Whole Foods FAIL - This is Healthy?

Comes along this tweet from Whole Foods

Edamame + garlic + onion + herbs = vegan EDAMAME DIP W/ GARLIC CROSTINI: bit.ly/ViAZPm #WFMdish #HealthYeah
— Whole Foods Market (@WholeFoods) January 10, 2013

Sounds great - but read the recipe

It has more than 3/4 a cup of oil (3/4 cup plus 2 tbls, to be exact)

That is more fat than three big macs

More fat than 15 small fries at McDonalds.



Let me put this plainly Whole Foods

#FAIL

Starbucks Pumpkin Scone – dry, bland and just plain bad

I had some time to fill between meetings.  I like Starbucks if for no other reason I can get wifi and plow through some work.  I pay for this by purchasing a burnt coffee and some type of frozen and thawed/reheated bakery product.  It's generally edible, but like I said, I am paying for the wifi and ability to get some work done.

In doing this, I usually stick to one of their breads – lemon often.  It’s ok.  Nothing to write home about, but it’s generally edible.

No, I did not try to make those crumbs

I instead went for the pumpkin scone this week.  Bad Choice

Let’s see….it’s good points were….nothing.  Not much pumpkin flavor, dry, crumbly.  A perfectly terrible waste of $2.25.  I mean, awful.  Is it really so hard to make a product that your average starbuckian employee could thaw/reheat?

25 Foods You Will Never See Again

From Buzz Feed

Some I am sad to see gone, some deserve to never have lived.

Barf Ketchup is the right name for it

Wendy's Bacon Portabella Burger - just say no

And when I say no, I mean hell no.  I mean do not pass go, I mean go straight to jail if you order it no.  Worse than a microwaved C-store burger no.  I mean please, for the love of all that is holy, no.

That picture - makes it look good compared to the taste.

Back story - I eat a fair amount of fast food - it goes with the territory - a lot of car travel, with a limited amount of time usually to shovel some food down before I have to go into a meeting.  So when I travel, even if it is fast food, I am willing to try something new in the hope that it will be decent.  And on the face of it, what's not to like?  Burger, Cheese, Bacon, Mushrooms.  And I like Wendy's - I like the sea salt fries, I like the spicy chicken, I even like the baked potato and cup of chili.

I wish A Hamburger Today had warned me...

So one day off the interstate I stopped for gas and dinner before a night meeting.  I ordered the above.  Worst food I have had at a fast food restaurant in a long time. Now this is at 6 pm, so you would think they are moving food reasonably quickly.  

First off, the burger was bad.  Bad like a frozen slab nuked in a microwave bad.  Then overcooked bacon.  Add processed cheese and processed melted cheese.  With a few portabella mushrooms that tasted almost canned (they were the good part of the sandwich).  And the fries were both not fresh and over salted.  Four hours later that sandwich was still with me. A true, bad, gut bomb.  It's one thing to eat food that is not healthy - at least it could taste good.

Rice Palace - Not Ready for Prime Time

I love Thai food, and it is nice to have good Thai restaurants in both Eau Claire (Pad Thai) and Chippewa Falls (Mali Thai).  So I was looking forward to some great food at the newest Thai restaurant in Eau Claire - Rice Palace.  Unfortunately, I was very disappointed.

Setting was Friday evening, about 6pm.  Not very busy, but with a decent crowd with customers coming in and out.  The two of us ordered Tofu Pad Thai (mild) and Drunken Noodles with Pork (spicy).  Prices are very reasonable and the food was delivered to our table fast.  That was the only good thing about the meal.

Both items were very greasy - as in pooling oil on the plate greasy.

The Pad Thai had an overpower taste of anise - a common ingredient in Thai food, but not in Pad Thai, and it overpowered the dish.  It also appeared to be comprised largely of just noodles, tofu and sauce - no egg, no onion, no peanuts on the top, no cilantro, no bean sprouts.  I understand there are many ways to make this dish, but this was a bad way.

Drunken Noodles w/pork was good, if also pooling in oil.  Very spicy (which is how I ordered it, so points for getting that right)  I do suggest that you try medium first.

