Food

Since I've been boycotting Top Chef my inner Foodie has been left wanting. I did go to Eat, Pray, Love, the other day which had so many food scenes in it that I gained ten pounds watching. A quick review, it is one of the better movies about a self-indulgent woman I've seen for a while. Today to fill the void of Top Chef we are talking food. Food and nothing but food.

First up is really good news for us bacon fans.

http://www.slashfood.com/2010/08/19/bacon-thats-good-for-you/?icid=main|htmlws-sb-n|dl5|link6|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.slashfood.com%2F2010%2F08%2F19%2Fbacon-thats-good-for-you%2F

Healthy bacon? Even with soybean I am there. How about you? Do you agree with the following sentence from the article: "the new patent applications have touched a raw nerve among those who see them as an attempt by the company to exert control over the food chain."

Guess what we are going to talk about next? Food. More food. Zagat is up to its old tricks. They have just completed their annual survey of fast food and chain restaurants. Read why they think Five Guys Burgers is the new In-N-Out Burger
here:

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/company-news/five-guys-new-burger-masters/19595634/?icid=main|htmlws-sb-n|dl5|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyfinance.com%2Fstory%2Fcompany-news%2Ffive-guys-new-burger-masters%2F19595634%2F

Frankly, I don't think either one measures up to our local burger joint, Burgerville. They are only in Oregon and Washington. I would chose them even if they had either a Five Guys or In And Out Here.

Here are some of the survey results. Fast Food Chain winner is listed first, Big Chain winner is listed second. My choices are listed in parenthesis:

Best burger - Five Guys Red Robin. (Burgerville, Claim Jumpers.)

Best Coffee - Starbucks, IHOP. (Peet's, Denny's)

Best Salad = Panera Bread, The Cheesecake Factory (McDonalds Asian, Sweet Tomatoes)

Best Value - McDonalds, Olive Garden (Wendy's, Claim Jumper's Junior and Senior Jumpers.)

Here are the rest of the results, with my notes at the end of each category:

Fast Food – Large Chains:

Panera Bread
Chipotle
Five Guys
Chick-fil-A
In-N-Out Burger

The only one I've been too is In-N-out once when I was in California.

Fast Food – Mega Chains:

Subway
McDonald's
Wendy's
Burger King
Taco Bell

Been to all of them. I really like Wendy's best

Quick-Refreshment Chains:

Starbucks Coffee
Dunkin' Donuts
Culver's
Ben & Jerry's
Dairy Queen

We no longer have a Dunkin' Donuts close to us and I've never been to Culver's or Ben & Jerry's but for a good hot dog my pick would Dairy Queen.

Full-Service Chains:

P.F. Chang's China Bistro
Bonefish Grill
Cheesecake Factory
California Pizza Kitchen
Maggiano's

We don't have a Bonefish Grill or a Maggiano's here but I think any of the above would have a hard time beating out Claim Jumpers and Stamfords.

You can read about the entire survey here:

http://blog.zagat.com/fast-food-survey-results-are-here

Are you hungry now? What are you favorites? You can even include local chains and hang outs if you want.

As always your comments are appreciated:

WHO AM I? Yesterday's answer was Cindy Marano.

I was born in 1944 and am another one that died to early at age sixty-five. I was a feminist activist who co-founded the History Project where the owner of The Dahn Report gets many of the women that he uses for his Who Am Is. For the project I produced curriculum guides, teacher training programs and videos on women’s history. I played an influential role in obtaining Congressional resolutions and Presidential proclamations designating Women's History Week and, later, Women's History Month. I lived many places growing up because Dad was a pilot in the Marines. While in Los Angeles I married David. I earned a BA in Urban Geography at a university there. While I started out my marriage using my husband's name, to honor my mother I later changed my last name. We moved from LA to Sonoma County to join with Molly, Bette, Morgan, Paula, and Maria to co-found the aforementioned project. During my reign as their director I raised money for materials for students, teachers and librarians. I wrote press releases promoting women’s history through radio, television, magazines and newspapers. I gathered an extensive collection of the leading books and materials pertaining to women’s history and biography, making the History Project the leading national resource on women’s history. I traveled extensively, making presentations, training teachers, and lobbying for the cause of women’s history. Due to mine and others hard work the National Women’s History Week was designated by the U.S. Senate and twenty-four governors and state legislatures. The Women's History Week became Women’s History Month under President Ronald Reagan.I also served as the chair of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women, and worked three years as an aide to state assemblywoman Pat Wiggins. I supported progressive causes and politicians and the creation of a National Women's History Museum on the National Mall in Washington, DC. After living in Windsor and Santa Rosa, my husband and I were among the founders of the Two Acre Wood co-housing community in Sebastopol, California, where we lived until my death of congestive heart failure this year. Although I am another woman that Bill hasn't heard of he celebrates the National Women In History project and if you do also you will be able to answer the question Who Am I?