Balance of Food

Pizza Hut draws attention to tavern style pizza but the style is not special

If you hear the words Chicago and pizza, you might think of deep dish, a food that Jon Stewart described as "not pizza." Chicago has a style of pizza outside the tourist traps: tavern style pizza.

The Great Lakes region of the United States already has Detroit style pizza. Detroit style pizza is distinct from the auto parts container used to bake the pizzas to the unique cheese structure and the order for the ingredients.

Tavern style pizza is, well, pizza. The main distinction to tavern style pizza is, well, how the pizza is cut. The pieces are much smaller so you can put them on a bar napkin instead of using plates.

Somehow, Pizza Hut decided to copy the tavern-style pizza from Chicago. Why?

Tavern style pizza, unlike deep dish, is actual pizza. There are subtle nuances. The thin crust is truly thin and yeast is reportedly used. Most of what makes tavern style is how the pizza is cut.

Monica Eng, whom I know in real life, compares and contrasts the Pizza Hut version with a local version. I trust her take on the pizzas.

Your humble narrator hasn't tried either one but has had multiple tavern style pizzas over the years. Regular readers know your humble narrator has an intolerance to mozzarella cheese and might wonder how I could have had those pizzas over the last few decades. I had to figure this intolerance after not making the connection. So I have had tavern style pizza and it's just pizza cut in funny shapes.

Temptation of the Week: Out-of-town pizza through the eyes of Jon Stewart

Canadian film review: The Pizza City You've Never Heard Of (CanadianCrossing.com)

A lot of Detroit people ignore Windsor and Canada. Windsor has its own style of pizza that is very different from Detroit style pizza. A river and international border runs through the 2 pizzas.

I was skeptical about how distinct Windsor pizza would be from regular pizza. My Windsor friends swore this was different. The differences are there. The documentary we reviewed goes into those details.

• flour crust with cornmeal on the bottom
• sweet sauce using sweeter tomatoes such as San Marzano or tomatoes from California
• Galati cheese company making high fat mozzarella that is stringy when you pull out a slice
• shredded pepperoni
• canned mushrooms

The list shows a way more distinct pizza than tavern style pizza in Chicago. A thin crust and smaller pieces versus these significant differences. The Windsor style pizza is a lot more distinct than tavern style pizza. Of course, Pizza Hut, Canada or United States, will not cross the border to copy Windsor style pizza.

New Haven, CT style pizza is more distinct than Chicago tavern style pizza.

The point of Pizza Hut's newest pizza isn't to be innovative or imaginary. You likely haven't heard of tavern style pizza even if you have visited Chicago. Pizza nerds know yet not regular people.

You won't compare the differences. You know the national chain wouldn't come close to duplicating a local version of any food. Imagine a national chain trying to duplicate Cincinnati style chili or a Detroit coney dog.

Perhaps the Pizza Hut people got inspired by the obsession over The Bear TV show set in Chicago.

Everyone: Make us a true Chicago pizza
Us: YES, CHEF pic.twitter.com/nisTe2LW5G

— Pizza Hut (@pizzahut) June 27, 2024

The Bear mocks the basic sandwich establishment for another unneeded high-end restaurant

Cheap pizza comes to Canada but at what cost

What's Tempting: Getting the larger pizza

As we noted in a long ago time, travel to places to have the unique foods of a region. Detroit has its style pizza that is worth exploring as does Windsor, across the Detroit River in Canada. If that isn't practical, Cook's Country has a version you can try at home.

Come to Chicago for the hot dog, Italian beef sandwiches (trashed in The Bear), and perhaps the pizza and "not pizza." Don't come to Chicago just for tavern style pizza. If you come for other reasons, find out for yourself if tavern style pizza is distinct.

photo credit: Pizza Hut
video credit: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart/Comedy Central
Twitter capture: Pizza Hut

Double Big Mac is a novelty that suits the U.S. fast food appetite

Canadians have had easy access to the Double Big Mac at McDonald's Canada for years. Not a random, limited time opportunity. Day in and day out on the menu.

Americans have had this since January, according to reports.

To educate Americans on the Double Big Mac, only the meat gets doubled. The lettuce, cheese, pickles, onion, and special sauce are at the same level as on a regular Big Mac.

