fast food foray

Tomorrow is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and hence a holy day of obligation. It's also Thursday, which is swim practice (DS1), dance class (DD), and soccer practice (DH and DS2) day. So we went to Mass this evening, and afterwards, we stopped in at the new Carl's jr in the neighborhood for a quick supper.

The burgers were definitely superior to either McD's or BK's, but not quite as good as In'n'Out's. The kid's meal burgers are the biggest I've ever seen included in a child's meal; we could easily order one meal and split it between DD and DS2, and they would both have plenty to eat. Even DS1, who generally adores cheeseburgers and was starving when we hit the place, couldn't finish it. Best of all, this mondo-kid's burger plus fries and drink comes in at the very reasonable price of $2.50. (Yes, there was a toy: Linus sprawled on top of a giant snowball-top, their tie-in is A Charlie Brown Christmas. It could be a lot worse.)

DH and I both had one of their "Six Dollar Burgers." First off, I am compelled to point out that the so-called "Six Dollar" burger did, in fact, cost $6.50. I know, it's only 50 cents more, but if you're going to call it "the six dollar burger," then I think it should cost, you know, six dollars.

On to the burger itself: I got the avocado bacon cheeseburger thing. It was way too big to eat neatly. I ended up nibbling around the edges to get the sandwich innards to match the dimensions of the bun, and then I had a better shot of eating it without it all sliding out the back whenever I took a bite.

It was tasty. The avocado is mixed with something spicy (chipotle?) that gave it a nice kick.

The fries were a little dry but edible -- not greasy, and not made of some horrifically inappropriate potato like the ones at In'n'Out.

Generally I don't care for fast food but I recognize its utility, especially when I have hungry and cranky children to feed. Carl's jr is going on the list as a more-than-acceptable alternative to the usual.