The tournament so far: Introduction | Local Qualifier | Regional Qualifier | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4

My apologies for the tardiness of this update. There’s actually a stupidly simple explanation — I keep my notebook in the chest pocket of my winter jacket, the weather has been nice, and so all these times when I think about writing this, I find myself somewhere without my notes.

Before I get into this round too much, I want to talk about a pattern I noticed. Consistently, throughout every round of this tournament, the sandwich I have eaten at lunch has defeated the sandwich I’ve eaten at dinner (with the sort-of-exception of the controversial Round 1, when I ate both sandwiches at lunch, in which case the sandwich I ate first defeated the sandwich I ate second). Bronco’s beat Don & Millie’s; Runza beat Culver’s; Bronco’s beat Burger King; Runza beat Wendy’s; Hardee’s beat McDonald’s; Arby’s beat Long John Silver’s. All of the winners were eaten first.

I’ve come up with some theories as to why this might be.
1. By the second sandwich, I’m sick of fish, and I end up taking it out on whichever sandwich I ate last.
2. All of these fish sandwiches are bad, but I really only know that for a fact based on the sandwich I’m eating at the time. The sandwich from several hours ago has had a chance to sweeten in my memories.
3. I have my subconscious favorites, and since I am more excited about eating those, I go at them first.
4. Total coincidence.
Continue reading →

If you find you’re not getting enough food tournaments around here, check out Munch Madness courtesy of Jack & John in the Morning on 1400 KLIN. I realize “Munch Madness” doesn’t roll off the tongue like “Lent 2010 Fast Food Fish Sandwich Tournament,” but it does offer multiple categories and fan/visitor voting, and it does not require you to eat a stupid amount of fast food fish sandwiches.

The first round of the Sandwich region begins today.

The tournament so far: Introduction | Local Qualifier | Regional Qualifier | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3

Friday was my birthday. I normally like to enjoy the sort of trivial nature of celebrating another year of not dying through somewhat flippant and excessively festive group meals — typically birthday lunch with friends and birthday dinner with my wife, and maybe friends too. But as time has gone by and I’ve consistently celebrated my birthday in this way, I’ve kind of grown to anticipate these meals in a way that has basically come full circle from my youth, where the irony is gone and I honestly enjoy the fruits of making a bigger-than-necessary event out of birthday lunch and birthday dinner.

But this year, my birthday fell on a Friday, and I have this stupid fast-food fish sandwich tournament. And I’ve come too far to abandon it now, even if it meant I was really annoyed with my February self for committing me to this idea. So I let my wife choose which she’d rather eat — Arby’s or Long John Silver’s — and that (Long John Silver’s) because our romantic birthday dinner, and the leftover was the “Hey friends, come join me for my birthday lunch!” lunch (Arby’s).

Arby’s Fish Sandwich Continue reading →

The tournament so far: Introduction | Local Qualifier | Regional Qualifier | Round 1 | Round 2

McDonald’s Filet-o-Fish
The first thing I thought when opening the cardboard box was “This looks small.” And compared to its fish sandwich peers, it probably is smaller than most.

The Filet-o-Fish is about as minimal as you can get and still be a fish sandwich. McDonald’s has reduced the fish sandwich concept to its most basic and necessary elements and perfected them. I couldn’t help but think that the Filet-o-Fish was how Apple would make a fish sandwich — it boasts a clean design with lines that are strong but smooth. The bun is so spherical it almost seems unreal. I don’t know what it is about it, but eating it is a unique experience that other fish sandwiches have been unable to duplicate to this point.

But like Apple products, the Filet-o-Fish is subject to some of the same criticisms. One could reasonably argue it’s overpriced compared to similar sandwiches (the combo hovers right around $5). I’ve long relied on the Filet-o-Fish as my Lent sandwich of choice, but the existence of this tournament shows that I’ve begun second-guessing my brand loyalty.

Hardee’s Beer Battered Fish Supreme Continue reading →

Thanks to Jack and John at KLIN 1400 for having me on this morning to talk about the NEALO.COM Lent 2010 Fast Food Fish Sandwich Tournament. It was a lot of fun, and I had no reason to be nervous ahead of time. I guess I’ve just never been in a situation where the credibility of my fast food fish sandwich tournament is on the line.

