I’m fuzzy on the beginnings of M Burger. Rumor has it, it was conceived in the back of one of the many Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises restaurants. The unlikely hooking up of a more traditional chef and his love of the lowly hamburger inspired what I was told was a truly great burger. I honestly haven’t been able to confirm if this story, especially with their simple and uninformative website.

It came to the point where I could no longer ignore the buzz. When I found out that M Burger’s second location was a mere blocks from my place of employ, I knew I had to make a stop for lunch.

The restaurant itself was tiny. About the size of a large city bedroom. (Well not that small, but you get the idea.) And it was packed with tourists, hip advertising types, and kacki-clad office workers. The decor is a modern with simple benches and tables crammed in. It had an open kitchen where you could see several busy workers making burgers.

The Menu:

I ordered the M Burger and fries. The M Burger consists of bacon, cheese and a “secret sauce”. The staff was courteous and fun, jabbing at my friend for change her order several times. However, the place was so packed we had to take our food to go.

The Burger was a pretty simple affair. Plain white bun, single patty,American cheese, lettuce, pickles, and “secret sauce”. The “secret sauce” tasted suspiciously like thousand island and another well known secret sauce. There was a generous covering of well-done bacon. It really reminded me of a single patty, bacon-topped, higher quality ingredient Big Mac.

The fries were shoestring, reminiscent of McDonald’s, but somehow tasted more natural. They were quite good. I was impressed with the size of the single, one size order of fries. There was more than enough fry for one dude.

What did I think? I was not that impressed. The burger was just OK. It tasted like your typical fast food burger, albeit with better ingredients. The fries were good, but not exceptional.

Will I be back? Yes. While the food wasn’t great, the prices were reasonable, and the environment and staff were fun and friendly.

• One of the opening factoids – “This year, Americas will spend more money on fast food than on higher education…” Wow.
• Colorado Springs as the primary setting. I’m intimately familiar with Colorado Springs. Two uncles and my dad all live there. I’ve visited twice this year. It’s definitely the kind of boom town, anywhere U.S.A. that is the perfect backdrop for a book about fast food.
• Scholesser covers the history and rise of fast food, from Carl Karcher to Walt Disney, Ray Croc, and the McDonalds brothers. A fascinating time in American history.
• The story of Elisa Zamot, a 16-year old McDonald’s worker in Colorado Springs
• Christopher Reaves speaking at a “Success” convention in Denver post-accident. His quote about success. “I see people who achieve these conventional goals…None of it matters”.
• The impact of the McNugget was so big that it changed the whole chicken industry.
• Hank, the independent cattle rancher from Colorado Springs. He took his life at 43 after struggling to keep his ranch open with pressures from the large meatpacking industry.
• A quote about the cleanliness of our kitchen sinks from remnants of contaminated meat from an University of Arizona microbiologist Charles Gerba “You’d be better off eating a carrot stick that fell in your toilet than one that fell in your sink”
• Kenny, a slaughterhouse worker who sacrificed his body for his meat packing employer. His story is both sad and comical. He was sliced in the back by a conveyor belt, had back surgery, suffered chlorine poisoning and spent a month in the hospital, got hit by a train, broke his leg stepping in a hole, and finally had a heart attack, all at work. And I complain about my job.
• “Eating in the US should no longer be a form of high risk behavior” – Eric Schlosser. Scary.

Overall, a very good read. I’d recommend any fast food eater to get a better understanding of what exactly we are putting into our bodies and the social and economic implications of these choices.

In spite of what many of my readers may think, I generally try to eat healthy. I’m an advocate of eating healthy, organic, and local as much as possible. And occasionally, while visiting a fast food restaurant, I try to eat better. I know KFC has tried to make strides in cleaning up it’s nutrition act. But besides their grilled chicken and new side salad, there’s little on the menu in terms of health.

I was not in the mood for fried, and I didn’t have the time to pick through a grilled chicken. So I ordered a grilled version of KFC’s latest sandwich, the Doublicious.

Doublicious? Is this an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of the Double Down? Tricky KFC, but not tricky enough.

The grilled Doublicious consists of a grilled chicken breast, some sort of white cheese, spicy sauce, and shredded lettuce all on a “sweet Haiwan Bread bun”. Not exactly healthy, but certainly better than the fried version topped with bacon.

As usual, this sandwich did not look anything like it’s photo.

It wasn’t nearly as bad as it looked. As you should expect for a place that specializes in chicken, the breast actually tasted like a chicken breast, not a rubbery processed blob of rib and breast meat. The sauce was tangy/spicy, and the lettuce was pathetic. They could have at least put a tomato slice on there.

