Kilroy Says: The Day I Broke Up With Wendy
What could be better than the cheeseburger? It has the meat group, bread group, and dairy group all in one nice package. For those of you that are health conscious, you can always slap on a salad- but I think that taints the heady flavor of roasted cow flesh (or buffalo or any other grazing animal). Throw in a side of fries for your daily vegetable helping, and you’re set.
Wendy’s restaurant was my most beloved restaurant for many years. Those delicious triple cheeseburgers, dripping with extra cheese, a side of fries and a chocolate Frosty was truly my favorite meal. I could eat it everyday- although I would probably drop dead in only a few weeks. Anything that tastes that good can’t be good for you.
But ever since the food genius Dave Thomas passed away, Wendy’s has begun deteriorating. Where the burgers were once cooked to greasy, sizzling perfection in his lifetime, there have been times since his passing when my burger tasted a little… rare. Gone is the delicious saltiness. And where once I could swear I was tasting the savory goodness of what surely must have been steroids injected into the cows prior to slaughter, lately all I taste is something that must be freezer burn.
Wendy’s also began to get complicated. When I order a “Frosty” I don’t want to be asked what flavor I want. I want a damned Frosty. Do I get asked what flavor Coke I want? (They still make Cherry and Vanilla Coke, you know). And what’s with all the fancy schmancy sandwiches added to the menu? There should be three, and exactly three, choices of sandwich: Single, Double and Triple.
Despite the degradation of my most beloved place away from home, my spirits have been recently uplifted. There’s a new Burger Sheriff in town- actually, they’re more of a posse. And I pledge my loyalty for as long as my wallet, and heart, can take their savory goodness.
Five Guys (Burger and Fries) has come to Southern Indiana.
At first glance, I was a little worried to be eating at “Five Guys.” They got their start in Washington D.C., where just about everything is screwed up. But, I guess working to please the most crooked, twisted, screwed up bunch of nincompoops on the planet is a good way to master the Burger.
When you walk into a Five Guys, you’ll notice right off it’s clean. Okay, maybe the two I have begun frequenting are, because they’re new. Time will tell. Next up, you’ll see stacks of fresh, boxed potatoes. That’s because they claim to use only fresh potatoes, fried in peanut oil. They also claim their hamburger never hits the freezer. It’s fresh and refrigerated, never frozen.
On the way to the counter, you’ll notice boxes of un-shelled peanuts out for your consumption. Right there they get points from me. I get to eat while I wait to eat? Man, that’s just like at home, where I’m gnawing on chips or cheese or something, while I man my trusty Weber grill.
By the time you hit the counter, you’ve noticed two other things. The price and the simplicity of the menu. Five Guys makes burgers, kosher hot dogs and grilled cheese sandwiches. No chicken. No salads. And they charge a lot for this wonderful food. More even than Wendy’s. But the price is worth it.
When you get your cheeseburger- dressed however you choose- it’s been cooked well done, and is wrapped in plain foil. Not a paper wrapper or a plastic box. Nope, good old aluminum foil, like you’d have on a picnic. Flavor nor heat will be escaping this burger before you shovel it into your mouth. And the fries? Mmmm. Delicious steak fries, served in a styrofoam cup. And then, they throw some extra fries in the bag, like tinsel sprinkled on a Christmas tree, after the decorations are hung.
I’ll also note that if you order a bacon cheeseburger, the bacon is nice and crispy- not some limp, heated-with-a-hair-dryer strip of rubbery bacon. It crunches and is packed with salty flavor.
I’ll admit that Five Guys is lacking milkshakes on their menu. A juicy bacon cheeseburger with fries is great. But throw in a milkshake, and it’s a feast. At least Five Guys offers free refills to make up for this chilled dairy product bigotry.
By the time you leave a Five Guys, your wallet will be thinner, as though you’ve paid for twice the food you got. But that is fair, since the quality is more than twice as good as anywhere else.
I guess in the future, I’ll still drive by Wendy’s, to see how she’s doing. She does still have Frosties and a drive-thru. She’ll always hold a special place in my heart, but Five Guys has earned a place in my stomach.
Wendy, if you ever get yourself straightened out, call me. I’ll be at Five Guys.
Popularity: 2% [?]
I be feelin hungry-n-stuff…
I was also a big Wendy’s fan until we got a local fast food place called burgers shakes and fries. Not only does this place serve hand made 1/4 pound patties with cheddar,American,Swiss, or even Gorgonzola cheese, but they also have fries which are cooked to perfection and a milkshake that puts the frosty to shame. Not only is it delicious, but the owner is one of the nicest people and he always remember the names of regulars. All this, and for a double with american and a side of small fries it is still under 5$. Makes me wish I were back home.
Although if I ever see a five guys I will definitely be stopping in.
You know, John, there’s nothing like a flame broiled dead cow, piping hot, dripping with grease, clothed with a generous slice of melted cheese, and then covered with tomato, onions, pickles, ketchup, on a bed of fresh lettuce, lovingly nestled between two fresh buns. That’s love:)
I’ve tried to avoid this one, but……..
