GrubGrade

Earlier this week I participated in a “Blogger Day” event over at Domino’s headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Included with the visit to the headquarters was a stop at the warehouse facility known as the Domino’s World Resource Center.  Think of the World Resource Center as the “dough factory” because that’s where you’ll find people and machines at work whipping together balls of dough for future pizza creations.

The basic ingredients in the pizza dough are water, flour, yeast, oil, sugar and salt. If you’re thinking about the new recipe Domino’s pizza, just know that the garlic butter is applied at the very end, after the pizza has been cooked.  Personally, the new recipe Domino’s pizza suffers from the garlic oil mixture and it’s good to know you can get it without.  I’d rather have some control over the amount of garlic butter (like Papa John’s) rather than just have it standard.  To each their own though and I think I might be in the minority with that opinion.

Anyway, should I get back to the dough?  There are 16 of these dough making factories across the country that supply local Domino’s shops.  Giant machines mixing ingredients and molding balls of dough which are flung onto conveyor belts and pass through an X-RAY machine for inspection on their way to sit in dough buckets. These “dough buckets” chill in a refrigeration room (sucks to stand in for more than a few minutes).  The refrigerated dough then makes it’s way to refrigerated trucks for delivery. This “dough factory” is also a hub for supplies for local Domino’s such as plastic utensils, napkins etc.  Take a peak at this little video I put together:

I shouldn’t forget the actual headquarters building.  Lots of Q&A with Domino’s folks and a chance to hit the test kitchen to make a pizza of my own.

I really wanted to be able to flash my genius and make a Domino’s Buffalo Chicken Kickers pizza.  A ranch white sauce topped with mozzarrella, roasted red peppers and diced up Buffalo Chicken Kickers.  It would’ve been magic.  Since only standard toppings were at my disposal, I went with a Meditteranean-style pizza and added some grilled chicken to the mix.

The ingredients I used: tomato sauce, cheese, fresh baby spinach, feta cheese crumbles, roasted red peppers, black olives, diced tomatoes and grilled chicken.  I must admit, I think I found my new go-to combination of toppings.  We also had a chance to jot down our thoughts on the Pacific Veggie Pizza in a Sensory Panel booth.

Overall, it was a cool experience and I’m glad I had the opportunity to go. Special thanks goes out to Phil Lozen, Jamie Chiriboga, Sean Carroll and everyone involved for giving us an inside look into the world of Domino’s.

Fresh off the national release of its Angus Snack Wraps (read our review here), McDonald’s seems to be testing a new line of products in the Baltimore market. The “deliciously unexpected” Chicken Flatbreads come in four flavors: Tuscan Tomato Basil, BBQ Bacon Ranch, Southwest, and Four Cheese. My local McDonald’s is running a promo on the flatbreads for a price of $1.89 each. On a recent trip to Micky D’s, my hermana and I chose the later option, going with the Tuscan Tomato Basil Flatbread and the Southwest Chicken Flatbread. Have a gander at the “official” description:

Get ready to enter a brand new flavor zone with McDonald’s Chicken Flabreads. Our new juicy grilled chicken is served on a warm flatbread with a roasted garlic spread, deliciously melted Fontina, Mozzarella, Monterey Jack and White Cheddar cheeses and unexpected ingredients such as the Southwest’s tangy Pico de Gallo and creamy guacamole. Give your appetite some tasty options!

At first I was somewhat disappointed with the size of the flatbreads, which come in their own containers and aren’t much bigger than the length of a person’s hand. My concerns, however, were misplaced. (more…)

The inevitable “next step” in fast food these days seems to involve taking a successful idea and making it into a more affordable product.  In the case of McDonald’s, they have taken their premium line of Angus Third Pounders and cut the price in half, made it smaller and ditched the bun for a wrap.  What you’ve got now is an Angus Snack Wrap.

Like it’s predecessor, their are 3 choices of Angus Snack Wrap; Bacon and Cheese, Deluxe, Mushroom and Swiss.  Also like it’s predecessor, you’ve got some aspects that work and some that just don’t. (more…)

I’ll be honest with you: typically I avoid “mom and pop” sub shops and deli’s like the plague. It’s not that I don’t support the independent small business or shun the concept of roadfood, but rather that I find the prices of such destinations too be a little too much for my liking, and not worthy of the ho-hum ingredients you usually get. Subway may not have the best sandwiches out there, but I’ll take a $5 footlong any day.

Please define "town"

That being the case, every once and a while I get a hankering to check a new place out. I used to work near this small sandwich shop in the back of an old strip mall. Labeled simply as “Italian Delly” it always struck me as out of place. There never seemed to be any cars there, and even to this day, whenever  I drive past it, the place seems dead. On a recent trip to Dunkin Donuts I said as much to my sister, who replied “hey, they’re actually pretty good.” (more…)

Remember back in June when I admitted my fear of ordering any donut at Dunkin Donuts other than my all-time favorite Bavarian Kreme? Well, it has taken me the better part of two months, but I finally manned up at dove off the deep end the other morning. The pool was chocolaty and cheap, and there was nothing artisan about it. Long story short, I’d say the results were mixed.

