2305 Rockland
Centre Rockland
Montreal, Quebec
Bus: STM 100, 119, 179, 460
Visit: October 27, 2011
http://www.thaiexpress.ca/
Food courts have always been a large part of my 28 years. From Subway, to McDonalds, and as far as Tiki Ming, they have fed me when I had no clue to what I wanted. Actually, one of the smallest regrets I had from my time at McGill was the fact that I relied too heavily on food courts, especially when I was surrounded by so much. But, being a student with limited funds didn’t always make expanding my culinary experiences so easy. So, in the last few years, I’ve been making up for lost time.
Subway
417 Mont-Royal E.
Montreal, Quebec
Metro: Mont-Royal
Bus: STM 11, 30, 97, 427
Visit: September 24, 2011
http://www.subway.ca/
If you read yesterday’s post, you’ll notice that now did 2 different sandwiches on the same day within mere hours of each other. Lately, I’ve been looking for every kind of gimmick sandwich possible. Since Subway has been advertising their bacon steak sandwich hardcore, so that compelled me to make this another priority.
640 Sainte-Catherine O.
Montreal, Quebec
Metro: McGill
Bus: STM 15, 61, 168, 420
Visit: September 14, 2011
http://www.mcdonalds.ca/
My quest on this particular day had no intention of ending up the way it did. Recently, after reading a message board’s discussion thread, I learned that a particular McDonald’s location was offering the rather elusive lobster roll. Me, being the kind of person who likes to try fast food gimmicks, wanted to go after this really badly. After the McRib and the 1967 Burger, the lobster roll had to be the next thing on my list of trophies.
500 Sainte-Catherine O.
Montreal, Quebec
Metro: McGill
Bus: STM 15, 61, 168, 420
Visit: September 1, 2011
http://www.burgerking.ca
I am not a regular Burger King visitor or supporter, though I was happy when the creepy mascot was retired. As a matter a fact, they should be lucky if I make it there once a week. What caught my attention was a special limited time burger. Lately, I’ve been doing my best to try the unique things fast food restaurants try to use to drag in customers.
6501 Saint-Hubert
Montreal, Quebec
Metro: Beaubien
Bus: STM 13, 18, 30, 31, 160
Visit: August 11, 2011
http://www.mcdonalds.ca/
My motivation for coming to McDonald’s on this day came for more than one reason. The first reason being the fact that I haven’t done a bonus burger in about a year. The second reason was my primary goal for the visit. Recently, McDonald’s released a new Quebec-only burger entitled the 1967 burger. I first saw a poster for this on my way out of Gringo and Burger 107. That particular sighting didn’t really catch my interest, but an e-mail from Zeke, the man behind the Montreal Burger Report, solidified my need to try it. After doing some research and looking at the list of ingredients, I needed to have this burger.
150 Sainte-Catherine Ouest
Complex Desjardins
Montreal, Quebec
Metro: Place-des-Arts
Bus: STM 15, 55, 80, 125, 129, 150, 410, 427, 430, 435, 747, 935
Visit: June 29, 2011
Tiki Ming Website
I will be honest, this was never in the plans for the day. After about 30 minutes of wandering around aimlessly, past 2 in the afternoon, I came to this conclusion. To be frank, I’m really not good at picking restaurants without prior research. Having had “Chinese” two days prior, I was more or less curious at the “quality” of one particular item, as you’ll see. I’ve been here many times in the past, and the food is barely passable.
NOTE: This is an updated picture of the sign, I’m still not too wild about it.
Trio
General Tao/Veggies/Fried Rice/Egg Roll
Tried: June 29, 2011
The main reason I chose this combination was for the General Tao. The chicken itself wasn’t so fresh, it was over fried and there was no zing to it. The pieces may have been big, but they were hard to chew. The veggies didn’t scream out Chinese to me whatsoever. The rice and egg roll were probably the best out the whole thing. The rice tasted fine and was finished rather quickly. The one thing I didn’t like about the egg roll is the need to pour the sauce all over it. Something to dip it in would’ve been better.
1565 Cote-Vertu
Montreal, Quebec
Metro: Cote-Vertu
Bus: STM 17, 64, 70, 72, 121, 128, 170, 171, 174, 177, 196, 213, 215, 216, 225, 470, STL 144, 151, 902
Visit: June 28, 2011
http://www.mcdonalds.ca/
Everyone already knows what I think of McDonald’s, so I won’t bore you all about my thoughts all over again. What I will mention is that I wasn’t expecting to find myself here on this day, but unforeseen circumstances allowed me to test my curiosity.
There were two notable happenings during my visit to this location. The first thing that irritated me was the mother with her children and stroller who were ordering after me. My ice tea was waiting on the counter and this woman’s elbow was ever so close to knocking it down. She had no idea what she wanted and I was begging her (in my mind) to find another place to ponder. The second thing I noticed was the man, who only ordered a coffee, sitting in the dining area eating his non-McD’s lunch. I never knew they tolerated that.