I mentioned on the show that I realized on the way to the station that I forgot about King’s Classic. I talked to my sister afterward and she pointed out that I forgot Sonic too. Next year, I guess.

I’m typing this right now from McDonald’s, where the manager is showing off his singing fish to customers.

The tournament so far: Introduction | Local Qualifier | Regional Qualifier | Round 1

Wendy’s Premium Fish Fillet
The first thing I noticed about this sandwich was how expensive it was. It’s $3.39 for just the sandwich, and cheese is extra. I can’t tell you how much extra, because the signs that are supposed to tell you how much the cheese costs are blank, and the woman at the register didn’t know how much cheese cost either — she just knew it was more. She guessed it was around 40 cents. So if these sandwiches were graded based on communications skills, the Wendy’s Premium Fish Fillet would receive low marks. They are, however, graded on value, and this thing is an expensive sandwich.

The bun is nice and fluffy. It has those little flakes on it like a pseudo-sesame seed bun. I’m sure there is a very simple, mundane description of this but all I can think of is “pseudo-sesame seed.” They’re not seeds — they’re little flakes. The fillet itself is the standard fast-food square. The lettuce comes in single leaf form and the tartar sauce is applied in a nice amount. Toward the very end of the sandwich, I thought I was detecting a light citrusy taste, but I think it was just the last glop of the tartar sauce.

Returning to that near-four-dollar price tag, expense can be forgivable if the quality is high enough. This sandwich shall remain unforgiven for its price. The Premium Fish Fillet is not a bad sandwich. I consider it inoffensive but bland, which I think could end up being a common theme throughout this tournament.

Check the end of this entry for a guest review of the Wendy’s Premium Fish Fillet

Runza fish sandwich
After the regional qualifier, I felt like Runza was my early favorite. But just like any tournament, even good competitors can have an off day.

I had the fish sandwich at a different Runza this past week. Right off the bat, the sandwich was less visually impressive. The bun was smashed and the lettuce leaf was tiny, completely hidden by the fillet itself. The fillet still had the large, impressive “I came from a fish” shape — still unique among the establishments I’ve visited. There appears to be a direct relationship between “How much the fillet looks like it came from a fish” and “How much flavor there is in the fillet,” because I still thought this was a tasty slab o’ cod. Repeating myself from the regional qualifier, I like Runza’s tartar sauce. It’s not as clumpy as traditional tartar sauce, and it reminds me of a tartared version of Runza’s ranch dressing.

My wife, however, was grossed out by this sandwich. She thought hers was soggy and the tartar too sweet. And she’s the Runza fan in the household. I don’t know if I’ve become desensitized to the somewhat universal sogginess of a fast food fish sandwich, or maybe she just got a dud sandwich.

The verdict Continue reading →

The tournament so far: Introduction | Local Qualifier | Regional Qualifier

If you follow me on twitter, you may have seen this post Friday afternoon:

Day 3 of the fish sandwich tournament is a disaster … May have to redo. Details to come at nealo.com. Ugh.

My plan for these challenges was to eat one sandwich at lunch and the other at dinner, but with fish day falling on a Friday, I’m quickly realizing that I won’t always be able to assume that I can spend Friday evening at a fast food joint. This past Friday was one of those days. Evening plans meant that I needed to eat both the Bronco’s Fishwich and the BK Big Fish before dinner. So my plan was to go to Bronco’s, eat the Fishwich, and then go straight to Burger King and have a BK Big Fish.

Bronco’s
And that’s what I did. But it ended up not being that easy. I got to Bronco’s, and based on my lesson from earlier in the week, decided not to order fries. So I said I wanted the fish sandwich. The server replied “Which one?” Back on Wednesday, I mentioned that Bronco’s Fishwich is a catfish fillet. I was wrong. Bronco’s has the Fishwich, which is regular cod, and then a catfish sandwich. The problem is, I’m not sure which one I had Wednesday. I’m pretty sure I had the Fishwich, because I think I ordered the #7 of the menu (which is the Fishwich combo), but I also thought the fillet tasted different than the standard fast food cod. I now think that the intense frying of the fillet, which led to a crustier casing than usual, must’ve created a unique enough taste that I thought I was having the non-cod.