Nutritionally, the sandwich had 380 calories and 11 grams of fat. Not great, but not horrible. I saved myself 100 calories by opting for the grilled version.

Overall, the grilled Doublicious is a pretty mediocre sandwich. Honestly, I thought it would be much worse, but I can’t in my right mind give it much higher than a 2.

I recently stopped at a Chicago area chain specializing in the Italian beef, Buona Beef. They are a family owned chain specializing in Italian food around Chicago.

Buona Beef is a step above the typical fast food restaurant. I was struck by the cleanliness and modern decor. I always associate Italian beefs with the dreaded Chicago messy fast food/hot dog stands.

The counter features the daily specials elegantly laid out on plates.

I enjoy seeing all the specials, but am always slightly creeped out by the displays. Is the food real? Plastic? Artificially preserved? A took a closer look and discovered that this time, the food truly was real.

In my mind there was only one option for me to order. The Italian beef. I ordered the medium with both hot and sweet peppers, fries and a drink. The service was quick and friendly. They even brought my sandwich out on a plate.

It was hard to believe this was a medium. It was a big sandwich. The Italian beef “juice” was leaking through the wrapper before I even got it open.

The sandwich was solid. The ingredients were obviously high quality, the beef tender, and the combination hot and sweet peppers complimented the meat well. The hot peppers were giardiniera mix, a Chicago area staple. I’ve never been clear on what exactly “sweet” peppers are,  but these looked like a mixture of yellow and green peppers, that had been soaked in vinegar and sauteed .

Italian beefs are served on an Italian style white roll. They have a chewy, processed texture like a cheap sandwich bun from the grocery store. Buono Beef’s was no exception and fit the bill perfectly.

I did not get my sandwich “double dipped”, a process of dipping the sandwich roll back into the beef juice. Personally I don’t recommend going this route. It’s a heart attack waiting to happen and between the peppers and the beef, these sandwiches are wet enough already.

Buono beef’s fries were nothing remarkable, the kind of french fry you find at most chain restaurants. I’m not saying they were bad, just not remarkable.

I struggled to put this whole sandwich down. I can’t imagine anyone needing to order the large. Save yourself some money and minutes off your life and stick with the medium or the small.

Overall, Bueno Beef is a good stop if you’re looking to get your Italian beef on in a chain-like suburb-style setting. And if beef is not your thing, they’ve got plenty more on the menu.

Probably the best example of this type of fast food stop is Superdawg® drive in, located on the far northwest side of Chicago. I’ve you’ve ever driven down Milwaukee Avenue into the city, there’s no doubt you’ve seen this historic landmark with it’s 12-foot hot dog sculptures on the roof. Superdawg was created as a labor of love by two high school sweethearts looking to make some money during their summer vacations. Luckily, they’ve posted the full history on their website.

Superdawg is a great stop on a hot summer afternoon. It still retains it’s 1950′s drive-in style, you can drive up and order through speakers and they’ll bring your food out to you. Or you can make your way to a hot little walk-up counter. You order through little sliding windows where you can watch the wonders happening in the kitchen.

The menu is the standard hot dog and burger offerings, but menu items have clever names like the Whoopsiedawg (A Chicago style Polish Sausage), the Supercheesie (a cheeseburger) and even the Whoopercheesie (A double cheeseburger).

On this particular visit I ordered a Whoopercheesie (I couldn’t resist the name) with fries, and a chocolate malt, my favorite summer treat. I know, I know, I’m at SuperDawg and I ordered a burger.

After a long hot wait, complete with crying toddlers and picture-snapping tourists, I was handed my box of food.

One of the best parts about SuperDawg is the packaging. The box has a very distinctive look. It matches the full SuperDawg motif, complete with the dancing hot dogs from the roof and a restatement of the menu items.

The opened box sectioned between the burger and fries. It comes with a pickle and a small pickled green tomato. Even the inside of the box is well designed with a list of menu items. Overall some of the best presentation I’ve seen from a fast food restaurant.

Their fries are of the crinkle variety but well done to a golden brown. This is a nice touch, especially considering that crinkle fries are often soft and mushy.

The Whoopercheesie was a well-crafted fast food burger. The meat is nothing exceptional and cooked like a “char” burger, well done through the middle.

The chocolate shake was not exceptional, but still tasty and the perfect desert on a hot summer Saturday.

SuperDawg is, in my opinion, the best classic hot dog/fast food stop in Chicago. Good food, great presentation, a unique experience and rich history make SuperDawg a must visit.

