Sunday, March 26, 2017

Review: McDonald's Mac Jr.

I had a hopping weekend.  I spent the second half of my weekend researching appliances like oven hoods, so I'm glad to have this break to chat about the Mac Jr. (because, trust me, no one should spend that long researching oven hoods).

In full transparency I also love Big Mac sauce, so of course when I saw McDonald's was coming out with some new Big Mac options I had to try them.  So I tried the Mac Jr., which is a single burger patty (seemed slightly bigger than the patty on the hamburger or cheeseburger) with cheese, pickles, lettuce, and Big Mac sauce on a sesame seed bun.


However I'm going to be honest here - you aren't missing much because the best Big Mac is really the original Big Mac or adding Big Mac sauce to a cheeseburger or hamburger.  Reason being:
  • The Mac Jr. didn't have enough sauce for the meat/bread ratio, so it tasted dry.
  • I didn't think the sesame seed bun added to the flavor all that much; really the sandwich as a whole was pretty dry.
Per my below picture, the greatest amount of sauce was on the bun:


However, don't be alarmed.  The original Big Mac is still amazing, plus you can still add Big Mac sauce to any menu item for an additional upcharge to get the Big Mac taste you know and love.

Takeaways:
  • Instead of the Mac Jr. or any of the other 'specialty' Big Macs, order the original Big Mac or my favorite combination which is a cheeseburger, no pickle, add Big Mac sauce.  The Big Mac sauce alone settles my Big Mac craving, and for less money.

Sunday, March 12, 2017

Review: Brunch at Bongo Room

So I had brunch at an epic place in Chicago - it's called The Bongo Room, and I hear they typically have an insane wait because the food is that good.  Well, my friend and I got there around 10am and only waited 20 minutes (for 2 people, mind you) but if you have a large group get there early.  The Bongo Room is also good about letting customers get 'half orders' of menu items so you can try a few different things out for brunch!

I ordered the Chocolate Tower French Toast and a White Chocolate and Caramel Pretzel Pancake.  I guess I was feeling 'sweet' on this particular morning.  My friend ordered a vegetarian omelet and the Red Velvet Pancake.

The Chocolate Tower French Toast was amazing!  The French Toast is 'chocolate' but it isn't too sweet so it's more like a dark chocolate.  The French Toast is sitting in a creamy sauce that has a slight banana flavor (so if you don't like bananas, this wouldn't be your thing).  It's covered in chocolate shavings and banana slices.  Apparently the 'sauce' between the slices of bread is a maple flavor but I completely missed that.


The second thing I got was the White Chocolate and Caramel Pretzel Pancake.  Just no.  It makes for an awesome Instagram photo, but it's way too sickly sweet.  I tasted some crunchy pieces in it (probably the pretzel) but it didn't taste like anything besides the sweet cream that was covering it.


My friend ordered a vegetarian omelet (said great things, that it was filled to the brim, and contained fresh ingredients) and she also ordered the Red Velvet Pancake which I tried.  If you are going to get one of the 'cool' Instagram worthy pancakes from The Bongo Room, atleast get one you can eat.  The Red Velvet Pancake wasn't as sweet, and the creamy top reminded me of a light cream cheese frosting.


Takeaways:
  • Get the Chocolate Tower French Toast!  It's also only on the weekend brunch menu, so make sure you're at The Bongo Room on a Saturday or a Sunday.
  • Don't get the White Chocolate and Caramel Pretzel Pancake.  It's complete sugar and sickly sweetness overload.