, decide Taco Bell is the brand they want to roll with going forward, all Zantigos become Taco Bells.  The Taco Bells formerly known as Zantigos keep the Chilito on the menu as it was a huge hit with Zantigo customers.

90s, Taco Bell takes the Chilito into wide release, calls it the Chili Cheese Burrito.

When Taco Bell officially dropped the Chili Cheese Burrito, the locations that either were once Zantigo or are in old Zantigo territory keep them on the menu officially or unofficially.  If you’re in a Taco Bell in Minnesota or a state that borders Minnesota, you can probably still get a Chilito/Chili Cheese Burrito there.

Meanwhile, late 90s/early 00s, a couple of restauranteurs in the Twin Cities with no connection to Zapata/Zantigo’s roots hop in the quick service Mexican business locally, starting out selling Chilitos and Taco Burritos.  They acquire the old Zantigo trademark and currently run a few Zantigo restaurants in the Twin Cities.  And their Chilitos are delicious.
Great post. I remember vividly when Zantigo went away, and even more vividly when they suddenly came back. Luckily the closest one to me is 20 minutes away. Close enough to get it when I really want it, but not so close that I eat it way too often.

 
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Great post. I remember vividly when Zantigo went away, and even more vividly when they suddenly came back. Luckily the closest one to me is 20 minutes away. Close enough to get it when I really want it, but not so close that I eat it way too often.
That doesn't help us in the northeast unfortunately.

 
8. - Sundubu-jjigae (순두부찌개, -豆腐--) - Meatless

The direct translation of soft tofu stew doesn't do this dish justice. Sundubu is an Korean uncurdled tofu that comes in a tube rather than a tub.  It has a wonderful creamy texture when it's part of a stew.  A jjigae is a soup or stew that's a staple in Korean cuisine. There are a hundred different recipes for the broth but almost all have liberal amounts of chili flakes (Gochugaru). You can add meat or seafood but since it's meatless Wednesday, I'll have mine with mushrooms which is the way I usually cook it.

If you order sundubu-jjigae at a restaurant, it's served in a dolsot, an earthenware pot that's preheated in an oven, so the stew comes to your table at over 200 degrees F. The combination of the steaming hot temperature and the spicy, savory flavors make my forehead sweat just thinking about it.

 
There aren't a lot of fast food places in the city but there was a combination KFC/Taco Bell about four blocks from us.  Sadly it converted to all KFC last year. If I had a vote, it would have been Taco Bell only even though there are over 20 other Mexican places within a 1/2 mile radius.

 
There aren't a lot of fast food places in the city but there was a combination KFC/Taco Bell about four blocks from us.  Sadly it converted to all KFC last year. If I had a vote, it would have been Taco Bell only even though there are over 20 other Mexican places within a 1/2 mile radius.
About twice a year I get the 12 Taco party-pack. 

 
There is a tub of this in my freezer, as we speak. I thought of this thread the moment I saw it and had to have it.

It's not better.  It's not even close.  The Popeye's version is 10x that weak offering from Hate Chicken.
Why do you hate jesus and delicious chicken served by natty teenagers with impeccable manners?

I know, I know- they're horrible at politics. But the chicken is really, really delicious.

 
Why do you hate jesus and delicious chicken served by natty teenagers with impeccable manners?

I know, I know- they're horrible at politics. But the chicken is really, really delicious.


I've only been to Chickfila once while on a business trip to Virginia. It was tasty I guess but not something to cross a bridge for.

 
A couple of minor changes before the round 9/10 rolls.

Dessert - Pie has been expanded to include pastry

Main - Seafood has been split into separate shellfish and fish categories

 
Round 8: Bowling Alley cheeseburger, fast food.


and the only time I want a greasy, hot, crispy crinkle fry

BACK STORY:

growing up in the early-mid-60's in the Midwest ...my mom, and a lot of mom's were in a late morning, early afternoon bowling league.  

