TACO BELL

Where: Taco Bell, many locations

Who Went: Chelsey, Owen & Devynne

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Cool Ranch Doritos Taco

What It Cost: Like $2?

What We Thought:

I've really not been the biggest fan of Taco Bell for most of my life (too many post-chalupa stomachaches after tennis matches...), but I had to try their newest concoction - the taco that is made with Doritos for the shell. Sounds amazing, right? I was disappointed when the first one they came out with was the classic nacho cheese flavor -- everyone knows Cool Ranch is the BEST. So obviously when Cool Ranch come on the block, I had to try it. Yeah, the Taco Bell meat is still gross, the lettuce still horribly pale, the cheese still plasticy, and sadly there was nothing an awesome giant Dorito could do about it.

What You Should Do: Pretend this never happened, and don't get sucked into the wonderful marketing and dreams of what could have been. It's still Taco Bell and it's still gross.

Chick-fil-A

Where: Chick-fil-A, 28 South State, Salt Lake City (multiple locations, including American Fork) 

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 1

What We Ordered: Spicy Chicken Sandwich and Chicken Nuggets

What It Cost: 

What We Thought: $7.38

I've never been to Chick-fil-A, but it seems to be one of those Utah favorites (like Cafe Rio) that everyone seems to love but no one seems to be able to explain. "Their nuggets are just...so good!!!" I've heard tons of people say, so I needed to find out for myself what all this chicken madness was about. 

Owen was in a spicy mood, so he went for the spicy chicken sandwich. We originally tried their food at the food court at City Creek center, so their menu wasn't the most detailed and we didn't have time to ask about all the sandwich specifics. But we definitely weren't expecting to find this inside....

A hunk of fried meat and two sad pickles?? Really? For a sandwich that cost almost $5, I was at least hoping for a little frill of lettuce and tomatoes, maybe some sauce? Nope. This sandwich was as dry as a Utah winter, and was certainly no better (and much less interesting) than a spicy chicken sandwich at Wendy's. We could have paid more and upgraded for a more well-rounded sandwich apparently, but I didn't feel like nearly doubling the price of my sandwich for what I already expected to come.

Chick-fil-A is known for their special sauces, so of course we had to try them all. We got the buffalo sauce, honey mustard, barbecue sauce, and house special sauce. The first three were all about what you'd expect, nothing too special. And I'm pretty sure the house sauce is just honey mustard sauce mixed with mayonnaise or something to make it creamier. It was good, but would I ever go there just for the sauce? No.

Behold, the famed and beloved chicken nuggets. There are probably hundreds of copycat recipes on Pinterest for this, with ingredients ranging from pickle juice to paprika, so I figured they were kind of a big deal. And while they were certainly more tender and flavorful than your typical take-out chicken nuggets, they just didn't do it for me!

What You Should Do: Chick-fil-A seems to have a really popular following out there, so I'm probably going to be hated for this, but I wouldn't recommend going out of your way for this. To me, their food wasn't much better than any other more-accessible fast food joint, and it was much more overpriced for the sad food we received! Maybe I just need to eat there more often to get the Chick-fil-A craze, but I think I'll save my money and time.

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In-N-Out Burger

Where: In-N-Out Burger, 350 E University Parkway, Orem

Who Went: Chelsey & Family, Chelsey and Owen

Number of Visits: 3

What We Ordered: Regular, Animal Style and Protein Style Cheeseburger, Regular and Animal Style Fries, Chocolate Milkshake


What It Cost: Around $10-15 for 2 people


What We Thought: 


Here is me on my very first ever trip to In-N-Out burger --

Don't judge me too much (I'm the one with the burger, I know, my sister and I look SO similar...), I was only 17. It was on a family trip to Disneyland, and it was back when it was really cool to go to In-N-Out burger (unless you live in California or something), and I even bought a shirt and everything. Honestly, I don't remember the food from when I went there, all I remember is that I felt super awesome about the visit.

Fast forward to today...In-N-Out burger is now found practically on every street corner, and despite their speedy service, has drive-through lines that extend all around the parking lot (even on Sundays! Here in Utah!), and pretty much everyone has been there at least once.

