That Food Guy
Monday, September 23, 2013
Checker's Drive In - Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich
Checkers Drive In 6730 Central Ave St Petersburg, FL 33707
(727) 347-4686 http://www.checkers.com/
If you drive any at all you have probably passed a Checkers
Drive in one time or another. They seem
to be in about thirty-two states, scattered coast to coast. In fact, there is a
Checkers Drive Thru a five minute walk from where I am sitting while I write
this. It is that close a walk but I would seldom venture there on foot. That
entails a crossing at a very busy divided highway intersection. A lot of
Florida’s old retirees regard the speed limit and red lights as merely
suggestions. Driving there entails getting the car to be going the right
direction on the proper side of the street which makes for a lot of going
around this or that block to get aligned; awkward to get to this store is one
of those places you wait until you just happen to go that way.
Over many years I have been to Checkers only a few
times. I suppose that if it were a Red
Robin I would have been a more frequent customer. That got me to thinking about what it was
about Checkers that didn’t draw me as perhaps another brand name would It also
got me to thinking about the criteria I use when I critique a food
establishment. All of this came about as
a result of an advertisement I read in the local paper one morning; Philly
Cheesesteak Sandwich, $1.99.
I have never had anything bad at Checkers. I have just never
had anything exceptional at either. If I
had to rate them against other fast food restaurants I would have to rank them
a bit below the more popular McDonalds, Burger King and Wendy’s. In spite of all the advertising hoopla I
think a blind taste test of similar items would prove to be very difficult to
tell the major players apart. Checkers is not quite to that level but then
Checkers menu is less expensive than the others. Checker’s offerings are
consistent and okay, just not great. Perhaps that is why I haven’t written
about checkers before. It is hard, for me at least, to grasp just what they are
and where they fit into the scheme of fast food restaurants.
Many food critics compare food to a fixed arbitrary
standard; sometime very picayune standards. I am a bit more liberal and judge
on a relative scale, by what I and you would expect to be proper for that
establishment. For example, if I go to
a McDonald’s and I am served a perfect a perfect Big Mac I would rate that
McDonald’s as excellent. But if I was served that very same Big Mac at a Red
Robin I would have to note that Red Robin was not serving food up to the
expected standard. Both the Big Mac and
the Red Robin burgers are great and I would love to have one or the other right
now at this late night hour. Neither is bad, one is just inherently better than
the other and I would judge them on the basis of what I would expect from that
establishment. 
That brings us to the inspiration for this blog, the
Checkers Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich. It is too new an offering to be listed on
their on-line menu as of yet. I learned about it from a newspaper insert
offering the new Philly Cheesesteak Sub for $1.99. Ask anyone from “Philly” and
they will tell you an authentic cheesesteak sandwich is made thin sliced rib
eye steak and onions grilled and chopped to perfection, loaded on an Italian
roll and most often served with cheese, Cheese
Whiz or provolone. Anything else is just a poor copy.
Copies that they may be, local restaurants Feola’s and
Kissin’ Cuzzins offer their versions made with steak, onions, peppers and
mushrooms all covered in mozzarella cheese. They are scrumptious. But what about Checkers?
Checkers offering is steak and onions grilled with Swiss cheese on a sub roll.
Pretty close to the “Philly” standard. You can when ordering, augment you
sandwich with the burger topping at hand, lettuce, tomato and bacon. When I
ordered at the drive-thru they asked if I wanted to add bacon to it. Bacon?
What’s to lose? I said put it all on. That got me the lettuce and tomato. In
retrospect that was a mistake although not a bad one. There were enough flavors
in the meat and onions that the lettuce and tomato were almost lost. It would have
been better if they were not there but it was no great distraction either. I
had to look but there was bacon, also almost lost in the main ingredients. I
haven’t had an authentic Philly Cheesesteak sandwich since 1958 and have no
basis for comparison. Therefore I will compare Checkers to Feola’s and Kissin’
Cuzzins and I love both of their sandwiches. Checker’s is a bit smaller, has
Swiss rather than the mozzarella and it doesn’t have the grilled peppers and
mushrooms. Those things aside, the fillings all taste very much the same; all
are very tasty and satisfying. The Checker’s sandwich delivers a lot of good
flavor. Given the choice between a Feola’s and
Checker’s sandwich I would of course choose the Feola’s offering. But if
Feola’s or Kissin’ Kuzzins is not available, then Checker’s is a most worth
substitute. Considering that I can buy
three Checker’s sandwiches for the price of one at the other restaurants makes
the Checker’s offering a very good deal indeed. I also did a comparison picture
of the advertising picture and the product as delivered; very close indeed, one
is recognizable as the other.
