Grandpa Gotta Eat—Grilled Chicken Sandwiches Face Off
Desperate Times...
...call for desperate measures. And in desperate times, sacrifices must be made. Sacrifices for the good of humanity.
This is one of those times.
Welcome to the latest edition of Grandpa Gotta Eat, once again happily posted in conjunction with that fanciful family of food frenzy folks—@foodfightfriday.
For those who might not know, I generally cook once a week on Saturday. When I do, that gives me something to write about the following Friday. There are times, however, when I don't cook, or I repeat something I've already posted about, which is what happened last Saturday.
And yes, just for the record, the steak was good, the shrimp a little dry, the mushrooms tasty, and I managed to make instant mashed potatoes a little runny, despite holding back on some of the water and adding more of the potato mix.
Since, I didn't cook anything, I came up with a last minute idea this afternoon, one that required me taking a body blow for the team, but one I did with joy in my heart, because it means I have something to post.
Grilled Chicken Sandwiches...Fight!
Yes, that's right. I decided I would make two fast food chicken sandwiches face off in a taste test to the death, along with some other newer food items I thought I could review.
Mi Favorito
I don't like a lot of chicken sandwiches, especially the breaded kind, but I've grown partial to the Charbroiled Santa Fe Chicken Sandwich from Carl's Jr. It reminds me of a roast beef sandwich they used to offer 25 to 30 years ago, with the obvious difference being the meats. The thing that ties the two together—a wondrously delectable strip of mild green chile. Mmmmmm. In a taste test, the roast beef sandwich would win, but the Santa Fe is an adequate substitute.
The Contender
Burger King has renovated its own Grilled Chicken Sandwich. Before, the chicken was apparently marinated and then herbs and pepper were added. Now, along with cheese, lettuce and tomato, the revamped one comes with honey mustard. Apparently, this made the calorie count decrease somewhat.
The Purchase
Since it was lunchtime, and I was hungry, I figured I get the two sandwiches and pit them together one right after the other, rather than maybe spacing them out over a day or two. I didn't know going in how that was going to make me feel afterward, but as I said at the top, sacrifices sometimes must be made.
After a rather lengthy wait in the Burger King drive thru, where I almost ended up with more food than I was already asking for, I went over to the Carl's Jr drive thru and ordered the Santa Fe. Next stop: home.
All together, along with the two sandwiches, I also bought from Burger King the new Bacon Cheesy Tater Tots and what turned out to be the Frozen Drink of Coke and Wild Cherry (when what I really wanted and should have asked for was the Frosted Frozen Drink—it adds soft serve ice cream, while the Frozen Drink is merely frozen drink.
The Competition
Once my makeshift table was set up and the latest episode of Star Trek: Discovery was queued up and ready to go, I tried the BK Grilled Chicken Sandwich first.
The verdict? Meh. I mean, it tasted fine, but the honey mustard didn't really overwhelm me with flavor, and the rest of the trimming was not overly tasty. The chicken was good, just not great.
So, with that finished, I went after the Santa Fe. Mmmmm. Very good. The cheese melted into what they call the Santa Fe sauce, and along with the pepper—it was delicioso. It might have been better if I had not eaten the other one, but otherwise, it won the taste test for me, hands down.
The BK Grilled Chicken Sandwich has 430 calories (mostly the bun), while the Santa Fe has 560 calories (bun and sauce).
Bacon Cheesy Tater Tots
Not bad, but there didn't seem to be enough bacon, or cheese. They were definitely there, but I mostly got potato, especially after the tots had been sitting for a few minutes. It didn't take them long to cool and start to get hard.
Wild Cherry/Coke Frozen Drink
This wasn't bad either, though it gave me a genuine buzz. I'm not sure why, but maybe it was the added sugar in the wild cherry syrup that did it. Since I was expecting some ice cream, it was kind of a downer, but in and of itself, it tasted good, especially if you're partial to Cherry Coke.
The Cost
The BK Grilled Sandwich was $5.49. The Bacon Cheesy Tater Tots (8-piece) was $2.19 and the Wild Cherry/Coke Frozen Drink was $1.00 for a medium.