This Chick-fil-A was packed even in the middle of the day on a Tuesday. The counter was staffed by a gaggle of teenagers off for the summer. I ordered the newish Spicy Chicken sandwich, since I previously have only had their standard chicken sandwich. I got the “deluxe” version with lettuce, tomatoes and pepper jack cheese. I also ordered a side of waffle fries.

One of my favorite things about Chick-fil-A is the variety of sauces. I picked up the Buttermilk Ranch and their Polynesian sauce along with a bunch of hot sauce.

The sandwich was nicely constructed and had actually been put together with some care. It had a mildly spicy flavor that was well complimented by the pepper jack cheese, lettuce, and tomato, all of which was fresh. The ranch sauce better complimented the sandwich than the polypensian.

I’m always really impressed at the quality of the chicken at Chick-fil-A. The sandwich was a step above your typical fast food chicken sandwiches. It actually tasted like real fried chicken. It’s reminiscent of one of my favorite late night food stops in college, Jin’s Chicken “stand” on Langdon street in Madison.

I like waffle fries, but I’m not crazy about Chick-fil-A’s. They are really pretty standard and don’t deserve the hype.

After digging through my tray of food, I was still hungry. After some texting debate with a southern friend and my resident “Chick-fil-A” expert, I decided to go with a chocolate shake. They served this up with all the fixings including whip cream and a candied cherry on top.

The shake was better than your average fast food shake, it crushed anything I’ve ever had from the Golden Arches.

Nutrition

Nutrionally my meal is a mess. While Chick-fil-A is often lauded as a healthy fast food option, my meal was anything but. See the breakdown below:

Spicy Chicken Deluxe Sandwich – 580 calories, 27 grams of fat, and 1,880 mg of sodium. That’s 78% of my daily sodium intake just on the sandwich alone.

Waffle Fries – 380 calories, 21 grams of fat, and 190 mg of sodium.

Chocolate Shake – 600 calories, 23 grams of fat, 410 mg of sodium.

Using Chick-fil-A’s handy meal calculator on their website, my lunch, including condiments and sauces, totaled a whopping 1,620 calories, 75 grams of fat, and 2,380 grams of sodium.. Wow.

In spite of the calorie, fat, and sodium bomb that I administered to my body, I really, really enjoyed my visit to Chick-fil-A. Service was friendly, the food was great (at least it tasted great) and overall made for a fun and satisfying visit.

My cousin actually worked at this place for three months several years back. He filled me in on some local lore, supposedly Cy’s has been around longer than McDonald’s. Their “Alaskan” burger, a double cheeseburger with thousand island, aka The Big Mac, predates the golden arches version. I haven’t been able to confirm any of this, but it makes for a nice story.

The place definitely looked older than any McDonald’s I’ve ever been to. Check it out out the front.

I really liked the eclectic sign out front.

The inside was equally interesting. Old and dirty, it was stuffed full of couches and tables. Check out this slightly blurry shot of the menu board.

All beef at Cy’s is “Range Fed”, which just means grass fed. Range fed/grass fed beef is not something you find frequently at a fast food burger joint. The had a little flyer posted up explaining the difference.

I ordered the junior Alaskan burger with fries. It was served in a basket with a pickle.

The burger really was similar to the Big Mac, except the junior version lacked the seasame seed bun and the “tweener” bun of the Big Mac. The Junior Alaskan is two patties totalling a quarter pound, while the bigger Alaskan burger consists of two full quarter pound patties.

The burger was pretty tasty. The meat definitely tasted fresher than your average frozen patty. I didn’t notice any gamey flavor that people often complain about from grass fed/range fed beef. It had shredded lettuce and the “special” thousand-island like sauce. All and all, a pretty tasty burger.

The fries were thick-cut, lightly salted, and well done. I skipped the pickle, because I don’t do pickles.

I definitely recommend anyone in the Colorado Springs area, whether a resident or just visiting, to check out Cy’s Drive In. Unique atmosphere and ranch fed natural beef, it’s worth your time.

I made a stop into Subway on one rushed work morning after getting off the subway. I was tired, hungry, and a little bit stressed out due to my soul-crushing week at work. In a lot of ways it wasn’t much different that most of my lunch break stops into Subway, just not in the morning.

Did I mention it was dead in there? Besides one sandwich artist, I was the lone soul in the restaurant. Breakfast is not catching on quickly at Subway.

Just like lunch, they put it together on the sandwich line. Take a look.

I could choose from two different egg options, whites or regular, my choice of cheese, meat and veggies. I ordered the regular egg, which like their cold cuts, came from a plastic Tupperware case. I had to wonder how, where and when it was cooked. One ingredient and the sandwich was off to a bad start.

I added black forest ham and pepper jack cheese with tomatoes, green peppers and onions.

