Category: Food Critic

review of Wimpy’s in Conway, AR

Today the Buffet o’ Blog staff visited a new restaurant in town called Wimpy’s.  As you might expect from the name, they specialize in burgers.  And let me say, they specialize not only in selling burgers but in making truly delicious burgers.  We all agreed that the burgers tasted most excellent.  If you’re looking for healthy burgers, this may not be the place, because the burgers were greasy, but they were also one of the juiciest burgers I’ve ever had.  I think it’s one of the top 3 burgers in town, and arguably the best (at least based on my first visit).

The french fries are also excellent.  They are battered, so they are somewhat crunchy (and perhaps even less healthy than normal), but they were just right to me.  They also have sweet potato fries, if that’s your thing.  We have yet to try the onion rings and milkshakes, but that will have to be on the next visit.  They also have other menu items, but it would be hard to order something other than a burger because they’re so good.

The sweet tea was sweeter than average for a restaurant, but we all agreed it was just right.  More points for that!

The only drawback we had was the smallness of the bacon.  It costs 70 cents to add bacon to your burger, and it took a search to find it on my burger.  You shouldn’t have to search for bacon on a burger!  There were 2 small strips, but it looked like one piece cut in half on mine.  It still added to the flavor, of course, but only to half of the burger.  I think two whole pieces of bacon (for 4 strips when cut in half) is a minimum, at least when I make burgers at home.  I realize many other restaurants skimp on bacon, too, so it’s not just them.  But I still had to mention it for this to be a fair and balanced review.

Also, it costs more than a typical fast-food burger joint, but the food is also much better than a typical fast-food place, so it’s not outrageous.  I definitely plan to go back.

a trip to Baconalia

The Buffet o’ Blog staff (with some very special guests) visited Denny’s last week to research their Baconalia promotion.  The food was good — I had a bacon chipotle chicken dish, which was tasty, and the bacon dish featuring 6 strips of bacon (3 types) also received good review.  Another guy tried the bacon meatloaf, but said it didn’t have enough bacon and wasn’t a hit.  The most unusual thing on the special bacon menu was a bacon sundae with vanilla ice cream and maple syrup (which no one tested, sadly).  Another trip may be warranted for further research, as I have since read that the Maple Bacon Sundae is the best new item, and I am curious to try it.

Denny’s even printed special menus that look like giant strips of bacon, which is awesome.  I asked the waitress if we could get bacon that large, but unfortunately they were not pictured actual size.  I realize there may be logistical reasons why not, but this is America, so why can’t we supersize our bacon?!?  🙂

More restaurants should use bacon to promote their food as well as using more bacon in their food.  Imagine the increased business if they advertised that all dishes come with 50% more bacon!  Or if you could add bacon to anything.  I think we’re on to something here…

the most fattening meal ever

Here at Buffet o’ Blog, we’ve had a number of Buffet o’ Bacon nights, where we create original bacon dishes.  These have been wildly popular, and many people have desired to participate.  (We have talked of having one open to the public, so hang in there.)   (FYI, if you aren’t familiar with these outings, they are all documented on this blog.  The search box is at the top right of the sidebar.)

Our bacon creations have been great for the most part, although there was the gut-bomb incident…   Since then, we have decided to draw the line on some things.  Call that philosophy what you will, but we don’t want to die today.  If someone wanted to reject all sense of healthiness and longevity of life, it’s not that hard to do — just add bacon to everything and let the bacon grease cook into all the other ingredients.   Of course, people have done this.  We have written on the bacon explosion before, which is over-the-top in how fattening it is (and probably in how good it would taste).   But some people have to keep taking things farther.

The following video is by a group called Epic Meal Time, and they do create epic meals (as well as slick video productions).  Just so you know what you’re getting into, the TurBaconEpic they invented uses 10 packages of bacon and six (6) pounds of butter, as well as a whole pig.  They keep a running total on calories and fat grams, and it will blow your mind.  This is the most fattening meal I have ever heard of.  All in all, their meal had 79,046 calories and 6,892g of fat.   Just try to consider that in context with your daily recommended allowance…

All that said, here’s the video.  Are you ready?

I wish they would keep their episodes free from crude language.  So watch more of their episodes at your own risk.

I’m including this post in the Food Critic series.  It’s not a picture, but you can comment on the food creation from the video.

a fishy epiphany

The other night I had an epiphany, and, not surprisingly, it had to do with food.  (I tell ya, if I ever opened a restaurant, it would be the greatest thing since sliced bread… or even greater.  But I digress…)

It all started when I was baking some tortilla-encrusted Alaskan cod.  I like fish, and it’s good for you, too, with its Omega-3 fatty acids (whatever those are).  My wife sometimes eats some microwave meal (Healthy Request?) that is tortilla-encrusted fish.  It’s not bad, as far as low-fat, healthy microwave meals go.

Anyway, back to non-microwave-ready fish.  This fish was encrusted with crumbled-up tortillas, cornmeal, and jalapeños.  It was good, but of course, it could be even better.  The most obvious way would be to add bacon, but that’s not an epiphany — that’s just common sense.  I was thinking of different breadcrumb / encrusting options, and I had the idea of making Cheetos-encrusted fish (or chicken).  Would that not be awesome?  It’s time for some research!