We haven't had a Big Mac for a long time. The few McDonald's burgers we've eaten have been virtually free of liquid condiments (ketchup, mustard) not by my doing. An odd trend that when mustard is included, you can see a small yellow streak that doesn't register on your tongue as being a significant amount of mustard. Lately, ketchup is also disappearing.

You would need a lot of special sauce to overcome the dry hamburgers.

If you do a McDonald's hamburger of any kind, make sure you are getting liquid condiments. The pickles show up regardless. We order without onions but they show up sometimes even when you don't order them.

McDonald's had bad timing when introducing the Double Big Mac in the United States in March 2020. Oops.

The texture of 2 patties is why I never ordered a double cheeseburger from McDonald's or any other fast food place. Give me a thicker burger with one patty. Thicker also means you can get a burger to temperature (not at conventional fast food places).

Your humble narrator is in the minority. The idea of double thin patties and/or smashburgers is huge in the United States. So why shouldn't McDonald's compete with that. 4 is more than 2.

Cutting way back on major label fast food

McDonald's aim for adult nostalgia in Happy Meals falls short

McDonald's Quarter Pounder hot and juicy claims are laughable

As U.S. fast food prices increase like wildfire, the idea of a Double Big Mac means "more food" even at higher prices. A Big Mac doesn't seem as impressive compared to a Double Big Mac.

BalanceofFood.com fast food coverage

BalanceofFood.com temptations coverage

I certainly had a chance to have the Double Big Mac long before most Americans would have. The 22-year-old version of myself might have been excited about a Double Big Mac. Then again, I was one of the few McDonald's consumers who enjoyed the McLean Deluxe. You got ketchup, mustard, a whole lettuce leaf, pickles, a sliced tomato, and a reduced fat patty. I didn't even mind the seaweed extract aka carrageenan.

I'm excited for Americans to finally get the Double Big Mac, even if I am not likely to participate in either the United States or Canada.

photo credit: KTTV/Los Angeles via McDonald's

Cutting way back on major label fast food

Hard habits to break. Fast food might be one of the toughest if you live in the United States or Canada. Those who drive might find giving up to be virtually impossible. I accumulated a lot of fast food, often without a car.

The COVID-19 pandemic made that a lot easier, as we have written about. Many people, because they are human, have resumed their previous behaviors. No judgments. Just a reality.

Your humble narrator is not a genius or specially gifted. Yet to the best of my knowledge, I am coming up on an unusual anniversary. The last memory of being at a major fast food place was in November 2019. This would be the 4-year anniversary of not going to a major fast food place.

Let's offer a few caveats. I remember that visit to a McDonald's in November 2019. I might have visited a McDonald's or a Burger King between November 2019 and March 2020. I can't swear I made a visit but don't recall a single visit in that time. I can promise I haven't made a trip since March 2020.

We define major fast food places = McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's. I have made a few Arby's visits, some Little Caesar's stops for Crazy Bread, and one not-so-great Long John Silver's visit. A lot fewer fast food trips than in the before time (before March 2020).

Before you ask where is the book I've written on how I made this happen (there is no book), I do have some theories as to why this has happened.

Anxiety and depression: Reduced interest in things I previously enjoyed. Some good things have disappeared along with the desire for a lot of fast food. You take the good and the bad.

Reduced enthusiasm for French fries: I thought my strong love for French fries would return when things went back to relatively normal. They don't taste as good, even when I have had them. French fries isn't a strength for the major 3 hamburger places. McDonald's used to be good in the beef tallow and trans fat days. They need ketchup, hopefully one without high-fructose corn syrup.

Less running around: The fast food siren gets silenced when I don't run around as much. The temptation gets stronger when I am running around doing activities. "You need a snack. It's not that much. You used to love me."

I didn't eat fast food because the food was good tasting. I ate fast food out of convenience. Make a snack and take it with you. Easier said than done but that could get you out of a pickle or jam with fast food.

How Trevor Noah and The Daily Show poked fun at the food supply

McDonald's aim for adult nostalgia in Happy Meals falls short

Fast food apps should be more flexible, creative

You may still have a long relationship with fast food. You had a car so when people couldn't get fast food without a car, you had a car.