And the inside.

I got the combo with a 16 oz coffee. It all came in under $3.

I got my sandwich to go, and by the time I got to my office to eat, it was already cold. The egg was a slimy, the whole sandwich was a wet from the veggies. BUT…it somehow, it wasn’t that bad. I can image if it was right out of the Subway oven it would have been a tasty sandwich. The coffee maintained its heat and was an adequate , mild flavored coffee, reminiscent of McDonald’s coffee.

While my first experience wasn’t great, I think Subway’s breakfast has potential. It’s cheap, seems healthy, and has a lot of options. I would recommend going with the egg whites and having your veggies toasted along with the sandwich. Worth a look in a crowded breakfast space.

The name alone demands a visit to this Asian-fusion spot. But what the hell is a bao?

Well, obviously a Bao is a hot asian bun. No seriously, baos are steamed little balls of dough stuffed with a variety of fillings. According to their Wikipedia article, they go by many different names and can be a popular alternative to rice. Wow Bao serves their own westernized interpretation of these classic little Chinese street foods. Their food is not limited to the bao concept, and serve up a variety of Asian fare.

A visit to Wow Bao is an experience. Wow Boa is one of the many restaurants in the Lettuce Entertainment You empire. Entering the restaurant, if your lucky enough to avoid a lunch time line, your immediately struck by the clean and fun decor typical of Lettuce Entertain You. The most striking feature of Wow Bao are the piles of gleaming metal containers holding the filled with the dough white Baos.

Like any good fast food lunch stops, Wow Bao has a combo menu, where you can pick from an entree like two baos or pot stickers and combine it with a variety of sides. On this particular stop, I order the chicken pot sticker combo with the peanut noodle salad. I also got a bao on the side to make this review complete.

This was a pretty full tray of food.

Let’s first take a look at the Bao. This one was the Spicy Kung Pao chicken.

And the inside.

As you can see, the buns are mostly dough. The texture is marshmallow-like. The filling is tasty and reminds me of the meat mix commonly used in lettuce wraps. While I only sampled one for this review, I’ve had pretty much every flavor on the menu. My biggest complaint is that they all taste similar. I honestly can’t really tell the difference between Kung pao and teriyaki chicken.

Next up are the chicken pot stickers. Served with a traditional side of spicy soy sauce.

The pot stickers are quite tasty. Crispy with the typical gray middle. They are on the thin side for pot stickers, but overall very good.

My side was the peanut noodles. Consisting of cold noodles, peanut sauce, and cucumber shavings. The taste like what they are, but are quite enjoyable.

Wow Bao also serves breakfast boas, which I’ve never had. Something about scrambled eggs stuffed into a boa is not appealling.

Overall, Wow Bao is some great novelty food. While not perfect, it’s uniqueness is worth the full four patties.

Plus with a quick glance at their website, I knew this was one Groupon that couldn’t be passed up.

Like most coupons, Hannah’s Bretzel’s languished on my desk for months and months. Excuse not to go kept piling up. I believe it generally played out something like this:

Me: “Let’s go to that pretzel sandwich Groupon place.

Her: “Um, its about 5 degrees outside and I’m not walking there.”

Next Scenario:

Her: “Let’s go to Hannah’s Bretzel’s, the groupon is about to expire.”

Me (sobbing uncontrollably into my desk phone): “I’m so busy and stressed out today…I can’t take a lunch I need to test 10,000 emails…”

Anyway, after several more lame excuses, we finally made the five or six block trek to Hannah’s.  Located in a relatively non-descript office tower on Michigan Avenue, Hannah’s was “sandwiched” between several other eateries catering to the lunch crowd.

I was immediately impressed with the decor, all reds and whites, with a long Subway style sandwich line. House style music permeated the shop, giving Hannah’s a very sheik feel.

I ordered myself a Thanksgiving 365 sandwich. Thanksgiving inspired sandwiches are one of my favorites and this one came with all natural free range smoked Legacy turkey, French Brie,  romaine lettuce and cranberry chutney on organic whole grain baguette. Fancy.

All sandwiches came with a unique choice of small sides; Tamari roasted almonds, roasted soy nuts, roasted vegetables or kettle chips. I ordered the Kettle chips.

Take a look at my sandwich:

I was not disappointed. While a bit on the small side, this was one tasty sandwich. Everything was very fresh and perfectly put together.

The side of chips was a bit on the small side, but perfectly satisfying.

Overall, I was impressed with the quality of Hannah’s Bretzel. Prices were a bit high for what I received, but with the”twofor” Groupon, it was reasonable. I definitely, regardless of price, will be back.