Foodenator

On a recent trip to Chicago, an editor for Foodenator decided to check out the famous Chicago Deep Dish Pizza.

The restaurant chosen was Giordano’s. The restaurant has been a Chicago staple since 1974 and has since become a local chain. Patron’s have the option to dine in, carry out, delivery or ship a pizza to their homes in a different state. www.giordanos.com

We decided to check out their Tropical Delight Deep Dish Pizza, dressed with cheese, pineapple and Canadian bacon. First of all, the pizza must have weighed at least 10 pounds and we only ordered a small. The first bite was a wonderful mix of flavors but the cheese was so plentiful and stringy that we almost choked on it. The sauce was excellent, a perfect blend of tangy and sweet. There was a good amount of toppings other than cheese. However the crust left us unsatisfied. Not only was it very dry but it really didn’t contain a lot of flavor.

At over $17.00 a pizza, we give Giordano’s 2.5 out of 5 stars.

We are certain there are better deep dish pizza’s in Chicago.

Popularity: 42%

Most of the time when you are buying a frozen pizza, you are sacrificing quality and taste for the convenience of throwing the pizza in your own oven. California Pizza Kitchen has been offering several flavors of their large pizza for quite some time but more recently started to market a personal pizza made for one. The most common flavors you might see at the grocery store include the cheese pizza and margherita flavors. At first glance, the pizza appears to be the same as their larger pizzas but once you take your first bite you will know there is a difference.

1. The crust of the personal pizza is not as crisp or flaky when following either the microwave or the traditional oven directions.

2. The cheese pizza does not have the same amount of cheese as their large pizza

3. When microwaving the pizza, the edges will cook almost too much and the

center will still need additional time.

When your grocery store is having a sale on these pizzas, you can often purchase them for about $2.00 a pizza. The price and the size of the pizza make it perfect to take to work for lunch as well. Overall the pizza is a good deal but don’t go into the purchase thinking it will compare in any way to actually visiting the restaurant.

Foodenator gives this product 3.5 out of 5 stars

Popularity: 37%

You’ve seen Foodenator’s Steve’s Margarita Preview, Now, after multiple tastings, we have this Steve’s Margarita review.

First a little background on Steve’s Margarita:
After three years of formulation, testing and regulatory work, AL-RITE presents Steve’s Margarita, a ready-to-drink margarita made from blue agave wine. The 12 percent alcohol beverage comes in 375 ml, 1 L and 3 L freezable, lightweight PET bottles. The goal of Steve’s Margarita is to fill a niche of portable, RTD cocktails that consumers can enjoy anywhere without sacrificing quality.

Review Time
Foodenator was fortunate to have the opportunity to test out two forms of Steve’s Margarita, On the Rocks and Frozen. Both were surprisingly tasty, and considering the sophisticated palates of the Foodenator reviewers, this was quite a feat. The most notable margarita ingredient, tequila, has been replaced by a blue agave wine, a possible turn-off for margarita purists, but let Foodenator assure you, telling the difference is next to impossible. These margs tasted like the real thing, on the rocks and frozen. The taste of freshly squeezed lime and a perfect balance of sweetness/tartness really made the drink.

“Steve’s Margaritas transported me to the Yucatán Peninsula” -Sarah T.

It’s worth noting, frozen is the best way to enjoy the Steve’s Margarita experience. You simply place the drink in the freezer, once frozen, easily squeeze out the frozen marg.

For the lazy Margarita drinker, there is no equivalent. Steve’s Margarita easily claims the #1 spot in the ready-to-drink Margarita market.

Highly Recommended

********* 1/2 – 9 1/2 out of 10

Foodenator Choice Award

Popularity: 5%

A “brown bag” meeting refers to a meeting that occurs during lunch, but lunch will not be provided by the company. As a brown bag attendee you will be missing out on your lunch break and are forced to bring your own lunch. If you do not bring your own lunch, you are shit out of luck.

