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Friday, July 23, 2010

Chow / ??!! The Hidden Valley of Flavor Country

Posted by Andrew Wright on Fri, Jul 23, 2010 at 3:33 PM

If you’re looking to add a little intrigue to your next 3am munchies run, the Coupon Sherpa site has compiled a list of the secret menus for 24 restaurant chains.

Some of the options are disappointingly staid (what more can Taco Bell do with meat, cheese, and a guac gun, anyway?), but check out the moxie of McDonalds, which offers up stuff like Chicken and Waffles (McChicken patty crammed into a McGriddle), the Pie McFlurry (exactly what it sounds like, tragically), and the notorious McGangBang (double cheeseburger with a McChicken in the middle). Any takers/survivors of a previous encounter?

Anecdote: When I was at the ’86 Vancouver Expo (yes, I’m old) I vividly remember ordering a Syrup McKrispy, which was … well, pretty much a McNugget with pancake innards. The big draw, however, was the inner core, which somehow consisted of a molten ball of syrup. (On the how-did-they-do-that scale, it beat Sea Monkeys all to hell.) Anybody else remember this thing? Google has failed me.

Comments (19) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment

You're old

Posted by I'm 85 Years Old on July 23, 2010 at 3:41 PM

The thing in that picture is not food.

Posted by Fnarf

on July 23, 2010 at 3:46 PM

Why you gotta tease us with In and Out? We don't have those here in WA.

/i has a sad

Posted by jns on July 23, 2010 at 3:47 PM

Expo 86 had some great food. My fave was the French exhibit which did the best garlic snails I've ever tasted, as well as superb (and not overly greasy) pastries and stuffed mushrooms.

Next best was the First Nations exhibit which had the best hard cider and salmon - even better than what I've had here.

The secret ingredient is love.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on July 23, 2010 at 4:08 PM

oh, I forgot - bronze medal to Germany. Nice brat and kraut. Not sure if I did some of the beers, or was that the Danish exhibit?

Posted by Will in Seattle

on July 23, 2010 at 4:09 PM

Looks suspiciously like the one in this link from In n Out burger:

http://www.cheese-burger.net/stories/tal…

Posted by Canuck on July 23, 2010 at 4:47 PM

The thing in the picture is food. It's just too much food.

Posted by g on July 23, 2010 at 4:53 PM

Since when is Arby's chicken cordon bleu sandwich a "secret?" It's been on the menu for years, in fact, I distinctly remember seeing TV commercials for it.

In general, I'm calling bullshit on this list. Most of the McDonald's entries are obviously made-up, like this one:

Big Mac with Quarter Pounder Patties - This is great if you are looking to decrease the cost and calories of the classic Big Mac Sandwich. You get the entire flavor with less meat.

Yes, because larger patties = less meat. (?!) This person has clearly never even seen a Big Mac.

Posted by Furcifer on July 23, 2010 at 5:02 PM

@8 is right, a lot of the stuff on the list is untrue. Either not secret (it's on the regular menu) or not available at all.

Posted by Urgutha Forka on July 23, 2010 at 6:17 PM

Please put photos of corpses behind NSFW jumps

Posted by Be courteous on July 23, 2010 at 6:21 PM

Naw, they should post photos of real corpses on the main page. God knows I've seen enough of them; wouldn't bother me.

Posted by Fifty-Two-Eighty

on July 23, 2010 at 6:43 PM

The pic is disgusting yet hypnotic. Stare long enough, the cheese starts looking like the human centipede.

Posted by Durang Durang

on July 23, 2010 at 7:36 PM

Chick-Fil-A Fried Club: This works better if you fry the marinated chicken breasts used for the grilled club sandwiches. Back when I was in high school (and, sadly, working at a Chick-Fil-A), a co-worker hit upon this idea. Goddamn delicious.

Posted by trstr on July 23, 2010 at 8:01 PM

I was 5 years old when I went to the 86 Expo.

Posted by Simone on July 23, 2010 at 8:03 PM

Chick-Fil-A is owned and operated by super-evangelical christians.

They donate to a lot of extremely conservative christian groups.

I recommend avoiding them.

Posted by Urgutha Forka on July 23, 2010 at 8:21 PM

@15 And worse they sponsor SEC football

Posted by vooodooo84 on July 23, 2010 at 9:49 PM

@15. All the ones I know of (in AZ) are owned by Mormons, which is just as bad, if not the same thing. And @16 is right.

Posted by Renton Mike on July 24, 2010 at 10:12 AM

I live off of secret menus and special requests thanks to this faggy "no eating meat" thing I do. If you aren't in a rush and can spare a couple of minutes, BK will do a gardenburger patty and egg on a biscuit for you instead of a normal breakfast sammich. Have it your way, indeed.

This supposing you somehow were unlucky enough to end up in a Burger King.

Posted by Baconcat on July 24, 2010 at 10:20 AM

The most creative "off-menu" concoctions, in my experience, are devised by employees desperate to avoid eating the same damn thing, shift after shift.

At Steak 'N Shake, order a plate of plain noodles (a la chili mac), a cup of cream of broccoli soup (check daily soup rotation), a sliced chicken breast (you may have to order a sandwich), and ask for a parmesan shaker. Voila: fettucini alfredo!

Also (and this is "taste at your own risk!") ask for a shake with *real* ice cream. The nonfat "shake base" they use is fine, but shakes made with full-fat vanilla are a revelation!

Posted by dulcibella on July 25, 2010 at 1:33 PM