The funny thing is when you don't have that relationship with fast food: you remember the sad moments in that relationship. Eating a McDonald's hamburger that tasted more like a pork sandwich out of a microwave oven than beef from a griddle. Stopping in the middle of a Burger King Whopper and finding the burger so dry that you didn't want to finish the burger.

Those are real memories from 2019. I hope I have enough self-respect that I deserve better. My lone Long John Silver's pandemic trip had very little satisfaction. I have fought with my local Little Caesar's that often serve me Crazy Bread without the cheese sprinkled on like the product.

Fast-food chains are feeling the heat from false advertising lawsuits claiming their food doesn't match ads or photos on the menu board. https://t.co/HvHJUDhaOP

— Axios (@axios) September 2, 2023

I have childhood memories of dark brown chicken from Kentucky Fried Chicken. The only way you can get that dark brown color is in the KFC advertising. The wonder over getting a breath of mustard in lieu of a decent serving of mustard on a McDonald's hamburger on a consistent basis.

Those who are fighting fast food companies over how much better their food works in commercials versus reality: we love and support you. The uphill battle is taller than Mount Everest and might be about as dangerous to climb. We wish you much luck.

McDonald's Quarter Pounder hot and juicy claims are laughable

The lack of fast food hype in a pandemic

BalanceofFood.com fast food coverage

Eventually Cal Ripken Jr. sat out a game. Long streaks come to an end, for those who don't get the baseball reference. There will be a moment when major fast food will pass through my lips and sadly into my stomach.

I will enjoy what I have until that streak ends. When the streak does end, I won't go back to a regular habit of fast food. Hopefully.

If I had the power, I would negotiate a deal: I'll eat major fast food when I can get a product that looks as good as the ones in the ads.

photo credit: McDonald's
Twitter capture: @axios

The Bear mocks the basic sandwich establishment for another unneeded high-end restaurant

The Bear is about a high-end chef who comes back to his family Italian beef sandwich establishment after his brother's suicide. The premise is that after trying to make this seemingly fish out of water scenario work, they tear down the Italian beef sandwich establishment from within to make room for a high-end restaurant.

People figure your humble narrator is into the show because 1) the nuance of how restaurants work and 2) living in the city where the show takes place.

I struggled to get through Season 1. Pardon this pun but the show was a bear to watch. Too much fake drama no matter how "realistic" the show was about the restaurant world.

If you didn't care about the food and restaurant themes, you would complain about the terrible writing, vague attempts at character development, the soliloquies that are more hilarious than meaningful, the details the creators clearly get wrong, the way character relationships jump around with alleged off-screen resolution.

Let's get to the real hero and villain of the story. The villain is a place such as the Original Beef restaurant (Italian beef). The hero is a place such as The Bear, the new high-end restaurant.

In Season 1, Episode 7, Richie (old guard) and Sydney (new guard) have a discussion about those workers who won't have access with all the fancy changes. Richie is the old guard. Sydney is the new guard. 

Sydney said this is about the business model. As empathetic as the character is, she doesn't care about the current customers or the future customers. Sydney is also obsessed to have a Michelin star. There are plenty of wonderful restaurants without a Michelin star who do better by their customers but the star is the golden calf.

Watch that scene even if you don't watch anything else from the show. Not every restaurant needs to be the mighty high-end restaurant. Fewer people will be able to eat out other than going through a drive-thru and trying to eat a cheeseburger while stuck in traffic. The Bear isn't about them; it's the competition for the rich people who can afford to eat at The Bear.

Interestingly. Sydney is one of the few decently developed characters in the whole show.

In Season 2, they rehab the building to turn the old place into the new place. Realistically, they could take over one of the many closed high-end restaurants but that wouldn't make for TV "fun" by discovering the building has mold inside.

Usually, high-end places, especially in River North, the downtown neighborhood in Chicago where the show takes place, has valet parking. Not sure where the cars would go for the high-end place since the Italian beef establishment had benches for eating outdoors and is accessible by nearby buses.