Noodles for both dishes were cooked appropriately, but Thai food should never be pooling in oil.  Never.

Rice Palace does have a limited beer selection

It was also one of the few times leftovers stayed on the plate and did not go home.


Link to Yelp Review

Good Coffee, TERRIBLE food

Cattails Coffee - Marshfield, WI.

They serve Alterra Coffee - perhaps the second best coffee you can buy (just behind Just Coffee), but if you reversed the two I would not be offended.

Cattails brew it alright (could use more coffee) but the food - a crime what they sell

How do they make scones - 4 easy steps

1. Open Freezer
2. Take out Box
3. Place premade scone on serving tray
4. Sell

$2 for a dry, tasteless, nasty scone.

Free Wifi. Good Coffee. Terrible Food.

Flores Mexican Restaurant - Gas City Indiana - Possibly the Worst Mexican Food I Have Ever Choked Down

I was hopeful going in. Plenty of small towns have Mexican families open up restaurants and serve great food.

Peeked in the kitchen - no mexicans. Not a good sign for Flores Family Mexican Restaurant.

Food was plentiful, but tasted like a bad buffet. The "steak" in the steak taco's reminded me of the old Cheers gag - beefalo, the fake beef. Processed and formed bits of some type of meat with soy vegetable protein. Insanely bad.

Beans were ok, rice was that nasty spanish rice the lunch ladies served you.

Staff was nice, place was clean, food was TERRIBLE. Any positive review of this place is either from the owner or from someone who has never had decent mexican food.

Best Breakfast Burrito? The Eau Claire Showdown

Taco John's advertises it's breakfast burrito as the "best in town". Well, is it?

Up against the Tex - Mex Fast Food Chain - McDonald's and Sonic

The Verdict? Yes, they are the best.

The Why?

Worst first - McD BB is an abomination, with the nastiest chipolte sauce splashed on it. Per their website, composed of sausage, potatoes, eggs, peppers and onions, cheese and fire roasted salsa. For something approaching edible, order it no sauce, then get two hot sauce packets and put them on instead.

Next..... the SuperSonic BB - an ok item, with the advantage of being available all day. Sausage, Scrambled Egg, Cheese, Tater Tots, Onions, Tomatoes and Jalapenos. Needs salsa (they serve a nasty generic salsa on the side), but it does have Jalapenos.

And the Winner - and even good - the Taco John Sausage Scrambler BB. Sausage, eggs, cheese, seasoned hash pellets (better than the tots at Sonic), onions, tomatoes, green peppers, nacho cheese sauce. Actually tastes good, but what puts it over the top is the salsa bar - add your own - my choice, pico de galo and jalapeno's. Love that salsa bar.

So yes, TJ's does have the best breakfast burrito in town.

Green Mill Restaurant - Could Pizza Be Any Worse?

Green Mill Restaurant - Eau Claire Edition

Perhaps the worst pizza I have ever had - rivaling under cooked frozen pizza. Bad undercooked frozen pizza.

I appreciate food based on price paid. $1 for a frozen pizza - doesn't have to be very good to be acceptable.

$22 for a pizza (plus drinks and tip $36) it should be pretty good - in fact, it should be the best in the city.

The order - One large, classic crust, spinach and garlic, portabella mushroom and prosciutto pizza (plus mango push up slushie and a Sam Adams Summer Ale)

The good - the mushrooms were fresh, the prosciutto was a decent size and taste

The bad - everything else, especially the crust. Pizza all depends on the crust - and I like all types - deep dish, New York style, crisp, whatever. But I want what I ordered. In this case, the classic crust - advertised as a "cracker", i.e. crispy crust, it came soft, bland and floppy. The only way to eat it was with a knife and fork, or New York style. Which is fine, IFt it tastes good and IF it's what I ordered - Also - the spinach garlic mix - Frozen spinach thawed and someone whispers garlic over it? JUST SAY NO! For $36 i expect fresh spinach, chopped and sauteed with garlic.

Overall, this dining experience is an F. Not recommended.