BOTH of parents bowled. My dad was in 2 bowling leagues - and competed in regional tournaments ...(wish I could find the pictures ...the team pics looked like this ...) ...can't find any with the cool stiped sleeves ...I wore my dad's bowling shirts for years into the 90s ..."Kramer Style"

why did the ladies bowl at that time you ask? 

well ...so they could be home to prepare dinner for their 8-to-5 husbands!!!!!!!!!!!!! dammit.  This was the days of reading Good Housekeeping magazines and finding shredded carrot suspended green jello salads.  

lots of beehive hairdo's. lot's of sleeveless blouses, and stretchy pants

when you were you were really little you were kept in the basement party room with a "babysitter mom" (linoleum floor, cement block walls painted in pale green, and nicotined stained drop ceiling) with board games that didn't have all of their pieces, mixed 2nd hand building blocks, and a ton of untreated ADHD white trash.

unfortunately for a number of the kids ...it was an early introduction to "county jail".

when you got big enough enough ...you "broke out" and went upstairs to the adult playground - there were pinball machines, and of course the "mini-bowling machine"  ...this soon became the first time you could dominate your "hand-eye coordination" inferiors - well before Little League.

if you hadn't pissed your mom off too bad -because she saw that you had escaped the basement prison, she would give you some nickels/dimes to play ..."BEHAVE YOURSELF AND NO RUNNING!!!"

btw ...there was a door where there was a dark bar ...and yeah ...it was open ...at 11AM ...and yeah there were always a couple of people in there ...even at 11AM

moms would send kids in to get beers, drinks or packs of cigarettes and it always seemed like such a different world to us kids ...dark, music playing ...mysterious. you were too young to understand why a couple of these guys were in there ...or the despair that hung over them and their lowball drinks

there was a 5-6 stool grill just around the corner of the front desk where you got you numbered shoes ...nothing special about it ...it looked just like every other counter we saw  - at the drug store, the McCorys, KMart, whatever ...they all had them.  Not only great grill lunches - grilled cheese, burgers, and of course - these stupid ####### fries.

there was never anyone at the grill at that point ...just some disgruntled young dude - never remember an old guy at my mom's bowling alley ...just some disgruntled young guy that even at my young age knew he knew he had made a bad decision to quite school.  

"Bowling Alley Cheeseburgers" mean something to everyone that I grew up with ...just like "Drive-In Cheeseburgers (in foil pouches).  

Same for those GD crinkle fries ...your mother mother could never repeat them ...they were "SHATTERINGLY CRISP" AND  very greasy ...but not dripping ...

THIS IS ONLY WAY CRINKLE FRIES ARE GOOD!!! THE ONLY WAY.  

ARBY'S IS POTATO CAKE MURDER!!!

 
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Round 8:  Vegetarian - Dashen vegi combo with extra injera at Ras Dashen, Chicago

I was initially going Indian with at least one of these selections, but since a few Indian dishes were selected I'm going with another of my top cuisines when I was vegetarian in Chicago:  Ethiopian.  There are a few decent Ethiopian restaurants in Seattle, but given that we have much less diversity here, it's nothing like the selection in Chicago.  Several are within few blocks of each other, and you can't go wrong with any of them, but my favorite was Ras Dashen, which I now see sadly closed in the last year or so.  I even had a cornhole here with several FBGs and our spouses many years ago!

I've chosen the vegi combo, which looks much like this, because that was my jam.  But if I have to limit myself to one item, I'll take the misir wat, which is the red lentil dish conveniently indicated with an arrow in the link, and for which there's a recipe included.  Have never tried to make Ethiopian at home nor do I know anyone who has.  Any of you guys ever do this?

 
8th Round - Garbage plate with cheeseburger, red hots, fries/home fries, mac salad, potato salad (fast food)

Maybe this is stretching the definition of fast food, but if you've ever ordered one, you know it's usually served quickly, to-go, with less-than-pristine quality ingredients, as the quintessential drunk food.

Rochester natives would swear by white hots instead of red hots, but I'm from Buffalo not Rochester, and prefer the red hot, a more traditional hot dog.  

Give me a bunless cheeseburger, cut in half, a butterflied red hot, a heaping slop of both mac salad and potato salad, presumably from some kind of mass-produced tub of questionable quality, and some freshly fried fries.  Top with some raw onion, some Frank's, maybe a ground meat chili sauce (which we call "Texas sauce" for some god-forsaken reason).  Perfect.  Others would say to sub the potato salad out for baked beans, but I'm more of a potato salad guy.

I can't find an exact picture, so the one above is the closest I can find.

 
8.13 - Fast Food -Taco Bell's Chilito, AKA the Chili Cheese Burrito.

