Burger King Has It Their Way!

I eat breakfast from time-to-time and I usually don’t go inside. I opt for the quick drive-thru, off to my office, and enjoy whatever item I have chosen in peace as I start my day. Burger King has an old saying “Have it your way.” Apparently that saying has now changed to “Have it whatever way Burger King wants to give it to you, way”. I’m convinced this is the truth not after one, not after two, but after three trips to two separate Burger Kings on Stateline Avenue, Texarkana, USA.

We’ll look at Burger King number one on the south end, Arkansas side of Stateline Avenue. I went here the first day and ordered a number three with a large coke. The total was $6.09 and I pulled around. Now, a number three is a double croissanwich. That means double the heart-stopping, artery clogging, fine breakfast food that Americans love. I completed my adventure through the drive thru, arrived at my office, opened the sack and found a number one inside. A number one is a single croissanwich and, as indicated by the billboard, has only half the flavor of the double. It also cost a lot less. Well, I just figured someone made a mistake. No big deal to me, I can eat either one.

The next day I went to Burger King on the north end, Texas side of Stateline Avenue. I again ordered a number three with a large coke. This time I paid $5.88. To my surprise, when I got ready to eat this fine double dealing sandwich I found a number one in the bag. Now I was more than a little frustrated, but again decided not to say anything.

Today, I pulled into the first Burger King again, the one on the south end, Arkansas side of Stateline Avenue. With my advanced knowledge of how this game would be played, I decided to order a number one (the single sandwich). I ordered it with a large coke and I ordered the sausage version. I pulled to the window and made the comment to the chashier that I had to order the number one because that is what Burger King seems committed to me having. I explained that I had ordered the number three for the past two days and instead got the number one. The girl smiled, took my money, and as most cashiers are, seemed oblivious to my concerns. I got the sandwich, came to my office, opened it and you can probably guess what I got. You most likely think I finally got the number three instead of the number one with sausage. No, sorry, this time I got a number one with bacon. It has become painfully obvious to me that I can not have it my way at the two Burger Kings on Stateline Avenue in Texarkana…no matter what I order.

Stateline McDonald's Texarkana, Texas

It’s been sometime since I have posted here, but do not worry. I have been eating. We went to the Stateline McDonalds in Texarkana, Texas today for a quick bite. You will notice that the store has a 50’s theme, despite the large TV in the center showing sports and the 2000’s prices on the menus. The store was clean and I noticed that several staff seemed to be rotating keeping the drink area clean, bathrooms clean, and the tables clean (not in that order). We bought Mighty Kids meals, a salad, and some chicken nuggets. Everything was great, well cooked and when the kids got a toy they already had, it was hassle free to change it out.

I would recommend this McDonald’s to anyone traveling with kids, especially if you want to avoid the long wait while your child climbs through the toy area as there is no play area at this store. The store is easy to get in and out depending on the time of day if you want to turn left back toward the freeway. Some who grew up with McDonald’s will recognize some of the features of the store since it was redone in an attempt to look like an original McDonald’s. Enjoy this one.

Food on delay - Let's talk bail out then eat out!

Here’s a thought for our representatives, both Republican and Democrat: No more bail out!

If we are going to bail out each country that comes along and says, “Help” and we’re going to bail out each business that fails and says “Help,” then let’s bail you and me out. Our representatives are supposed to represent us. It doesn’t matter whether they are Democrat, Republican, or Independents once elected, the represent all the people of their district or area or even nation. So, tell your representative that you want a bail out too. Here’s an excerpt of an e-mail that makes good sense:

“I'm in favor of giving $85,000,000,000 to America in a "We Deserve It" dividend. To make the math simple, let's assume there are 200,000,000 bona fide U.S. citizens, aged 18+. 
 
Our population is about 301 million counting every man, woman and child. So, 200,000,000 might be a fair stab at adults 18 and up.

Now, divide 200 million, 18+ adults into $85 billion - that equals $425,000.00 each! Yes, my plan is to give that $425,000 to every adult as a "We Deserve It" dividend. 
 
Of course, it would NOT be tax free. So, let's assume a tax rate of 30%. Every recipient would pay $127,500.00 in taxes. That sends $25.5 billion right back to Uncle Sam! It also means that every adult 18+ has $297,500.00 in their pocket. A husband and wife would have $595,000.00! 


What would you do with $297,500.00 to $595, 000.00? Pay off your mortgage – housing crisis solved- Repay college loans – what a great boost to new grads 
· Put away money for college – it'll really be there 
· Save in a bank – create money to loan to entrepreneurs 
· Buy a new car – create jobs 
· Invest in the market – capital drives growth 
· Pay for your parent's medical insurance – health care improves 
· Enable Deadbeat Dads to come clean – or else 
 
Remember this is for every adult U.S. citizen, 18 and older.

Remember, this plan only really costs $59.5 billion because $25.5 billion is returned instantly in taxes to Uncle Sam.”


To me, it looks like this guy has the plan that will work. Maybe we should forward it to our representatives. 
 Should the government be worried that we can’t handle out money, let us send in an IRS form indicating how the money was used and they (our government) can send each of us a form telling us how they used our money. After all, someone once said that “people do what you inspect, not what you expect”.

