I’ve occasionally been asked why a lot of the food news and reviews I feature are “West-coast” oriented.

That would be because I live in California - home of the 42 billion dollar debt. Oh, and the Governator.

However. Just to show you I’m willling to give a shout out to companies east of the Rockies, I’d like to tell you about the Free Country Potatoes Day at Hardees tomorrow (Friday February 20, 2009). Yep, no purchase necessary apparently. You just walk in and they give you a free order of country potatoes.

Yes, I know we do have their sister chain Carl’s Junior in my neck of the woods. However, they aren’t serving up the free goods as far as I know. But I would, in fact, be willing to make a road trip to visit Hardees for the free potatoes. I’ve been known to do crageee things like that. (If eating potted meat from the dollar store doesn’t qualify as crageee, I don’t know what does.)

However, it appears that the nearest Hardees is 1063 miles away. In Casper, Wyoming, to be exact. I googlemapped it, and it’s a bit of a far drive even for crageee ol’ me. About 16 hours 27 minutes if I drove it straight.

So, I’m going to sit this one out. But I’d like to hear how the free potato event goes if you happen to have a Hardees near you.

Man. The sandwich shop chain wars continue. Not a millisecond goes by without me being bombarded with ads for Subway or Quizno’s. For what it’s worth, I eat at Subway occasionally. But less often now that their 5 dollar subs are for a limited selection of sandwiches.

I categorically DESPISE Quizno’s, but that is a long, long story for another bright and shiny day when I’m not still feeling the effects of a lingering cold.

But Togo’s - I was actually a huge, huge fan of theirs, especially in college. The sandwiches they made were always slightly better tasting and looking than Subway’s. My friend refused to eat at Subway even if they were closer. He always said “That’s nast…”. I guess he meant short for nasty. We always had to make the trek to Togo’s.

And noooooo, they did not give me the keys to the company lamborghini in order to say that.

But anyhow, the reason for this post is that they are having a special 1970s Flashback Wednesday deal where you can get a featured classic 6″ sub for $1.99. The only thing is that it’s good on just one type of their sandwiches per week. This Wednesday, the sandwich is the #24 Turkey and Avocado. I guess I should also mention that Togo’s will be making a donation to the Junior Diabetes Research Foundation for each Flashback 6″ sandwich sold. Admirable.

And yessssss, they did spam me and that’s where I got all this information.

I still would like a ride in their company car, however, if the higher-ups would not mind…

Dearest In-N-Out,

I would very much like to know whether or not the keeerazy internet rumor about the In-N-Out 60th Year Anniversary on October 22, 2008 is true or not. According to some many people, on that day you may be selling your hamboyggas for a quarter, your cheeseboyggas for 30 cents, your Freedom Fries for 15 cents and your carbonated sugar water for 10 cents. It is difficult to know what story to believe, and I would very much like to know.

You see, I have been feeling down in the dumps lately - what with the economy sitting in the toilet and people at the Big Lots buying all the Trivial Pursuit Pringles before I can get my hot little hands on them.

Also, I have recently come down with a sore throat and cold so I am bedridden. Thusly, if you are indeed having your 60th bash w/ the low prices - would it be too much trouble to ask if you could please have a courier deliver 10 of your delicious cheeseyburghers and 3 orders of your Freedom Fries to my house? I’ll leave the door open so they can come right in. I believe the total would be $3.45, with tax that comes to $3.73. I’ll put it on the table near the door, next to the life-sized photo of Richard Dean Anderson.

There is an “attack cat” by the door, but he will not attack if you give him 1 cheeseburger and say “YOU CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER LIL FELLOE!”.

Also, if you could please have the courier arrive in a cherry red 1957 Corvette with the In-N-Out logo painted on the side. I would also like the courier to wear a snakeskin hat, Sarah Palin glasses, and a bikini.

Sincerely,
the ill (not illin’) Cheap Eats Editor

Editor’s Note: Excuse the above, I’m not feeling myself right now…

Man, I really apologize for yet another lame post. My sleeping schedule has just been zonked out lately, I feel like a zombie.

If you should decide to forgive me, here is a quickie on El Pollo Loco. Like nearly every fast food restaurant, they’re under the gun to promote some really cheap food to get customers in the door. I never saw so many 99 cent menus in my life. One day, I’m going to have to review them all (yeah, right).

However, EPL also has an under 4 dollar meal which is decent. There are 4 different choices. They are:

2 Pieces chicken leg/thigh, tortillas, plus 1 side
Crunchy Taco, BRC burrito, plus 1 side
Classic Chicken Burrito, Taquito, plus 1 side
3 Tacos al Carbon, plus 1 side

Lately on Wednesdays, I’ve been ordering El Pollo Loco to-go after the nightly rollerhockey game. I’ve been somewhat shocked to see the place jumping at 8:30 at night. It took nearly 20 minutes to get my food. It must be because it’s one of the healthier options for fast food. Maybe a lot of folks coming home after a late workday would rather pick that up than KFC. I dunno. I just know that the $3.99 meals are rather nice because you can pick the side. I usually get salad, or mac n cheese.

Their menu says the side is limited to Rice, Pinto Beans, or Mashed Potatoes and Gravy - but ours lets you order whatever you want. Sometimes instead of the 4 dollar meal, I mess around with their dollar menu which we’ve posted about favorably before. Or, I just get the 2 piece chicken / 2 side meal w/out the drink which comes out to about $5. I’ll probably do one or the other tomorrow - if I don’t fall alseep while waiting for the food.

