Denverdave
03-17-2009, 07:23 PM
After our near disastrous foray in the world of ethnic cuisine last week (see GG review #1), this week the Guilty Gourmet has chosen a prime slice of pure, unadulterated Americana - the fast food burger.
The Guilty Gourmet dined at one of the prime choices for fast food aficionados, Carls Jr (also known as Hardees in some parts of the country). Carls Jr got their start many years ago in the heart of Los Angeles, birthplace to many other gourmet eating establishments such as McDonalds, Taco Bell, Del Taco, and of course In-N-Out Burger.
For our dining choices today, the Guilty Gourmet chose the latest and greatest on the Carls Jr menu, the Kentucky Bourbon Six Dollar Burger. The 'Six Dollar Burger' concept was launched at Carls Jr several years ago. The big idea is that their top of the line burgers were an equal to the premium burgers served at many gourmet burger establishments who charged six dollars for them. Today, however, it refers to the price of the burgers. The GG's Kentucky Bourbon Six Dollar Burger did in fact cost almost six dollars when tax was added on. Just for the burger, not for a combination meal.
Moving on to the burger itself. Carls Jr describes the burger thusly:
A Charbroiled, 100% Black Angus Beef Patty, Two Strips of Bacon, Pepperjack Cheese, Garlic-Pepper Onion Straws, Lettuce,
Tomato Slices and Kentucky Bourbon Glaze .
The first thing the GG noticed upon opening his burger was that the bacon was missing. It is very unwise to deprive the GG of bacon, especially when he is shredding - um - reviewing your product. As the GG ordered their food to-go, the bacon remained AWOL for the entire meal. Not a good first impression. But moving on. The Six Dollar Burger does come with a generously portioned Angus beef patty. The patty was barely warm and exhibited all the tender juiciness of plain wheat toast, but the potion was generous. The Garlic-Pepper Onion Straws are some kind of deep fried onion invention. Similar to an onion ring, but straight - more like an onion straight. It did, however, add a nice crunchiness to the burger - which was nice since the antipicated bacon crunchiness was absent. The Pepper-Jack cheese adds a nice slight bit of heat to the burger, and the 'entire-reason-for-the-existence-of-this-burger' Kentucky Bourbon sauce did have a very nice Southern sweetness to its flavor.
The Guilty Gourmet also ordered onion rings to compliment the burger. These are similar to the Garlic-Pepper onion straights found on the burger, except they are, in fact, rings. Ahhh....there is nothing in this world quite like biting into a great onion ring. The hot crunchiness of the deep fried coating giving way to the sweetness and bite of the cooked onion it encircles. The Carls Jr onion rings were, of course, nothing in the world like what I described above. There was, in fact, a deep fried coating with some semblance of taste surrounding something that looked vaguely like an onion, and may have in fact at one time actually been part of an onion. They simply lacked both the sweetness and bite one associates with onions. They simply lacked taste, period.
The GG also noticed that the nutritional information poster that is normally posted on the hallowed walls of the Carls Jr nearby was absent today. One assumes that too many customers glanced at the poster prior to eating and ran from the establishment to protect their cholesterol counts. However, a peek at the Carls Jr website reveals all the needed information. The Kentucky Bourbon Six Dollar Burger contains enough fat (49 grams) and calories (970) to feed 20 supermodels for a week. Add in the fat (28 grams) and calories (530) of the onion rings, and the GG is happy that this particular Carls Jr is within 5 minutes drive of a hospital emergency room.
In conclusion, the Guilty Gourmet happily recommends that Carls Jr investigate adding actual onions to their onion rings, and that the Kentucky Bourbon Six Dollar Burger, aside from being vastly overpriced, is a slight cut above the average fast food burger.
Overall Rating: 1 Spork up. (Please note their was a 1/2 spork penalty for the absence of bacon on the burger).
The Guilty Gourmet dined at one of the prime choices for fast food aficionados, Carls Jr (also known as Hardees in some parts of the country). Carls Jr got their start many years ago in the heart of Los Angeles, birthplace to many other gourmet eating establishments such as McDonalds, Taco Bell, Del Taco, and of course In-N-Out Burger.
For our dining choices today, the Guilty Gourmet chose the latest and greatest on the Carls Jr menu, the Kentucky Bourbon Six Dollar Burger. The 'Six Dollar Burger' concept was launched at Carls Jr several years ago. The big idea is that their top of the line burgers were an equal to the premium burgers served at many gourmet burger establishments who charged six dollars for them. Today, however, it refers to the price of the burgers. The GG's Kentucky Bourbon Six Dollar Burger did in fact cost almost six dollars when tax was added on. Just for the burger, not for a combination meal.
Moving on to the burger itself. Carls Jr describes the burger thusly:
A Charbroiled, 100% Black Angus Beef Patty, Two Strips of Bacon, Pepperjack Cheese, Garlic-Pepper Onion Straws, Lettuce,
Tomato Slices and Kentucky Bourbon Glaze .
The first thing the GG noticed upon opening his burger was that the bacon was missing. It is very unwise to deprive the GG of bacon, especially when he is shredding - um - reviewing your product. As the GG ordered their food to-go, the bacon remained AWOL for the entire meal. Not a good first impression. But moving on. The Six Dollar Burger does come with a generously portioned Angus beef patty. The patty was barely warm and exhibited all the tender juiciness of plain wheat toast, but the potion was generous. The Garlic-Pepper Onion Straws are some kind of deep fried onion invention. Similar to an onion ring, but straight - more like an onion straight. It did, however, add a nice crunchiness to the burger - which was nice since the antipicated bacon crunchiness was absent. The Pepper-Jack cheese adds a nice slight bit of heat to the burger, and the 'entire-reason-for-the-existence-of-this-burger' Kentucky Bourbon sauce did have a very nice Southern sweetness to its flavor.
The Guilty Gourmet also ordered onion rings to compliment the burger. These are similar to the Garlic-Pepper onion straights found on the burger, except they are, in fact, rings. Ahhh....there is nothing in this world quite like biting into a great onion ring. The hot crunchiness of the deep fried coating giving way to the sweetness and bite of the cooked onion it encircles. The Carls Jr onion rings were, of course, nothing in the world like what I described above. There was, in fact, a deep fried coating with some semblance of taste surrounding something that looked vaguely like an onion, and may have in fact at one time actually been part of an onion. They simply lacked both the sweetness and bite one associates with onions. They simply lacked taste, period.
The GG also noticed that the nutritional information poster that is normally posted on the hallowed walls of the Carls Jr nearby was absent today. One assumes that too many customers glanced at the poster prior to eating and ran from the establishment to protect their cholesterol counts. However, a peek at the Carls Jr website reveals all the needed information. The Kentucky Bourbon Six Dollar Burger contains enough fat (49 grams) and calories (970) to feed 20 supermodels for a week. Add in the fat (28 grams) and calories (530) of the onion rings, and the GG is happy that this particular Carls Jr is within 5 minutes drive of a hospital emergency room.
In conclusion, the Guilty Gourmet happily recommends that Carls Jr investigate adding actual onions to their onion rings, and that the Kentucky Bourbon Six Dollar Burger, aside from being vastly overpriced, is a slight cut above the average fast food burger.
Overall Rating: 1 Spork up. (Please note their was a 1/2 spork penalty for the absence of bacon on the burger).