Dear Donut: Why do you look like a bagel?

In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that when I’m in a rush and on the road I’m not looking for a healthy or well balanced breakfast. (more…)

When I think of Chick-fil-A I think of juicy, pressure-cooked chicken sandwiches, giant milkshakes, and those classic skin-on waffle fries. But have you ever checked out any of Chick-fil-A’s other menu items, including the Lemon Pie? I hadn’t, that was until last week, when a lunchtime impulse for something sweet led me to give it a go.

A not-too-tart lemon filling, in a tasty graham cracker crumb crust, topped with meringue and two vanilla wafers.

I’m usually not a pie guy, but the Maryland heat must have gotten the best of me, so much so that I ponied up the $1.79 for a slice in addition to my regular order of a Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich with bacon (random aside: best fast food bacon EVER) . This pie is proof that there is truth in advertising — that is, if you do your research first. (more…)

UPDATE: Read our FULL REVIEW

Ditch the bread, grab a tortilla.  McDonald’s has toyed with a burger version of their Snack Wrap before (see our Big Mac Snack Wrap review)… and they’re doing it again.  This time around, McDonald’s is going for wraps in the form of their premium line of 1/3 pound Angus Burgers.  I think McD’s did pretty well with the Angus Third Pounders (see Angus Third Pounders review), and I’m especially impressed with their Angus Deluxe.

Deluxe Angus Wrap from McDonald's

Let’s see how the Angus line works as a wrap… Coming August 10th.

• Deluxe: Fresh ripe red tomato, fresh green leaf lettuce, fresh rings of red onions, crinkle cut pickles, American cheese, creamy mayonnaise and yellow mustard.
• Bacon & Cheese: Fresh rings of red onions, crinkle cut pickles, a strip of bacon, American cheese, ketchup and yellow mustard.
• Mushroom & Swiss: Sauteed mushrooms, Swiss cheese and creamy mayonnaise.

Wendy's Berry Almond Chicken Salad

Fresh off the national release of four new summer salads (read our review here), Wendy’s has begun testing a Berry Almond Chicken Salad in both the Salt Lake City, UT and Richmond, VA markets. Have a gander:

It all starts with sweet fresh strawberries and delicious plump blueberries. Then we add roasted almonds, shaved Asiago cheese, 11 types of greens and tender grilled chicken. Topping it all off is our fat-free raspberry vinaigrette dressing with acai juice. It’s a wholesome mix that tastes great and is great for you too.

Now this is a salad I could get behind! It’s also comparatively healthier than Wendy’s other salads, coming in at 460 calories and 16 grams of fat (5.5 saturated) including dressing and almonds (the dressing packet alone is 100 calories and contains 22 grams of sugar). Apparently it’ll only be in select stores until the summer ends, but based on the response this might be a future addition to the Wendy’s menu. Has anyone tried the Berry Almond Chicken Salad? We want to know your thoughts!

Call me crazy, but between the marketing slogan of “edge on” and the unique titles of “Gowildfer Garlic Herb” and “Eataboutload Sea Salt,” something tells me that the folks at Flat Out Bread might be trying just a wee bit too hard to sound cool and hip with their latest snacks.  I can’t exactly blame them.  I might be a foodie who’ll pretty much go wild for anything new on the grocery store shelves, but even I sometimes have a tough time getting fired up over snack crackers.

OMG THIS IS SUCH AN AWESOME SNACK

Flatout Flatbread Crisps want to change that. To make a long story short, they didn’t.

I eat a fair amount of crackers, both plain and with accompaniments. Eating a plain cracker, much less a healthy one, will never beat eating a richly sweet and nutty butter cracker topped with fresh mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes and basil (sorry for the drool fest: had one of these the other night) but there are some good crackers out there. Personally, I’m a big fan of the Archer Farms line, and dig pretty much anything with “herb” and or “cheese” in the title. Hence, my willingness to accept an offer from Flat Out to try their new Baked Flatbread Crisps: (more…)

You should never confuse Taco Bell with authentic Mexican food… ever.  So when the fast food Mexican mega-chain goes for a taste of legit Mexican tacos, we will all point and laugh.  Even though I say this, I take Taco Bell for what it is and have been known to go for a taco or three at 2am.  For a cheap, quick taste of quick-serve Mexican grub… for a lot of people, Taco Bell is the only game in town.  Here’s Taco Bell’s attempt at a “real” taco with the introduction of Cantina Tacos.

It’s no surprise that chicken and steak are two of the available options for the new Cantina Tacos.  A newcomer to the bunch is (thankfully not shrimp) carnitas or as the gringos say “shredded pork”.  Each taco was an overpriced $1.69. I say overpriced because there are far heavier menu items on the cheap Taco Bell value menu.  There’s not too much to say about each one of these so watch how creative I’m about to be… (more…)