Archive for the 'Food' Category

Save 13% on Groceries and 15% on Gas at Kroger

Published
by
Tim
on June 16, 2008
in Finance, Food and General
. 0 Comments

–This deal only applies if you shop at Kroger, have Kroger Fueling stations and have the right cards for the scenario about to be described–

I’m a deal junkie and love finding the very best value.  Some of you may have heard that Kroger is offering a bonus if you buy their store gift cards.  For every $300 in gift cards that you buy, you get an extra $30 loaded onto them.  Basically an instant 10% savings.  If you have a rewards credit card that gives you money back for groceries you can save even more.  One card I have, that I use for gas and groceries is the Chase Freedom Rewards Visa.  It will give me 3% back on the top 3 categories of spending I use per month.  So if I use it to purchase these gift cards, I get to save an additional 3%, totaling the 13% I can save on groceries per month.

I just discovered this past weekend, that  I can use the gift cards I purchase, at Kroger Fuel Stations to fill up my car.  In addition, if you’ve bought $100 worth of groceries in the past period (I’m not sure how often this gets reset) with your Kroger plus card  you save 10¢ per gallon.  With the price of gas at $4 per gallon, this is an added 2.5% savings.  If you haven’t spent $100 in groceries you still get 3¢ off and I think there is a scalling effect to where the more groceries you buy the more you save per gallon.  But in the end it is equivalant to about 15% off when you combine all these which is pretty nice.  Giant Eagle seems to have a better Fuel Perks program, because I think it’s for ever $50 you spend you get 10¢ off, and the discount lasts for 3 months…. but it is also only for 1 fill up (up to 30 gallons) so there are trade-offs.

The next thing to figure out is if I can use the Kroger gift card to purchase other store gift cards, and get double fuel points (a limited time promotion currently running).  I was originally not going to buy the limit of 4 $300 Kroger gift cards, but since discovering that I can use them for gas, I very well may buy all 4 that I’m entitled too before this promotion is over at the end of July.

Muddy Buddies - Apparently the world does not know

Published
by
Tim
on April 2, 2008
in Food
. 0 Comments

So last night a couple of us were watching Ohio State in the semi-final of the NIT. I don’t remember how it got brought up, but we started talking about Muddy Buddies. Gabe had never heard of such a creation ( I first called it Mud Buddies, which sounds way worse, but once I explained what it was he still hadn’t heard of it). I told his girlfriend Jenny over IM that she must make him a batch sometime, and was shocked to find out she had no idea what I was talking about. I later told Kate how amazed I was that neither one of them knew what Muddy Buddies were. Her reply? “What are Muddy Buddies”. The engagement was off right then. Kidding!

I have decided I cannot be the author of a blog with readers that do not know the deliciousness of the second best cereal turned into dessert treat (Rice Crispy Treats are first of course). And so that is the purpose of this post. To proclaim and explain the amazingness of Muddy Buddies.

Muddy Buddies are a Chex Cereal based snack.  Muddy Buddies is the official “Chex” term, but they are also known as Puppy Chow or White Trash.  I’m sure the internet is full of different ammounts of ingredients and variations, but 644px-puppy_chow.jpgit all consists of the same basic elements.  Cereal, covered in a peaunt butter/chocolate mixture coated in powdered sugar.  They are fairly simple to make, and are one of the earliest things I can remember helping my mom “bake” when I was a kid.  Here is a link to the official receipe, but feel free to just have at it an try your own.  I’ve seen some  directions that use Crispix or Honeycomb as the cereal ingredient.  The fun part as a kid is getting to shake the bag in order to coat all the little pieces with powdered sugar.

In my experience Muddy Buddies were usually made during the winter, I guess to represent snow covered goodies.  But they’re delicious any time of the year, any time of the day.  Good luck waiting for them to fully cool before digging in.  And if you just place them in a bowl and leave them out, you’ll be amazed how quickly they disappear.

So there you have it.  Go out and create a batch so that the next time some cool dude asks you how amazing do you think Muddy Buddies are, you’ll have an answer for him.

Cheeseburger Challenge - A Newbs Guest Post

Published
by
Newbs
on March 20, 2008
in Food
. 0 Comments

Mood:  Plenary

Music:  Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy

Iron & Wine – Woman King E.P.

Fictional character Peter Griffin once said img_0474-1.JPG“you can’t eat all those hamburgers.”  Tim & I begged to differ as this Thursday we Venimus, Vidimus, Vicimus’d our way through a set of Wendy’s, McDonald’s & Burger King double cheeseburgers.  Of course, this was all in the name of science…food science!  We hypothesized, documented, discussed our biases, plotted to take over the world, made schematics and ate!