  It amazes me that Taco Bell discontinued Chili across most of the country.  The Chilito was originally brought down by the cancel culture back in the late 90's.  I guess Chilito means something bad in some language. So Taco Bell breifly changed the name to Chili Cheese Burrito, before finally just canceling it. 

   I won't even try to explain how good the Chilito tastes. Chili, melted cheese, and some secret sauce that seems to harden it up perfectly. Wow.  If you don't already know that flavor, you can't imagine.

   Last I checked there were still some rogue Taco Bell's around the country still serving them.  One of my bells randomly had chili for a week (another different name) about five years ago.  They said the chilli's were back for good, before they just dissappeared again.  That was a huge letdown.  Believe!


Taco Bell is one of my occasional late night guilty pleasures.  They still have chili, but it's not on the menu.  Makes you wonder, how long has that chili been in that kitchen, stored overnight and reheated, when no one knows about it?

 
Two fast food picks....

7 -- Fort Wayne's Famous Coney Island on Main Street -- steamed buns, yellow mustard, Fort Wayne coney/meat sauce, extra onions; 4-of-them with a classic bottle of coke. Happy to have enjoyed it. Yum....

__________

I'm not a big fan of fish -- love shellfish; dislike salmon; white fish w/ a light cream sauce (including wine, citrus) w/ herbs is pretty good. But, when it comes to great fast food fish, nothing beats....

8 -- Long John Silver's #2 platter including 2 fish, 6 shrimp, fries/cole slaw -- hold the hush puppies, add side order of fried clams; generous amount of shrimp sauce + malt vinegar.

 
8.xx Frisch's Big Boy and onion rings

You probably have seen a Big Boy restaurant or have one in your area.  I'm not quite clear on the history or how they are all connected, but a lot of these different franchises license the Big Boy branding.

In Ohio we have Frisch's.  And while their fish sandwich is probably the best fast food one you can find, I have to go with the Big Boy for this pick.  Two patties, pickles, cheese, shredded lettuce, and...tartar sauce.  That's right.  Tartar sauce.  I am pretty sure this is one thing that differentiates Frisch's from the other franchises.  It may sound weird, but it's delicious.

Also love their onion rings.

And when I was a kid and still drank pop, their Coke was the best.  I'm sure restaurants aren't supposed to mess with the almighty Coca Cola recipe but I'm positive Frisch's did something to the syrup/carbonated water ratio.  It also had that small crunchy cubed ice that you can only find at hospitals anymore.

 
Two fast food picks....

7 -- Fort Wayne's Famous Coney Island on Main Street -- steamed buns, yellow mustard, Fort Wayne coney/meat sauce, extra onions; 4-of-them with a classic bottle of coke.
I have some Celery Salt you can borrow.

 
8th Round - Garbage plate with cheeseburger, red hots, fries/home fries, mac salad, potato salad (fast food)

Maybe this is stretching the definition of fast food, but if you've ever ordered one, you know it's usually served quickly, to-go, with less-than-pristine quality ingredients, as the quintessential drunk food.

Rochester natives would swear by white hots instead of red hots, but I'm from Buffalo not Rochester, and prefer the red hot, a more traditional hot dog.  

Give me a bunless cheeseburger, cut in half, a butterflied red hot, a heaping slop of both mac salad and potato salad, presumably from some kind of mass-produced tub of questionable quality, and some freshly fried fries.  Top with some raw onion, some Frank's, maybe a ground meat chili sauce (which we call "Texas sauce" for some god-forsaken reason).  Perfect.  Others would say to sub the potato salad out for baked beans, but I'm more of a potato salad guy.

I can't find an exact picture, so the one above is the closest I can find.
My wife went to college in Rochester, so the garbage plate is an item of nearly mythological significance with her.  It seems like some of the magic is gone now with the change from Nick Tahou's to Steve T's.  No so much in the preparation, but in that the place now closes at 8 PM, and the garbage plate (like a half smoke from Ben's Chili Bowl here in DC) is, at heart, drunk food.  

 
  Have never tried to make Ethiopian at home nor do I know anyone who has.  Any of you guys ever do this?


I tried a doro wat ages ago.  It was not a success.  I also found that I just didn't want Ethiopian food without injera, and I wasn't going to make injera.

Whenever I get a big Ethiopian combo, I'm always surprised by how much I like the collard greens, which are apparently called Ye’abasha Gomen.

 

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