The Year in Eating Poorly

Epicurious has assembled a brief but elegant sampler of some of 2007’s worst culinary crimes.

Those nostalgic for 2007 need only check out the brief Epicurious rundown of the year’s worst food trends to put things in perspective. Notable highlights include vanity vodkas (“The minute Donald Trump got his own vodka, the clear spirit had jumped the shark”), supercaloric “macho” fast food such as the Hardee’s Country Breakfast Burrito, and restaurants “in preview.”

As per usual with these things, the comments are as entertaining as the story itself. A poster calling himself mitty6 wrote: “I’m not a fan of the ‘many small plates’ meals. If I’m having dinner, I want a good portion of something delicious, not an annoying little sample.”

And poster godsam retorted that if mitty6 wanted a “full plate of simple food” he should “go to a chain.” After just three bites, godsam wrote, the palate is weary of any one flavor so “smaller portions=lower cost=bigger flavour.” By the way, he adds, “MOST OF THESE COMMENTS ON THIS PAGE SOUOND [sic] LIKE SOCCER MOMS.”

A little extreme, but godsam’s got a point.

Posted by James Norton | Friday, January 4, 2008 at 4:23pm | 3 comments
Tagged with: epicurious, worst, food, 2007, roundup, year-end, year's end, donald trump, in preview, country breakfast burrito, vanity vodkas

McBreakfast Slated to McBlowup

On the heels of breakfast success, McDonald’s is introducing a slate of new morning offerings.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that McDonald’s is following up on its breakfast boom in a big way. After the crushing success of its switch to high-quality coffee (U.S. coffee sales increased by 39 percent in the first nine months of 2007), the chain is making a number of changes to put a hammerlock on the first meal of the day.

Products slated for rollout include espresso-based coffee drinks, smoothies, breakfast burritos (hopefully a little lighter than the fearsome 920-calorie Hardee’s Country Breakfast Burrito, which features sausage, ham, bacon, and gravy), chicken biscuit sandwiches, and sweet tea.

As anyone who’s ever driven cross-country can attest, McDonald’s is often the best of a sometimes-foul slate of fast-food breakfast options. It looks as though that experience is about to get a little bit better—or at least slightly more confusing.

Posted by James Norton | Thursday, November 15, 2007 at 11:50am | 1 comment
Tagged with: mcdonald's, breakfast, espresso, burrito, country breakfast burrito, hardee's, hardees, mcdonalds, sweet tea, chicken biscuit, chicago sun times

Together at Last: Burritos and Enough Breakfast for 10

The new Hardee’s Country Breakfast Burrito is taking hearty breakfast to a crazy new level.

“60 grams of fat for breakfast!” proclaims CNN, touting the health benefits of Hardee’s new Country Breakfast Burrito.

Hardee’s marketing chief Brad Haley said that the big advantage of the Country Breakfast Burrito is that Americans who like eating enormous, farm-size breakfasts can now do so with the added boon of portability.

The Country Breakfast Burrito, which contains a half day’s worth of calories for most people, is actually a light-eating choice compared to some of the other menu options at the restaurant: the Monster Thickburger has 1,420 calories, and the crispy chicken salad 1,100. The Country Breakfast Burrito is a mere 920!

Best quote of the article:

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based advocate for nutrition and health, has called the Hardee’s line of Thickburgers ‘food porn.’

Haley puts things in perspective, however. “When consumers go to other fast-food places they feel like they’ve got to buy two of their breakfast sandwiches or burritos to fill up. This is really designed to fill you up.”

Finally: After decades of light, sensible, insubstantial meals, a way for Americans to fill up!

Posted by James Norton | Tuesday, October 16, 2007 at 1:20pm | 6 comments
Tagged with: cnn, burrito, breakfast, hardee's, thickburger, fast food, country breakfast burrito