Balance of Food

What is your favorite all-time breakfast?

From a journalism standpoint, we don't think highly of polls because they get easily misinterpreted ... unless, of course, they involve food. ABC News (can you imagine) did a poll of what people eat for breakfast. What they typically eat — not important. What their favorite breakfast of all time was — very important.

Some of the top combinations were peanut butter and banana sandwich; donut and Coca-Cola; fresh shrimp, scrambled eggs; cashew waffles; pork loin and cheese; liver and grits; pancakes with gravy; and cereal, Reese's Puffs, Cocoa Puffs, beer, and eggs.

Cold pizza gets eaten by 39 percent at some point of those polled. I appreciated that they quoted from the Christine Lavin song back in 1986:

"I want cold pizza for breakfast and a pinch 'o cold spaghetti will do; But there's nothin' in the world that I like better than eatin' cold pizza with you."

I have been a fan of Lavin and that song for about that long. Nice to see her get a mainstream mention. She's very funny and worth a listen. Every so often, she is featured on Dr. Demento.

As for me, the strangest breakfast: I eat spaghetti a lot so it's hard to count that. I have sat on several occasions in a Jack in the Box with its Sourdough burger, fries and a pop at 6:30 a.m. My favorite non-traditional breakfast is probably the Jack in the Box experience; but my favorite traditional breakfast would be Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls with the oodles of icing and about a pig's worth of bacon slices.

By the way, since we believe in disclosing poll info whenever possible, here we go: this ABC News poll was conducted by telephone May 11-15 among a random national sample of 1,000 adults. The results have a three-point error margin. Sampling, data collection and tabulation were done by TNS of Horsham, PA.

Please increase my calorie load

Bruce Horovitz in USA Today pointed out some of the gluttonous trends going on in fast food. These include:

Pizza Hut's new triple-cheese 3Cheese Stuffed Crust Pizza took in 20% of the chain's business within four days of introduction, according to the company.

Ruby Tuesday renamed its Colossal Burger — two half-pound burgers on a triple-decker bun — the Ultimate Colossal Burger to keep the grandiose names theme.

IHOP's Stuffed French Toast went from "limited-time" to full-time nationwide menu item. The toast is filled with sweetened cream cheese.

The PC times are just not happening in the fast food world. There will always be some room for salads and veggie burgers. But you have to keep the grease, salt, and fat a-coming.

State headed toward public school junk food ban

Lawmakers in the Connecticut state House recently voted 88-55 to pass a law banning soda and junk food in cafeterias, vending machines and school stores. The bill heads to the Senate next week where leaders expect it to pass.

Similar but weaker proposals have been introduced in at least 17 states this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Policies are on the books in a few states, such as Arkansas and California.

Advocates say Connecticut's ban would be the strongest because it is so broad, applying to all grades and all school sites where food is sold, especially high schools.

Needless to say, we will update this when it's official. I never understood why there was so much junk food in schools in the first place.

What does KFC stand for?

If you are of a certain age (think LP records), you know KFC stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken. Lately, KFC has just been meaningless initials. In its place, very unofficially, alternative phrases have been submitted, such as "Kentucky Fried Cadaver."

The company recently tried "Kitchen Fresh Chicken." Those old enough to remember "Kentucky Fried Chicken" know the product used to be freshly cooked. When I was a child, we had to wait for our meal. Now, you don't have to wait, but you wish you did.

Yum! Brands, owner of the restaurant chain, is changing some of the stores back to the old Kentucky Fried Chicken name and incorporating a fresher image of Colonel Sanders. The colonel is even wearing an apron now.

Even with the healthier mentality these days, KFC (or whatever) needs to be what it is good at doing, which could be really good tasting fried chicken with decent sides. In fact, the company is also testing dishes with Southern roots, such as candied yams, spicy gravy and sweet potato pie. The chain is also extending its popular line of chicken Snacker sandwiches to sausage.

Doing what made the real life Colonel Sanders successful would be a start, preferably a FRESH start. Begin with calling it what it was: Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Eating huge steak gets notice on Web

Want to get mentioned on the Web besides your own Web page? All you have to do is eat a 48 oz. Angus porterhouse steak at Shula's Steak House. The restaurant, named for partner and longtime NFL coach Don Shula, will list your name on its Web site provided, and here's the key, you finish the steak. Ordering it isn't enough; you must finish it to make the list.

Amazingly, 27,789 people (as of this date) have made the 48 oz. Club list, according to its Web site. Besides the Web mention, you receive a picture of Coach Shula, a personalized letter from Dave Shula (son of Don and a former NFL head coach himself), and a chance to order a commemorative football personalized with the person's name and picture, even signed by Don Shula.

I loved notoriety as much as anyone, but what a way to get into the record books. Maybe Tums or Rolaids should have a "wall of fame" for those people, too.

Our kudos goes out to Taft Parker, who has eaten over 100 48 oz. steaks, according to the Web site. We have never met Parker, but eating 48 oz. of meat sounds implausible, much less at such a grand rate.

Parker got to meet Don Shula on the day he ate his 100th 48 oz. steak. I should hope so. Imagine, "Hey, Taft. Thanks for being so large that eating a 48 oz. steak is no big deal."

