GrubGrade

The cookout season is here!  Seems like a good time for a list.  I’ve listed below my “Top Ten BBQ/Cookout Foods”.  What did I leave off the list?  What’s in your top ten?

1. Hamburgers
2. Macaroni Salad
3. Chips
4. Potato Salad
5. Hot Dogs / Sausages
6. Baked Beans
7. Chicken
8. Corn on the Cob
9. Pasta Salad
10. Steak

It’s tough to pick just ten items.  I didn’t put beer or any other type of beverage because I said “food” and not “food and drink”.  That being said, what’s a good cookout without a cold beer?  If you noticed, I left out ribs… and I’m ready to face your insults for pasta salad over steak.  Let me have it!  I can take it!

Ok, an honest call to all you GrubGrade readers out there. August might be the official “National Sandwich Month,” but I want to know what’s the best sandwich you ever had. Yea, as in like EVER. Why do I ask?  Because I think I just finished eating the best sandwich I ever had. Have a gander:

I give you the Sugar Spiced Pork Baguette from Elements Restaurant in Logan, Utah. After raving about their woodfired pizzas, I just knew I had to get back to this contemporary American eatery ASAP. I did, and this time made it around for lunch, where their exotic and innovative selection of sandwiches made picking just one almost an impossible task. I ended up splurging on the $8.00 sandwich above, which featured generous portions of perfectly brined and roasted pork loin, crispy tobacco onions, and a savory-sweet combo of barbecue sauce matched with a whole grain ‘creole’ mustard. All jammed inside a crispy french baguette. If this wasn’t perfection between two slices of bread, I don’t know what would be!

So I’m asking you GrubGrade readers…What is the best sandwich you’ve ever had? It can be as simple as your first Burger King Whopper, or something as complex and sophisticated as an Italian panini. I’m not here to judge, I’m just hungry!

Back in early March, Arby’s new line of sandwiches tempted me enough to venture out and try all three.  Dubbed the “Roastburger”, Arby’s famous roast beef now had a new position in the fast food universe as a sandwich with an identity crisis.  Essentially, the Roastburger is basically just a more dressed up version of the typical plain jane roast beef sandwich and the original three (All-American, Bacon and Cheddar, Bacon and Bleu reviewed) came with some mixed results.  I’m happy to report that the latest in the Roastburger family is the best of the bunch.  Introducing the BBQ Bacon Cheddar Roastburger from Arby’s.

The BBQ Bacon Cheddar Roastburger features oven-roasted, thinly sliced roast beef, cheddar cheese, bacon, crispy fried onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and BBQ sauce on a toasted specialty roll. With the inclusion of BBQ sauce, Arby’s is calling it the “Official Sandwich of Summer”.  If you’ve been following my food reviews for the past 10 months or so (on FFC and GrubGrade), you may have noticed my near obsession with Western-style burgers.  Throw some BBQ sauce and onion rings on a burger or sandwich and I’ll throw on my cowboy hat and bib.  With the latest Roastburger, I’m venturing into new territory with never before having a Western-style roast beef sandwich. (more…)

A few weeks ago we told you about a new and somewhat divisive Maryland pizzeria called Coal Fire.  Not only did our review generate a veritable science lesson in pizza making (thanks to some great comments by The Pizza Blogger), but it kick-started a craving in my gut for more of one of America’s most beloved foods.  Wanting to try something accessible to everyone across the country, I ditched the local scene and instead recently headed to the chain restaurant Uno’s Chicago Grill.

"Around" Where? Like a block radius? 40 miles? Planet Earth?

Uno’s Chicago Grill is based on the design model of the famous Pizzeria Uno, which helped to popularize “Chicago Style” deep dish pizza in the 1940s.  What we know today as Uno’s Chicago Grill actually began in 1978 when developer Aaron Spencer expanded the concept into a chain of restaurants, opening the first of his non-Chicago based Uno’s in Boston.  Today, Uno Restaurant Holdings operate some 200 locations nationwide, and prides itself on an expanded menu that features everything from deep dish pizza to burgers to chops.