Putting the new restaurant in the old building is a metaphor that is actually relevant. Since the place will have very limited seating, they will need to turnover pretty quickly where high-end people tend to enjoy relaxing at dinner.

High-end restaurants are about better ingredients, which is a good thing. Using local farmers and eating locally. No high-fructose corn syrup or GMOs (hopefully). The kind of food that all of us deserve, not just high-end earners.

They are also about trusting the chef, using very little of said ingredients for higher prices. The concept is if they charged $5 less per dish, the alleged value would diminish among those high-end earners. They may have to go home for dessert since they won't get enough to fill up at dinner but that is the sacrifice of high-end eating.

I've heard enough high-end restaurant owners talk about how accessible their places are. You don't have to wear a tie or a long dress to go but you still need money and lots of it. They aren't interested in you otherwise. As Sydney would say, that is the business model.

Bourdain Day 2023: Celebrating a loss with food

Carmy and Michael (the dead brother) were very different people. Michael belonged in the Italian beef world while Carmy should be in the high-end world. The Bear shuts down Michael and then his world since there is only room for one and that is the high-end choice.

Places such as Original Beef are often there for decades, establishing loyalty and giving back to the neighborhood. High-end restaurants are not about loyalty, unless it's one-sided (customer to restaurant). They usually only last a few years before the owners get bored or burned-out or aren't making tons and tons of money. They don't care about the neighborhood. The land stays dormant until something else eventually comes along to fill the space.

Your humble narrator appreciates high-end food when delivered honorably. More and more, you can do almost as well at home without the pretense, small portions, or the dramatically high costs. With the money you save, you can treat yourself to an Italian beef sandwich: get it dunked in the jus and order the giardiniera, even if all they have is spicy.

Both seasons of The Bear are available on FX on Hulu.

Editor's note: If you are looking for a film that delves into the insanity of high-end restaurants, our sibling blog, CanadianCrossing.com would recommend Nose to Tail. The drama is intense but unlike The Bear, the drama feels real.

photo credit: The Bear

How Trevor Noah and The Daily Show poked fun at the food supply

Trevor Noah and The Daily Show couldn't live up to the standard on criticism of the food industry set by Jon Stewart in that incarnation of the U.S. TV program. Still, the Trevor Noah era — which started in 2015 and ends tonight — did weigh in on food topics.

We thought an outside perspective on the U.S. approach to food would have been a natural fit for Noah's comedy. While Stewart weighed in from the desk, Noah let correspondent pieces speak for themselves.

Here are the stories we covered that The Daily Show covered in the Trevor Noah era.

Food banks now more important than ever in COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic

Daily Show looks into alternative meats

Will people come back for the Popeyes chicken sandwich?

Daily Show addresses increased junk food in school lunches

Meals on Wheels symbol of Trump attack on food supply

McDonald's Canada kale salad high in calories, but consumers have options to reduce calories

Roy Wood Jr., who is under consideration to be a host or a rotating host, had particular fun with the Meals on Wheels segment, the junk food in school lunches, alternative meats, and the obsession over the Popeyes chicken sandwich.

Appreciating Jon Stewart, The Daily Show on food and nutrition

BalanceofFood.com Daily Show coverage

Saying goodbye to the Colbert Report

The new host or hosts take over on January 17. Hoping the new regime takes a look at the ridiculous state of the U.S. food system.

The Daily Show runs Monday-Thursday at 11 pm Eastern on Comedy Central.

photo credit: The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

McDonald's aim for adult nostalgia in Happy Meals falls short

Whether you are a parent of a child or a young person who still enjoyed Happy Meals, we have all imagined a McDonald's Happy Meal for adults. Maybe some burned out parents imagine a Happy Meal with an airline size bottle of vodka in the box. You could have imagine more adult tastes such as curry ketchup with the small fries and Stilton blue cheese on the small cheeseburger.

The new venture for McDonald's Happy Meals for adults, as of today, is a far less imaginative escapade. Iconic McDonald's characters with an extra set of eyes. Same crappy McDonald's food. Not sure how that feeds into nostalgia.

The Cactus Plant Flea Market Box features 4-eyed replicas of old school characters such as Grimace and Hamburglar, a relatively old school icon in Birdie, and a new one named Cactus Buddy. Not sure how you get nostalgia for a new character.

