Fast Food Critic - Reviews, News and Nutrition Information about Fast Food.

And… FastFoodCritic gets a fresh start.

First up, the angry McNugget Lady — Sometimes you just need some Chicken McNuggets, and the hell with anybody or anything that gets in your way. That was the case with the young woman you see pictured at left. She stopped at a McDonald’s in Toledo, Ohio, requesting Chicken McNuggets, and when the staff informed her they were only serving ‘breakfast’ during those morning hours, she went nuts. She reached into the drive-thru window and punched one employee in the mouth, and then began swinging at the manager who approached. Eventually she also punched thru the glass window.

Twenty-four-year-old Melodi Dushane was treated at a local hospital for injuries, and then sent directly to jail. She is being charged with felony vandalism. There is no word yet on possible assault charges for her acts of violence against the employees, but the woman has been ordered to stay away from that McDonald’s location.

And on that crazy note, this will be my final post as FFC Editor. Due to health problems and personal issues, I was regrettably forced to leave the site without updates over the past 11 months. The good news is that I’m doing better, and this project will move forward because I’m passing the fast-food torch to my friend Stevie. I will be going in a different direction with my life now, and will not be involved with the site anymore. I want to thank everyone who visited FFC in 2008 and 2009, and apologize for my absence. I hope you will support Stevie as he moves forward with the next chapter of FastFoodCritic. — Timothy

Please Note: It’s going to take a few days to make the changes here, including email addresses, so it’s best you wait until Stevie posts an update to contact him. Please be patient as he gets comfortable in his new surroundings. There may be some changes on the site, possibly ‘errors’, but all will be smoothed out soon.

The next review will be #100. A real milestone for this humble little site. All three FFC editors will be participating in number 100, sitting down with five of the industry’s cheapest cheeseburgers and picking the best burger for a buck. Thank you to all the readers who visited us in 2008. It’s a good feeling to know that you enjoy and support what we’re doing here. We look forward to bringing you the next 100 in 2009.

Hello all, I’m posting from out of town, at my Dad’s house. We’ve had some difficult family times the past 2 weeks, and between my regular full-time job (outside FFC), constant travel back-and-forth to be with family, and stress… I simply have not had the time and energy to post, or update the FFC site. And for a while, personal things were so bad, I could not really even think about it. Furthermore, neither John or Ryan had access to my webmaster/editor controls so they couldn’t do anything. I won’t let that happen again, and will modify the control panel to give them access. I should have done that before. I suppose I’ve been reluctant to let go of my control.

Anyway… I will be home by Saturday and get busy catching up over the weekend. There’s a lot of great things coming ahead at FFC, including new digital cameras for both John and Ryan, which will improve the food photography in our reviews. We’ve got an awesome interview with an Internet foodie legend. And, we’re starting a forum, where readers can post about food, including your own reviews!

Please keep in mind, this is not our “job”. We all have full-time jobs, families and daily responsibilities outside FFC. We are here because we have a passion for this fast food project, and we believe what we’re doing is good and real. We can make a difference. But we’ve not reached the point where we make money from advertising, so the reality is I can’t afford to take more time away yet. Hopefully soon.

Thank you to every FFC reader. It’s an honor and a thrill that so many people have enjoyed what we’ve done so far. I apologize for the unplanned interruption in activity. We shall return to regular fast-food fun on Wednesday, December 10th.

Below is a photograph of something Ryan recently ate for dinner. This weekend we’ll be publishing his review, but in the meantime can you guess what it is?

*UPDATE* — WE HAVE A WINNER. She posted the “exact” correct answer. That’s a Chicken Strip from Chick-fil-A, with new “Chick-fil-A Sauce”.

Congratulations to Katie. That was fast! It was barely 20 minutes after I posted the photo. I’m impressed. You really know your fast food. I better make the photo a bit harder next time. More abstract, or disguised. Something. Ha!

And for those wondering, the actual name of the new dipping sauce is indeed simply “Chick-fil-A Sauce”, but to give you an idea of how it tastes… it’s a Smoky Mustard base with BBQ flavor blended in. Interesting stuff.

Guess what this is — win $25 fast food at any restaurant of your choice.

Note: In the case of duplicate type guesses that are all correct…

Example Guess #1: Fried Potato.

Example Guess #2: Fried Potato with Lemon Butter.

Example Guess #3: Fried Potato with Lemon Butter from GirlyBurger.

Assuming the item reviewed at FFC is indeed the Fried Potato from the GirlyBurger chain, Example # 3 would win, because it’s provides more details. In the case of exact duplicates, the first one posted wins. If you browse the other comments before you post, it will prevent that from happening. Make your guess as accurate as possible, with as much information as you can. ONE guess per person, please.

Whoever’s guess is the closest — will receive a $25 gift card to their favorite fast-food restaurant. If your favorite chain doesn’t sell gift cards or certificates, or if you simply prefer cash-money, we can send a check, money order or PayPal. Your choice!

CONTEST OVER, We have a WINNER. See the Comments section for details.

Hello everyone, please help me welcome Ryan, the newest member of the FFC Team. Ryan is currently living the suburban life in the small state of Maryland. Among his favorite fast-food establishments are Chick-fil-A, Chipotle, Roy Rogers and Arby’s. He enjoys watching and playing sports, especially football and hockey. He’s always listening to music of all different types. He also likes photography. Ryan has been a regular reader of FFC for a while, and wanted to help the site grow. He hopes to get his own site off the ground one day, specializing in more local “hole in the wall” type places. Recently he said to me…“Nothing better than finding a non-chain place that barely advertises but serves the best BBQ chicken brick oven pizza around.”

