HAVE IT YOUR WAY - THE BIG KING AT BURGER KING

Only having Burger King once every year or two makes it a wonderful choice and reminder of my youth as well. My friend Charlie and myself were just texting back and forth the other night as well about the virtues of the Big Mac vs. The Whopper, to me the Big Mac (Little Mac) is anything but big and I think lots of us will agree, McDonalds may be the far more popular Fast Food chain (at least in New York) but Burger King is the more fulfilling product, My friend Paul had something wise to say to end this argument, while the Big Mac is hand held "You Need Two Hands To Eat A Whopper" Argument Over.

Size does Matter but I am not talking about eating a Large sub standard Bologna Sandwich vs a smaller Boars Head Bologna Sandwich. If anything the McDonalds Beef Patty vs. the Burger King Beef Patty are almost identical except Burger King's is Flame Broiled (like a Barbecue) whereas McDonalds is NOT. BK has the BETTER BURGER between the two. 

This has been my preamble.

Venturing forth I stepped into my neighborhood BK ready to order a Big King and a Whopper jr. with small Fries, however being a doubting thomas I asked the counterperson "what is it ?, is it a BK ?" she said "yes, two for five dollars", well forget about the Whopper jr. 

(During our texting Charlie kept referring to it as a BK as abbreviation is the way of texting, just wanted to make sure I was not getting the wrong thing).

The Big King (BK) was Fast Food wise Glorious as expected which I purchased with a small order of Fries and the Burger was as expected bigger than the Bun or slightly overlapped the Bun whereas the Big Mac Burger is obscured or hidden by the Bun. A Big Mac leaves me Hungry, I took my second BK and some Fries home as I was Satisfied (pic below). 

The Midnight Snack BK, Delicious.

Most Importantly for all You foodies - The Big King is supposedly only available for a limited time and consists of Two Beef Patties, Lettuce, Onions, Pickles, Cheese and Special Sauce (might be Mayo but I do not think so) and does indeed contain that much beloved third piece of bread between the Burgers which I have heard that McDonalds has done away with (they may have alleviated that by this time). 

My Favorite is still the Whopper or Whopper Jr. as I really need that Tomato slice. 

Out On The Tiles.

Entrance to Burger King on 86th street and 21st avenue, Brooklyn, New York.

No Lies Here in the Fast Food realm. KUDOS To BK.

RASPBERRY ICED TEA - ARIZONA VS. SNAPPLE TASTE TEST

I have been casually searching the shelves for maybe 5 moths now for a Raspberry Iced Tea and they were just not to be found. I even started wondering if they had discontinued the Flavor but kept up my faith, one night while shopping at around 11 p.m. I found them both and snatched them up. As you can see from the photo above I started drinking the Snapple before I decided a "taste test" might be fun and the order of the day and It Was fun. I am slightly biased towards Snapple for several reasons but tried my best to be a fair judge of the contents within. I am sure that Nestea, Peace Tea  and Lipton have their own versions of Raspberry Iced Tea but these are not as commonly obtainable, there is also the 4C brand powdered kind but that is a different ball game altogether.

Snapple Raspberry Tea

Color - Slightly darker in hue and cloudier than Arizona

Bouquet - More of a Raspberry scent than Arizona

Body - Rich in Tea and Raspberry flavor

Arizona with Raspberry Flavor

Color - Just a tad clearer and brighter than Snapple, of note there is a bit of foam or bubbles resting on the surface after 90 minutes of temperature attenuation

Bouquet - Fructose scent overpowers the Raspberry by a small amount

Body - Sweet with a tinge of Raspberry, more watery than Snapple

Snapple tastes more like well,... TEA.

Arizona is definitely the sweeter and watery of the two.

My Opinion SNAPPLE WINS.

Now let us take a closer look at the technical aspects via the Nutrition facts label on the side of each container. I am not going to go into the Calories, etc. as I just don't feel like doing the math as this is a 20 ounce Snapple in a plastic bottle vs. a 23 ounce Arizona in a can and Arizona has it broken down into 3 servings per can as compared to Snapple's 1 serving but I can tell you neither contain Fat Calories or Protein but the Arizona is certainly higher in Calories by about 70.

Both use Filtered water and Both are kosher AND Both use Natural Raspberry Flavor but there is one BIG difference, Snapple uses Sugar for sweetener while Arizona uses the dreaded High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Pictured here is Arizona at 11 o' clock, Water as a palate cleanser at one o' clock and Snapple at five o' clock. I find there is more Flavor imminent when a drink is not icy cold so let them warm down for about an hour, also the Arizona was in a can and the Snapple in a plastic bottle so transferring to glass might help regulate those influences.