“We’re taking one of the most nostalgic McDonald’s experiences and literally repackaging it in a new way that’s hyper-relevant for our adult fans,” said Tariq Hassan, McDonald’s USA chief marketing and customer experience office in a release.

"Adult" fans are likely 18 to maybe 34. If you are above this age, this is not your nostalgia. If you are of that age, how nostalgic are these characters? I get actual nostalgia but McDonald's hasn't utilized those characters too often recently. It would be like being nostalgic for Scooby Doo and all they offer is Scrappy Doo.

No offense to the hilarious press release comment attributed to Hassan, but this isn't "one of the most nostalgic McDonald’s experiences." We're "sure" this is totally "hyper-relevant."

As someone who did grow up with Grimace and Hamburglar — the 2-eyed version, not the 4-eyed version — and someone who was teased as 4-eyed because I wore glasses at the age of 7, there is very little nostalgia for these characters. Neither of them actually spoke words; no great catch phrases. The Hamburglar stole hamburgers without remorse. Grimace was purple and couldn't move around too well.

Ronald McDonald was memorable but the clown is missing from that nostalgia look.

Temptation of the Week: Fruit and dairy at McDonald's

The Happy Meal started in 1979. You may be "too old" to have experienced the nostalgia of the Happy Meal. Even if you have fond memories of the Happy Meal, the true nostalgia would be hamburgers that came off the grill instead of the microwave oven, French fries with the taste of beef tallow or a trans fat filled oil, and maybe even a Coca-Cola, ketchup, and hamburger buns without high-fructose corn syrup. I wouldn't even need a toy to get back that nostalgia.

You can get some of that kind of McDonald's experience outside North America these days.

Temptation of the Week: 10¢ for a Happy Meal toy

We should change definition of 'happy' as San Francisco bans associating toys with fast food

Solution to McDonald's Happy Meals lawsuit? Keep the toy, throw away the food

San Francisco tried a fun trick in 2011 by setting nutrition guidelines if a toy was offered in a fast food meal. McDonald's fired back by charging 10¢ for the toy if you bought the meal.

This is part of the nostalgia McDonald's is trying to sell in the Cactus Plant Flea Market Box. Crappy, cheap toys with lots of marketing with crappy food.

This is why we suggested over a decade ago for parents to go to McDonald's, get the toy, and donate the food to homeless people. Remove the association between the toy and the food.

Burger King and Wendy's did little marketing to children as compared to McDonald's. They get slightly more respect as a result.

What's Tempting: Adult approach to burgers

BalanceofFood.com fast food coverage

Nostalgia for a certain audience is fresh, decent fast food with plenty of needed napkins in a clean environment for a cheap price. This was back when Ray Kroc was alive. The current version of McDonald's is light years away from Kroc's vision. No Happy Meal and definitely no toy would ever change that.

photo credit: McDonald's

Fast food consumers want to benefit from improved technology

Most people can accept ordering off a kiosk for #fastfood. @freshii has people in Nicaragua taking your orders and getting paid $3.75/hour to do so. https://t.co/NClAES61ho

— Chad Rubel (@balanceoffood) July 8, 2022

Haven't had much fast food in recent years. Have enjoyed ordering from the Steak n Shake kiosk. My large fries orders aren't complicated and they haven't screwed up the orders.

Would I rather order from a human being? I want my order to be correct. Anecdotally, kiosk orders have been more accurate.

Freshii splits the difference. You approach a screen. You talk with an actual human … in Nicaragua. That person is getting paid $3.75/hour.

Ordering from a human sounds better than ordering from a kiosk. Yet there are a few drawbacks to the Freshii plan:

The idea behind fast food jobs is that they help the youth in your area get work experience. Unless you live near Managua (the Nicaragua capital), this would not apply. The profits don't stay in the area. Paying the workers in your community benefits the community where they live.

There are often subtle language differences in dealing with customer service with someone whose primary language is different than your own. You want to be understood when ordering fast food. What happens when you don't get your order prepared properly. Yell at someone in Nicaragua who is doing their best? Learn Spanish curse words?