It’s the bees knees that all these restaurants were within a block of each other and each burger was a dollar or less.  Call me fat, but if I ever need to economically gain 2lbs in a 10min span I know where I’m going.  The rankings are on a scale of 1-10 with a 5 being acceptable/average and 10 being the best.

Aesthetics:

Wendy’s: 3

McDonald’s: 6

Burger King: 8

Wendy’s:  What an UGLY hamburger.  The buns were flat and wrinkly.  It was like a gym locker room where the old guys never wear a towel…yah gross.  Peeling off the pathetic bun didn’t improve the situation, a pinch of ketchup and mayo with no pickles or onions and what a tiny rectangular patty!

McDonald’s:  This hamburger was fairly acceptable.  The bun had a fluffy, consistent texture and a nice golden hue.  The pickles were a bit mushy and the onions were these tiny little diced pieces, yet something was better than nothing.  There was a bit too much ketchup and it was fairly greasy, but wait…What is this?  Is it a slice of cheese so I don’t have to see parts of my bun sticking to the burger (ahem Wendy’s), why yes it is!

Burger King:  They did the unthinkable and made a dollar burger look like an edible meal.  The bun was robust with a great look and feel to it (minimal grease).  The pickles weren’t wimpy and the ketchup and mustard were in good proportion.  The cheese covered the whole patty as well.

Taste:

Wendy’s: 4

McDonalds: 8

Burger King: 6

Wendy’s:  Seemed a bit chewy.  Maybe that’s the “fresh never frozen,” speaking to me.

McDonalds: Has that classic taste to it.  I haven’t eaten a McDonalds’ cheeseburger for probably a decade plus, but the taste is instantly recognizable and it is delicious.

Burger King:  The BK didn’t taste like the signature double whopper I usually get (whether it has something to do with how they cook it or not, I don’t know).  It was good, but nothing really caught my attention.  It simply wasn’t that compelling of a burger even though it has no cons and several pros.  Further testing will have to be done.

Value:

Wendy’s: 0

McDonalds: 9

Burger King: 10

I’m never getting another Wendy’s double cheeseburger.  What a disappointing 98cents spent.  What the hell am I going to do with two pennies…Burn them in effigy!

Burger King inches out McDonalds since it’s 33% bigger, yah we measured, it’s science!

Overall Winner:  It’s a tie between Burger King and McDonalds.  Burger King is a better burger, but there’s something addictive about the McDonald’s taste, because even though I’m full and my tummy kind of hurts, I want another one.

Dollar Double Cheeseburger Challenge Extravoganza

Published
by
Tim
on March 20, 2008
in Food
. 0 Comments

A while back, after seeing commercials for Burger King offering theirimg_0475-1.JPG Double Cheeseburger for only $1, I made the comment that we should do a face off of the big 3 burger companies that offer double cheeseburgers for a buck. Newbs took that to heart, and today when I got off work said we should do it. Why you might ask? Maybe it’s because he’s on spring break and our internet was out all day. Maybe I like to think I’m still in college. Maybe it’s because it was Thursday! Who knows, but we got in the car and headed out. What follows is a deeply scientific study comparing the major burger companies and their offerings of Double Cheeseburgers.

We approached this with no specific goal or method in mind. Just down the road from us in one shopping center, lie all three hamburger joints within 200 yards of each other. America at its finest. After collecting our feast, we headed back home.

Wendy’s
Our first stop was Wendy’s. They call their DS a Snack Attack Double Cheeseburger. And for one point starting out in favorimg_0464-2.JPG of Wendy’s, their burger is actually only .99 not the full dollar. And if you calculate the savings over the course of 30 years, eating a double cheeseburger every day, you could save just over $100 !! Moving on.
Wendy’s on first unwrapping was definitely the least appealing and sized much smaller. Inside it is mustard, ketchup and mayo – a unique to Wendy’s. Unlike BK and MD, Wendy’s did not include pickles and only one slice of cheese. For all these burgers their owners taste is very apparent. You know when you are eating a Wendy’s burger. The biggest thing that I noticed was missing lettuce. I’m so used to eating Jr. Cheeseburger Deluxes, I miss that crispy freshness.