Wendy’s is still Wendy’s. In this small town I have to choose from, it’s light years better than MickyD’s and still (to me) better than Culvers. Not to speak of MD’s inability to “afford” American beef anymore.
got a great shirt ta-boot. Hear tell they be one up in Bloomington now. I must go see……..
Now, I been to a little hole in the mountain called Cheeseburgers in Paradise……….you want a big greasy burger fixed anyway you like …………
Mostly, scared to go and find it degraded from my previous experience. Times are tough you know, CEO’s are finding it very difficult to make their $15,000/mth mortgages and so bring the “hate” down to the bottom where it is deserved. Can’t afford to pay help to keep the establishment clean anymore, well that’s only the other 50% from the half that is just outright negligence from workers these days. Can’t believe gotta’ work for minimum wage (much more than my $3.35/hr) when I’z be makin’ mo’ sellinz tha goodz.
Well, I will say my $3.35/hr was worth A WHOLE HELL-UV-A LOT more back then in inflationary values.
And still , the CEO’s are making gazillions more now ?
Hmmmmmmmmmm. go figure, makes sense why my best burger now is the one I cook, grill, fry, bake, broil, whatever =AT HOME !!!
No disrespect Dave, but bashing CEO’s is getting a little old. Like any other group of people, there are always a couple of nincompoops, but you shouldn’t make such generalizations.
CEO’s have a duty to their shareholders, and anyone with a 401K or IRA, or other investment, relies on the profits of the “dirty corporations” that CEO’s are responsible for.
If you don’t like the business practices of a company, be it CEO salaries or some other issue, don’t do business with them. That not only means “don’t be a patron,” but also “don’t take the profits from your investments.” If anyone truly despises these profits, but bitches when their investments plummet, they need to check their logic.
But it’s the American way. Pick on the rich, right? Call them greedy, as you complain about the value if your 401K. What does the investor do to help? Nothing, except complain. If CEO’s should force their companies to pay more to the burger-flipper, then the investors should kick in from their profits as well. Better yet, let’s let Obama hire, fire, and regulate their salaries. That would be better, wouldn’t it?
As to minimum wage, economic figures show that the vast majority of those jobs are held by teenagers. Yeah, the same teenagers that don’t have a clue about respect and customer service anymore. If you want to pay them more, then by all means do it from your pocket.
Anyone that criticizes CEO’s in blanket statements should try to do their job for six months.
Hey, I’d do any CEO’s job for six months, and only take half the pay!!! Sign my ass up right NOW.
Sorry there Trog, I feel you are coming to the same fallacious conclusion as Dave: “That wun CEO guy wuz dum, so ther all dum.”
Out of thousands of corporations, you never see the headline, “CEO WORKS 16 HOURS A DAY AND SAVES COMPANY FROM SURE BANCRUPCY”
Do you really believe those idiots on Capitol Hill? Look at AIG, they engineered those bonuses, and then turned around and called AIG greedy and irresponsible. But, they didn’t tell you that most of those execs were working for $1 a year, did they? ONE DOLLAR!
Let’s see, half of that over 6 months eqauls…..25 cents!
Good luck with that! I don’t think I could handle the death threats on my family, the government duplicity, and the life of a company for that kinda money!
I tell you what Ron, you find me ONE CEO that isn’t overpaid, who actually works their ass off, and I’ll agree with you.
Cause I know you can’t. Because of three letters; CEO.
See, people who work their asses off are Presidents of Companies, or managers. They don’t call themselves Chief Executive Officers. That’s a haughty title conferred on a person precisely because their position is overpaid and underworked.
It’s like looking for a benevolent dictator. Being a “dictator” implies some meanness. You aren’t going to find a fair, freedom loving dictator.
You aren’t going to find a hard working CEO. CEOs are, by their very definition, administrators. When was the last time you saw an administrator rolling up their sleeves and getting dirty in the trenches with the peons they are “over”? Never.
It’s part of our American business model to award do-nothing, high paying jobs to slackers. Kind of like government appointees who have no experience but get a job solely because of their political connections.
Ideally, a CEO would be someone who gets paid very little to do an easy job- watch over the hard-working managers. Instead, CEOs get obscene salaries and don’t do hard work.
Ah Trogladork…
Steve Jobs, there.
So, by your definition, the architect of a building is a slacker, because he does not roll up his sleeves and work in the trenches.
So, we should then have a bunch of trench-diggers with no idea why they are digging trenches, right? I mean work can only be defined as physical labor, right?
Man, that means that Edison was a slacker. He had over 1000 patents, was the first to implement the idea of mass-production, and coined the idea of home electricity. But, I bet someone else did the actual “work.” What an over-paid bum!
Geez, are you a CEO, Ron? You sure take this personaly…
No by rationale, an Architect who has his staff do all the work while he sits back, watching them and ordering new pencils is a slacker.
Steve Jobs?
Please. What work does he do? He’s little more than the Apple Mascot/Motivational speaker, shilling products he’s probably never even seen the insides of. That’s what happens when you give up the “co-founder” title and opt for a cushy “CEO” spot.