While it’s tough to pass up trying a deep dish pizza at a chain which specializes in the regional favorite, I instead chose to go with Uno’s BBQ Chicken Flatbread Pizza.  As you may have caught on in my Coal Fire post, I’m much more a fan of crispy and thin crust pizzas variants, and the description on the Uno’s menu was just too much to resist:

Sliced chicken breast, mozzarella, red onion and parsley drizzled with citrus BBQ.

Not only that, but because I bought the pizza online and picked it up “curbside,” my two BBQ Chicken pizzas actually came out to a cool $7.50 apiece, which is comparatively lower than what my former employer offers for their industrially produced BBQ Chicken Pizzas.

The lack of green on this pizza saddens me. Veggies+Chicken+BBQ= Winner

That being said, I was not totally impressed.  As you can see from the above photo, this is more or less a menu item which you can eat entirely on your own.  As you can also see, there was absolutely no evidence whatsoever of parsley.  Now I may not be an herb-junkie, but I certainly do appreciate proper seasoning, especially given the obvious constraints of cooking a pizza at a chain restaurant and in a regular old oven.  Likewise, I found the BBQ sauce to be inconsistently applied, with the end pieces having virtually no sauce to speak of.

Looking for parsley on this pizza was like looking for Where's Waldo in the Bible.

Which leads us to the crust.  Thin, overloaded, and somewhat soggy, the crust on this pizza was not a crust at all; it was a moderately cooked pile of dough.  Likewise, the mozzarella cheese did not seem cooked through all the way, and was somewhat rubbery and dull.  Amazingly, it was still overly greasy but it lacked any compelling flavor (think of it like your high school’s daily pizza offering.)  I also found there to be too much cheese, which overpowered what little red onion was featured on the pizza.  The chicken was decent but only decent, and did not display the taste of a classic BBQ rub or seasoning.  It also came across as burnt.

The only highlight of this pizza was the sauce. Unlike most chains which use some generic and HFCS-laden BBQ sauce, the sauce on this pizza had strong and complex citrus flavors, and actually reminded me of the orange marmalade I had on my toast for breakfast that morning.  It was exceptionally sweet and displayed a glaze-like quality which may not be for everyone, but I found it an interesting play on a familiar concept.

Money Shot

In my opinion, a good BBQ Chicken Pizza should be about three things; Smoke, Sweetness, and Snap. (Want to see what Ryan looks for in a good BBQ Chicken Pizza?  Click Here)  Obviously there was no smoke involved because of the cooking method employed, and unfortunately there was no snap to the otherwise bland and overloaded crust.  Still, this pizza was saved enough by the complexity of the peachy/citrus BBQ sauce, and considering its value was a decent investment given the circumstance.

• Pros: Complex and Original BBQ sauce concept for a BBQ chicken pizza.  Reasonable price if bought online as part of the special deal.  You could probably do worse for the 1000 calories or so it cost me.
• Cons: Mediocre ingredients and bland.  Not seasoned very well and missing herb component that it was advertised as having. Not enough red onion.  Crust seemed overloaded with ingredients, and slightly soggy with no trademark “crisp” or “snap” that you’d expect from a flatbread.

Taste: 5.25/10

Value: 7.00/10

Grubbing on the Go: 7.50/10

———————————–

GrubGrade: 5.50/10  (Mediocre)

(Overall GrubGrade is not an average)

Price: $15.00 for Two Pizzas (‘Double Deals’ Takeout Special)

Unos.com

Nutrition: Uno’s BBQ Chicken Flatbread Pizza

Lots of haters on my Famous Daves post from a little while back.  Although I didn’t have much on my plate to show for as far as BBQ is concerned, I thought this news was interesting.  I’m not trying to say Famous Daves has the greatest ribs in America (I rarely get their ribs), I’m just saying they have been shown some love.  Who do you think has the greatest ribs in the country?

From QSR Mag

Famous Dave’s Bar-B-Que won the award for “Greatest Ribs in America” at the 18th Annual Marc’s Great American Rib Cook-Off in Cleveland, Ohio.

