Anne Marie Panoringan

Boudin SF

One-hit wonders. Dynamic duos. How 'bout them threes? Three French hens. Three of a kind. Threesomes. Bell Biv Devoe. There are some trios with swagger out there. And apple, fig 'n cheese combinations are definitely one of them. We weren't aiming to do a comparison, but ended up finding two completely different versions that caught our attention.

In addition to ordering clam chowder on National Clam Chowder Day at Boudin SF, our astigmatism wandered to this hot plate. $7.99 for grilled cheese with apples and fig jam. We also had the option of mixed greens or chips.
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McDonald's

It took so long for Burger King to finally come head-to-head with their arch nemesis, even Wendy's started selling nuggets before they did. With last week's overdue announcement, The King has finally stepped up to face off against those golden arches. It's about damn time.

We gave ourselves two consecutive days of deep-fried protein at lunch to decide once and for all what was worth dipping into more. The results were bothersome.
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So you know by now that this coming Thursday, August 9, I'll be facing off against chef Jason Quinn of Playground at the OC Fair's Pro Chef vs. Home Cook competition. The idea is sort of a mixture of Chopped and Iron Chef America, where we'll get access to a common pantry and have to incorporate a basket of disparate ingredients into a dish.

The show starts at 5 p.m. and is free with admission to the fair. While I'm planning on showing him what defeat looks like, the judges are serious food people, there's likely to be quite the audience, and it's time to brainstorm ways to ensure victory and make him cry like a little girl on stage.

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Anne Marie Panoringan

We admit, past fairs were usually spent wandering up and down aisles and ultimately getting lost trying to find some decent grub. Not anymore. Our saucy fair connection made us aware of this year's must try menu items (Porkabello!), as well as a few that garnered further inspection.

Like Philly cheesesteaks, there's heated debate among fair veterans among who serves a better cinnamon roll. And we thought it was all fun and games around here. So with our sweet tooth intact we proceed to the competitors.

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Anne Marie Panoringan

Taco Bell, er, Cantina Bell's chicken Cantina bowl

The chain that El Jefe loves to hate has been on a mission to up the ante. Remember their attempt at breakfast? Those Doritos tacos? Now they want to knock on Chipotle territory. I had a fast food childhood of the Bell, but spent a large part of the last decade chowing Chipotle fare. We were curious to compare.

Sure, we could've taken the El Pollo Loco route, or gone banzai at Wahoo's. But what compelled us to duel these in particular, if anything, was the fact that Lorena Garcia actually judged with Steve Ells on America's Next Great Restaurant last year. One of the challenges even involved contestants taking over the lunch shift at one of his branches. Was the saucy lady already doing work for Taco Bell back then? Maybe. Did she make mental notes on all things Chipotle? You betcha. Our duel is to see how she fared.
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Edwin Goei

Del Taco's Baja Shrimp Burrito

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This was supposed to be a Dueling Dishes post on shrimp burritos between Del Taco and Taco Bell. But it turns out Taco Bell's Pacific Shrimp Burrito already sleeps with the fishes. It was their Lenten special last year. This year, the company is a little more than preoccupied with that whole Doritos shell game.

So who to pick as the shrimp burrito stand-in? Baja Fresh. Why? Because I said so. But it does seem appropriate: Baja Fresh, like Taco Bell, is headquartered in Irvine. And Del Taco is based in Lake Forest...so there's that.
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Edwin Goei

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Although many bloggers have done similar taste tests, what follows is this blogger's attempt to rank five fish sandwiches eaten over the course of five consecutive days at Burger King, Wendy's, Carl's Jr, Jack in the Box and McDonald's. The results represent observations made from a single visit at each establishment...because even a person who's foolhardy enough to do such a thing isn't about to do it twice.

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Edwin Goei

In the left corner, Jollibee. In the right corner, Red Ribbon.

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Imagine if McDonald's bought out Burger King and they existed under the same roof like those Yum Brand hybrid restaurants with KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell sharing the same counter. That's essentially what's happened with Jollibee and Red Ribbon in Anaheim. They are two former competitors turned uneasy partners living together like a married couple who sleep in separate bedrooms. You can go into Jollibee, then walk a few feet without tripping on any barriers and be in Red Ribbon.

If there were a Venn diagram that charts their divergent menus (Jollibee is fast food known for their fried chicken; Red Ribbon is a bakery beloved for their mango chiffon cakes), you'd discover that at the intersection, there's exactly one shared dish: the pancit palabok.
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Dave Lieberman

Van Restaurant's bún chả Hà Nội

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Long before chefs with fancy certificates from the CIA and stages in uppity French kitchens decided to reimagine classic dishes, long before the New Wave chefs of the 1980s separated the ingredients of a dish onto those giant white discuses they called plates, and before Jacques Derrida, the coiner of the term "deconstruction", was even a twinkle in his father's eyes, the Vietnamese were deconstructing the dish bún.
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ProfessorSalt.com

Pho King Way's brisket two ways, and a side order of oxtail

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Little Saigon's pho shops make the best in the Orange County, and we dare say, the best in the country. That community is home to the largest population of Vietnamese outside of Vietnam, after all. We haven't yet found a pho joint south of the Y that makes a bowl that comes close to Little Saigon's top tier. But sometimes, like on a limited lunch hour, the drive to pho paradise just isn't possible and you settle for Mr. Right Now, instead of Mr. Right.

For this week's Eat Here, Not There: It's Mission Viejo's Pho King Way versus Lake Forest's Pho Bo Vang.

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