March is winding down but there is still enough time to take advantage of a sweet deal at Sonic.  Every time you buy a SuperSonic Cheeseburger in March, it comes with a FREE order of a Medium sized tater tots.

Drive in for a big SuperSONIC® Cheeseburger and get a free medium order of crispy Tots. Roll down your windows and enjoy a tasty, made-to-order burger.

So in order to help one lucky person fill up on some grub, here’s a simple giveaway.  Leave us a comment with what you’d spend $10.00 on at Sonic and we might hook you up with a $10.00 Sonic Gift Card.  I’ll pick a winner and let you guys know this Sunday. You have until 11:59pm est 3/20/10 to leave your comment.

Quick question: We all know curiosity killed the cat, but did it kill the foodie?

Quick answer: No, it only made him stronger.

Let me explain.

I am your classic Grocery store browser. You know what I mean. The kind of guy who spends an hour slowing pacing up and down the aisles of the ethnic foods sections and bargain areas, carefully scouring the shelves for that one ingredient or item that just “hits” him. It being Lent and all (and I being a Catholic living in a landlocked state which is about 90% LDS), my weekly travels up and down the aisles have taken me increasingly toward the canned fish section, with the ubiquitous metal tins and pouches of tuna no longer sufficing my curious culinary mind.

Canned salmon? Eh, too in-style. Smoked mussels in cottonseed oil? Ugh, not on sale this week. Anchovies? Sardines? No, too predictable.

Then it hit me, like a solidly built fishing boat in the North Atlantic Sea hits an oncoming wave. Reaching up on my tippy toes (yes, I am rather short) I snagged a tin of Brunswick Seafood Snacks with eager anticipation. Did I have any idea what a golden smoked boneless herring fillet tastes like, much less looks like? Dear goodness no, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t willing to try out the Canadian made product. Besides, with 1.0g of omega-3 fatty acids per serving I figured it would give all you health freaks out there something to applaud me in during my nightly snack routine.

The first thing I noticed after opening the tin can was the smell. I was expecting something that smelled like anchovies, but the fillet itself smelled only “kinda” fishy. Actually, I could smell the natural smoke flavoring, which was a good sign considering the first ingredient on the package is “naturally smoked Herring.” While it’s tough to explain the aroma (think a less sexy version of lox mixed with some high end albacore from a can) I can say that it wasn’t off-putting, and despite my expectations the fillet was not as oily as I thought it would be. That being said, I still poured off about a half tablespoon of oil from the can, and for as much as I would have loved to ingest all that fishy goodness, I also discarded some of the skin, which I found to have a slimy/funky texture that even the smoke flavor couldn’t mask.

My first bite of the “meat” was a little underwhelming. On its own, the fillet tasted very plain. I was expecting something strong, fishy and salty, but rather I received a muted smoke flavor and just a hint of saltiness. As I savored the fillet chunks I realized that the smoke flavor became more pronounced, so much so that it also exhibits a kind of sweetness – despite the fact that there was no sweetener listed on the ingredient list. I couldn’t fix the kind of wood the fillet were smoked over (alder, perhaps?) but it was curiously addictive.

For as interesting as I found the Herring on its own, I absolutely rocked it out with a more traditional application. Taking a suggestion from Wikipedia, I toasted up a nice, thick slice of marble rye and spread some whipped cream cheese over it. Then I layered the smoky Herring fillets above the cream cheese, piling on a few grilled red onions and pinch each of garlic salt and dill weed to boot. The result was pure snackage heaven, and the kind more Americans could probably get a load of. Multi-layered, with a cool/sweet/salty and definitely savory taste complexion, my “English style” breakfast made a great snack after a long day of traveling. So, to sum it up, if you’re into fish I would definitely check out Brunswick’s Kippered Snacks. But even if you’re not, their naturally smoked flavor and health benefits make them worth a try, especially if you’re a Catholic on Friday looking for some culinary inspiration.

• Pros: Natural smoky flavor masks any lingering “fishiness” you’d probably expect. Not too oily, but still has a nice moistness and isn’t overly salty. Good source of protein and healthy, all-the-rage fats that I probably mitigated by throwing out the skin. Makes a nice piece of toast when combined with cream cheese, dill and rye. Just screams foodie sophistication in a dorm full of jealous college students getting their snack fix off of Ramen and Dominos.
• Cons: A bit expensive. Somewhat plan on its own and awkward to eat. Lots of “that kid is freaking weird” stares and “what the heck smells like dead fish” looks in the common room.