But it wasn’t nearly as good this time around. It looked identical to the fish sandwich I had on Wednesday, but this time it was not as deeply fried, and it ended up tasting extremely generic. It didn’t have the charm I felt it had on Wednesday when it bested Don & Millie’s. The problem was, I kind of felt like I needed to also try to the catfish sandwich in order to make sure I didn’t have the wrong one, but more on that later.

Burger King’s BK Big Fish
I threw away my trash, hopped in the car and drove a few blocks to Burger King for their BK Big Fish. This also ended up not being as easy as it would seem. I looked up at the menu above the counter and saw there is a new Lime Big Fish (maybe with cilantro too?). I asked the server if that was what the Big Fish was now (thinking of years ago when McDonald’s relaunched the McChicken as the Spicy McChicken), but she said that now there were two Big Fishes — the lime one and the regular one.

I panicked and ordered the lime one. My thought process was something along the lines of “This is a Lent competition, and this is their featured Lent sandwich,” as the regular Big Fish is available year round. This was a huge mistake. This sandwich was terrible. It tasted like they made a Big Fish and doused it in lime juice, because the whole thing was soggy and overpowered by that taste. It wouldn’t stay together as I ate it. I was tempted to not even finish it.

The verdict Continue reading →

For an explanation of the NEALO.COM Lent 2010 Fast Food Fish Sandwich Tournament, click here.

Runza’s fish sandwich
This fish sandwich is built around a big cod fillet served on a fluffy sesame seed bun. The fillet is long and flattish and sort of oddly shaped, meaning it looks like it came from an actual fish as opposed to some kind of rectangular fish-patty mold. This has been the first fish sandwich of the 2010 season that includes cheese. I have a history with cheese on fish sandwiches. The lettuce is also in big-leaf form — not shredded. The tartar sauce is almost runny, sort of like the consistency of Runza’s ranch dressing.

This was a very good sandwich. It tasted great, it went down smooth and it did not cause problems later. I’ve had some issues with Runza burger-and-other-sandwich quality in recent times, so I was a little worried about this stop. I was pleasantly surprised.

Culver’s North Atlantic Cod Continue reading →

For an explanation of the NEALO.COM Lent 2010 Fast Food Fish Sandwich Tournament, click here.

My first thought when judging the local bracket of the NEALO.COM Lent 2010 Fast Food Fish Sandwich Tournament is “I hope this gets easier.” This was a tough call to make.

Bronco’s “Fishwich”
The interesting thing about Bronco’s “Fishwich” is that it’s a catfish fillet, as opposed to the usual cod, which seems to be the fast food standard. The Fishwich has some nice flavor and a good, solid texture — my common problems with the traditional cod fillet are that they’re sometimes mushy and often fall apart. Maybe the Fishwish’s advantage comes from its crustier exterior, which was quite tasty. The only topping on the Fishwich was a layer of tartar sauce beneath the fillet, which was just (barely) enough to keep the sandwich from being too dry.

I ordered the Fishwich combo, which came with fries and a drink. The fries were terrible — probably some of the worst fries I’ve ever had. On one hand, it’s not fair to judge a fish sandwich based on the fries. On the other hand, you don’t eat a fish sandwich in a vacuum, and if you plan on eating somewhere, you might want more than just a sandwich.

Don & Millie’s Fish Sandwich
The fish sandwich was surprisingly picturesque. I’m only now thinking “I should’ve taken pictures of these,” but a sandwich doesn’t usually look like it does in the picture. But this did! Content-wise, this seemed to be a much more standard cod fillet with some shaved lettuce and nice lumpy tartar sauce. The sandwich tasted a little bland when I started eating it, but it finished strong.

The fries were quite good. Overall, the meal was somewhat unremarkable, but still very pleasant.

The verdict Continue reading →