There will always be some element of the customer base who enjoy personal interactions with a real human. That could be ordering fast food or going through the checkout at grocery stores. Would these people settle for a virtual human, the kind of humans who don't need a break and won't want money as a reward.

Fast food kiosks and self checkout at grocery stores have an efficiency that improves service. This works better when workers are trained to work in other areas of the business to improve the customer experience.

Wendy's self-serve kiosks should inspire better customer service

The Freshii compromise, like most compromises, misses the boat. You get a human but not likely one who will improve the customer experience. However insulting $3.75/hour might be, the kiosks could be cheaper in the long run.

Customer service phone lines get outsourced to countries with a lower standard of living. The service isn't any better, often worse. The corporate people smiled when they collect huge bonuses because they employ people, even at wages that would be illegal in the United States and Canada.

A local upscale fast food business recently reopened. In the past, you ordered from a live human being standing in front of you. They ask for your credit card (no cash) when the order is complete.

The new system in scanning in a QR code to your smartphone. You order awkwardly from an online menu. I ordered 2 items yet had to start over with 1 item since the cart didn't receive the item. I had to type in my credit card information to a third party for a fast food meal. You can store that credit card information, all for a now way more expensive fast food experience.

This was a system with financial vulnerability and 4 times the period for placing an order. I was ready for a kiosk at that point. This is a place that I liked before the changes.

Change, yes, but why not change that improves the situation for the consumer. The new changes are great for the business but finding solutions that help both are truly a win-win.

No one is asking to go back to the time where telephone operators had to connect people (ask your parents or grandparents). We want to benefit from improved technology.

BalanceofFood.com fast food coverage

Making rich people richer isn't helping society. A kiosk may seem impersonal but that feels slightly better than cramming a room full of people taking orders thousands of miles away. You could easily make the argument that those wages are better than paying for a machine.

Henry Ford had the idea of paying people a decent wage so they could afford to buy a Ford. You also got better customer service back then because that was meaningful.

Good customer service would be worth a few pennies more in the long run, however the order is collected.

Twitter capture: @balanceoffood
photo credit: me

Fast food apps should be more flexible, creative

Free food from fast food places? Just download the app. Of course, the "free food" comes at a price since the fast food companies have your information, including credit card information.

They can target the (mostly) young consumers. That information is way more valuable than an order of French fries.

You don't have to download the app to get fast food. The customer has a choice.

Didn't give much thought to fast food apps before the time mentioned (above) in the tweet. Using an app to place an order even if I was right there in the establishment was surreal. Being told face to face that a person couldn't order food without reverting to a smartphone with a credit card.

We've seen places go temporarily cashless. Using a credit card is problematic if you have tons of credit card debt due to financial issues in the pandemic. A customer being forced to use a credit card is bad enough but having to give out that credit card info in an app just to get food is problematic.

You might be asking,"millions of millennials sacrifice that info for convenience. Stop being an old person and just do it." Fair question.

While this was a temporary stance, I thought about the advantages and disadvantages of ordering restaurant food from an app.

If Trader Joe's or Whole Foods required an app to buy groceries, would I sign up? What about a regional grocery store?

Wendy's self-serve kiosks should inspire better customer service

I love the fast food kiosks. Love how I can specialize my order. The orders have been correct, all but one time.

The kiosks do take longer to work than telling someone what I want.

Ordering food in the app before you set foot in the establishment can be a definite advantage. This may depend on what kind of fast food. Ordering a pizza in an app would be huge since there is a margin for error in the temperature of the pizza. Ordering questionable Mexican food? Maybe. Ordering a burger and fries on an app? Likely to be cold when I pick up the food.

Saw a Sonic ad where the woman ordered drinks on the app. If ice is involved, you're picking up a watered down drink.

Taco Bell offers more choice in Build Your Own Cravings Box but not that much choice

Would be more likely to order a dinner from an app for a medium-sized restaurant, a meal that takes time to prepare. Fast food comes too quickly for app to be viable.

Since the credit card is attached to the app, you can pay for the food with that credit card. If you are short on money, you can still get food.