This is one of the worst lunch ideas ever. The inventor should be shot.

0 out of a possible 10

Popularity: 10%

Just by looking at it, Foodenator knew it would be a 6 – The Dunkin’ Donuts Chicken Parmasan Flatbread sandwich. On taste alone the dd chix parm delivered. On looks, it didn’t look so hot to a tender eye.

This flatbread is made up of a chicken patty, a top piece of flat bread, melted parmesan cheese (could have fooled me, looked and tasted like mozzarella), marinara sauce, and a bottom piece of flat bread. First thing noticed when unwrapping was the bread was not exactly flat, it was moist and bent – dissapointing. The chicken patty looked out of place sandwiched between the top and bottom flat bread. The bread is triangles and the chix patty is ovalish. The melted mystery cheese was in effect melted and had a great consistency.

First bite and Foodenator was impressed. The whole package went down easy. Paired with a dd iced tea with nothing in it, makes an entire meal. Recommended

****** 6 out of 10

Popularity: 37%

Peanut Butter Pretzel is never a bad combo

Today on Foodenator, we review the Clif Mojo – Sweet and Salty Trail Mix Bar, in Peanut Butter Pretzel form. Clif Bars are widely known to be better tasting than Power Bars, but at the same time, less powerful. For unknown reasons, Clif branched out into the Mojo world, in which they combined “sweet and salty” flavors rather than their normal recipe of “sweet and kinda-gross”.

The bar itself is thinner, longer, and more slender. Nutrition wise, it does not appear to be up to snuff with the Clif Bar. Not quite as many vitamins and a bit more fat. It feels lighter too – “less brick-like” said one taster. It makes this writer fear that the Mojo will not be sufficient for a breakfast food. Upon tearing open the packaging, we were pleased visually. Little peanut butter chips, real pretzels, and a nice sugary shine, glistening under a florescent aura.

Real pretzel, and look at all those peanut butter chips!

First bite – GOOD. Very GOOD. Like.. really, good. Better than any Clif Bar, Power Bar, Luna Bar, and possibly better than every granola bar ever made. Except for Nature’s Valley Sweet and Salty Nut bars, those are really good. This borders candybar and healthybar like a Mexican in South Texas. Risky, and we can’t figure out which way its supposed to go.

Minutes later, the bar is gone. Its sustainability? Bad. Its too tasty, gets eaten too fast. Being light and crispy, sweet and salty, its hard to stop eating. Taste is good all the way through. No weird after taste. No soy detected, in fact – if it’s there, its hidden nicely.

This reviewer grants the Clif Mojo a solid 9 our of 10 fist pumps. Stay tuned for some live blog after effects!

UPDATE – 9/08/09

Clif Mojo Mixed Nuts just consumed. Tastes nuttier. More nuts are evident in this snack bar. Still pretzels, which is curious as pretzels are not nuts. Texture in this mobility activated mega high resolution food photo prove the evidence of nuts and pretzels together. Note, also, how there is a severely different texture and color compared to the Peanut Butter Pretzel above. Less peanut butteryness, we suspect, as there was no discussion of peanut butter on the wrappackaging.

A concerning fact about this Mixed Nuts bar, and possibly all Mojo bars, is the fact that it is only 70% organic!! You can see the proof in another high resolution photo. If 30% is not organic, does that mean its rocks and shit? The reviewer tasted  no rocks, and did not break any teeth – so this is an investigation to be continued. Stay tuned for more information, as well as a Honey Roasted Peanut flavor review down the road.

Popularity: 91%

Golden Bag is one of Foodenator.com’s favorite Asian appetizers. Beautiful and elegant, these are wonderful for a special occasion or dinner.