Ladies and Gentlemen, as we continue to move forward, please help me welcome the newest contributor to the site and member of the FFC team — Philip Given

Philip currently lives in Pennsylvania, spent most of his childhood in South Carolina where he acquired a fondness for Bojangle’s, Popeye’s, Checker’s hamburgers, and all things Southern Fried. Philip recently left the hotel business and took a job as manager for a regional pizza chain, a career change he hopes will aid him in owning his own restaurant one day. In his spare time he posts snarky comments on various Internet blogs, listens to music, and says Burger King is superior to McDonald’s.

It’s going to be a great week! Two new FFC reviewers are joining immediately, with another one to follow very soon. The fast food scene is too big for one person to cover, and I needed some help. The people coming on board will give readers more opinions and different perspectives on these speedy meals we consume. They will help take the site to the next level, and I’m proud to have them join me. Please welcome them.

Al Hunter lives with his family, three cats, and Sasha the Siberian Husky, in north suburban Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His combined interests in food and information led to early development of a recipe database for diskette based desktop computers that encouraged sharing of food ideas among a group of like minded friends. A need to understand what it meant to take responsibility for eating meat led into a decades long relationship with a rural Ontario hunting community. As life raced by he found himself working on the technological cutting edge of the packaged goods business and then supermarket retail online sales and marketing. He now specializes in search engine optimization support for small business websites but spends as much time as possible cooking, eating, photographing, and writing about his many food adventures. You can find his ’slow food’ stories at: Torontovore.ca

Wendi-Jane is a vegetarian (woah, suddenly the FFC crowd goes silent) but she’s not against killing for food. She just doesn’t want to put meat in her mouth. She loves cats. She still enjoys wearing leather (insert cracking whip sound) and is not a vigilante about animal rights issues. She insists her diet is just as normal as anyone else, and she stops at many of the same restaurants we do. She simply chooses to substitute the processed meat products with plant-based options. During a recent conversation she told me — “I’m here to cast a critical eye on the vegetarian options available at fast food chains, and trust me, there will be blood”. — As you can see, Wendi is not shy about sharing her thoughts. I can also tell you she’s one of the nicest, most sincere, positive-energy people I’ve met since starting this site. She’s currently working in the music industry, in a position that would make rock ‘n roll fans jealous. The details shall remain private for the moment, but expect an update in the future. Like Al, Wendi is also from Canada. Finally, let me say, if we were all condiments, I would be Mustard or Ketchup, and Wendi would be Hot Sauce! Can you dig it?

In case you missed it, John came on board two weeks ago, and now with Al and Wendi joining, that makes FFC a Team. I’m picky about who joins the site. I’m not just interested in good writers, but in good people. These folks have impressed me with their character, as much as their food reviewing skills. They’re the type of individuals I’m proud to call friends, in addition to being contributors to the site.

Fast Food Critic’s focus has been the USA until this point, but now Canada will have a presence too. I also hope to find volunteers in other countries like Japan, China, India, anywhere the major ‘brands’ are located. The site’s ‘main’ focus will stay on the USA, but I feel it’s important to also include other cultures, and I want to give FFC readers ‘variety’. And, I personally want to see what’s going on around the world myself.

“Arby’s makes me angry. I’ve seen posters and advertisements for new cheddar curly fries everywhere in my town. I love the old curly fries but was pumped about a new flavor. It’s not a new flavor. They just give you a small cup of cheese to dip. The fries are the exact same curly fries. This is stupid. They make it sound like new fries but it’s nothing but a cup of cheese they already put on sandwiches, served on the side. This is false advertising. You should warn people about it. I’m mad at Arby’s and this really sucks.” – Matt S. from Garfield Heights, Ohio.

Matt, your message hits close to home because I encountered the same situation two years ago. This is not a new item, but it comes and goes from the Arby’s menu. Anyway, I went there expecting the fries themselves to be cheddar flavored. When I opened my bag to find the standard curly fries with a tiny container of warm cheese, it was a surprise. Indeed they simply added a plastic cup of melted cheddar and renamed the product. I don’t believe it’s false advertising, just a bit confusing.

Arby’s is great, but this particluar product campaign misses the mark in my opinion. Thanks for writing. Now FFC readers will be better informed.

Up to this point, FFC has been a one-man show, however it’s time I bring in some help. Not only because I’ve gained 20 pounds over the last 5 months from eating and reviewing so much food, but also because I want to give readers more content, and a different perspective on things. I’m happy and proud to announce John Cauley is coming on board to participate in this fast food adventure. Please join me in welcoming him.

John works nights as a radio personality at WZZO-FM in Allentown, PA. He also works behind the scenes at the station, writing and producing commercials, and is involved with various creative services. He’s been a fast food eater since college, and is always eager to try the latest products, and not shy about giving his opinion on them. Since graduating a few years ago, he’s cut back on the amount of fast food he consumes, but still hits a drive-thru at least once a week. He first review is coming soon.

My apologies for the post earlier today. I’m NOT closing FFC.

I’m having a bad week, and I let some things get under my skin. I’m going to take a couple days off from posting, to regroup, refresh, and work on some coding and other stuff on the technical side of the site that I’ve fallen behind on. I will be back posting and reviewing again within a few days, stronger and better than ever.

My sincere gratitude to those who’ve sent and posted messages of support. I have deleted my rant on the fast food industry. Perhaps I will re-post and expand on those thoughts at another time, but for now I just want to move on and forget it.