Classics in Fast Food and the thin Burger Patty

After I have reviewed [the agony at] Wings 'n Things, I was just hungry to get the right fast food experience.
You know - sometimes it is not about having the best quality available, but just to experience the right [and accustomed] taste profiles.

Burgers are very special for me. When I was young [this might be 3 decades or so back - I know, that you would never guessed, that I am that old...] McDonalds fast food restaurants were not everywhere seen in Germany. There were still the styrofoam boxes, the better burger came in - and my parents kept me on very low supply of fast food, knowing that these are not the nutritions I would need to grow up strong.
Anyway - there is a typical taste, which I connect to a proper burger. Others might have different expectations. However for me the typical gourmet burgers are not real burgers for me. They might be tasty, they might be even delicious and yes, sometimes they might be of a better quality - but they don't shout burger to me.

So today on the [not so] long way from Dubai to Abu Dhabi I treated myself with a cheese burger meal and some chicken nuggets. Lets face it - the cheese of McDonalds cannot be seen anything else than horrible. Fake. Cheese. Not. Worth. To. Be. Called. Cheese.
But overall you get a nice, soft, juicy and tasty parcel which is touching your memories - in a good way. Chicken nuggets are working very similar with me. I tried a lot of different ones- but I never encountered better nuggets of McD. Please don't misunderstand me - always better are "flaky" real chicken tenders [oh yeah, BonChons - or Kim Chikin how it is nowadays called]. But the formed chicken pieces, we are knowing as nuggets, are the best in McD. Yes - hands down. Usually I don't like formed meat. It taste cardboardy and artificial - except of Donalds nuggets!
And then the sweet, smoky, thick and super tasty bbq sauce - and the tangy mustard dip...

But lets go to the dark side of the golden bows. How dare can they be, to charge more [and extra] for their artificial cheese? I never understood this. McDonalds - if you read this: Please offer a real cheese option. I am willing to pay extra. Really. Swiss or cheddar - it doesn't matter. But real, please!

Enough of it. Enough of the biggest fast food chain [or is it the second biggest?].
Back to the burger.

Fact is, that very few other companies, which are clearly upscale [yes Wendy's, Burger King etc all make also burgers, which are similar] do the "right" burger. The patties become too big. The bread becomes too bready. And the vegetables too veggie.
The triumvirate I know, which are clearly better than Mac - but still hitting the same soft spots in my gourmand feelings is:

• Shake Shack
• Fat Burger
• Johnny Rockets

And in exactly this order!

I read quite a lot of reviews, where reviewers criticized Shake Shack. Because the buns are too soft; because the patties are too thin. But this is exactly, why it is so close to my heart. I love you Shake Shack. No - lets not make kiddies - otherwise I had to eat them all...

Fat Burger features also soft buns and amazing tender beef. Sometimes the beef patty falls apart. But this is ok. We are under friends.

Johnny Rockets - I like the 2 above more than you, but you still have a very soft spot in my heart - especially if I combine one of your nice burgers with your awesome, luscious and forbidden peanut butter shakes.

Well... I am hungry again...

Wings 'n Things

When I have seen the not yet open fast food restaurant Wings 'n Things in the Mushriff mall in Abu Dhabi, I thought it will be a very good idea to go there.
Who doesn't love messy, hot and delicious chicken wings - and who could make this dish better, than an outlet which dedicates its name to it?

Well, it came other than expected.

So yesterday I visited the mall again and found Wings 'n Things open. The restaurant which features only a couple of tables and the bar counter makes an attractive and clean impression. Everything is white, blue and red - time will tell, if this design wil stand the test of time and will look as clean and attractive in a couple of months or years.

The first point which surprises is, that they not only feature on poultry pinions - they have different burgers, wraps, sandwiches, just other stuff. This might be strange - but as I was anyway excited about their main focus, I thought I was safe about any abominations of dishes, which were not their specialty.

So I "tried" to order some hot wings and chicken strips. "Tried" because the menu was a bit confusing - with pictures, yes, but I've confused the kids menu with the normal items and ordered a kids meal - including chicken strips, fries and a soft drink [which they didn't let me order - so they just opted for the more expensive strips only]. The staff was not really helpful to solve my confusion...

When I received the strips and wings but not the fries and drink I was already disappointed.
However when I started to eat the strips I was horrified. Cheap and miserable formed meat was on my tray. The deep frozen ones, you can buy in the supermarket. 4 pieces for 20 Dhs is a really expensive - given, that it is industrial garbage. The ranch dressing was also not very good [the portion was ok - but given, that it tasted really bad, this was not helping].
I was more optimistic for the wings. But I was again disappointed! Despite the fact, that it was mentioned on the menu, that the wings are not breaded, they were floured - crispy yes, but didn't had the blistered sexiness as your well made buffalo wings. Also they didn't tasted very well - maybe cheap hot sauce? The wings themselves were rather big - but not overall fleshy - awkwardly moist inside [a guess they were slightly undercooked].

And by the way - blue cheese dip was not available - c'mon - in a place which is called Wings 'n Things??

Overall the only pleasant thing on my tray were each two big sticks of celery and carrot.
Pleasant, but not good enough for AED 50 [for 2 menu items].

WOW or MEH:                  Meh
Ambiance:                           7
Value for Money [1-10]:     2
Deliciousness [1-10]:           2
Staff Helpfulness [1-10]:     3
Going back:                         No
Overall Score:                      2

Verdict: Wings 'n Things  is a concept with a huge potential of deliciousness. Whoever tried good made Buffalo wings knows about the finger licking qualities.
However they are falling short on quality and an inadequate pricing policy. Other than the overall look and feel of the outlet, it seems not in any instance better as your usual cheap cafeteria.
Don't go! Even the chicken nuggets of MacDonalds [in the same food court in the mall] or the chicken pieces of the also quality struggling KFC are much better.

Welcome

Welcome to D hate bad food!

Since quite some time, I do have my blog www.opinionated-alchemist.com - but there I am reviewing and discussing all topics, which might occur around the bar and beverage service.

I am a "foodie" and I really like good food - and also hate bad food.

As recently as yesterday, I had a very bad meal in Abu Dhabi at Wings n' Things - and had subsequently the idea for this blog.
Not only bad things will be posted here - but also great meals and even some recipes.

I do hope, that you will have some fun in reading this - please take it all with a grain of salt.
And I would appreciate all kind of feedback and comments - like news, there is nothing such as a bad comment!

Enjoy!

Dominik MJ