Februany Subway 5 Dollar Footlong Quick Hits Review

I firmly believe that no sub should be priced over $5 dollars at any time at Subway. Though I'm happy that Subway celebrates black history month by letting me get a sandwich other than the meatball marinara for a Lincoln. A word of warning though, as good as their chicken sandwiches may look, do not dare order them for threat of a chewy bouncy ball marinated in teriyaki sauce. $5 is a decent price for a filling meal. 5 dollars, 5 stars.

The 5 dollar footlong deal is worthless to me as all the sandwiches taste the same at Subway.  When the percentage of meat to lettuce is 5%, there isn't much to enjoy.  Plus they choose the shortest month to offer this?  At least there are only 28 days that I have to hear that terribly annoying "5-dollar footlong" commercial.  1 star.

 Mouthing a footlong is so much better at 2/3 the price.  When everyone else is raising prices, Subway drops them.  Major props!
5 stars.

Kudos to Subway for the $5 footlong.  During this recession when everyone else was cutting portions and raising prices, Subway comes to the rescue of the common man.  5 Stars

Quick hits average 4 star Rating!!

Read more »

Dulce De Leche and Chocolate Cheerios Cereal Review

General Mills is definitely not a racist company...I hope this isn't what is taken from the following paragraph.  I'm just saying that at first glance there appears to be some disturbing trends.
For over 60 years, Cheerios came in the form of regular Jim Gaffigan-esque-white, and the slightly less white honey-nut brand.  As well, the only way to improve the (non) taste of regular Cheerios was to add heaping spoonfuls of pure white sugar.  Was this a concerted effort by General Mills to be the (cereal) man?!  Probably not...but it's a good way for me to introduce their full-scale integration of new cereals, and to prove that taste is color-blind.

Chocolate Cheerios are fairly low in calories and sugar. (compared to other sugar cereals...not compared to Lettuce)  At 100 calories per serving, you can feel much less guilt pounding a bowl at 10pm as part of your nightly cereal routine.
The reason the calories are lower, is because the chocolatey/sugary taste is not very high.  These won't ever be mistaken for cocoa pebbles.  Nor will they turn your milk into a sweet nectar of chocolate syrup to drink after your cereal is gone.  This is actually a plus for me.  I prefer the more subtle cereal flavors.
The old adage of "Once you go black Cheerios, you never go back" does not apply here....because another flavor has been introduced for which my palette is even more pleased....read on.

Dulce De Leche Cheerios is supposed to be a homage to our Latin American neighbors and their famous Caramel-milk like spread/topping.  While there is probably a tie to the Latin American community with the whole grain that went into this cereal (most likely harvested by low-paid immigrants working 14 hour days), the famous Dulce De Leche taste did not make an appearance in the box.
Don't get me wrong.  The Cereal is very good, and the taste of "Caramel" is also subtle like the chocolate.  But if you're expecting a dead ringer for that sweet caramel honey taste from the land of be-headings and hostage-taking, you'll probably be disappointed.
The calories are also low for this cereal, which makes me say muy bueno.

The main reason I never purchased Cheerios in the past was the fact that they tasted like toned-down dog biscuits.  This has all changed with the introduction of these 2 new flavors.  Plus, I can totally show that I have a very multicultural cereal cabinet.  Chocolate cereals, Latin American cereals, Fruity Pebbles, and one of the boxes even has a leprechaun on the front. (the term "little people" applies...not leprechauns)

4 magically delicious stars for both of these cereals.  Turn up the funk and crank up the mariachi...General Mills has gone global.

I also noticed that one of my favorite blogs has also reviewed the Dulce De Leche Cheerios here! 
You should give it a read as well.

Read more »

Olive Garden Review

Bedlam – A place or situation of noisy uproar and confusion. Keep that in mind as this review progresses.

I hate eating at Applebees, TGI Fridays and Chili’s for many reasons but the number one reason is they’re just too damn loud. Under normal circumstances I do not hear perfectly but you add the chaos that ensues during your average visit to any of these establishments and I’m deaf as a post.

That is why I love Olive Garden. It’s a completely different atmosphere for the same price and quality of food. Sometimes it’s almost tranquil, but it’s never snooty. I cannot abide eating at a snooty, hoity-toity restaurant.

Many Italian restaurants offer some sort of all you can eat soup / salad /breadstick lunch, but Olive Garden is the best at it. The salad is always good, the soups awesome and the breadsticks are to die for. The other great thing about Olive Garden is the endless pasta bowl they have every fall. WOW. The orecchiette with alfredo sauce is my absolute favorite. But I’ve enjoyed dozens of other combinations. Keep an eye out for this special and make sure you visit your local Olive Garden when this rolls around next.

I must say that as high as I have been on Olive Garden the last several years, they fell very far from the pinnacle I once held them on. My wife and I went there on Saturday. Feeling frisky we ordered an appetizer of Lasagna Fritta. It was soon served to us along with breadsticks and salad. We each devoured the first one and mmmm and awed at how good it was, and we ate some salad and we ate a breadstick and then we ate about half of our 2nd Lasagna Fritta, and there was no mmmming or awing. Once the core hunger was satiated just the tiniest bit, these little suckers tasted like ass. We finished our 2nd one, and I tried a 3rd, but nope. These things sucked.

For entrees my wife ordered Mediterranean Grilled Chicken (Herb-marinated grilled chicken breasts served over capellini in a light, zesty lemon-herb vinaigrette tossed with cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, spinach and olives.) and I ordered the Mixed Grill (Skewers of grilled marinated steak and chicken with a rosemary demi-glace, served with grilled vegetables and Tuscan potatoes.) Hey kids!!! Guess what also taste like ass? That’s right boys and girls Mediterranean Grilled Chicken and the Mixed Grill entrées from Olive Garden.

You know what though. All of this could be chalked up to mis-ordering on our part (not really looking at the menu close enough) and all would be forgiven except for one thing. Bedlam. Gone was the tranquility and peacefulness I had come to enjoy at Olive Garden. Gone was the non-hoity-toity sophistication I had come to expect. Instead the place was in a complete state of Bedlam. It was more akin to a McDonald’s play place but instead of kids, it was adults. Perhaps that is why we ordered hastily, and may even had something to do with how poorly everything tasted. It was as if all the loud crazy blow-hards within 20 miles decided that Italian sounded good for dinner that night and besieged Olive Garden.

I absolutely hated it. Hated it I tell you. Because of this, Olive Garden gets 3 stars. They lose 1 because the food was gross and they lose the other one because of the environment they seem to create now within their walls.

Read more »