Reflections On Fast Food

There are a lot of topics that come and go during discussions while working 12 hour night shifts at the company operations center in Iraq. Tonite me and Rod’ were discussing great places to get a quick delicious meal. Of course this did little more than to enlighten each other as to what the other person likes to eat, and of course ended up leaving us both quite irritably hungry for any one of the mentioned franchise eateries we discussed.

The following is a collection of my top 10 franchise restaurants. This doesn’t go by merely taste, it also takes into consideration how often I have eaten there, along with taste. They are in no particular order.

Burger King:

Favorite Meal: Whopper w/ cheese, large fries, Pepsi (or substitute the Whopper
with a Frisco Burger).
History: I have eaten Burger King for as long as I can remember.
Comments: I have always preferred BK to McDonalds for some reason, even
though their fries are typically shitty. Hey, but they have Pepsi!!

Taco Bell:

Favorite Meal: (2) bean burritos, a Chilito (chili cheese burrito), and a LARGE
Pepsi.
History: I started eating there in high school when my best friend Marc got me
hooked on the Chilito.
Comments: The only place you can go to at 3 in the morning and get stuffed with food left over afterwards, all for 3 dollars and change. What list would be
complete without Taco Bell? I have diversified my menu, I get the chicken
quesadilla, soft shell tacos (which admittedly suck, Taco John’s have them beat),
and the gordita now and again. Ah my stomach hurts just thinking about it.

Dairy Queen:

Favorite Meal: Ultimate Burger, large fries, Pepsi (or substitute in a chicken
basket for the burger and fries). Then of course the Blizzard. Oh man though,
what flavor of Blizzard to get??? Oreo? Butterfinger? Snickers? Reeses Peanut
Butter Cup? I had even gotten into the Heath Bar, oh the choices, what to do??
History: I can remember eating Dilly Bar’s after little league baseball when I was like 10 years old.
Comments: The Ultimate Burger could possible be the best franchise burger out
there, dripping with grease, loaded with burger, cheese, toasted bun, lettuce,
tomato, onions, etc. It’s pure glutinous bliss!!! And a Blizzard with it? WOW!

Taco John’s:

Favorite Meal: the (2) soft shell taco meal, large potato olays (spicy tater tots),
Pepsi, and of course the cinnamon churro for dessert.
History: They had a Taco John’s in Wayne where I went to school for about 2
years, there was something really filling about that meal.
Comments: I would switch off sometimes, chicken to beef, beef to chicken. I can
remember Gub’s getting the “6 Pack N’ A Pound” meal (six soft/hard shell tacos
and a pound of potato olays) and I used to wonder, how the hell is he going to eat
all of that?? Well, he’s did it, but then he’s not exactly skinny anymore.

Subway:

Favorite Meal: 12” Value Spicy Italian meal on white bread, with nacho cheese
Doritos, and wouldn’t you know it, a Pepsi (or substitute in Seafood and Crab or
Roasted Chicken Breast sub).
History: I must have eaten 250 Subway sandwiches a year in my first 2 years of
college, back around 93’/94’.
Comments: Back then the meal deal was about $3.50, probably because most
people were not into healthy eating. Look at what a trend setter I was!! There
were some days where I ate Subway twice a day even. I loved those sandwiches.
Now the freaking bread choices are just annoying, too much stuff, and of course
the price of the meals has more than doubled. That sucks, but I still eat there, just
not as much.

Old Chicago:

Favorite Meal: Full order of regular nachos, with a beer.
History: Got into going to this place with my old college roommate Broderick,
and his brother.
Comments: My first time there, we ordered the nachos and I also ordered a
a burger and fries, with the beer of course. I regretted that. I was so freaking
stuffed, it was miserable, yet strangely satisfying haha. They have the best nachos
on the planet, without a doubt.

Great American Steal Buffet:

Favorite Meal: Well, it’s a buffet.
History: To be honest, I think when I went to this place with midas was the first
time I ever ate there.
Comments: Oh the mediocre food, but that’s just is, there is so much of it!
It’s all just barely above average but damn you can just mow down plate after
plate of it. One steak or chicken breast per trip to the grill, dammit, just one!! It’s
good American eating, 3 kinds of potatos, corn, rolls, stuffing, etc. OH YAH, and SHRIMP, sweet delicious golden fried shrimp! And coincidentally, I will be
going here with midas when I get back home, along with Old Chicago, and quite
likely:

Valentino’s Buffet:

Favorite Meal: Again, a buffet.
History: We used to eat here when we would go to state in high school in cross
country and track.
Comments: This is the best buffet on the planet in my opinion. The pizza isn’t
the greatest, but they have manicotti, lasagna, several kinds of noodles and sauces,
not so Italian choices like fried shrimp, polish sausage, a taco bar, an amazing
salad bar, and a delicious dessert bar. Yes, I will likely be going back here when I
get back, consider this an open invitation to all my friends, hell I’ll even pay.
We’ll get the party room again!!

McDonalds:

Favorite Meal: Double quarter pounder with cheese, large fries, Dr. Pepper.
(substitute a 10 piece chicken nugget for the burger sometimes).
History: Just a couple of years ago, McDonalds would have never made my list,
But for some reason, I think the fries drew me in, and then that damned double
quarter pounder…
Comments: I really ate there a lot when belly was at boot camp, probably one of
the main reasons I had to diet AGAIN before I went to see her, after having dieted
successfully the first month she was gone.