On The Border Again

As you may have figured out, we enjoy eating at On The Border. Once again we had the take out last night. A Border Sampler, and Superior Dinner made up the main group. Prices seemed to have stopped going up, but at the same time the staff seemed a little greedy with the Cheese Dip and chips.

We were only given one package of chips and the cheese dip was only about half full. I did request an additional package of chips and received them without a problem during the checkout process. Naturally, the rest of the meal was great.

My suggestion to anyone eating the take out is to pay close attention to how many bags of chips you are getting. If you are an avid chip eater, as I am, then you will need to request additional bags of chips. After all, if you were eating in at the restaurant, they would give you as many chips as you wanted. You might as well get the chips you want with your take out or else you'll find yourself short a chip or two during your meal.

Two Chicks Cafe

Two Chicks Café is located on Summerhill road in Texarkana, Texas and at the old location for Old Time Burger. This small café recently opened without much fanfare so I decided to try it out. On the Friday before Hurricane Ike hit Texarkana as Tropical Storm Ike, I visited the drive through of the café. The first thing I noticed was there was no outside menu at the time. I figured I should have called ahead with my order, but when I reached the window, the people were friendly and notified me that they had a menu. The menu presented decent prices on things from chicken (not surprising) to hamburgers and other various items. They offer a daily special and the special that Friday was fish.

I took the special and returned to my office. The fish was better than I had expected. The portions were large and the sides modest. I found both the taste and portions far better than some restaurants offer in the Texarkana area. I would recommend Two Chicks Café for families or lunch during the week.

A note of interest I found positive for this new café. They were given an “A” by the Texarkana-Bowie County Family Health Center by the Food Inspections department. Found at http://www.txkusa.org/health/foodinspections.htm you can see a wide list of restaurants from the Texas side with grade listing. More importantly, you can see restaurants that have been graded to possibly cause sickness to you or your family. It’s a great list that I like to consult and it is updated by the department as needed.

McDonald's - St. Michael's Drive

Tonight was a night to take the kids out to see Star Wars: Clone Wars (great movie) and grab something to eat right afterwards. You can imagine what kids wanted, McDonald's for the new Star Wars toys. We chose the McDonald's on St. Michael’s drive for two reasons. First, we didn’t want to deal with all the kids at the Stateline location, and second we didn’t want one with a playroom for us to have to have a major fight with the kids when it was time to go.

The McDonald's was clean and well stocked with friendly people inside. There were signs that the recent rains had penetrated the room as water spots were on some ceiling tiles. The kids got the Mighty Kid Cheeseburger meals, my better half got the Big N Tasty meal, and I got the Chicken club meal. We did notice that service seemed a little slower than is usual for McDonald's.

Once the meals arrived, we ate and watched the kids play with Star Wars toys. The basic order for the kids was correct, except that we had ordered the cheeseburger meals and they received the regular double meat burgers with no cheese. The kids didn’t notice.

After the meal, we decided to give in to further temptation and ordered Sundays. I paid and waited. While the worker prepared the Sundays, my wife noticed that the worker dropped one of the lids on the floor, picked it up, seemed to think about it, and then stuck it on one of the Sundays. She pointed this out to me. Once the Sundays were done, I told them that they could keep them as I was no longer sure which one had the lid that the worker dropped, but that we could go somewhere else for ice cream. To the credit of the manager on shift, she immediately intervened, and offered a refund. When I told her a refund wasn’t necessary, we were simply not going to eat the Sundays when one of the lids had been dropped; she immediately threw the Sundays away and started making new ones herself.

We ended up leaving with the new Sunday’s because our youngest decided to throw a fit about the chocolate on his Sunday. In the end, the warm air outside claimed our Sundays and they ended up in the trash anyway. I obviously have a problem with the way the employee handled a dropped lid. However, I have to commend the store’s on-shift manger for doing everything in her power to make it right. This manager apparently knows how to keep customers and what it takes to offer good, fast food service. McDonald’s should be commended for keeping such managers on at all times when the store is open.

Pizza Inn

Here in Texarkana we have an outstanding group of pizza places to enjoy eating in. You can go to Dominos, Papa Johns, CiCis, Pizza Hut, Pizza Inn, or even have pizza at the local mall. However, despite all the choices, my favorite remains Pizza Inn.

Pizza Inn’s buffet is consistently great. They provide a variety of pizza without cutting ingredients. Unfortunately, many pizza buffets seem to have the unsaid goal of filling you up with bread. This is not the case with Pizza Inn. Further, Wednesday night is my favorite night for pizza.

You may not know this, but eat in or carry out on Wednesday evening is half price on medium and large pizzas. This along with great service, friendly people (consistently of employees is a huge plus at Pizza Inn) and the great food makes for great midweek break for cooking.

Last Wednesday evening was no different from any other. We ordered our pizza, picked it up and found it to be outstanding. The combination of half-price on medium and large pizzas along with the other benefits makes Pizza Inn my choice Wednesdays and just about any other day of the week too!