The Carl's Jr. Charbroiled Santa Fe Chicken Sandwich cost $5.99.
How Do I Feel?
I'll let you know once the food coma passes. Actually, aside from pretty full, I'm okay. I mean, I managed to make this post. I probably wouldn't do it again, though. Eat the sandwiches back to back, I mean.
All images courtesy of Glen Anthony Albrethsen
This edition of Grandpa's Gotta Eat is part of the weekly @foodfightfriday contest, where winners can earn SBI and a cool gif champion belt with their username on it. Rules to enter are simple. Write about food. Post on Friday. Use the #fff tag. That's it. It would be nice to check out the other posts of the other participants because everyone gets to vote on their week's favorite.
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Hey, @anggreklestari.
This is funny, because I was looking at Tasteem again today. I thought I might be able to use the tag for this post, but decided not to because it was about the food and didn't really cover the restaurant itself. I don't go to many sit down restaurants, too.
However, I'm thankful for the invitation, and I would love to participate if/when I end up at an actual restaurant. Thank you for noticing this post. :)
great idea for a post. "Grandpa's Gotta Eat "
I am changing up my diet but have a bit of craving going on now.
Thanks for letting me know about the #fff if I am ever back in the swing.
Hey, @rebeccabe.
re: great idea
I had to come up with something, because I don't always end up cooking, or cooking something new, and so I alternate Grandpa Gotta Eat with Grandpa Gotta Cook when I can manage it. Unfortunately, there have been times when I miss out on both. :)
re: diet
My wife keeps telling me, and it's true, that I need to do something myself. It's tough having my son and his family here, because they're young and so eating whatever (though it's fairly healthy), whenever still works for them.
In my case, not so much anymore. Totally unfair. :)
re: fff
I'll look forward to seeing anything you might eventually post for @foodfightfriday. :)
I will try and remember. Yes, I am cleaning up my act. LOL
my hubbie generally does the cooking. I love food.
I am going to keep that in mind when I don't feel like cooking, just take photos of whatever I buy. Never really thought of that, since I cook almost everyday. Very nice post, funny too!! @glenalbrethsen
Hey, @farm-mom.
You've got more food options to choose from then, it sounds like, and I'm sure most people do. In my case, our daughter-in-law cooks generally five nights a week, I take Saturdays and my wife takes Sundays. So, I've got one chance, basically (and not complaining) to come up with a meal, and I think it's best not to keep repeating myself with posts, but then it's like, well, I haven't done that in a while, maybe I'll do that, or we end up eating out that day, or something else comes up. So, then I'm trying to think of ways to participate on Friday.
So, the taste test seemed like the thing to do, even though many people here are pretty health conscious to full blown vegan, so here I come with fast food taste comparisons!
I guess it's all good, though. Everyone seems to take it in stride.
This week's going to be similar. Not so much a face off, but more of a fast food restaurant review of a local establishment. I did try something I haven't had before, so that will also be a part of it.
OH BOY I LIKE YOU EVERY TIME WE CONVERSE. YOU ARE DEFINATELY ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS ENJOY THE FAMILY
@glenalbrethsen, When we eat delicious stuff at the time of frustration or irritation that deliciousness changes the mood too. Stay blessed.
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Excellent review @glenalbrethsen and this is a real test for the stomach and let me know how you came out of food coma, haha
I think I will be okay. Hamburgers have a tendency to make me feel sluggish, but the chicken seems to be keeping me alert and functioning. Not being bogged down in ketchup and mayonnaise probably helps.
Looking at this picture, i am already getting angry
Hey, @adenijiadeshina.
Now, your comment says angry, but I'm guessing you meant hungry. Either way, eating generally helps, so that's good. :)
All of it was good, just some of it better than the other, and if I'm going to eat a chicken sandwich, it's still the Santa Fe.
That coke thing looks like a freaking nightmare. The buzz almost certainly came from the insane amount of sugar.
I’m noticing a tater tot trend over there in the states. There are so many bloody flavours of them. They haven’t reached Australia yet as far as I’m aware. Although I haven’t looked so they could very well be here already. It’s not a thing that I would buy.