Wendy’s Stack Attack: 380 calories, 20 grams of fat, weight: 135 grams

Burger Kingimg_0464-1.JPG
Moving onto the King. Burger King advertises their burger as being much larger than McDonalds, and they aren’t lying. The BK DC was by far the biggest. A lot of it appears to be in the bun, as it is quite a bit thicker, but overall it’s a much bigger burger. The pickles were much crunchier than McDonalds, and the meat had a very distinct “grilled” taste to it. Probably that “flame broiled” taste spray they tout so much.

Burger King Double Cheeseburger: 570 calories, 34 grams of fat, weight: 189 grams

McDonald’s
Lastly, MickyD’s . This burger was BY FAR the greasiest. You cannimg_0464.JPGot unwrap the double cheeseburger without getting greasy fingers. Everything had grease on it. The wrapper, the bun, the cheese, the air. The MD sandwich was very hard to pull apart, due to the stickiness of the cheese to the bun which was nice to see fully melted cheese. McDonald’s includes onions on their hamburgers, and it gives their burgers a very distinct taste. It’s not a very hamburgery taste, but it’s the taste of McDonald’s. Probably what a roadside gas station and shame taste like. MD DC used to be the single thing I would order at the golden arches prior to their release of the Angus Burger, so I might have a little taste memory bias in this friendly competition.

McDonald’s Double Cheeseburger: 440 calories, 23 grams from fat, weight: 165 grams

In the end, all double cheeseburgers were very tasty, and I’d eat any of them for some quick on the go nourishment on a long road trip. But if I was forced to rank the three, I would definitely put Wendy’s last, and the BK and McDonald’s in the lead, with probably McDonald’s edging out for the win.
Also here shortly we have a first for timjanderson.com a guest post from NEWBS!!

 

Double Cheeseburger Challenge

 

Marcella’s - A Resaurant Review

Published
by
Tim
on March 17, 2008
in Food
. 0 Comments

On Friday night, Kate wanted to take me out to dinner for my birthday.  We had both heard and seen a new Cameron Mitchell restaurant up at Polaris called Marcella’s and decided that would be a fine choice to try out.  Reading briefly what type of place this was online, I had the idea it would be your typical Italian pizza and wine restaurant, but it is quite a bit more than typical.

The idea of Marcella’s, is somewhat similar to Bucca di Beppo’s.  At Bucca’s if you have a large group, you order a couple of large “family style” dishes that you all share.  At Marcella’s, your typical dish is not nearly as large as a “family style” portion, but the idea of sharing is the same.  Your table is provided with a plate stacker, where multiple entries can be placed, and you are constantly provided with stacks of small appetizer plates.  Since this was our first time with this new experience, we ordered in typical fashion. An appetizer of calamari and then two entries of rizzuto and a margherita pizza which we both shared.  During the meal we picked up on how the actual meal experience was to take place.

The idea is that you keep ordering small dishes that are constantly brought out to you.  The typical time from request to on the table is about 10 minutes.  The ideal setup would to be to go with a party of 4-6 and everyone kinda orders something to share one after the other or two at a time.  Similar to how a Chinese family style restaurant is.  Another original aspect Marcella’s has is serving Italian meats and cheeses.  We didn’t try any this visit, but the couple next to us did, and I would be up for some testing some with a bigger group.  Finally, pricing is very conducive to the type of ordering system just described.  Your typical plate costs about $8-12, which would probably cost about $5 more at your normal fancy Italian restaurant.

A couple other notes.  We were surprised by the attire of the wait staff.  Jeans and t-shirts were the norm.  The environment was very noisy and and somewhat cramped, but it didn’t bother us too much.  It kinda gave you the feeling of “eating in Grandma’s kitchen” - to quote Kate.  Overall, Marcella’s grew on us over the course of the meal, and walking out we both agreed we very much enjoyed it and would love to come back with some more friends.

Easiest $25 ever

Published
by
Tim
on December 14, 2007
in Finance, Food and General
. 0 Comments

So I’ve been curious in finding ways to have some “extra” income outside of my job’s normal pay.  I’ve been selling off some stuff that I don’t use anymore on craigslist and eBay, but that can only last as long as I have stuff to sell.  A popular option for some passive income is usually to have a blog and sell advertisement.  But we all know based on the fact that I can’t seem to keep any sort of normal schedule for a personal blog, there is no way I’d be able to produce good content on a blog that would generate advertisement revenue.  So I’ve been search for other alternatives. 