This is where the app comes in handy. You can track your fast food purchases on your credit card statements. That can be exciting and depressing at the same time. If I ever saw a statement tracking money spent on fast food, I might be inclined to spend less on fast food. Guilty pleasures shouldn't leave tracks.

McDonald's used to promote its gift certificates at holiday time. They made a nice stocking stuffer where you could wait and then use the gift certificates to purchase food.

An app where I could place, say, $25 at the beginning of the year. A McDonald's fund (just to give an example) where I could spend as needed. If the app was compromised or the phone stolen, all I would be out is the McDonald's money. My app would tell me how much I still had and guide me to the nearest location to put more money in my account. This would be a modern day version of the gift certificates.

I would do that for Little Caesar's or any other place where I go occasionally. I wouldn't need to feel as guilty and likely would make more purchases than if I had been using cash all along. Not having a credit card tied to an immediate purchase would lessen the risk of using the app.

The idea of a fast food app where I could spend my money at several fast food outlets would be more appealing. A mad money fund of $50 that I could spend at Wendy's, Subway, and Five Guys. The Yum! brands (Pizza Hut, Long John Silver's, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken) would be particularly attractive because of the variety of the establishments.

BalanceofFood.com fast food coverage

The reason the apps aren't appealing is that they don't offer much of a bonus to join in the party. I used to be that fast food customer that fit into the demo. I would have signed up for the app back then for payment more than ordering convenience.

We live in a world where ordering from a fast food app fits the target audience. They see convenience and are willing to sacrifice quality to get that convenience.

Twitter capture: @balanceoffood
photo credit: McDonald's

Dine in restaurants when you feel safe, not because of a political stunt

#POLICY: Introducing a new Dine and Discover Program to encourage Canadians to support our local restaurants, while putting money back in your pocket. pic.twitter.com/nrdj0busCM

— Erin O'Toole (@erinotoole) September 8, 2021

Conservative politicians are championing the dining in restaurants. We love dining in restaurants. The dining in restaurants during a pandemic is the concern.

Erin O'Toole is the Conservative Party leader in Canada. The country is in the middle of an election cycle with a September 20 election date. [Sidenote: If you want to know more about this Canadian election, you can read about that in our sibling blog, CanadianCrossing.com.]

The restaurant proposal isn't original: this boilerplate was taken from the UK Conservative playbook. A University of Warwick study linked the plan to a significant increase in COVID-19 cases last August in the UK.

The Canadian proposal does note that this will not happen until conditions improve: “once it is safe to do so.” After all, their party has been complaining extensively about why the election is happening now. Let's try and look at this policy from a non-partisan point of view.

The deal would be for customers to purchase food and non-alcoholic drinks for 50% off but only Mondays through Wednesdays. If you got your food to go, you would pay 100%; this policy is to encourage actually dining in the restaurants.

Your humble narrator wasn't able to support as many restaurants during the pandemic because of not being able to dine inside. No car and no bathrooms limit your options. Dining inside right now has very little personal appeal.

Balanceoffood.com Canada food policy coverage

Toronto is Canada's largest city with amazing restaurants. Being a tourist in Toronto, even before the pandemic, means limited restaurant choices on Sundays and Mondays. This is true in Toronto than any other city I have visited as a tourist.

A lot of restaurants have added Tuesdays or Wednesdays to the list of closed days during the pandemic. Not enough workers or not enough customers: either way not much business.

This policy was popular in the UK in increasing traffic to restaurants though maybe a little too popular.

The sad reality is Canada (and the United States) is that dining in is considered part of the entertainment dollar given how low wages are predominant in the vast majority of the populations. People miss eating out and being served.

The idea that the simple joy of eating out has become a political issue is rather sad. Liberals and centrists also like to eat out though they generally has less money to eat out than conservatives do, though a lot of poor people also vote conservative.

Non conservatives want people to eat out when the situations are safer. They are not against eating out; they want a safe environment.

Your humble narrator is only one person who can't afford to eat out much but has done so outside. Canada does get quite cold in the late fall and winter. Eating in will be more tempting. Will customers feel safe doing so, even with a 50% decrease in cost?

