Review: McDonald's - Premium Crispy Chicken Ranch BLT Sandwich

McDonald's Premium Crispy Chicken Ranch BLT Sandwich is a fairly simple burger with leaf lettuce, tomato, bacon, ranch, and a crispy chicken filet on a premium bun.

I liked this sandwich a lot better than McDonald's Premium Crispy Chicken Club, the blend of reasonably crunchy bacon, ranch, and the lack of cheese really makes for a tasty combination.

Review: Wendy's - Egg and Cheese Biscuit

You really can't screw up an Egg and Cheese Biscuit... well, unless the Wendy's you went to for some odd reason ran out of biscuits but not half-baked frescuits.
I would rather they just toasted me some bread...

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Review: Wendy's - Custom Bean Coffee

Wendy's Custom Bean Coffee is part of their ongoing breakfast test and features a Folger's roast that was actually pretty decent. I like it better than the McDonald's Premium Blend Coffee that I tried.

Photos: McDonald's - McChicken vs. Southern Style Chicken Sandwich

You get a more chicken and a lot less mayo.  Before you ask, no I did not eat them both.  Sharing is caring!

Review: KFC - Biscuits

My favorite fast food biscuit and currently only two for a buck in the Los Angeles area. KFC's Biscuits have a nice crust on the outside...

Review: Wendy's - Hash Browns

You really can't screw up Hash Browns unless you somehow make them soggy. Wendy's Hash Browns come in coin shapes and are deep fried to a crisp. They are pretty much your average run of the mill hash browns. No surprises.

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Local Review: Porta Via Italian Food - Italian Sub and Jones Coffee Roasters - Cappuccino

Porto Via is a modern take on the Italian deli offering a quick meal to have at one of the small tables or counter inside the deli or in the patio out back. Before I arrived at Porta Via, I made a stop at nearby (just around the block) Jones Coffee Roasters which offers an excellent cappuccino at a reasonable price ($2.05 for an 8 oz. cup, $2.65 for a 12 oz. cup). Besides the Italian sub, I also got an Orange Volcano Cake for $3.50 and is filled with a cream cheese "eruption."
Porta Via Italian Sub for $7.50 is a good size typical Italian sub made with fresh ingredients and served on a nice crusty Italian roll. I tried a couple of their other sandwiches and they have all been pretty good. They also offer full on dinner and lunch meals that you can take home and heat up. It's definitely worth a try if you're in the neighborhood.

Porta Via Italian Foods
1 W California Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91105
Phone 626-793-9000
Summer Hours:
Monday through Friday 10am-7pm
Saturday10am-6pm
Sunday11am-4pm
http://portaviafoods.com/

Jones Coffee Roasters
537 South Raymond Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91105
Phone 626-564-9291
Monday - Friday 7:30 AM to 9:00 PM
Saturday & Sunday 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
http://www.thebestcoffee.com/

Review: Wendy's - Coffee Cake

Not much to say about this one... It tastes like a store-bought coffee cake (like Hostess) that you heat up in a toaster oven which is very likely how it was prepared. I doubt Wendy's bakes these from scratch or from a mix.

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Review: Wendy's - Chicken Biscuit

So I went to Wendy's because they started serving breakfast not too long ago at certain franchises. Let's just say that they still need work.

Review: Baja Fresh - Pronto Nachos

A 3oz. side of Smoky Queso Fundido and Chips for 99 cents. Yeah, I didn't really like the cheese... I ate all the chips though... I think I would have preferred Taco Bell nacho cheese. The Smoky Queso Fundido (cheese dip) seems to be a blend of spicy salsa and cheese. It didn't really taste spicy and I don't like salsa and cheese mixed together.

I guess you can say it's pretty much a non-starter for me.

Baja Fresh
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Review: Winchell's Donuts - French Cruller

My absolute favorite donut is the French cruller known for its unique shape and its airy texture. The French cruller is made from choux pastry which, according to Wikipedia, is "a light pastry dough used to make profiteroles, croquembouches, eclairs, French crullers, beignets, Indonesian kue sus, and gougères. It contains only butter, water, flour, and eggs. Its raising agent is the high moisture content, which creates steam during cooking, puffing out the pastry." I know right? We're smarter already!

I have no idea what profiteroles, croquembouches, gougères, and, kue sus are, but I love French crullers. Unfortunately, most donut shops don't make a French cruller, at least not the mom and pops around here (They are quite difficult to make I'm told compared to the standard donut.). Fortunately, chain donuts shops usually carry French crullers (Note that the French cruller should not be confused with the "cruller" which is just a twisted cake donut.)

And Witchell's being a chain donut shop makes French Crullers, although only on Tuesdays around Halloween so they can make Halloween donuts... Sad, I know! Mostly, because I went to two different locations before asking where the crullers were. In short, French crullers from Winchell's with maple or chocolate frosting equals yummy!

Review: McDonald's - Big Mac

Ah, the flagship sandwich of McDonald's, the Big Mac, the burger almost as tall as it is wide and that much more difficult to eat because of it (the middle bun has a habit of slipping out as you bite into the burger).

Review: Carl's Jr. - CrissCut French Fries

Carl's Jr.'s CrissCut French Fries are seasoned much like curly fries usually are at other fast food establishments. They'll cost you a little more than Carl's default Natural-Cut Fries, but deliver more than the standard potato flavor.