Friday, October 07, 2005

Sonic ciabatta samwich

Hnh. Tell me if this new item from Sonic gives you a familiar feeling. "For a unique taste w/ a little Italian flair, try the new Tuscan grilled chicken sandwich. Tender chicken breast w/ asiago cheese, lettuce&tomato, and pesto mayo served on our new toasted ciabatta bread. ONLY at Sonic." OK, Sonic is a half-decent fast-food place. And ciabatta is def a major step up from gross-out "regional specialties" such as Texas toast. So, all good there. But hmm, haven’t we seen this ciabatta thing somewhere else already?

27 Comments:

At October 07, 2005 9:55 AM, Blogger Kirk said...

While the upscale aspirations of this new Sonic item are interesting, I tried this sandwich a few nights ago, and it is awful.

The "ciabatta" is vaguely kaiser-like, but otherwise very much a hamburger roll. The "asiago" tasted as bland as muenster. The "pesto" was ... well, not like any other pesto I have ever eaten. Oh, and if the chicken breast was grilled, it was at least several hours before I ordered it and it was reheated in a microwave.

It is as "Tuscan" as a hamburger is "German."

 
At October 07, 2005 10:09 AM, Blogger TG said...

yay for kirk and his first-hand testimony! comments don't get much better than that. plus, thank you for saving me the indignity of having to try it.

i know there are dissenters but i still think that, for a fast-food place, good ol' JITB has it goin on

 
At October 07, 2005 10:32 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sonic. Ba Humbug

 
At October 07, 2005 11:04 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sonic has good drinks and shakes. I skip the food.

 
At October 07, 2005 11:27 AM, Blogger Tom Cruise said...

Sorry I haven't been around. I've been so confused the past couple of days. Like, I found out I have something called "sperm." I suppose that's cause for celebration, but apparently it has disasterous effects. Does anybody have a Prozac I can take, and the number to a good plasic surgeo ... i mean abortionist?

 
At October 07, 2005 12:26 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

tg: thanks for the eyewitness to history link. i could spend all day on it. i have a book -- misplaced, sadly -- that is at least 30 years old, and that has eyewitness accounts of tragic and historic events thru the ages, from pompeii and the black hole of calcutta to the fire-bombing of dresdon and the nazi war criminal trials and executions. some of the later accounts were written by journalists, but many were by ordinary people it is the kind of book you can read thru, then turn back to the front and start over. i'd like to read it again, but haven't seen it in several years and can't remember the name. thought it might be same as your web site link, but amazon search turned up what it apparently a different book. maybe twisted or some other journalist blogger knows the book. it is not hardback, but a very thick paperback with extra large pages.

 
At October 07, 2005 12:28 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I liked the link to the beer coaster that knows when your mug is half full. There was a reference in it to an "expert pub goer." That would be me. Do you know, can I make money at it?

 
At October 07, 2005 12:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

thank you ms.ery, i was trying to go w/ "smarter" links today, ppreciate you noticing. i promise to return to the usual glib and shallow soon. d.b., i'll let you know about the money-making opps in pub-going just as soon as i figure out a way to reap profits from blogging. m.b., i love sonic's drinks, too! esp the cherry lime rickey

 
At October 07, 2005 12:53 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love the #2 Ham-Beeger and TOTS..

 
At October 07, 2005 1:03 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Everyone under 50, it seems, prefers tater tots to french fries. Is it because when both are cooked properly, the tots are greasier?

 
At October 07, 2005 1:12 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

i did takeout from the pei wei at preston-forest yesterday. both items tried, hot and sour soup and pot stickers, were overdone: the soup thick and cloyingly rich with no fresh accents at all, the pot sticker deepfried to rock crispness with a giant pork ball inside. however, i was very impressed with the packaging of the order. the soup was in a round cardboard box inside a sealed baggie. the pot stickers were in a paper carton. all the extras including an extra large napkin were included.