One that has come up recently and somewhat paid off already is participating in surveying.  A few months back I signed up for a a few survey websites that send you various surveys based on your demographic to have you fill out, and for your time you are compensated.  The best ones send you cash to a PayPal account, but there are some that run off a point system that is then translated into gift certificates or mileage credit.  So far, over the past…. 2 months I’d say I’ve taken maybe 2 hours worth of surveys, probably less.  Most are less than 5 minutes and even if you don’t qualify, will get partial credit just for filling out your age, job function and income level.  For those two hours of work I’ve received $30 worth of PayPal funds and a bunch of points that I can cash out at anytime for quite a few miles on an airline of my choosing.  Not bad!

More recently, I was talking to a friend at work who participated in a little more advanced surveying that paid much better.  She sent me the email address of a woman that contracts the taste testing for Wendy’s International.  Since Wendy’s is based in Columbus, when they are getting ready to release a new product, they need to test it against the market to see what kind of response they can expect and to see if the product needs any adjustment based on consumer feedback.  I sent my information to the testing contractor, and this past Wednesday did my first taste testing.  It was the easiest money I’ve ever made.  I drove a couple minutes away from where I live to Wendy’s headquarters, walked and signed in.  A few minutes after I arrived (along with 20 or so other people), we were led back to a lab type area where we were seated in front of a computer screen and desk.  A food item (I signed an agreement not to disclose what it was exactly) was distributed and as we ate it, were instructed to complete a survey on the computer.  It took me around 10 minutes to eat and complete the survey (the item was quite delicious) and as I walked out, was handed $25 in cold hard cash!  I practically skipped to my car that was so easy. 

I’m definitely going to keep my eye out for more opportunities like that.  I’ve heard of things like mystery shopping and mystery dining, where your meal is paid for, for trying out a new restaurant and reporting on it.  The Midwest (especially Columbus) is the middle of test market USA, and I don’t know why I haven’t discovered these opportunities until now.

Morton’s for Cheap (Relatively)

Published
by
Tim
on July 27, 2006
in Food
. 0 Comments

I don’t know how many of you know of Morton’s Steakhouse but it’s one of the top notch steak houses that has restraunts around the country. Well they did this deal back in May where you could get a pretty decent meal for 2 for only $99 bucks. (I know 99 sounds expensive but for the place it’s a deal). Anyway, Kate and I tried it out and it was awesome. Apparently they’re doing it again through September now. Check out the coupon here. If you want to impress your woman, take her out for a nice meal and then bust out the coupon. Your meal consists of a top of the line steak, 5 HUGE shrip, salad, 2 sides and one hell of a piece of cake (you can get creme brule instead but the cake is insane). The meal is very filling and made for the rich. Instead of emailing a select few I figured it’d be nicer just to post it. Enjoy

Yo quiero taco bell

Published
by
Tim
on June 23, 2006
in Food
. 0 Comments

I love Taco Bell. It’s so great. They seem to always be open, the food is super cheap, fills you up and there is always one around (plus they carry Mt. Dew). Probably the best thing about Taco Bell is that they keep coming up with new ways to invent the taco. Who thought there would be a hundred ways to create a food item out of meet, cheese, lettuce, sauce and a shell? But Taco Bell always does it.

I think I first noticed this whenever they came out with the Chalupa and Gordita. Boy are those good. It’s like a Taco but with a better shell. Then they one upped themselves by including Nacho Cheese on their Gorditas and Chalupas. Amazing. Finally, they released the peak of perfection in Taco Bell foods with the Cheesy Gordita Crunch. If you have never experienced this 200% daily recommended amount of saturated fat and cholesterol then you don’t know what you are missing. They take their Gordita pita bread, put a hard-shell taco filled with nacho cheese sauce in between and meld them together with some crazy melted cheese blend. It is heaven in taco form. I think I had them for lunch for a whole summer once. From there Taco Bell has continued to innovate new and delicious foods. When they came up with their Value Menu it included the brand new Spicy Chicken Burrito. For $1.19 you could get the best burrito that Taco Bell could produce. I guess it was last year that the Crunch Wrap Supreme came out. A beef tostada with nacho cheese sauce, wrapped in a tortilla, I was wondered who kept coming up with these ideas. But like nearly all new Taco Bell items, this one was not to be outdone.

Now you may be wondering what caused me to blog and rave about Taco Bell. Well imagine my surprise today when I drove over to Tuttle Mall for lunch and saw that Taco Bell had a new item. The Spicy Chicken Crunch Wrap Supreme!!!! I nearly died. Two of my top 3 TB items combined into one!?! I must be dreaming. I quickly ran through the drive through and devoured my meal. It was all that I could expect and more. All the wrapped cool goodness of the crunch wrap supreme now with the awesome spicy chicken filling. I should keep a tab of how many of these I eat over the next few months before it disappears off the menu.