Hey, @mazzle.
Aside from this pretty much being a health nightmare, was there anything you found appealing? :)
I hadn't noticed the multi-flavored tot trend myself, which doesn't mean anything, since they're not often on the menu, and even if they were, I would probably opt for french fries, or if I knew I didn't like that particular brand, onion rings.
re: buzz
It was definitely something. I can still feel some tension at the back of my skull. :)
They've closed most of the Carl Jrs. in San Antonio but those actually look tasty. I know I could eat three of them. 🤣🤣🤣
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Nice taste test @glenalbrethsen! I used to be pretty partial to any soft serve ice cream. The frozen cherry coke looks like it would be good too, but not a soft serve ice cream, is it?!? I would have imagined Carl’s Jr. to be better than Burger King… just sayin.
Good to see you on a food fight. That’s the beauty of triple f, you don’t necessarily have to “cook” something to participate. It’s all, all good. Happy fighting!
Hey, @puravidaville.
Yeah, so the sandwich I like, the Charbroiled Santa Fe Chicken sandwich is from Carl's Jr., so in my mind, it is the best. The rest of the stuff, the tots and the frozen drink, were from Burger King and this point, I'm calling them all so-so, especially since the frozen drink didn't have soft serve and gave me a buzz that I don't normally get with straight Coca-Cola. So, either they've got stronger soda, or the sugar in the wild cherry syrup got to me. :)
I know I don't need to cook, which is fine, to participate, but do really want to keep my non-cooking posts to a minimum if at all possible, just because I like talking about my cooking escapades more. :)
I like reading your cooking escapades. Mixing it up is fun and your posts are always interesting so there. 😝.
I don’t know, did you like the way the cherry coke made you feel? Maybe it can be considered a freeby 🤷🏼♀️ Haha… we really don’t eat fast food ever but we found ourselves in Panama the other day at 10-11 in the morning without having had any breakfast. The only restaurants were KFC, McDonald’s and Burger King so I went with McDonald’s. I got a bucket of potato wedges and they were good. Shhhh 🤫 don’t tell anyone I said that. Haha
Hmmm. Let's see. Bucket + potato wedges = good. I'll take your word on it. :)
Wow. Panama does not sound like the place to be for options. If it were McDonalds, I would have gone for a regular Egg McMuffin, some oatmeal and maybe a yogurt parfait. But that's just me. :)
re: so there
Okay! I'm glad, because I do try to make them worth the read. It's good to know that you think so. Thank you. :)
Haha… the potato wedges were good but I’m not sure how vegan they are 🤷🏼♀️ Not that it mattered at that moment but I read a while ago that McDonald’s FRIES weren’t vegan because they used beef powder to flavor them- or something like that. Anyway, the potatoes held me over until we got home.
The border doesn’t have very many options. I suppose we could have found a soda (a small family food house that makes topical CR food like rice, beans, plantains, and meat or veggies in our case) but we really didn’t want to walk too much further. It was the first time I’ve had fast food in YEARS. When I was a teen I used to love the egg McMuffin with sausage. Now, there’s no way I could eat that. The fries have always been bomb though 😉
Classic, @glenalbrethsen, definitely a first for @foodfightfriday—the fast food throw down! Too funny. I admire your dedication, sir, this is a taste test that I’m sure many of your followers have been dying to try out themselves. Ha!!
I always look forward to hanging out with you on Fridays, sir, you’ve yet to disappoint—enjoy the rest of your weekend, glenalbrethsen, I’ll see you soon.
Hey, @dandays.
You're really too kind on this one. :) I mean, I guess the post turned out okay, but it was definitely born out of desperation, and I do rather talk about my cooking travails, if I've got to cook. This next Friday is going to be similar, again, because I didn't cook tonight.
Oh, yeah. I'm sure most of my follower have ran right down to Carl's Jr. and bought the Santa Fe sandwich on my recommendation. :)
At least I know which sandwich I prefer, and I don't have to force myself to sit in the Burger King drive thru if I end up wanting a chicken sandwich.