It’s Memorial Day weekend and not only does that mark the unofficial start of summer, but it’s also my SEASON PREMIERE! This is my 141stblogumn (plus 6 for Fierce Anticipation) and kicks off my fourth year on F & N. To start the new season off right, I want to update some of the great things we’ve talked about over the past three years. THE SMURFS MOVIE Fierce Anticipation: The Jersey Joe Edition V – May 21, 2010 In my fifth fill in outing for Fierce Anticipation, I reviewed the live action Smurfs Movie. Now, fast forward to 2013 and The Smurfs 2 will hit theatres on July 31. While the first movie was set in New York City, this sequel is set in Paris as the gang tries to find a kidnapped Smurfette. I will probably skip this one. THE BURGER KING RIBS EDITION Blogumn #2 – June 6, 2010 In my second official blogumn, I reviewed how Burger King went completely in a different direction by adding BBQ ribs to their menu. While they tasted pretty good and sold out fast, the slow preparation time doomed them from future sales. But, Burger King hasn’t given up on ribs. This summer, they are serving up the new Burger King Rib Sandwich to rival McDonald’s mega-popular McRib. The sandwich is being served for a limited time only. I SURVIVED THE BURGER KING WHOPPER PIZZA Blogumn #16 – October 1, 2010 Another discussion of a wacky Burger King product: their spin-off franchise Whopper Bar in New York City’s Times Square was serving up a $12 Whopper Pizza known as The New York Pizza Burger. The New York City Whopper Bar location closed last year. However, locations are still open in other cities....
The New Burger King Rib Sandwich vs. The Legendary McDonald’s McRib: Jersey Joe Declares the Winner [Kicking Back with Jersey Joe]...
posted by Jersey Joe
This summer, another fast food fight will heat up and it’s not over hamburgers, but pork! Burger King has just begun serving up a BBQ Rib Sandwich to take on the McDonald’s McRib: a sandwich so out there – it has a cult following. Can this new BK sandwich take the crown from the McRib? I’m already declaring the victor! The McDonald’s McRib may be one of the most mysterious, yet delicious sandwiches the restaurant has ever served up. The McRib first went on sale nationwide in 1982 after a few months of test marketing. The sandwich consists of a pork patty, dill pickles, onion slivers, and BBQ sauce on a dusty 5 ½” roll. The McRib was not an immediate hit and was removed from all menus in 1985. Since 1989, it would reappear regionally for only a few select weeks of the year. Not every McDonald’s carried the item and only in select regions of the United States. (A rare exception was when it was briefly sold nationally in 1994 to tie into The Flintstones Movie and a McRib, Jr. was briefly sold in 2000 on a regular hamburger bun.) The limited availability of the sandwich gave it a large cult following with some McRib addicts (such as me) driving to another state to get one. When I first moved to the New York City area, no local McDonald’s sold it, leaving me to drive to southern New Jersey or Pennsylvania. I also once got to enjoy a Double McRib, a sort of secret version, at a McDonald’s on the southern end of the Las Vegas strip. The sandwich became so popular; it was even parodied on an episode of The Simpsons and made fun of on How I Met Your Mother. A website, The McRib Locator, allows fans to track where the sandwich is being served in the United States each year. Even after a series of promotional campaigns saying they would end the sandwich, McDonald’s again serves McRibs nationwide for a few weeks each year. It was last served in the US from December 2012 – early February 2013. A location will serve what they have until supplies run out. Every time the sandwich is served, McDonald’s core sales increase by several percent. People do flock to their restaurants for one. When the McRib was offered for sale in New Zealand, it was supposed to be for a six week run to tie into the Olympic Games, but hungry fans exhausted supplies in days! Looking to cash in on the sandwich’s fame and to boost sales this summer, Burger King has introduced their own version: The Burger King Rib Sandwich. The Burger King Rib Sandwich follows the same basic build as the McRib, but with a few differences. While both contain pork meat ground up into a boneless patty, Burger King’s seems to have a more solid consistency. A Time magazine article has found the McRib is made with 70 different ingredients, including fillers that are also used to make athletic gym mats. McDonald’s McRib sauce is a bit spicy; where as Burger King’s sauce is a bit sweet. The pickles McDonald’s uses on their McRib are dill, where The Burger King Rib Sandwich’s are sweet. There are NO onions on the Burger King Rib Sandwich. McDonald’s uses a small hoagie style roll to serve theirs’ and the patty is rectangular, where as Burger King uses an artesian roll and their patty is circular. I hit the drive through at the Burger King near the Holland Tunnel and ordered up the value meal that includes fries or onion rings and a drink. Both restaurants offer a small, medium, or large value meal. I chose the medium for my dinner and the cost was $6.39, plus tax. (Suggested price for the sandwich alone is $3.49) I could see the countdown clock behind the drive through window...
