Atkins taste test: Flavor gets messy thumbs up
Brad Barnes / Knight Ridder Newspapers
(KRT)
A burger without a bun, eh?
In the interest of journalistic integrity, I'll say
right off that I'm not on the Atkins diet, and as someone
who has a love of potato products that borders on unnatural
obsession, I won't become part of the cult anytime soon.
But maybe that makes me a little more objective in trying
out several Atkins-friendly fast food offerings than someone
who had a steak - er, stake - in the outcome.
So recently I tried portions of three of the more popular
establishments' offerings.
HARDEE'S LO-CARB THICKBURGER
-Ordering ease: This lettuce-wrapped concoction is a giant
promo on the Hardee's menu right now, and cashiers handle
the phrase "Lo-Carb Thickburger, please," as well
as a Starbucks can handle "double Madagascar half-caff
soy latte."
-Presentation: With the lettuce wrapped around it, it looks
kind of like a green tortilla. Definitely the more attractive
of the two burger products surveyed.
-Portability: Don't even try to eat this in the car.
It's heavy and dripping with juices and likely to fall
apart unless you can really concentrate on holding it. Spend
your energy steering.
-Eatability: It's a two-fisted affair, and the more I
ate, the harder it was to keep together. By the time we got
to the end, the box it came in was soggy from the sauces that
dripped from within the 1/3-pound of beef.
-Taste: We've all seen those commercials that make fun
of people's impressions of Hardee's burgers and how
the taste is so much better now. We're happy to report,
it's true. With or without the bun, it was darn munchy.
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BURGER KING'S LO-CARB WHOPPER
-Ordering ease: The crew at a Veterans Parkway Burger King
was confused but helpful when I ordered three varieties of
their lo-carb Whoppers. "I bet you're the first one
to order that," offered the cashier. Unfortunately, they
slighted me a meat patty and bacon from one, but nailed the
other two.
-Presentation: The burger meat is plopped rather
unceremoniously into a plastic salad bowl, then topped with
lettuce, onion and tomato. The snap-tight lid is handy for
car spills, though.
-Portability: None to speak of. The folks at B.K. suggest
forgoing the idea of "sandwich" altogether and
stock the bag with a fork and knife. Again, don't eat and
drive.
-Eatability: There's simply a psychological disadvantage
to this burger for anyone who's married to the idea of
picking up a burger and taking a bite. And even though the
bowl was handy for transport, it made a tough job out of
maneuvering the fork and knife.
-Taste: The taste of the flame-broiled Whopper is there, but
it really rates second to Hardee's. Of course, it's
also a buck cheaper.
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SUBWAY'S ATKINS-FRIENDLY WRAPS
-Ordering ease: Maybe because Subway's been doing wraps
for a while, ordering either of the Atkins-style wraps - the
chicken bacon ranch or the turkey bacon melt - was simple.
-Presentation: It's a compact little chunk o' meat
in a special low-carb tortilla made of wheat gluten,
cornstarch, oat, sesame flour and soy protein. But it was
appealing enough for this growling stomach.
-Portability: This is an Atkins-approved meal that you can
hold in one hand while the other handles the wheel. For the
easiest time, ask your sandwich artist to give the thing a
cut in half before they bag it up.
-Eatability: Of the three products tested, only the wraps
didn't feel like you were eating something different
because of your diet. Also, since the wraps are closed on top
and bottom, there's nary a problem with dribbling sauces.
-Taste: The wraps are easily customized with vegetables and
other toppings, but the stock versions - with turkey, bacon
and chipotle sauce, or chicken, bacon and ranch - were quite
tasty.
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(c) 2004, Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (Columbus, Ga.).
Visit the Ledger-Enquirer Online at http://www.l-e-o.com/
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