<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<item>
  <id>11786</id>
  <title>What&amp;#8217;s an Angus Burger Anyhow?</title>
  <published_at>Fri Jul 31 14:53:00 -0700 2009</published_at>
  <link>http://www.chow.com/stories/11786</link>
  <pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:53:00 GMT</pubDate>
  <short_description>McDonald's Angus Third Pounder and Taco Bell's Bacon Cheesy Potato Burrito</short_description>
  <long_description>This week's mission: stylistic departures from fast-food chains.</long_description>
  <img>http://www.chow.com</img>
  <author>James Norton</author>
  <category>
    <id>88</id>
    <name>Supertaster</name>
  </category>
  <pages>
    <page>
      <page_number>1</page_number>
      <content>
        <![CDATA[<p><a target="blank" href="http://www.angusthirdpounders.com/"><strong>Angus Third Pounder</strong></a>
<img src="/assets/2009/07/supertaster_angus_inline1.jpg" border="0" />
By: McDonald&#8217;s
I Paid: $3.99 (prices may vary by region)
Taste: 3
Marketing: 2</p>


	<p>What, precisely, does <i>Angus</i> actually mean? That&#8217;s the question sentient Americans must be asking as McDonald&#8217;s rolls out its new line of Angus Third Pounder burgers, made from 100 percent Angus beef. Well, Angus cattle are heavily hyped and marketed for having richer, more fat-marbled flesh. Which means this burger, which costs $4, is supposed to be superpremium.</p>


	<p>I tasted an Angus burger side by side with a regular McDonald&#8217;s hamburger and a Wendy&#8217;s hamburger, and the Angus stood out as being significantly more enjoyable. (I tried the Angus Deluxe, which has American cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes; the other two varieties are Bacon &#38; Cheese and Mushroom &#38; Swiss.)</p>


	<p>The Wendy&#8217;s burger was the saltiest of the three, with a low-grade-meat snap or crunch to it and a cheap, fluffy bun. The regular McDonald&#8217;s burger was somber and gray&#8212;dry, flat, a bit mealy&#8212;and much smaller than the Angus Third Pounder. From a burger-for-dollar perspective, the Angus was a better deal even before differences in quality were factored in.</p>


	<p>The Angus, by contrast, had an almost whipped texture to it. The meat was juicier, and it had a bit of actual beef flavor and char to it and a nicely balanced amount of salt. The bun seemed denser and a little more serious than usual (indeed, the Angus is marketed as having a roll rather than a bun), and though the burger wouldn&#8217;t stand up to the real deal in an actual restaurant, it certainly kicked the butts of its low-grade fast-food competition. This, truly, is an OK burger and a decent $4 value.</p>


	<p>===</p>


	<p><a target="blank" href="http://www.tacobell.com/baconcheesypotatoburrito/"><strong>Bacon Cheesy Potato Burrito</strong></a>
<img src="/assets/2009/07/supertaster_bacon_cheesy_inline2.jpg" border="0" />
By: Taco Bell
I Paid: $2.99 (prices may vary by region)
Taste: 2
Marketing: 4</p>


	<p>The name &#8220;Bacon Cheesy Potato Burrito&#8221; cunningly suggests delicious little chunks of thick-cut bacon floating in a carb-y mass of, well, everything else. Put that notion out of your mind. The bacon is likely part of why this burrito is so incredibly salty, but it doesn&#8217;t chart as far as being a texture or flavor contributor. The overwhelming experience of the Bacon Cheesy Potato Burrito is that of eating mediocre cheese fries stuffed into a low-grade tortilla. A salty, creamy cheese-sauce flavor leads, followed by a tolerable starchy potato kick, then more salt&#8212;the beef and bacon elements get completely lost in the mix. The end result is 680 calories&#8212;plus 70 milligrams of cholesterol and 36 grams of fat&#8212;that don&#8217;t even taste particularly good.</p>


	<p>In fact, if the BCPB is good for anything, it&#8217;s unveiling the deeply misleading fraud that is commercial food photography: Take a gander at the <a target="blank" href="http://www.tacobell.com/baconcheesypotatoburrito/">official site</a> and then unwrap one of these suckers at home. You&#8217;ll find a squishy, indistinguishable mess.</p>]]>
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