Price: $1.29 (on sale)

GrubGrade: 8.75/10 (Very Good)

www.Brunswick.ca

Nutrition – Brunswick Seafood Snacks Golden Smoked Herring Fillets

Serving Size: 1 Tin (3.5 oz)

Calories: 130

Calories from Fat: 70

Total Fat: 8g

Saturated Fat: 2g

Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.5g

Monounsaturated Fat: 4g

Cholesterol: 60mg

Sodium: 240mg

Total Carbs: 0g

Protein: 16g

As reported by BurgerBusiness:

The current “Go Wraps” at Wendy’s are pretty decent, but it’s time for an upgrade.  Wendy’s should be rolling out New Fresh Wraps sometime this year after being available in test markets, and by appearances, they look similar to the great “Cool Wraps” available at Chick-fil-A (read our review).  Your two choices of wrap are the Baja Chicken Fresh Wrap and the Smokehouse BBQ Fresh Wrap.

• Baja Chicken Fresh Wrap: Lightly breaded all white-meat chicken breast, pico de gallo, Monterey Jack and cheddar cheese, seven kinds of lettuce, cilantro lime sauce, salsa tortilla.
• Smokehouse BBQ Fresh Wrap: Tender all white-meat chicken breast, Applewood Smoked Bacon, crispy onion straws, Monterey Jack and cheddar cheese, ranch and honey BBQ sauces, Monterey Jack tortilla

It has been months since the last time I had a burger.  Crazy right?  I knew the streak had to end at some point and what better way to end it than with my favorite kind of burger.  I’m pretty predictable when it comes to burgers.  Sure, I will try just about any style, but I will always have a special place in my stomach for a “western-style” burger.  It seems extremely long overdue that a place like Roy Rogers now comes out with one of it’s own.  This new burger is in test phases in select restaurants and they call it the Tumbleweed Burger.

If you aren’t familiar with Roy Rogers or Roy Rogers restaurants, just know that it’s a place for cowboys like myself.  Fried chicken and burgers are the main players at Roy’s and the western-theme is strewn all over the place.  Cowboy hats, cactus murals, wagon wheels etc.  Slap some BBQ sauce on just about anything and you can fit in quite comfortably with the “western” name tag.  The Tumbleweed Burger is a brand new creation from Roy’s, but doesn’t really break any new ground.  This is a good thing actually and I’m glad that Roy’s went in this direction.  I hope this burger sticks around and expands to more restaurants.  The Tumbleweed Burger contains a 1/4 pound beef patty, natural sharp cheddar cheese, BBQ sauce and onion straws all contained in a kaiser roll. So the main components of a western-style burger are present…burger/cheese/BBQ sauce/fried onions.  I’m excited to report that this burger was pretty stellar.

I’m already a big fan of the Roy Rogers burgers that you can customize yourself at the Fixin’s Bar (check out my review of the regular 1/4 pounder).  Sometimes, I’m not in the mood to customize and would just like to order something as-is and have all the ingredients work together.  Shame on the places that offer a western burger and ridiculously add sliced tomato, lettuce and ketchup!  What are you thinking? To each their own of course but seriously, a true burger of this caliber is successful by only a few ingredients and adding anything else just makes it something entirely different.  Some might say that bacon is also one of the standard ingredients of a western burger and I can’t really argue with that.  I can go without the bacon personally but I know some of you must have some present.  A bacon option for a little extra shouldn’t be an issue seeing as though the Roy’s Gold Rush Chicken Sandwich has it standard.  But getting back to what you get with your non-customized Tumbleweed Burger order, let’s review.  The beef patty is a 1/4 pound and not overly greasy while still having a savory beef flavor. It’s what I’m used to from Roy’s burgers.  The fried onions are pretty decent sized and at first glance thought the burger was stuffed with fries.  The fried onions also provided a nice crisp crunch and didn’t suffer from being soggy or limp. I would love Roy’s to add the fried onions as a side order.  The BBQ sauce was generously applied and hit me with a nice combination of sweet and tangy.  I would’ve liked a little spicy to go with the sweet and tangy but I still really liked the sauce. The kaiser roll is a Roy’s standard and never disappoints.  I never experience any dried out or stale buns and it had no trouble containing the ingredients. My only major issue with the Tumbleweed would be that the natural sharp cheddar cheese did absolutely nothing in the taste department. I would think cheddar would completely dominate in this area but it was just way too mild and forgettable.

So in closing, I guess you can tell that I’m a fan of the Tumbleweed Burger. It really isn’t a complicated creation and as I mentioned before, long overdue.  At a price of $3.99, it’s a little pricey for a fast food burger but it’s not unusual for Roy’s prices…they need a value menu by the way.  The Tumbleweed comes highly recommended and deserves a restaurant-wide roll out.

• Pros: Crunchy fried onions that deserve a place as side order.  Tangy, sweet BBQ sauce.  Fresh, soft and sturdy kaiser roll.  Overall an exceptional western-style cheeseburger.
• Cons: May be a tad pricey since it wasn’t especially filling.  Cheddar was way too mild and didn’t add much to the experience.

Taste: 9.50/10

Value: 5.75/10

Grubbing on the Go: 7.00/10

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GrubGrade: 9.00/10 (Exceptional)

(Overall GrubGrade is not an average)

Price: $3.99

RoyRogersRestaurants.com

Nutrition Information Not Available