BalanceofFood.com politics coverage

Such an offer wouldn't be so bad if this was part of a larger proposal to help restaurant owners and their employees guide them through a terrible pandemic. Alas, this hasn't been true for conservatives. The proposed policy is gimmicky; short-term help when people need longer-term help. The proposal only covers a month: 12 days of discounts. Not a lot, especially for restaurants that have struggled to adjust to carry out, takeaway, and delivery.

Restaurants would have to find more people to stock those days in the hopes that those days would be busy enough to open. Would customers tip on the full value of the meal instead of the actual cost. 50% off is great for the customer, not so much for the worker.

Restaurant wages without tips in North America are literally sub-human, well below the pathetically low minimum wages.

The irony of the offer is you might be tempted to participate at a restaurant that wouldn't be too popular (for social distancing) yet if the proposal works, the restaurant might be too packed for your comfort.

In the UK, the government isn't having an election anytime soon. Canadian voters are going to the polls so you would have to vote in that party to get the deal.

Find a creative way to support restaurants. Wear a comfortable jacket when the weather gets cooler. Beg a friend with a car to pick up your food so the restaurant makes more money on that meal. Dine in a restaurant … when conditions are a lot safer.

Twitter capture: @erinotoole
photo credit: me

Taco Bell offers more choice in Build Your Own Cravings Box but not that much choice

The $5 meal concept has been more of a KFC aka Kentucky Fried Chicken concept some time back. There wasn't much nutrition in their "meals."

Taco Bell, a sibling company to KFC, has a $5 Build Your Own Cravings Box that is now available to those who have downloaded the Taco Bell app.

Regular readers have wondered why, even if I don't eat too much fast food anymore, I am obsessed with what fast food establishments do.

In the case of the Build Your Own Cravings Box, this isn't about fast food but choice.

The power of exponential math tells us of the hundreds of potential combinations. Most people won't have to go to that extreme unless they love everything on the Taco Bell menu.

"The Taco Bell I'm proud to lead does it differently — we put fans in the driver's seat and allow them to eat how they want to eat, not how someone, irrespective of how famous they may be, tells them to." said Taco Bell brand chief Nikki Lawson in a press release.

Despite that notion, there are rules. There are only 4 items in a box, technically the drink is one of the 4 items so that is likely not literally in the box.

Each box will then have 3 items: a specialty, starter, and side (definitions to come).

The specialties are Chalupa Supreme, Cheesy Gordita Crunch, Crunchwrap Supreme, Black Bean Chalupa Supreme, and the Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme. There are 5 of them yet 2 of them are just black beans instead of seasoned meat versions of 2 other items.

The starters are Crunchy Taco, Beefy 5-Layer Burrito, and Bean and Cheese Burrito. Difficult to turn down a burrito over a taco since you will get much more food. You can't choose 2 burritos: that would violate the rules.

The sides are Chips & Nacho Cheese Sauce and Cinnamon Twists. You want the chips and dessert yet you can't have both. Rules are rules.

You have a lot of choices for drinks. They aren't new choices so you have given great thought already to high-fructose corn syrup or the artificial sweeteners you want.

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The Build Your Own Cravings Box would be more fun if the goal was how much food could you cram in the box for $5. The Crunchy Taco takes up less room than a burrito. You might worry about chips getting crushed but the Cinnamon Twists can get squished. Rules are rules.

The Build Your Own Cravings Box has limitations and rules. The incentive does offer more choice than major fast food options will give you.

A local chicken place offers 2 sides with an entree. You can, for an extra $1, trade one of those sides for a slice of peach cobbler. My local barbecue place offers 2 sides with an entree. They have 5 sides but I always get the same 2 sides.

Choices are great when there are choices you want. The sides at these 2 restaurants are all very good. They don't have the advertising budget of a large national fast food chain.

BalanceofFood.com fast food coverage

What would your humble narrator do with a $5 box of Taco Bell food? Following the rules, I would pick a Crunchwrap Supreme (because of the nacho cheese sauce), Crunchy Taco (5 layers is too much for me), and Cinnamon Twists. I would pick orange juice for my drink, barely beating out unsweetened tea.

If fast food rules your life, the Build Your Own Cravings Box offers more choices than usual. Then again, you could think outside the box … literally.

photo credit: Taco Bell