Sadly, I just can't hop on the In-N-Out bandwagon anymore. Sure they are cheaper than a lot of other burger places, but I don't think that they are all that great. The coolest part about In-N-Out used to be their "secret menu" - if you knew the lingo, you could order options that didn't appear on the main menu. But now they've posted the not-so-secret menu onto their website, and everyone can get their food Animal or Protein style without having to do any inside work. Lame.

snagged from the In-N-Out website

 There are no more secrets, no more special trips needed, and really, no more excitement for me with this place. The burgers are average, the shakes are better than normal (but with super limited flavor options), and the fries are just weird. They taste too starchy and stiff, and even if you order them with cheese (nasty nacho cheese, nothing close to JCW's) or cheese and grilled onions, they simply are not the greatest fries of all time. If I'm going to totally blow my recommended calorie consumption for the day, I want to make it worth it.

What You Should Do: Go if you have to. But maybe try to make it something a little more special and travel to one of the original sites, some say the food is better than their newer chain locations. And if you're into the whole secret menu thing, try checking out some of the lists for Jamba Juice! I haven't found a super complete list yet (none of them have my favorite flavor, Berry Lime Sublime), but it's fun to look around and try new kinds that no one knows about!

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JCW's: The Burger Boys

Where: JCW's: The Burger Boys, 2230 N 369 W, Provo

Who Went: Chelsey & Owen

Number of Visits: 2

What We Ordered: Hawaiian Burger, Jalapeño Bacon Burger, Cheese Fries, Kit Kat Milkshake (other trip was just cheese fries and Almond Joy Milkshake)

What It Cost: $18.93

What We Thought:


I remember when I heard that they were tearing down the Training Table (located where JCW's is now), I was really devastated, not because it's a classic establishment, but because of the cheese fries. They were mine and Owen's first cheese fry experience together, and it was incredible. Something about fried potatoes and melted, greasy cheese is just the ultimate fatty indulgence to me.

Fortunately, when we went to JCW's for the first time, we were greeted with another option for cheese fries! Hallelujah! Obviously we ordered them, and we couldn't believe what we tasted...

They were even better than their predecessors.

These aren't your typical cheap-o fries with a little nacho cheese on top. No way. The fries are thick and rustic, with perfect crisp. And the cheese, oh the cheese. They use a mix of shredded cheeses and then melt them in some type of oven so that the fries remain perfect. There is a ton of cheese so Owen and I don't even have to fight over the best pieces, and it is an enormous portion size. These are amazing. I crave them like you wouldn't believe. Poor Owen. Whenever I am pregnant someday, he's going to have to deal with my demands for the craziest of food cravings...they are bad even now!

This is the "small" milkshake! Ha! Not small! Delicious and huge! The Kit Kat one actually wasn't my favorite flavor, but when we ordered the Almond Joy milkshake on our first trip, I was impressed by the amount of chocolate and coconut in the shake. This is how a milkshake should be (in my opinion). Thick and creamy, you have to spoon it out when you're starting your meal. Then by the end of your meal, you can grab a straw and slurp up the heavenly sweet milkshake remains. And it can easily be shared by two people. 10 out of 10 my friends. 

And then, the burgers. Owen and I were trying to figure out where our favorite burger places were, and Owen said that he's decided on JCW's! (my favorite will be coming soon, no worries :) I love the buns here -- with a little cracked wheat on top, you can almost pretend like there is something healthy and wholesome about this burger. The toppings are fabulous -- I loved my grilled pineapple, and they actually put on enough ham that I could taste it! Amazing! I am not sure if the cheese is "real," but it actually melted on the burger. Yay.

Look at all that bacon. Wow. And the jalepeños were pickled, not fresh, so they were SPICY! This may be Owen's favorite burger of all time. The burger itself wasn't especially thick, but it was flavorful and pretty moist.

Honestly, we were both so full after inhaling the cheese fries and a third of our milkshake, that we could only eat a few bites of our burgers! We ended up taking them home, even though I wasn't sure if they would make very palatable leftovers. But if you heat up the burgers over a low heat (250 degrees-ish), then the bun remains crispy and it was actually pretty good!

What You Should Do: Go right now! A burger that actually tastes good for only $5! Oh yes. This is a wonderful thing. And please try the cheese fries. Or maybe you shouldn't, because then you'll be totally addicted like me...

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