The prestigious BBQ competition was held over the Memorial Day weekend and included many of the top competitive grillers in America. Organizers estimate that the BBQ experts at the event serve up more than 1 million ribs over the course of the weekend.

“The Cleveland rib cook-off is one of the most competitive in the nation, and it has a long and storied tradition in the world of barbecue,” says Christopher O’Donnell, president and CEO of Famous Dave’s.

“We couldn’t be more proud of our Rib Team. They’ve added another esteemed trophy to our own tradition of award-winning BBQ.”

In addition to being named “Greatest Ribs in America,” Famous Dave’s took home a third-place trophy in the “Greatest Sauce in America” competition.

(psst…Not only is May, National Hamburger Month but it’s also National BBQ Month.  Go figure)  Sometimes, I just don’t feel like getting all detailed about what the exact texture of a piece of chicken is like, or going into the history of a piece of cheese.  This won’t be a post of many words…it will be more of just a feast for your eyes.  If you want to forget about your diet and just let go and grub on something worthy of a post meal nap….please consider my recommendation.

Keep staring

The Details:

Famous Daves, $13.99 for a 2 meat combo “Double your pleasure with any two different meat selections”.  Your choices are beef brisket, chopped pork, barbeque or roasted chicken, rib tips, chicken tenders, hot link sausage, sweetwater catfish or wings.  My goto grub selection is the chicken tenders and wings.

Mild Buffalo Wings

The combo is served with a stellar corn bread muffin, sweet and juicy corn-on-the-cob, and your choice of two sides.  I opted for the Creamy Coleslaw (A zesty slaw that’s pineapple sweet with a hint of horseradish) and the Famous Fries (Crisp-fried, thick-cut, skin-on Russett potato wedges).  The wings are award-winning and you get a choice of either hot or mild BBQ, or Dave’s traditional Buffalo-style wings with blue cheese dipping sauce.  The Buffalo-style version doesn’t overwhelm me with heat so I go with that style every time.

Grub on top of grub...Chicken Tenders buried...

The chicken tenders are lightly-breaded white meat, flash-fried to crispy perfection and served with Sweet Soul Jalapeño sauce.  I used to disrespect the sauce and just dig into the the blue cheese that goes for the wings.  The Sweet Soul Jalapeño sauce is as advertised, sweet and spicy and delicious so no longer will it be ignored.

Famous Fries - Crisp-fried, thick-cut, skin-on Russett potato wedges

It's absurd how good Famous Dave's Corn Bread Muffins are...

One last look...Last meal worthy.

Every week I peruse the snack aisle of my local grocery store looking for something new and potentially interesting to satisfy my taste buds.  It seems like every week I end up settling for something, well, unique.  Baked soy crisps.  Sweet and Salty granola bars.  Multigrain rice crisps.  Not exactly your tried and true, blue collar American snack choices…

Fortunately, this trend of snacking ended the other day, as I picked up a $1 bag of Utz Carolina Style Bar-B-Q Potato Chips.  Maybe my cheapness got the best of me, or maybe it’s this whole “load up on polyunsaturated fats” health craze going around right now.  Frankly, the worn-out looking bag of chips just screamed “buy me.”  So I did.  While I don’t eat fried potato chips on a regular basis, I do consider myself something of a BBQ connoisseur, with the vinegar-based Eastern Carolina style among my favorite choices.  The fact that I know of no other brand on the market that carries this particular style of BBQ flavor is an instant positive in my mind.  Surely a definite reason to compare these to the more traditional, BBQ style, flavored chips that every company and their mother makes.  These chips do fairly well to match the flavor of Eastern North Carolina style BBQ, which as I mentioned tends to revolve around thin vinegar sauces that contain strong hints of pepper.  Vinegar is definitely the overwhelming flavor I get on first taste, but the red pepper flavor gives the chip a good kick which breaks the otherwise initial blandness.  Like all Utz chips they have a great crunch, and after the initial vinegar burst wears off you get a subtle, Worcestershire-type sweetness followed by real strong potato flavor.  Overall it’s a great transition of flavors that ends with Utz’s signature potato chip taste, and leaves you wanting more.

