Blogtober #7 Chains I Want to Visit/Come Closer to Me

Cookout

Source

AL, GA, KY, MD, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV

My Tray- Burger (Cheddar Style), Quesadilla, Nuggets and a Coke Float

I like that you can get different options like an appetizer platter. I chose the burger as my main item because burgers are more specialty for me. It’s not something I would make at home. The cheddar style involves cheddar cheese, grilled onions, mayo, and bacon. I love grilled or fried onions on a sandwich. I picked nuggets and a chicken quesadilla for my sides because it adds to the sample platter vibe that I really enjoy. There aren’t any sauces listed but hopefully, there is something to dip the nuggets in. I picked the coke float because that’s a fun but rare choice. There is one in my state but it’s about 3 hrs away which is really far to get some food. If I ever go to OCMD, then I would. The ones in Virginia would also be a 3 hr drive.

Torchy’s Tacos

Source

AR, CO, OK, TX

Rebel Yell- GRILLED SHRIMP, CHOPPED BACON, GRILLED PINEAPPLE, COOKED CABBAGE SLAW, JACK CHEESE, GUAJILLO & GARLIC FRIED ONION STRAWS, CILANTRO, BBQ SAUCE, & CHIPOTLE SAUCE ON A FLOUR TORTILLA.

Trailer Park- FRIED CHICKEN, GREEN CHILES, LETTUCE, PICO DE GALLO & CHEDDAR JACK CHEESE WITH POBLANO SAUCE ON A FLOUR TORTILLA.

Republican- GRILLED JALAPEÑO SAUSAGE, PICO DE GALLO & CHEDDAR JACK CHEESE WITH POBLANO SAUCE ON A FLOUR TORTILLA.

Alabama Shake- CORNMEAL-CRUSTED CATFISH, POBLANO SLAW, COTIJA CHEESE, PEPPADEW PEPPERS, CILANTRO & A LIME WEDGE WITH AVOCADO SAUCE ON A FLOUR TORTILLA.

What attracts me to this place the most is just the variety. It’s not just meat, onions and salsa. All of these are just unique enough it would be a bit too much work to make these on your own. I could see a lot of these in a sandwich form as well but in a taco is way more interesting. All of the locations would be a flight for me. Just way too far, even for a train ride. I could see these doing well nationwide though. There are way more options than what I mentioned. I would pick this over qudoba or moes easily.

Dat Dog

Source

LA, TX

Crawfish dog with onion and chipotle mayo

Duck Dog with cheddar, mayo, onions

Polish kielbasa with cheddar, chipotle mayo, onion, bacon

I have never been to a restaurant that you can create your own hot dog/ sausages combination. I tend not to order them out because there aren’t many options and its cheaper to make at home. This place has way more specialty sausages I just can’t buy anywhere. If I could get these with some char on there I’d buy them regularly. I think it’s a really fun concept. They have vegan ones too so more people can have this as well. You can get burgers and chicken sandwiches which I would maybe try if this place was more local.

Zippy’s

HI

Source

Zip Pac- A piece of fried chicken, breaded hoki fish, a slice of Teri beef, and Spam® on a bed of rice topped with furikake and takuan.

Fried Noodles- Spam®, fish cake, and green onions.

I have never had Hawaiian food before so my choices have familiar enough items that I enjoy but in a completely different format. My first pick has enough variety of items to try that I either like already or most likely would. I wonder if the rice is sushi style, I would love the sticky rice for this. The second option has spam which I really like and fish cakes which I never had but I like seafood so it should be good? I have never had any of these proteins in fried noodles before but now I’m thinking I should look up some recipes for Hawaiian cuisine. Now I’m wondering why there isn’t more Hawaiian food around, at least a chain format.

Gusto

GA

Tzatziki lemon artichoke bowl- tzatziki sauce, lemon dressing, couscous, kale, tomato salad. Protein choice: chicken. Base: greens. Fresh limeade

I really enjoy cava and mezze so this falls in line with that. There are other “gusto” or flavor themes, this one just appealed to me more and doesn’t have any of my personal allergens. Gusto is like cava but with more preset options. It is really interesting the only meat options are chicken and shrimp. A lot of more vegetarian options like avocados and mushrooms. There are other base options as well but I really don’t care for brown rice. I would rather go healthy in a different format.