Addendum - Nestea Raspberry Iced Tea - Possibly a little stronger on the Raspberry taste compared to Arizona but still High Fructose Corn Syrupy Sweet and this one uses Tea Powder so its basically Powdered Iced Tea in a plastic bottle.

CRAB CAKES

Some weeks ago I walked into the neighborhood Fish Market to procure a box of Crab Cakes. Nothing in the Freezer and I was in no mood to try that hard so I walked out, this bugged me though. 

Few weeks later I went up to the counter and asked for Crab Cakes and of course they had them and at what I am told at a very good price after the fact (4 for $5.00).

These were Delicious and Full of Crab Cake Wonderfulness, Had the first two solo.

Don't Call Me Crabby !!! THIS IS CRABILICIOUS !!!

My local Fish Market where they sell Fish.

WINDMILL COOKIES

These Cookies are Absolutely Delicious, Thanks Very Much to my friend Lori for sending these to me in a care package. I have been told that these dissolve quickly in the "dipping" (Coffee or Tea) process but have yet to dip them, I certainly will in honor.

These carry the scent of Gingerbread Cookies but there is something more, perhaps a Buttery Goodness. Just YUM.

And here is the packaging graphics plus info. Plain, subtle and mysterious.

Note the 5 different shapes of the Cookies inherent and their meanings. All Very Sweet in meaning, Altruism and the American Way. YAY Cookies.

SILVER STAR RESTAURANT 2/20/14 Brooklyn, New York

The Silver Star Serving Method remains impeccable, of course through the lens of time my remembrance has dimmed but I was watching carefully and nothing has changed. Yes, the staff has changed over the passing years but you are still served promptly with a Pot of Tea, Crispy Noodles to Dip into a mini-tureen of House Mustard and Duck Sauce giving time to ponder the Menu.

You are also promptly asked for your Soup of choice after being seated and comfortable. Silver Star has Wonton, Hot & Sour, Egg Drop, Chicken Noodle, Chicken Rice and Tomato Egg Drop on order Instantly and there are specialty Soups on the Menu as well.

SUBGUM PORK CHOW MEIN. Was Very Much Like Pork Almond Ding.

Well, This was a Big chance and also an Oddity/Wanted Item for many years, the Subgum Chow Mein. Had to look this one up via Google as most often I had Subgum in Chinatown (NYC) and it seemed to consist of a Dish with Fried Wontons. Not So at least on the American side, Subgum means served with Meat, Vegetables or Noodles. Well Chow Mein is already Meat and Veggies basically. 

This IS my Chow Mein Place so I just ordered it, Why qualm about it ?. Well I did qualm, This Is My Chow Mein Place.

Here is where my interest was Piqued and of course. What was this Mysterious "Subgum" Item on the Menu of which I had proffered over many years.

Always Graciously included in the Meal is your choice of Dessert. Ice Cream, Pineapple or Jello.

Aah, Yes One of the Dissapearing appetizers from the American Chinese Menu. Chicken In Foil. Part of ANY Proper PU PU Platter. Sodium Drenched and Absolutely Delicious. 

LINGUINI

Now This IS A Great Meal, The Repleted Liguini In Clam Sauce. I used Progresso Canned Sauce here but it was Totally Great, One Can to about a half a pound of Pasta for my likes.

The Handsome Can.

Yes, There was leftover Sauce. Red Clam Pizza Muffins, Ummmm Yeah.

PEANUT BUTTER CREME PIE (Little Debbie)

And just as can be expected from the folks at Little Debbie this is indeed a Sugar Sweet Concoction, wether or not there is Peanut Butter Creme Filling is debatable but not quite to be argued as this is the most Tasty product as Sweet as it is otherwise. Not a Pie as this is a Cookie Sandwich.

I was indeed intrigued as I shall always be with Any Peanut Butter Concoction. Purchased this as I spied it on my way to an ATM machine and my first time seeing this product, at first It did not seem a "Pie" as much as a "Cookie" Sandwich, upon further inspection this was indeed a Cookie Sandwich even with the Pie moniker on the label.

I Loved This, sugary Sweet a la Little Debbie but still Peanut Buttery, will I buy this again,... YES If I can find it. Better go back to the ATM store.

And Its Nutritious. Only 23 % of Saturated Fat.

mmmm,.... Sorbitol.