McDonald’s has rolled out the Angus Third Pounder as its contender in the premium burger war. The new line of three burgers have been in test market in several cities for two years (reported way back when by THE NIBBLE) and are meant to compete with the Original Six Dollar Burger offered by Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s chains and Burger King’s Steakhouse XT Burger—as well as the larger burgers available at In-N-Out Burger, Fatburger, Smashburger, The Counter and Five Guys.
The Angus burgers are available in three variations: the Deluxe, with American cheese, lettuce and tomatoes; Bacon & Cheddar; and Mushroom & Swiss. In addition to the premium beef, McDonald’s is using other high-end ingredients, including the Swiss cheese and an artisan-style roll. The tab will be about $3.99, depending on location. They will not be a core menu item, but “will continue to have a role on the menu,” according to a McDonald’s spokesperson.
McDonald’s Angus Third Pounder Burgers. Do they look this good in person?
Despite the recession, McDonald’s franchisees report that the Angus burgers are a big hit. The premium burger biz has attracted several fine-dining chefs, who hope to use their star power to attract diners interested in higher-end burgers. Big names like Bobby Flay, Hubert Keller, Danny Meyer, Marcus Samuelsson and Laurent Tourondel have opened, or are planning, their own burger chains.
America loves its burgers; they rank as our favorite food (pizza is second). This is unfortunate, given how un-green the raising of beef cattle is (animal waste contributes more greenhouse gas than automobile exhaust, and beef cattle contribute much more than other animal crops). And certainly, doctors and nutritionists will tell you that you should cut down on your beef consumption—all that cholesterol isn’t good for you, no matter how young you are. So, tempting as these burger offerings are, treat them as you would a hot fudge sundae—a treat to be enjoyed once in a while rather than a daily diet staple. Save the planet, save yourself. We know our words don’t hold much weight, but we just had to say them.
Don’t throw out a pot of cold coffee or tea. If you don’t have room to refrigerate it as an iced beverage, turn it into ice cubes. Then, you can cool off your next glass of iced coffee or tea without diluting the drink. We keep the different cubes in color-coded trays from iSi Orka (and do the same with Bloody Mary mix and spring water cubes).
This week’s prize: A healthy gift basket
from Smucker’s. Denise Austin workout video
included but not shown in photo. Retail value $80.00.
You have a far better chance of winning the weekly food prize in THE NIBBLE’s Gourmet Giveaway than winning the lottery—and entering the Gourmet Giveaway is free!
Tearful letters were received last winter when we suspended the Gourmet Giveaway because the company that sponsored the prizes was sold. But it’s back now in a new and simpler form that will please some folks, because there’s no weekly trivia quiz to take before you enter. All you have to do is go to a page on TheNibble.com related to the contest (this week it’s a reduced-calorie recipe made with Smucker’s Fruit Spread), click the link on the bottom of the page and enter your email address. It’s that simple. To those of you who loved those food trivia quizzes: they’re still available to take, over and over again, and we promise to have some new ones down the road.
And rest assured, there’s no spamming. If you aren’t selected as the winner, your address will be discarded.
If you like to take quizzes and polls, you can take a weekly poll on our new Facebook Fan Page—just a quickie, one-question poll. And, there will be special Gourmet Giveaway prizes for Facebook Fans only. These blog posts are also streamed to the Facebook Fan page, along with our Tweets, so consider it a major stop for NIBBLE social media channels.
What Should You Do Next?
Check out this week’s Gourmet Giveaway, a healthy food picnic basket and Denise Austin workout video, sponsored by Smucker’s.
Join THE NIBBLE Facebook Fan Page for extra opportunities to win food prizes—we’re saving some of the choicest morsels for our BFFs (best Facebook Fans).
William Bounds, one of our favorite kitchenware and spice companies, has invented the better veggie steamer. It solves the problem we’ve always had with the standard variety: how to remove the hot steamer from the pot, and how to stop those little metal feet from scratching our cookware. The silicone stay-cool telescoping handle is heat resistant to 600°F, and the silicone feet never scratch.
The steamer is dishwasher safe and $13.00 at WmBoundsLtd.com. William Bounds also makes lovely pepper mills and salt mills (to grind sea salt).
A people-pleasing dessert that takes no trouble is an ice cream mix-in “bar.” Buy basic ice cream flavors and set out bowls of mix-ins: M&Ms, chopped peppermint patties and peanut butter cups, chocolate and butterscotch chips, mini malt balls, cookie dough, walnuts, almonds, peanuts, pecans, bananas, coconut. Chocolate and caramel sauces can be overkill with mix-ins, but a little whipped cream is a perfect topper. Set the ice cream containers in a punch bowl or other large container full of ice, with a scooper for each flavor, and let your guests help themselves to ice cream, mix-ins and fun. They can layer ice cream and mix-ins, or simply use the mix-ins as toppings.