Papa Johns:

Favorite Meal: Their specialty pizza with all the toppings, large of course.
(sometimes sausage or hamburger with onions, belly loves pepperoni).
History: Really didn’t go there till belly and I moved to Omaha together. I would guess that we ate more Papa Johns than any other place, certainly by far the most popular pizza we ate.
Comments: For years I loved Pizza Hut pizza, but then they changed the way
they made their pizza and I really did not care much for the chunks of meat and
vegetables the size of your fist. I actually think I like Papa John’s pizza better
than I ever liked Pizza Hut in the first place. The garlic dipping sauce and
jalapeno peppers sure help (but not with my behind the next day, yikes).

So there you have it, if I was in any town in the nation that had all of these places, I don’t think I would have a problem living there. Of course the Valentino’s Buffet isn’t exactly a nationwide franchise, some of the others aren’t either. But if you are on I-80 traveling past Omaha you should stop in at Valentino’s, it’s worth it. There were some other places that food wise could have made the list, China Buffet at 114th and Dodge comes to mind, but that’s not really a franchise at all, and just how many places call themselves “China Buffet” in the United States anyway, a bunch of them.

I LOVE STEAK, but we eat at a lot of different steak places, and I wasn’t going to try and pick one over another. The Nebraska Beef Company was darn good though. Oh, and another thing. I didn’t include any of the ‘clone’ restaurants because they really have no way of distinguishing themselves from the others. When I say clone I mean Applebees, Outback, Ruby Tuesdays, TGIF, and others, who are all the same in that they have the same type of overpriced atmosphere, and the menus are all somewhat identical. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy eating at these places, but any one of them can substitute for another.

I’m sure belly and midas will likely remind me of other places we used to eat at. I know I’m forgetting a few. I do love food, thank goodness I enjoy running too or I’d be a real fatbody!! PUT OUT THAT CIGARETTE YOU DISGUSTING FAT BODY!

Current Lyrical Ramblings

Someone said my words are out of balance
Nothing to say, you've got nothing to say
Dying words I bury everyday
Nothing to say, I've got nothing to say

Nothing To Say – Soundgarden

Patriotism And Respect

I have never been much of a fan of military ceremonies. They are long, drawn out affairs in which enlisted soldiers are stuck standing in big fancy formations to appease the inflated egos of officers and headquarters’ pukes. Today our Command Sergeant Major retired (mid tour, how the hell do you retire while in the middle of a combat tour to Iraq???) and of course they had an overblown lengthy ceremony to do the change from one Sergeant Major to the next.

It’s bad enough that we had to be out there at 0645 for a rehearsal, then at 0730 get in formation again to just stand there while the visitors arrived, so we could ‘look good’ for more worthless officers, and then finally have the ceremony at 0800. That stunk, but then, to top off this worthless waste of time, the girl who sung the national anthem butchered the hell out of it with voice inflections and even extra words at the end. I think you all know what I mean when I say this, basically it’s someone who feels the need to add ‘personal interpretation’ to the national anthem, which is freaking WRONG to do.

To me, the national anthem is a sacred symbol of our nation, our freedom, in the same way that the American flag is, the declaration of independence, and so on. I will protect anyone’s rights to burn the flag, to sing the national anthem as screwed up as they want to sing it, etc, but I’m going to have my input, because that is my right. However, this being said, I am not allowed to voice my opinions while in uniform, because we have a certain ethical code to adhere to, that precludes us from being very outspoken about most things.

That being said, I believe the same thing applies to someone in uniform who sings the national anthem. You have NO right, absolutely NO right, to be in uniform and to ruin that song by butchering it up with your own interpretations. To be honest I have a problem with ANYONE doing that, but while in uniform you should uphold a certain standard. You don’t ‘be bop’ while marching, you don’t wear your hat all cocked back and pants hanging off your ass, you don’t raise an American Flag with purple and orange stripes and asterisks instead of stars, and you do NOT sing the national anthem off key and out of rhythm. I was offended by what I saw today, and I’m sure I’m not alone.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

Admiral Halsey Notified Me
He Had To Have A Berth Or He Couldn't Get To Sea
I Had Another Look And I Had A Cup Of Tea And Butter Pie

Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey – Beatles

GO USA SOCCER (Go Home That Is)

Ahh yes, another World Cup, another underperformance by the US team, another early exit for the USA team. Seems to be a recurring theme for our low interest soccer elite. I really don’t watch much of it. I tried, honestly I did, but come on now, kicking a ball around, back and forth, up and down that field, it makes baseball seem fast paced and exciting.

I did take some pointers away from watching both the American team and the other teams though. The United States team seemed lethargic, very little energy on either the offensive or defensive sides of the field. It seemed as though they weren’t willing to work very hard to create offensive opportunities or they just weren’t creative enough to? I don’t know. But the US scored ONE goal, just one goal, in three games, what exactly is that supposed to lead me to believe?

The US team was ranked 5th going into the World Cup and I have to wonder, did they rank them that high just to try and get Americans to watch the game? Sure seems like it, because I’m certain they rank right at the bottom in terms of performances at this particular World Cup. Sure they played inspired ball against the Italians, so what? They tied the game only because Italy scored on themselves, and even that didn’t end up helping them much at all. The Italians are in the next round, the Americans are headed home.

I keep hearing soccer commentators saying things like “if American’s showed more interest in the sport, the American team would perform better.” Give me a break. Americans are just like anyone else, we enjoy quality performances that match the abilities of whomever we are watching. In this instance, the American team supposedly had all this talent, and they did nothing. I think a better comment would be “If the American team would perform up to its abilities, more Americans would watch the sport.”

I’m sure the rest of the world is not surprised by how the US team did. As far as myself, I honestly thought they would do better, but I don’t care much about soccer so forgive me if I’m not all that disappointed.

Current Lyrical Ramblings

I've seen your face somewhere before I swear
Could it be I've met you somewhere else
It's the way you turn and look at me
Your eyes are different but they're much the same

Somewhere - Default