The magic of Epic Meal Time is that you’re simultaneously horrified by what they make, and yet you really wanna taste it at the same time.

A woman is asked what kind of coffee she likes and she says “I usually like a breakfast blend or a dark roast.” A breakfast blend is a mild fruity coffee, while a dark roast is nuttier and richer. In other words, she said “I usually like A or B” when A or B is pretty much the only set of choices.

Just weird, that’s all.

Equally weird is the lack of “results”at the website, which makes me wonder if they just wanted a few hits on the site.

Then another part of you chimes in and goes, “I’d try it.”

And don’t even think of defending the lawsuit bringers, here. They withdrew the suit, meaning they had no leg to stand on.

Today, on This Is Why You’re Fat, I saw something equally cool…

Brilliant!!

Domino’s has been the butt of a lot of jokes for a long time for the quality of their pizza and the ingredients they use to make it. In fact, the criticism reached such levels that Domino’s decided to scrap the old recipe and make a new attempt at pizza. Here’s the video they posted on their YouTube account explaining what happened and what started the process.

So the question, of course, is how does it taste? I wanted to know, so I got a regular hand-tossed pie with just cheese on it last Sunday to see for myself. Let’s talk about the three “points of improvement” in the new pie.

1. The crust: Domino’s old crust was crap. In fact, the only crust I enjoyed was the thin crust, which turned their pizzas into, essentially, a snack food. Domino’s claim is that they seasoned the crust with garlic and parsley, baked it in, and that it provides a better experience. My opinion? They’re right, but with a caveat. The only place you really taste the difference is the crusts (ie: the “bones.”) Everything else tastes the same, mainly because the sauce and cheese overpower the hint of seasoning in the mix. In the end, it’s a really small and barely noticeable difference. The bones, however, are a lot more fun to eat, and bear a striking resemblance to their bread sticks. The seasoning stands out when not overpowered by the sauce and it’s actually very nice.

My biggest problem with Domino’s crust, though, has never really been the flavor; it’s the consistency, and this new recipe does very little to change that. It’s just not pizza texture; it’s almost bread texture. Too soft, too floppy, and too thick. It’s nice that they improved the flavor, but I would’ve been happier if they improved the texture.

2. The sauce: This is usually the make or break part of Domino’s. For some, the sauce was already too spicy. For those people, I say move on. You won’t be happy. This sauce has a seriously strong kick to it. The added red pepper makes it a much spicier than normal flavor, and it almost tingles on the palate. I personally don’t mind that, but if spicy isn’t your thing, this won’t cut it for you. Definite improvement, much bolder flavor, and the increased sweetness they achieved is outweighed by the kick of the red pepper. Well-played.

3. The cheese: God only knows what they were putting on their pizza before, but that being said, the new cheese blend is good. It doesn’t really taste that much different; just a hair sharper (most likely due to the introduction of provolone into the mix) and it does have a more Italian-cheese flair to it. It’s not overwhelmingly better, but it’s a nice improvement over the old blend of whatever processed cheese they put on the pizza.

Overall
The bottom line is simple. If you didn’t like Domino’s before, you probably won’t like them now. It’s not different enough to turn people around. If you were on the fence, this will definitely improve your perceptions. If you’re a fan, you’ll be a bigger fan.

In the end, the changes are noticeable, but small. You won’t be jumping for joy and singing its praises, but it’s nice to see that they took the criticism they got to heart and did something about it. If they improve the texture of the crust, I’d appreciate it more than all the other changes they made. Even without that, though, it’s worth another try. It’s not as revolutionary as they’re making it out to be, but you probably won’t be disappointed, either.

I firmly believe burgers were meant to be cooked on a griddle, not on an open flame. I’ve yet to be proven wrong about that.

For the rest of the pearls, click here.

Bloomberg’s wealth, much of it from the Bloomberg LP media and information empire, is estimated at $16 billion. He has used it to establish what the Times called an “insurmountable financial dominance” in the race.

His opponent, William C Thompson, a Democrat, has spent just $6 million in the race. A Thompson campaign spokeswoman on Friday told the Times the mayor’s spending was “obscene.”

The bulk of Bloomberg’s spending has gone into television, radio and Web advertising, it said.

But some of the money has trickled down to recession-hit small businesses, including Goodfellas Brick Over Pizza on Staten Island and in the Bronx. The Bloomberg campaign has so far forked over $8,892 for pizza at Goodfellas alone.

Proving that Bloomberg has no taste in pizza whatsoever.

Source

Have no fear, though. If you’re not, here’s the back story.

Spectacular. Simply spectacular. That cake deserves a tribute, and that cake with gum paste models certainly does the job splendidly.

This is the eternal struggle of finding the perfect weiner.

Luckily, just about every year since time immemorial, someone will cobble together a test where they put the best weiners head to head against each other to see who has what it takes to tickle the tastebuds of the weiner-buying populace. This year’s winner is, unsurprisingly, my favorite as well.

That’s right, folks. The hot dog experts since 1916, Nathan’s, win again. If you remember, last year I posted a similar taste test that had Nathan’s ahead on every judge’s score card. This year, is no different, and the king of dogs is the king once again. Many complain that Nathan’s is all a bit garlicky, and I do understand that, but frankly that taste, the texture of the skin, and the consistency of the meat inside, is what makes a Nathan’s hot dog so awesome.

Of course, no survey would be complete without a loser. Last year’s big loser was Ball Park for its mushy consistency, skin that has a tendency to split open, and flavorless presentation. This survey chose a different loser; a company called D’Artagnan that apparently makes “gourmet” food…

The worst marks went to a hot dog from D’Artagnan, a gourmet purveyor whose products we generally love. The biggest complaint was that the frank didn’t taste like a traditional American hot dog. “Not a dog for hot dog lovers,” said one judge. But if you’re looking for a gourmet uncured sausage with abundant herbs, D’Artagnan’s could be the one for you.

Yeah, lovely. If you don’t want a hot dog, here’s the hot dog for you.

No thanks. I’ll pass.

via Shine

By me!

See, last weekend, we watched an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay and the show was Pretzels. When I saw how “easy” they were to make, I had to try. Today I got the ingredients, toiled in the kitchen, and VOILA!

Not bad for a first effort, huh?

They tasted pretty damn awesome, too. I need to make a good dipping sauce next time, but overall they were quite tasty. I still have to learn the proper “pretzel twisting” motion, but I’m getting there. I’m gonna take a stab at them again this week once I get some coarse Kosher salt in the house (I had no idea Kosher salt could be like regular salt too; lesson learned).

Here’s the recipe I used. I have no idea how small you’d have to make them to get 30 out of them, but as you can see, I’m not in that ball park.

Oh yeah, and as for the movie?

Utterly horrific. Preachy, boring, overdone, and Keanu Reaves is just a crap actor. I’ve never been so disappointed in a movie. It’s like it was written by Green Peace or some crap. I’m all for saving the environment, but this movies preaching was way too heavy-handed for my tastes.

1 and 1 on the evening ain’t bad, though.

Hopefully you’re enjoying your weekend!

One thing I don’t get, though, is their love of rare burgers… Check this shot out…

To me, that burger looks gross, but that’s just me. What do you all think? Like your meat still mooing?