 
At October 07, 2005 1:14 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think Tater Tots' popularity can be attributed to the appeal of bite-sized things you can pop in your mouth.

 
At October 07, 2005 1:18 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

jess, at pei wei, i always follow the advice of my pal stacy and get the tofu+veg teriyaki bowl. i'm no huge fan of teriyaki but the tofu is "pressed" so it's very firm and meaty. the vegs include nice crisp sugar-snap peas which are hard to come by. they sprinkle it all w/ a combo of light & dark sesame seeds, very pretty. and you can get it with brown rice. some of the other dishes i haven't loved as much.

 
At October 07, 2005 3:01 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't like Tots, but I do like Pei Wei.

 
At October 07, 2005 3:40 PM, Blogger Tom Cruise said...

I don't like tots either. Nobody should have them, and infants are even worse. It's a psychologically unsound practice.

 
At October 07, 2005 9:56 PM, Blogger Kirk said...

Pei Wei is to Chinese food as Tuscan Chicken Ciabatta is to Italian food. Or as Spam(r) is to paté.

The fact that P.F. Chang can get away with selling the dreck that is sold at Pei Wei (and at PFC, for that matter) is a great example of H.L. Mencken's maxim: "Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public."

 
At October 08, 2005 12:53 AM, Blogger DPG said...

1) Wendy's sells the EXACT same sandwich in FL; I'll be it's premade and shipped 'fridged to both from some vendor. I'd get mad...but it's sadly pretty normal in the QSR (quick serve rest.) biz...

2) In PFC/Pei-Wei news, PF's has a new concept (name TBD) that is supposed to bring Japenese fare to the masses just as PFC brought Chinese (their press release, not mine). So, be on the lookout for a $50/2 people, upscale Japanese restaurant that looks startlingly like PF's and has food that, while not Japanese, might be what mid-America thinks Japanese food might look and taste like...

DPG

 
At October 08, 2005 11:52 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

TG: this pei wei and pfc talk reminds me that one of my favorite chinese restaurants is in EAST PLANO!! hsve you tried Mr. Wok on E. 14th St.? It has three menus: Chinese food for western tastes; Chinese food for Chinese tastes, and Chinese food as preferred by Japanese customers, of which it has many.

Mr. Kang, the owner-chef is related to the Nakamotos and was the original chef at Nakamoto in Plano; He is Chinese (as are the Nakamotos) but lived in japan for many years, hence the Chinese food for Japanese tastes menu.

Mr. Wok is modest but pleasant; prices are very reasonable.

 
At October 09, 2005 3:54 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

ms.ery, mr. wok is so close, i could wok to it. har har! wok-walk. this is a great tip for the plano guy who likes chinese and is sick of royal chopstix (across the st from mr. wok). maybe next time you visit mr. wok, you can drop by and i'll foam you up a hand-crafted latte

 
At October 10, 2005 1:27 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

TG: Be sure to try some of the dishes prepared for Japanese tastes. Also, Mr. Kang sometimes creates some unusual dishes. At lunch one time, I had a delicious stir-fry featuring chayote squash.

 
At October 10, 2005 2:34 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well don't give up the day job, TG.

 
At October 10, 2005 3:08 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

dean has never had one of my lattes (and never will, i dare say!). i've made myself a latte every morning (w/ the exception of holidays) since acquiring my first stove-top espresso maker and accompanying milk foamer in 1987. be careful, oh skeptical one!

 
At October 10, 2005 3:20 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I was talking about the joke, TG

 
At October 10, 2005 3:33 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

yeah i know. but i always love the opportunity to go off on a huff. plus the chance to brag about my latte prowess. that's a win-win, and i owe it all to you

 
At October 10, 2005 3:37 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Okay, now you've done it. How about a latte off at TG's? It could be NYCE's first, official event. Who's in?

 
At October 10, 2005 3:43 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

TG, no blog item today?

 
At October 10, 2005 4:57 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

good guess, m.b. i have potential blog items galore ... but i got some stories that are due

 

Post a Comment

<< Home