Read: Four $4 Meals at E.P.L.

Yep, two posts in one day again (I just moved the lemonade one forward in time so that it’s first). I seem to always catch these promotions at the last minute. This one is not so good anyhow, because you have to buy a drink. They call it “free”.

It’s already too late to get the biscuit breakfast sandwich, but for the rest of today (Thurs May 15, 2008) you can get a free Southern Style Chicken Sandwich at McDonald’s when you buy a medium or large drink.

I was wondering, what is it that makes this a “Southern Style” sandwich, is it just the coating on the chicken? Or is it the pickles?

This post could probably be summed up in just one paragraph of extremely short sentences:

Subway. Foot-Long Sandwich. $5. No Coupon required. Limited Time.

Done.

Ok, well I did do a little more work than that. I actually bought the sandwich and I took some pictures. I have been wanting to make a few posts about Subway on Cheap Eats for awhile now, and not because I think Jared is the coolest thing since sliced baguettes. (Actually, am I the only one who thinks he used up his 15 minutes many, many moons ago? Seriously, he seems like a nice guy but I was getting tired of his story.)

No, the real reason I haven’t made a post on Subway sandwiches yet is because every single time I order them I’m so hungry that I can’t be bothered with taking photos. For me, Subway is the fast food solution for days where I absolutely need to eat something immediately but don’t want to eat a hamburger, chicken or taco. We often do a pickup on weekends when I’m doing home repairs along with my dad - we could just make a sandwich but picking one up saves time. It’s fast, cheap, healthier than hamburgers and (usually) fresh.

What with the Recessedepression™ looming, fast food companies are pulling out the stops. This is great for Cheap Eaters. The 5 Dollar Footlong Deal sure got me in the door. What I like about it is you don’t have to buy a drink. For as we all know, fast food companies clean up on the margins for soft drink sales. The deal is also good for ANY footlong, which means you don’t have to worry if it’ll apply to your favorite sandwich. It also provides opportunity for some sort of variety.

Continue reading “Subway $5 Sandwich” …

Ok, here’s the truth (which I think you can easily handle, unlike a certain Scientologist). I looked up at the calendar and realized I’d breezed right through my usual Tuesday Cheap Eats posting schedule. I guess I was too busy watching a PBS special on Kit Carson. Anyhow, seeing as other random duties call I’m going to do the cop-out and post up old pics to make a quick and dirty post.

So - hey look, a picture of a hamburger in my archives. I guess this would be from In-N-Out. I’m actually surprised there hasn’t been a post about them yet on Cheap Eats. I eat there quite a bit - I actually would eat there more often if there was one closer to me. Perhaps that’s a good thing the nearest one is a good drive.

I don’t think I need to go into all the details about In-N-Out. They’ve been hashed over by so many sites and blogs already. The basics for those who’ve never heard of them: They’re only located in California, Nevada, Arizona - some are drive-thru only, others have seated areas inside. It was founded by Harry and Esther Snyder in 1948 in Baldwin Park - it was California’s first drive-thru hamburger stand. I actually visit the new location in Baldwin Park, across the freeway from the old one. There is an “In-N-Out University” there if you can believe it.

They’re a private company - they only open stores in certain areas. Because they have a limited number of stores they can really make a committment to providing freshly made food and quality service. They don’t buy patties - they buy the meat, butcher it, and make the patties all within the company. Fries are cut fresh. Nothing frozen. When you get the burger, the meat is hot and the lettuce, tomato and pickle are cold. God, I sound like a commercial. But it’s true - unlike most other “fast food” hamburger joints, In-N-Out has never made me sick yet. (Regarding the recent beef recall - they ended their relationship with Hallmark/Westland in January)

One of the most interesting things about them is the In-N-Out Secret Menu. It’s not such a secret, just google it and you’ll find all the different ways you can order food. They only serve hamburgers, fries, shakes, drinks - the basic menu is so small that perhaps it’s good there’s a secret menu just for variety. The truth is - they will basically fix your hamburger or fries any way you like as long as you tell them what you want.

Me, I usually get a Double Double (two hambuger patties, two slices cheese) Animal Style (grilled onions plus mustard cooked into the patties) with Fries Well Done. I’ve gotten a 3×3 once (3 patties, 3 cheese) and it was too much. Some people say the hamburgers are a little on the small size - I think the patties are definitely smaller (I forget the weight). I think they only make up to a 4×4 now. They used to not limit it, which meant bunches of bored college kids coming in and ordering 30×30s just for fun. There’s a few other different ways you can get your food (just the burger without buns, just cheese, animal style fries) - again just google it.

I have heard a lot of people (mostly from the East Coast) say that the burger is just “OK”. One couple I know complained that “the burger and bun do not become one”. Some people also think the fries don’t taste very good. I think it’s partly a personal thing - I happen to really like them, especially when you compare them both in quality and price (I’m sorry, I forgot to write down all the prices) side by side with McDs, CJs, Jack in the Balpha, Burger King. For fast-food chain hamburgers, I don’t think there is much of a comparison. If you’re going to compare them with some other small local chain or a non-fast food place, well maybe they aren’t such a big deal. I just know if we have to eat fast food and it has to be hamburgers, then I’m going to In-N-Out.

I’ve never had a bad meal there. The only cons - locations are spotty, and they ONLY sell hamburgers.

Cheap Eats Score: 8/10