Just change the oil already

McDonald's announced it is experimenting with a healthier blend of cooking oil to reduce trans fats in its French fries. The company has been dragging its feet to keep its almost 3-year-old promise. The experiment is happening at a small number of restaurants, though the company would not disclose the location or number of restaurants.

In September 2002, McDonald's said it would switch to a new oil that would halve the level of harmful trans fatty acid in its fries. But it delayed those plans in February 2003, citing product quality and customer satisfaction as priorities. McDonald's agreed to pay $8.5 million after it was sued by a nonprofit advocacy group that accused the company of misleading consumers.

Canada is phasing out trans fats completely, so somehow McDonald's will need to have a solution for them, so why not for Americans as well? Every time a fast food place, usually McD's, tells us they can't make something healthier, it eventually ends up doing so. The company got sued over dragging its feet, so it might as well do it. It's nice the experiment is happening now, but this should have been settled a long time ago.

Paris Hilton seen eating food

 

While technically Paris Hilton must eat food, it doesn't seem like she eats a lot, much less a huge burger. But there she was filming a commercial for Carl's Jr. As if that's not funny enough, she is dressed in a black bathing suit eating the burger while washing a Bentley automobile.

Hilton is promoting the latest in the line of Six Dollar Burgers, this one featuring barbecue sauce and jalapeno peppers. The 30-second spot debuted nationally on "Entertainment Tonight" on May 17. The spot will run in the Western states where Carl's Jr. has locations. For those in the Midwest, the ad will promote a similar sandwich at the company's Hardee's restaurants.

As is the trend now, the company will feature a 60-second version on its Web sites that was promised to be "racier." I saw the ad on the Web; it wasn't that shocking to me, though I'm not easily offended.

Though I have gone on record as thinking Ms. Hilton is not all that attractive, a young woman in a bathing suit holding a giant burger is someone's idea of a fantasy.

Burgers are just for breakfast, too

Yes, this has been going on since December, but I don't live near a Carl's Jr. (unfortunately). The chain has already been serving burgers for breakfast. But the Breakfast Burger itself is a meal: a fresh, fried egg, crisp bacon, hash brown nuggets, cheese, ketchup and a charbroiled all-beef patty, all on a sesame-seed bun.

Burgers for breakfast are a great idea. Jack in the Box, on my trips there, has no problem making burgers and fries at 6:30 a.m. Steak 'n' Shake also has no problem with the concept. The land of the free should have burgers for breakfast everywhere.

Subway Sub Club cards are history

If you have been in a Subway lately, this news isn't a surprise. Personally, in my second-to-last trip, they had no cards; in my last trip, they had no stamps. Now, there are no more cards and stamps for good.

Company spokesperson Kevin Kane said the program will be gone by Oct. 1 in every restaurant in the United States and Canada. The release contained the phrase, "increased fraud and an outdated redemption process."

The fraud charge seemed suspicious. Are people that desperate to be like Jared that counterfeiting devices are making tiny Subway stamps? And as for fraud, you buy 8 6-inch subs, then you get a "free" sub when you buy the 21 oz. drink. Once I gave up pop, the program was less ideal, and much less sincere. They wouldn't even give you a stamp for the $2.49 sandwiches.

The dirty secret is that soft drinks have the highest profit margin by far. For pennies a cup, they charge well over a dollar. That is why they can afford to have the self-serve machines; then again, the labor costs saved by a self-serve machine more than pay for themselves.

The chain has test-marketed electronic cards and store specials. An electronic card can offer a lot more customer-friendly opportunities. In the meantime, their $2.49 special does rock. I'm a Wednesday, turkey breast kind of guy.

Still, I will miss having to beg for my stamp.

Fast food tax in the Motor City?

Detroit is not the first city to consider a tax on fast food. But given its $300 million budget deficit, the Motor City is likely to give it a try. Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick wants Detroit voters to approve a 2 percent fast-food tax — on top of the 6 percent state sales tax on restaurant meals.

Other cities and states have special taxes on prepared food, and some have tried "snack taxes." In New York, Assemblyman Felix Ortiz has proposed a 1 percent tax on junk food, video games and TV commercials to fund anti-obesity programs.

Detroit's tax issue is a significant one. Michigan law limits Detroit's ability to raise income and property taxes; high taxes are a serious matter given the tremendous flight of people and businesses.

Two issues can stand in the way of becoming law:

A fast food tax affects those who can least afford it. In Detroit, that matters a lot.

What exactly is fast food? As yet undetermined, it may be like Justice Potter Stewart on pornography, "I know it when I see it." McDonald's is in; Big Boy is out. (Mmmm. Big Boy.) How fast does the food need to be to qualify? Subway is fast but healthy. And what about Tim Hortons?

And it's not even a tax, unlike the one in New York, designed to aid in the health of Detroiters. After all, with such a tax, Detroit will gain if its citizens gain, weight that is.

When Kilpatrick comes up with a definition of what is fast food, then we will know he's serious. Then, others may take it seriously if it works in Detroit. Until then, keeping eating those famous Detroit Coney Island dogs for or its locally based national pizza chains.