I liked the fact that these chips are heterogenous in size and degree of ‘doneness’.  Some are crispier than others and some thicker and better seasoned, but I think that kind of composition works well.  I also liked that while oily, these chips were not too greasy, meaning that I did not have to feel guilty about constantly licking my fingers.  One of my only complaints about the chip is that it failed to produce the “mustard” flavor the bag laid claim to, and did not have the smoke flavor that I was expecting based on the ingredient list.  While it’s not exactly a complaint, I also question the relevancy of the flavor choice altogether, as this style of seasoning was developed in the first place to work with chopped pork, not potatoes.

Honestly, you can’t go wrong with Utz.  The company’s regular line of chips may not be as sexy as whatever Pringles or Lays has cooking, but they’ve been solid standbys for years and it just takes an open mind for even a froo-froo snacker like myself to discover them. While I did not enjoy the Carolina Bar-B-Q chips as much as the company’s regular potato chip flavor, the idea of a regional style of BBQ chips is enough to warrant an occasional buy, which at a dollar per 4oz. bag isn’t gonna cost me the farm.

• Pros- Ridiculously cheap.  Not overly greasy.  Strong vinegar taste does a decent job of replicating Eastern North Carolina style, while hints of pepper flakes give chips a “kick.”  Typically awesome taste of cottonseed oil fried potato rounds it all out.
• Cons- No smoke flavor whatsoever.  Saltier than regular Utz potato chips.  Not getting much “mustard” flavor.  9 grams of fat per serving.  Spelling barbeque as “Bar-B-Q.”  Bag looks like it’s from the early 1960s.

GrubGrade:  7.75/10 (Good)

Price:  $1.59 3.75oz bag  ($1.00 on sale at Giant Food) 

Utzsnacks.com

Nutrition- Utz Carolina Bar-B-Que Chips

Serving Size: 1 oz (about 20 chips)

Calories: 150

Calories from Fat: 80

Total Fat: 9 grams

Saturated Fat: 2 grams

Polyunsaturated Fat: 5 grams

Monounsaturated Fat: 2 grams

Cholesterol: 0 milligrams

Sodium: 270 milligrams

Total Carbs: 14 grams

Fiber: 1 gram

Sugar: 1 gram

Protein: 2 grams

Despite growing up in central Maryland, it never really occurred to me that I lived within an area which might accurately be described as a snack food mecca.  Granted, I’m more than a few miles from Pennsylvania Dutch country, but the influence of brands like Utz, Martin’s, and Herr’s is never far from my local convenience store shelf.  Too bad for the latter two companies, seeing as though I never actually tasted any of their products before yesterday.

Indeed, I would call myself an “Utz Man” through and through.  Not only were Utz’s Sour Cream and Onion, Old Bay, and BBQ potato chips readily available in every vending machine in every school I ever attended, but due to some reading comprehension issue of my own fault, “Herr’s” always struck me as being spelled “Herb’s.”  And no nine year old worth his GI lunchbox is gonna eat a chip named after some crusty old guy named Herb.  Still, seeing as though I’m always on the lookout for new and marginally healthy snack foods, I just couldn’t resist snagging a bag of the new Herr’s Baked Barbecue Crisps, especially not at the very reasonable price of 99 cents for a 1.85oz bag.  Having only eaten two other varieties of baked chips in my life (Utz and Lays) I approached these bad boys with a good deal of anticipation, wondering if the company’s latest innovation would be my ticket out of potato chip isolationalism.

