Review: Boston Market - $1 Real Chicken Meal

A while ago I wrote about how Boston Market was offering a sweet coupon for a $1 Real Chicken Meal. After an failed attempt at using the coupon (they ran out of chicken!), I was able to take advantage of this most excellent deal. As you can see, the meal comes with a piece of corn bread, mashed potatoes (but you can ask for a substitute and I asked the dill potatoes.), and 3 pieces of dark meat chicken or a quarter of white meat (I picked dark meat; it has more flavor!).

Normally such a plate would run you about six dollars at Boston Market which makes it quite the bounty for a buck.

So how was it? The chicken was a wee bit too salty but otherwise had good flavoring and was nice and juicy (because it's dark meat duh.). The dill potatoes are my go-to side: red potatoes seasoned with olive oil and dill, simple and tasty. The corn bread was a bit hit or miss sometimes it has a nice bit of crust to it, sometimes it's kinda squishy. This time it was soft like sandwich bread which is not what I want in my corn bread. Fortunately, I simply popped it in my toaster oven until it was nice and toasty. Mmmmmmm...

Plus it was all for a buck!

News: Jamba Juice Offering $1 Oatmeal Coupon: Expires 12/11/09

Jamba Juice is offering a coupon to get their Oatmeal for $1. You can print out the coupon from their website here: http://oatmealforabuck.com/

The Oatmeal is advertised as slow cooked, and steel-cut topped with your choice of: fresh banana, blueberry/blackberry, apple cinnamon, or new berry cherry pecan. The coupon expires this Friday, December 11, 2009 and is valid only at participating locations. Normal price for Jamba Juice's Oatmeal is $2.95.

Review: Popeyes - Delta Mini

Part of Popeye's "Big Deals" value menu (along with the Chicken Biscuit and Loaded Chicken Wrap), Popeye's Delta Mini features a chicken strip sliced into nestled in a soft, toasted mini-bun. The orange stuff is their tangy "signature" Delta Sauce.
The chicken was crunchy but still moist enough inside. The bun held up well and was pretty squishy soft but didn't deflate too much when pressed.

The Delta Sauce is like a Thousand Island sauce with a bit of heat to it. It's pretty good. The "Big Deal" items were 99 cents for a while but I think they're now $1.49 which seems more like normal price than a value price but still make for a great snack or meal when you're not too famished.

Review: Taco Bell - Caramel Apple Empanada

A cross between a baked and deep-fried apple pie, Taco Bell's Caramel Apple Empanada sells for 99 cents off of Taco Bell's "Why Pay More" Menu.

Review: Houston's - Cheeseburger

My Favorite Chain Burger

Houston's Cheeseburger is probably a top ten burger for me. It is a bit on the pricey side though and doesn't deliver a good bang for you buck at $14 dollars though I suppose the hurt is slightly lessened by your choice of a side: coucous, coleslaw, shoestring french fries, or seasonal veggies.

The Houston's Cheeseburger is your traditional burger done well. It features a toasted, egg-washed sesame bun, a thick (1/2 pound), juicy, charred patty of coarse-ground chuck, a slice of cheddar cheese, fresh, crisp, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, pickles, and diced onions, and mustard. Everything is well-balanced (if you couldn't tell by now, I'm a big fan of well-balanced). There's a variety of textures from the squishiness of the bun to the crunchy drizzle of lettuce to the choppy bits of the juicy patty. If you want something more exotic from your burger, this isn't it. But, if you want an honest to good, hand-crafted hamburger, Houston's Cheeseburger is a fine choice as long as you can foot the bill.

Review: El Pollo Loco - BRC Burrito

To polish off what is turning to be a burrito week, this review takes a look at El Pollo Loco's BRC Burrito off of El Pollo Loco's "Loco Dollar" value menu. The BRC stands for Beans, Rice, and Cheese which means you get protein, carbs, and calcium or PCC.... haha, look I made a funny!
So how does it taste? Pretty good unless you hate bean burritos! Everything has a noticeable flavor and texture so it goes well together. Not much to complain about for a buck. It's not fancy eats but it'll do when you want a cheap burrito.

El Pollo Loco Store Locator

Review: Qdoba - Ancho Chile BBQ Burrito

Qdoba's Ancho Chile BBQ Burrito suffered from the same defects as its Fajita Ranchera Burrito. I actually tried both at the same time because they had a discount at the time specific to my local Qdoba. I think it was buy one, get one half off plus get a free drink with a student ID (luckily, I save mines!).

Billed as a "slighty sweet, molé inspired BBQ sauce with chiles, hickory and smoky mesquite", the burrito could has used more sauce and a bit more heat. I picked shredded beef as my choice of meat, (they also offer grilled steak, grilled chicken, pulled pork, shredded beef, seasoned ground beef, and guacomole AKA the vegetarian option) not that it mattered, there was so little of it compared to how much rice you get. I think their burritos might be better if they added less rice but I doubt I'd ever come back to find out, it was that disappointing.

Review: Qdoba - Fajita Ranchera Burrito

Qdoba is a Mexican fast casual chain along the lines of Rubio's, Baja Fresh, and Chipotle that is owned by Jack in the Box. In terms of ingredients individually, everything in their Fajita Ranchera Burrito (basically a burrito with fajita style ingredients; in this case, grilled bell peppers and red onions) tasted fine. The problem was when combined together in a tortilla, the taste was off balance and the ingredients didn't really sing. I couldn't really get a good bite; there was too much rice and not enough meat (I picked grilled steak) to complement it.

If you look at the picture, you can see how the ingredients are somewhat sectioned off in the wrapping process which hinders the blending of flavors that I consider the whole point of a burrito. If you're looking for a good burrito, I'd suggest you pass on this one and try another chain or explore your local taquerias if available.

Review: Wendy's - Sausage Biscuit

Honestly, every fast food sausage patty I've eaten has tasted the same, salty with a bit of pepper. Wendy's Sausage Biscuit does not buck the trend. Mine in particular came with a Frescuit instead of a biscuit because they ran out of biscuits.

Review: Burger King - Whopper Jr.

It's a Whopper but smaller! Actually, I prefer Burger King's Whopper Jr. to the regular Whopper. The smaller size makes me feel like less of a glutton. Also, unlike the Whopper, which is somewhat wide and flat, the Whopper Jr. doesn't flop under its own weight and feels more solid.  Plus it checks in at a nice and easy 99 cents.

Review: Popeyes - Chicken Biscuit

Yum! Chicken in a biscuit. Popeyes' biscuits are a bit different from KFCs; it's less bready, has more crunch and the butter is concentrated on the top and bottom of the biscuit. It's more coarse in texture as well but still good.  It's currently 99 cents as part of Big Deals Popeyes' value menu.

 A crunchy chicken strip is placed inside a split biscuit. The chicken can be a bit dry sometimes depending on your luck, but it has a good spiciness to it. If you like Popeyes' biscuits and you like their chicken strips, you'll like the chicken biscuit.

Review: Taco Bell - Grande Quesadilla

It's like a quesadilla except with a gordita-like flatbread! Beyond that Taco Bell's Grande Quesadilla also has a tangy sauce to accompany the melted cheese and your choice of chicken or steak.
The pillowy bread is pressed and somewhat crisp on the outside but still soft.
It's more like a sandwich really. I prefer a regular flour tortilla over the flat bread for my quesadilla but maybe I'm just a traditionalist. I chose the steak but it didn't really taste like steak, it was a bit too squishy but I don't expect much from "steak" at a fast food joint. All-in-all, I think your money is better spent on a regular chicken quesadilla.