********** 3/4 – 9.75 stars (out of 10) (if made correctly)

Here is Foodenator.com’s recipe:

Ingredients
6 ounces ground pork
2 ounces shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 wood ear mushrooms, soaked and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons green onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons mushroom soy sauce (or 1 tbsp fish sauce and 1 tsp soy sauce)
1 teaspoon white pepper
25 wonton wrappers
25 chives, green part only (optional) or 5-10 green onions, green part only (optional)
vegetable oil
Thai sweet chili sauce

Directions

*Chop up shrimp and mix with ground pork, mushrooms, garlic, green onions, mushroom soy sauce, and black pepper.

*Scoop a teaspoonful of mixture onto the wrapper.

*Pull the edges up and pinch to close making a little bag. Repeat until all the mixture is used up.

*Optional: Tie with a chive (*be sure to knot it twice so it doesn’t come apart). If you are using green onions, place them in boiling water for 20 seconds to make more pliable. Cut each green onion into 3-5 thin strips (lengthwise) and tie around the bags.

*Heat oil in deep fryer or wok until very hot.

*Fry until golden brown. Place on a paper towel to drain excess oil.

*Serve with Thai sweet chili sauce.

Popularity: unranked

I am normally a HUGE fan of Dunkin Donuts. They are fairly dependable for a quick coffee or a bagel. Over the last month, I have had a series of unfortunate experiences at various stores throughout the Boston area…

For instance, I went to a Dunkin Donuts in South Boston with a friend and we both placed orders. Mine was completed without error but my friends coffee was made wrong and they forgot to make her sandwich all together. She had to wait for 15 minutes to get her new coffee and food which made us late for work.
The next day I went to a Dunkin Donuts in Brookline and ordered the standard iced coffee. The person working did not understand English and I had to repeat myself 5 times…iced coffe with milk & sugar…. Even then, he made my coffee wrong. Finally, the following day I gave it one last shot at a Dunks close to the Chestnut Hill area. Again, the worker could barely understand what I was talking about and gave me a coffee so overloaded with sugar, it had to be thrown out.

My suggestion, implement touch screens so customers can place their own orders.

Coffee- 3 out of 4 stars ***

Service- 1 out of 4 stars *

Popularity: 28%

Around foodenator labs, we have calorie laden bowls of candy around to keep the twin evils of oral boredom and low blood sugar at bay. While the Lindt truffles are a clear favorite in the pure chocolate department, when those are gone foodenator staff fight and bicker for the small squares of Dove chocolate. Apparantly, the collapse of the global economy has even the well-funded foodenator human services department making cutbacks. Appearing in our candy bowls is the obvious knock-off chocolate squares called Bliss. Foodenator found a blind man to hire two blind judges to judge them for you in what is commonly known as a double-blind clinical trial.

Ray “Fats” Falone:

The Dove was better, the Bliss tasted like a salt-lick, I think.  I have never partook of no salt-lick, that is how the Bliss seemed to taste to me. On the other hoof, dove is a dry, potent, flavor-blast of a disco in my throat as I swallow the chocolate.

Theresa Coon:

The Bliss chocolate had a honey badger taste, with a hint of hibiscus. The Dove tasted pretty much like chocolate. If I were going to melt it down, and drizzle it over my large, shapely breasts, I would have to go with Dove.

Popularity: 10%

It’s Thursday, you know what that means. The ice cream truck arrived on time. 2pm. Most everyone at foodenator was especially pumped. The weather sucked though. A quarter of Foodenator staff doesn’t have a sweet tooth. The ice cream truck was out of WWF ice cream bars, Foodenator got its second choice, the Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia Ice Cream Bar. How did it fare in the mouth of Foodenator? Foodenator finds out

The bar itself was double packaged. Boxed then wrapped. Ben, Jerry,… your not fooling anyone. Your ice cream bars are in the same league as all other ice cream in the ice cream truck. For Foodenator, its just annoying to open two packages. Your ice cream isn’t special enough to require double packaging. Cherry Garcia is a decent flavor on the flavor spectrum. The chocolate used to coat the cherry garcia is awful and tastes very budget.

**** 4 (out of 10)

Popularity: 23%