Bacon on an Ice Cream Sundae? – Burger King Says Yes! [Kicking Back with Jersey Joe]...
posted by Jersey Joe
Burger King has tried many interesting fast food gimmicks over recent years and now they’ve gone for the mother load! Adding bacon to a hot fudge and caramel sundae! Is this new dessert worth your money? You know I had to give it a try! Burger King was recently unseated by Wendy’s, falling to third place in sales in the fast food burger wars. McDonald’s has been the real king for a long time. In order to get hungry hamburger lovers back, BK has introduced major changes to their menu and has added a large selection of limited-time only, summer items. BK has tried many novelty products over the years to try and gain an edge. Remember when they had sit down table service in the 80’s? How about when they served BBQ ribs two summers ago? Now, new for summer 2012 – the Burger King Bacon Sundae! Adding bacon to just about any breakfast or sandwich makes it good, right? Well, Burger King is hoping the same works for a sundae. Last Wednesday, I went the drive-thru at my local Burger King and ordered a meal and the dessert. I pulled forward to the second window and as soon as the waitress turned away to fill up my drink, I could see her getting to work on my sundae too. She first swirled vanilla ice cream into a sundae cup. She then added a few squirts of caramel, then chocolate fudge, and a little more ice cream. She then stepped away and when she returned, inserted a full strip of bacon on one side, followed by more chopped up bacon bits sprinkled on top. She placed the plastic lid on top and presented it to me. It took her all of 30 seconds to make. I couldn’t wait to try it. My...
Jersey Joe’s Year Two Round Up [Kicking Back with Jersey Joe]
posted by Jersey Joe
It’s Memorial Day weekend and not only does this mark the unofficial start of summer, it also marks my third SEASON PREMIERE! This blogumn officially kicks off my third year on F & N. Since we’re 93 blogumns in (plus 5 filling in for Ryan Dixon’s Fierce Anticipation), it’s time to update some of the great things we’ve talked about over the past two years. MOUNTAIN DEWMOCRACY May 7, 2010 [FIERCE ANTICIPATION: THE JERSEY JOE EDITION III] In my third blogumn filling in for Ryan, PepsiCo, the bottlers of Mountain Dew released three test flavors for the summer of 2010, allowing fans to vote on which they liked best to join the line permanently. They had tried this experiment in 2008 and it was a huge success. Mountain Dew White Out was the winner and went on sale on October 4th and is still on sale now. For a brief time, Wal-Mart Supercenters also sold 2 liter bottles of Mountain Dew: Typhoon, one of the losing flavors. In addition Mountain Dew: Game Fuel Cherry Citrus and Mountain Dew: Game Fuel Tropical were also on sale last summer to tie into the video game release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. They were discontinued in December. PepsiCo has hinted that it has no plans to test more flavors, but a few new releases have gone on sale. Mountain Dew Xtreme (grape flavored) in available in Saudi Arabia and Mountain Dew Grape is currently on sale in Japan. For summer 2012, a new flavor will appear in stores: Mountain Dew: Dark Berry as a promotion for the movie The Dark Night Rises. It will have a mixed berry flavor and the cans will change color when chilled. It goes on sale June 18th. THE SMURFS MOVIE May...
The Ultimate Fountain Drink Machine [Kicking Back With Jersey Joe]
posted by Jersey Joe
Over 100 soft drink choices are now available, all at the touch of a button, and you’re in full control! Back to the Future could have never predicted the amazing touch screen soft drink machine now appearing across the US. It will change the way you quench your thirst! The Coca-Cola Freestyle is a brand new, high tech, touch screen soda fountain that allows customers to choose their beverage with over a hundred different flavor combinations (some can offer up to 125). Many of these flavors have never before been seen in the United States. These fountains have been in the works since 2005 and testing began in 2009 in Utah, Southern California, and Georgia. 500 machines were sent to various restaurant chains in July 2010 and their numbers continue to grow. The high tech computer that drives the fountain not only helps you navigate to the beverage of your choice, but also tracks which flavors are running low, and records strategic marketing data that is instantly sent back to Coke. They can also troubleshoot themselves and send any error data back to the company. The machines are set up similar to an ATM. Each features a large touch screen, standard ice cube dispenser, and only one button. First, the customer decides on one of the base beverages by pressing the logo on the touch screen. Base beverages usually include: Coca-Cola Diet Coke Caffeine Free Diet Coke Coca-Cola Zero Sprite Sprite Zero Fanta Fanta Zero Minute Maid Lemonade Minute Maid Light Lemonade Dasani Dasani Sensations Powerade Powerade Zero Hi-C Mello Yello Pibb Xtra Pibb Zero Dr Pepper Diet Dr Pepper Seagram’s Lemon Lime Seltzer Barq’s Diet Barq’s While most flavors are available at any given time, not all of these choices are available at every location. The customer is then presented...