In a familiar theme with most of my snack food reviews, my first bite left me underwhelmed.  The “crisp” was not crispy like a fried potato chip, but had a decent snap when I bit into it; but that was expected.  Yet there seemed to be little seasoning on my chip, and little to no actual potato flavor.  As has been the case before however, it only took me a few chips to get into a snacking “groove,” and once I did I discovered that I really liked these crisps.  As for the BBQ flavor, I found it more pronounced than the Lays version.  That is, I found it more pronounced on the sides of the chips that were actually covered in seasoning.  Unfortunately some of the chips were more barren than others, which led to an inconsistent snacking experience.  The BBQ seasoning itself was very salty and dominated by the strong presence of the usual suspects of paprika, garlic, and onion powder; but a welcomed – albeit artificial – liquid smoke taste of hickory could be detected in the aftertaste.  The seasoning was sweet but not too sweet, although I also experienced an almost “soy cause” quality in the high level of saltiness (I suspect in part to the presence of MSG in the ingredient list).

With only a few brands of baked chips out there, it’s tough to put these in perspective, but I find them very comparable to Utz’s baked line.  With that being said, I’d still rank Utz’s chips as slightly ahead of Herr’s.  For some reason Utz’s chips just strike me as more balanced, and while I don’t hide the fact that I’m a sodium junkie and closet MSG fan, even I found certain bites of the crisps to be too salty.  Still, give Herr’s credit. There is a smokey flavor here that neither Utz nor Lays can match, and at the end of the day these things are only 230 calories a bag.  Let’s be real; a potato “crisp” may never be a chip, but for those like me who appreciate their unique flavor and texture profile they bring a certain element of snackability to the table, regardless of their health benefits.

• Pros: Less calories and fat than regular Herr’s barbeque chips.  Really digging the use of liquid smoke in the seasoning and the more “complex” saltiness of the crisp.  Use of MSG in ingredients reveals obvious balls of Herr’s corporate staff that shatters perception of mom and pop company.  Good value.
• Cons: Suffers from same limitations of other baked chips; namely that it’s not an actual chip.  Does not have that funky sweetness that works so well in Baked Utz varieties.  Hit or miss distribution of seasoning leads to out of control snacking at high speeds.  Not sure if I actually tasted the potato part of “dried potato flakes.” 

GrubGrade:  7.50/10 (Good)

Price:  99 cents for a 1.85oz bag (Also available: Original, Sour Cream and Onion, Chedder and Sour Cream)

Herrs.com

Nutrition – Herr’s Barbecue Baked Potato Crisps

Serving Size (Per 1.85 oz bag): 1

Calories: 230

Total Fat: 5g

Saturated Fat: 1 g

Cholesterol: 0mg

Sodium: 630mg

Total Carbohydrates: 42g

Dietary Fiber: 4g

Sugars: 4 g

Protein: 4 g

Written by Adam, GrubGrade Contributor

Utah’s Burger Bar

I’ll admit it; I’m a sucker for anything on Food Network’s Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives. From small town bars featuring only a handful of tables to well-known and nostalgic looking American diners, Food Network’s latest hit is sure to satisfy both the appetites and curiosity of travelers from the east coast, west coast, and everywhere in between. And while it’s true that I may not share host Guy Fieri‘s appetite for a seemingly endless array of fried regional specialties, overstuffed south-of-the-border classics, or even such All-American standbys as biscuits and gravy, I nevertheless try to follow in his footsteps whenever possible.

Recently I had one such opportunity, as a spring break ski trip took me just north of Salt Lake City, Utah to the suburb of Roy. Literally situated beneath the backdrop of roaring F-18 fighter jets from nearby Hill Air Force base, the Burger Bar has a serious reputation amongst local servicemen and women (as well as college students from nearby Weber State) for juicy beef burgers, can’t-miss fries, and classic milk shakes which are sure to please any day of the week or hour of the day.

Yet I didn’t detour the hour from Salt Lake just to get just any burger. In fact, I came specifically to try one of the Bar’s signature specialties. Ever since I had seen the road-side restaurant featured on “Triple D” I knew I had wanted one of their Elk Burgers. A longtime fan of Elk’s similarly lean cousin the Bison, I nevertheless couldn’t remember ever having a burger made from elk despite my longtime practice of ordering Bison burgers every chance I’ve had. This being the case I approached the Burger Bar with a good deal of excitement, a feeling only reinforced when I pulled up on an overcast afternoon.