McRib Trio
McRib Box
McRib
McRib
Tried: June 28, 2011
This was the reason for my reluctant visit to this fast food giant. The McRib is a gimmick sandwich. It contains onions, pickles, a lot of sauce, and rib-like meat. I have a vague memory of having this years ago, but for the purpose of this “review,” it’s like it’s the first time. The thing about the McRib that I liked was the size. It’s not too big, nor is it too small. That’s where the general positive thoughts ended. The taste didn’t leave anything lasting in the memory category and I only had the darn thing 4 hours ago. The sauce is just too messy and required excessive napkin use. The meat, at the end, tried coming out, so I had to change my biting strategies. That caused me to finish the sandwich earlier than I wanted to. The inclusion of pickles and onions didn’t really add to my enjoyment whatsoever. Overall, this is a gimmick, meant to be tried once in a blue moon. So, been there, done that, almost got the t-shirt.
French Fries
Do I really need to explain this to you?
The McAftermath
Kentucky Fried Chicken
3131 Cote-Vertu
Montreal, Quebec
Metro: Cote-Vertu
Bus: STM 17, 64, 70, 72, 121, 128, 170, 171, 174, 177, 196, 213, 215, 216, 225, 470, STL 144, 151, 902
Visit: October 23, 2010
http://www.kfc.ca/
I was passing by this location on one of my random bus excursions when I noticed a sign for the return of the Double Down. At that moment, I remember the neglected pictures I never posted of my encounter with this beast.
Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Lew has a long history with Kentucky Fried Chicken. Even since I was young, KFC was the pinnacle of Fast Food. But, as I grew into the Mr. Lew you “see” today, tastes change. As chicken pieces get smaller and smaller, Mr. Lew gets turned off. The taste changes and Mr. Lew leaves. Now, KFC has joined my list of former loves like Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonalds’, and Pepsi. It doesn’t help that the logo reminds me of someone.
Anticipation - Part 1
Anticipation - Part 2
Anticipation - Part 3
Double Down - Box
Double Down - Wrapper
Double Down - Peeking Out of the Wrapper
Double Down
Double Down
Tried: October 23, 2010
This concoction contains two chicken breasts, pepperjack cheese, secret sauce, and bacon.
To start, I’m going to be honest about what I was expecting before I ate this: death. The hype surrounding this ‘thing’. I’m always game for this kind of gimmick. The chicken itself was nice, but it overwhelmed everything else. Yes, there was cheese. Yes, there was sauce. Finally, yes, there was bacon, but I didn’t really notice. All this comes to is a gimmick, pure and simple. For the rest of that day, I was monitored closely by doctors, as I was fearing a heart attack.
705 Sainte-Catherine O.
Eaton Center
Montreal, Quebec
Metro: McGill
Bus: STM 15, 24, 61, 107, 125, 168, 420, 715
Visit: June 14, 2011
http://www.subway.ca/
I know what you’re thinking, why Subway. I’ll tell you why. Subway has been my go-to “fast food” restaurant since at least 2000. I have rarely ever been disappointed by my many visits to this place.
Trio
Wrapped Sub
Turkey Sub
Tried: June 14, 2011
This sub contains lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, olives, cheddar, and turkey all on fine herb cheese baked bread with house sauce.
This is my optimal choice when I order at Subway. I was devastated when they no longer had the Italian Special bread, but I quickly came to know the fine herb bread. This is one of the few times a year when I eat turkey. I think, for me, it’s the only tolerable way to put turkey in my mouth. At one point in my life, the 12 inch sub was just enough for the large person like me. But, thanks to some recent weight loss, the amount of food in this sub was now too much for me. But, I’ll say, the taste always keeps me happy. I know Subway isn’t everyone’s taste, but it’s mine.
Turkey Sub (Half)
Ice Tea
Why not?
Cookies in Package
Double Chocolate Cookies
705 Sainte-Catherine O.
Eaton Center
Montreal, Quebec
Metro: McGill
Bus: STM 15, 24, 61, 107, 125, 168, 420, 715
Visit: August 12, 2010
www.burgerking.ca
Burger King is one of the major fast food chains in the world today. Despite writing that, I have hardly ever been. On this faithful day in August 2010, I decided to try my hand at ordering at Burger King for myself.
BK Stacker Trio
BK Stacker - Wrapped
BK Stacker
This burger contains Stacker sauce, cheese, and bacon.
This burger is much like all other fast food burgers, a quick fix. It may taste okay, but it’s not something to recommend to others. The tiny size of this burger surprised me a bit as something called Stacker should be bigger, in my opinion.