You’re missing the whole point of BEING a CEO. You take a CEO job precisely so you don’t have to work.
Yeah, yeah, I know all about the shareholder blah, blah…
My point was to say first : In today’s market, CEO’s in general (and yes I know not all are worthless slacking bums) draw “earnings” from said Corps. that far exceed the direct proportion of the increase in sales or other wages let’s just say from 10-20 years ago. Legally, they can make any amount they wish, but when it comes to the product/service they provide going down the crapper and they still make even larger wages justify your reasoning . I could literally list several establishments I know who use this ideology of “we can’t afford to fix it” or we won’t pay for the actual job to get done as we require (now) our employees to “give a little more” to help get thru this mess. That’s fine, let’s all chip in and fix it…..whoa Nelly, the CEO still draws his chunk regardless.
As for wages , I am not promoting a higher minimum wage, no way it’s too high now. Back when I made $3.35 I earned it !!! They (today) don’t deserve the wage I made. No, not all of ‘em, but yes, most.
I’ll give one example and then shut up (cause I’z dum) a local Corporate Franchise in such a business as to have not lost a beat from this “economic crisis” claims to be “losing money”. Damn shame when some in the know could justify in certain areas sales are even UP !!! Now, in the course of business when specific equipment needs repaired : “can’t afford to fix it”. When the company relies on security cameras (numerous) and only 2 of the 12+ work : “can’t afford to fix it”. When the employees are told and expected to work (free of charged time) before and after their shift………well, all because the “times, they be tough”. When one looks into the actual profit lines and executive pay, they be the only ones getting a great product/service. Maybe they do indeed deserve it, but so does the employee who busts his/her butt for them and so does the customer who pays for said product/service.
If this were but a 1 out of 100 example, you’d be right, but you are wrong. You also need to kick back and think about how and why and who tanked your 401k or whatever. Where did it actually go, or did it just vanish ?
The only reason a person bitches is because he wants to be rich just like the “other” guy, right? ………is that the problem ? Well, it definitely is in the Pro athlete category, but… I am not bitching, just sharing what I “know” , none of us really know anything for sure, just live what we do.
Oh yeah, one last thing, the reason people advance to higher levels is so they DON’T have to work their ass off to make a buck. But, taking more than the “system” will allow is just plain foolish. When the system breaks because of the taking, no wonder the common man bitches and the system breaks.
Trog, I wasn’t trying to be combative. I do take it seriously, not so much personally. No I’m not a CEO, and wouldn’t want to be.
If you research Steve Jobs, you will see that his business prowess is exactly what lead to the success of Apple. You may think he is just a mascot, but if you look deeper, you will see that his vision and leadership lead directly to Apple’s slow, but persistent, climb to the top.
He is a visionary, much like Thomas Edison. It’s easy to take shots at him, because you only see him presenting new products, but I know his story. He left Apple and founded NeXT Computer, which grew to be a thorn in Apple’s side. Eventually, Apple bought-out NeXT, and that was when Jobs became the “interim” CEO of Apple. Among other things, Jobs’ brought to Apple the technology for OSX, arguably one of greatest personal platforms on the market.
You can read more on Jobs here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_jobs
So, yeah, I don’t like blanket generalizations about CEO’s. Why has Apple been one of few companies to continue to show massive growth in the current economy? Must be the guys sweepin’ the floor. Nah, it’s probably because Steve Jobs is a business genius. Like Bill Gates, he dropped out of college when he created Apple.
So, I apologize if I think a person that has brought so much innovation (many that you benefit from) is referred to as a “puppet” that does nothing.
Dave: I’m wrong? Is that so? Then if I’m wrong, why are there still thousands of corporations still afloat? Oh yeah, the floor sweepers, I forgot.
This reminds me of politics. You guys repeatedly talk about how biased and WRONG the media is when covering politics (I agree). You point out that the media has an agenda, and that they are implementing class warfare to get “Maobama” elected. But, when they talk about “mean old corporations,” and “lazy over-paid CEO’s,” you say, “yeah, them bastards!”
Yes, there are bad CEO’s, but there are many good ones that never get a sniff of praise, because guys like you don’t want to hear that.
I would appreciate being “shown” I’m wrong, instead of just being “told” I’m wrong.
We’re still friends, though.
Sorry Dave and Trog, we are at odds here.
Let’s shift the blame from the CEOs to where it belongs. [yeah, I am being simplistic because Ron put it so well].
Kilroy, that was a SUPER review! No Five Guys where I live, either. Therefore I can’t compare, but your analysis was so well done now I crave kosher hot dogs and steak fries, with lots of ketchup.
Like Dave, MickeyD is not for me. Having said that, until a time where Five Guys enter my world, Wendy’s Chili will have to do.
Loved that last paragraph…It brought tears to my eyes [guffaw].
Well no wonder Wendy’s service sucks. Look at the kind of employees they hire:
http://www.news4jax.com/news/19791663/detail.html