My first impressions of the place was that it had a very expansive menu for its size. Not only can you get all kinds of beef burgers, but you can also get hot dogs, chicken sandwiches (breaded or grilled), steak sandwiches, fish sandwiches, ‘exotic’ meats like Bison or Elk, as well as a whole compliment of shakes, malts, and freezes. Heck, they even have non-fat frozen yogurt, BBQ sandwiches, veggie burgers, and chili if you’re game.

Intrigued as I was, I came for the Elk and was resolute to stick to my choice as I approached the window. One thing to mention is that the burgers are not cooked to order.  In fact, you have to specify “no sauce” if you want to skip the fry sauce, which as Guy points out on his show is actually akin to Thousand Island salad dressing. Having specified that I wanted only the standard lettuce and tomato on my burger, I anxiously awaited its arrival despite being somewhat weary of not getting to specify the degree of doneness to the lady at the window.

The wait seemed to take forever, and it does not help that there is no indoor seating at the Burger Bar or that the staff seemed exceptionally slow in filling my family’s order. Once the food arrived however all was forgotten, as my Elk Burger came dressed in a firm but soft potato bun with tomatoes and shredded lettuce. A healthy dose of ketchup came with the meal in the form of those tiny plastic containers everyone loves, as did extra “fry sauce” and a side order of crispy french fries which comes with your order.

So how did the burger taste exactly? And was my trip to Roy a success? Once more, could the ‘lean and mean’ Elk really matchup to the fattier beef burger as the segment on Triple D suggested? Not to worry, as I’ve got your review covered. Here are the essentials…

The Burger Bar: Elk Burger

Taste: 9.00/10. This was not a dry burger despite my worry, and it had a good “beefy” taste despite not being beef. It was somewhat bland on its own though, and depending on your tolerance for condiments may benefit from some fixings. The lettuce and tomato work well with it, as did my ketchup/mustard combo administered separately. I’m sure “fry sauce” probably makes it great if you’re into that sort of thing, but I’m not and still found the burger to really hit the spot. Personally I find most burgers (beef or otherwise) bland without ketchup and mustard, so relatively speaking this burger had great taste when handled the way I like it.

Value: 7.50/10. At $5.25 you’re getting a decent sized burger of a premium meat that you usually don’t get the opportunity to experience. The fact that you get fries and extra condiments along with that makes this a good deal. Other menu items seem to be well priced as well. Still, I can’t afford to be paying $5.25 for a burger everyday, especially when getting it without fries is not an option.

Nutrition: 8.00/10. Is the Elk burger really less than “two grams of fat” as described on the show? Well, considering your average-sized and horribly dry chicken breast has about that much fat I’d probably guess no, but undoubtedly elk is still leaner and a better healthy eating option than its ground beef counterpart. And with a great taste and good value what more could you want?

GrubGrade: I’m giving this burger an 8.50/10 overall. I really liked it, and if given the chance would easily buy it again. I thought it tasted just as good, if not better, than any classic beef burger you could get at a place like this, and definitely benefited from its status as an “exotic meat” attraction. The fact that it’s healthier than beef but still has that unmistakable “red meat taste” only makes it all the more awesome in my mind, as does its relative value. My only issue was with the lack of customization the customer has over its cooking, as well as the relatively long-wait on an otherwise slow day. Maybe it’s because I’ve been spoiled by sit-down style Bison Burgers which typically come medium, but I just felt like the burger could have gone from “great” to “freaking amazing” if cooked differently. That and it would benefit from char-grilling as opposed to being cooked over a flattop.

If you’re not feeling too adventurous, the menu is big enough to cater to those looking for something less exotic.  If you’re up for a challenge, take a shot at the huge burger called simply “Big Ben”.  The Burger Bar is a must see whenever you’re around Salt Lake City, with the restaurant’s Elk burger making my short list of foods to try while in Utah.  

Check them out:

5291 S 1900 W
Roy, UT 84067
(801) 825-8961