Chipotle Chicken Tacos, Hard Shell
Sure, you might be unnerved when the counter person unleashes their rapid fire barrage of topping questions, but when done right, the Chipotle Chicken Taco (hard or soft shell), will rarely disappoint.
The Perfect Taco: Hard Shell, Chicken, both corn and mild salsa, sour cream, cheese and lettuce.
The Perfect Side: Chips and Guacamole — for the money, possibly the best guacamole in show business.
The Perfect Drink: Sprite with 2 lemon wedges.
Perfectly mixed fountain drink are super delightful, but remarkably hard to come by.
Why don’t all fountain drinks taste alike? Drink manufacturers could surely fool proof the mixing process — since they obviously do not, consumers are left with either overly syrupy drinks, or overly carbonated drinks, or in the worst case scenario, drinks that taste like more than one flavor (i.e. Root Beer flavored diet Pepsi).
Although human error is surely to blame, water is another factor that determines the quality of the fountain drink. Take a road trip through rural parts of the country (where well water reigns) and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
Finding a good fountain drink. At the height of my soda binging era, I knew exactly which soda dispensers within a 20 mile radius had quality fountain drinks. In my experience, fountain drinks at fast food restaurants, movie theaters, and amusement parks are almost always terrible and should be avoided.
Convenience stores typically do a good job, and can be counted on to deliver a pretty decent mix, often heavy on the carbonation, but I can definitely handle that.
Chain restaurants such as Chili’s, Famous Dave’s and El Torito are by far the most consistent when it comes to fountain drink quality. Sure, you’ll find yourself at the mercy of the waitress to get your glass filled 6 times during your visit, but if you are a true soda connoisseur, it’s well worth the inconvenience.
Other Things to Consider: Fountain drinks offered in paper cups are always better than plastic cups. When you get to the bottom 1/3 of your plastic cup, look for a weird taste, you’ll be sure to find it.
Lastly, in my experience, Pepsi products typically taste better than Coke, with Mountain Dew being the #1 most consistently best mixed. Special mentions go out to Sprite, 7-Up, Root Beer and Orange Soda (apparently Cola drinks are just easier to screw up).
The Fountain Drink Re-Mix. The availability of self serve fountain drinks has done a lot to improve the control the consumer has over their finished product. If you can’t find an existing quality fountain drink, take it into your own hands to create one. Try these time tested mix-ups:
50% Diet Pepsi + 50% Mountain Dew (super tasty)
25% Orange Soda + 75% Diet Cola (oddly refreshing)
50% Diet Cola + 50% Regular Cola (when trying to cut calories, but don’t want to cut all the flavor)
50% Sprite + 50% Cola (try increasing the Sprite ratio gradually to painlessly kick a bad caffeine habit)
Mini-Hamburger Served on Dinner Roll w/ Fries
Thick juicy hamburgers are actually quite easy to make at home and have the potential to please the most discriminating audiences. As a matter of fact, during a recent visit, my food finicky brother actually referred to one of my burgers as “restaurant quality”. (sweet!)
The following recipe is suitable for at least four people and possibly up to 6 depending on size, thickness and group appetite.
Ingredients:
1.5 lbs of lean ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup bread crumbs or uncooked oatmeal
1/2 cup of any combination of flavorful condiments or sauces — (i.e. Mustard, Ketchup, Chili Sauce, BBQ Sauce, Horseradish, Sweet Pickle Relish, Dressing or Marinade). You can also throw in various herbs and spices as desired.
Mixing: The key to adding sauce is to make sure you don’t over do it. Pay attention to the consistency of the hamburger mixture — you want it to remain stiff enough to hold a good shape, while also adding as much sauce as possible. Do keep in mind that the sauce addition process is a delicate balance, if you over kill on the sauce, you’ll end up with a meatloaf sandwich.
Molding: Shape the hamburgers slightly larger than the bun to allow for standard burger shinkage. Thickness should be close to 3/4 an inch.
Cooking: In my experience broiling is easier and leaves the burgers with more of their own delicious juices; especially if you cover the broiling pan with tin foil, which is what I do — however, if you have an aversion to fat and like to scrub pans, omit the foil.
Cook Time: Mini Burgers (as shown) should be broiled on high for 5 minutes per side, larger burgers would be 6 – 8 minutes per side.
Topping suggestions: grilled onions (practically a must), avocados, tomatoes, bacon, pickles or relish, lettuce, peppers, dressing, mayo, pineapple, ketchup, and mustard.
Side Dish Tip:
French Fry Suggestions: If using the frozen grocery store variety, pre-cook fries for just over half of their required baking time, then move them to the lower rack of the oven while broiling your burgers. While building your burgers, broil the fries for 3 – 5 minutes longer to add a crispy shell.
Fry Sauce: Construct with equal parts of either mayo and ketchup or mayo and chili sauce.
Super Delicious Hot Wing Dip
Talk about a crowd pleaser; I haven’t met one person I didn’t like that didn’t like this dip.
12 ounces Cream Cheese (1.5 cubes)
1/2 cup Sour Cream
1 cup Bleu Cheese Dressing
1 cup Frank’s Hot Wing Sauce
1 cup Cheese (cheddar or otherwise)
4 Chicken Breasts (chopped or cubed)
Combine ingredients in sauce pan or crock pot, heat through til cheeses are melted. Serve as a dip with tortilla chips or crackers, or as a spread with toasted English muffins. Garnish with carrots and celery.