Just a footnote:
Most Checker’s are prefabricated clone structures that make
setting up a new store almost a weekend affair after the foundation is laid.
They feature double drive through lanes, one on each side of the building. There
is no inside seating but most offer a small patio area for walk up customers.
Some new stores that have been placed in dense urban areas are using the store
front scheme as well. It may be a fluke of geography but the three closest Checker’s
to my location are on busy divided highway intersection corners. Plan your
visit ahead of time.
Labels: Checkers, cheese, Cheese Whiz, cheeseburger, cheesesteak, chicken, drive thru, fish, hamburger, mozzarella, mushrooms, onions, peppers, Philly, provolone, rib eye, spicy, steak
¶ 11:54 AM 0 Comments
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
The Greek Village - Seminole, FLorida
As for my companions, how was their dining experience? Janis
is not what I would call an ethnic food person. In some ways the dietary
choices are very limited. I would not before this day have considered that she
would have ventured into a Greek restaurant not knowing what lurked inside.
However, after today, The Greek Village is on a slowly expanding list of places
to go out and enjoy a meal. That certainly is a compliment to The Greek
Village. Perhaps, though, the best summary of our culinary voyage to the Mediterranean
would be to show you Uncle Gilbert’s plate.
 |
| Aunt Effie, Uncle Gil and Janis |
The Greek Village
11125 Park Blvd Suite 117
Seminole, Florida 33772
Check website
for hours open.
I got as telephone call from Aunt Effie and Uncle Gilbert
the other day. It seems that their old printer had given up the ghost and they
had just purchases a new replacement from Office Depot. It is a sophisticated
printer, scanner, FAX machine with Wi-Fi capability. Printer and scanner are
what they wanted and all the rest was extra that made the installation
intimidating. Somewhere in the background I heard that lunch would be offered. They
do know how to push my buttons but that was all I had to hear and a date was
set for the next day.
They live in a very nice retirement complex that offers
amenities such as an extensive snack bar, the equivalent of a small café, and a
more formal dining room experience the equivalent of a nice restaurant. I have been their guest on two previous
occasions and have blogged both of those experiences. I wasn’t overly anxious
to do a third blog on the same pace so I didn’t even take my camera.
The printer installation was step by step easy and soon all
the ends were tied up and the operator training completed. It was time for
lunch. That is when I found out that we were going out for lunch to a place
Gilbert and Effie had learned about from a neighbor. When I heard it was called
The Greek Village I was a bit surprised. Ethnic restaurants are not the usual
fare for Gilbert and Effie. After a quick plea, Gilbert and Effie were kind
enough to lend me their camera for the outing.
 |
| Ham and Chicken Breast On Pita Bread With Greek Salad |
It was a short drive to the restaurant. It is in a very new
appearing strip mall very near the Larger Seminole Mall complex. They have
apparently moved recently because the plant looks cleaner and newer than their
stated 29-years in business. Everything is very clean and neat, very inviting
especially the glass display case as you enter with tiers of mouth-watering
desserts.
The interior is comfortable low level lighting, the décor is
Mediterranean and you have a choice of tables or booths. We were escorted to a
booth on the divider making a split dining room and would probably provide a
lower noise level during busy times. There were several other diners in the restaurant
but it was nowhere near capacity and noise level was minimum; table
conversation was low and relaxed.
 |
| Ham on Toasted Rye Bread With Greek Salad |
The menu is extensive and offers appetizers, salads, soups,
pita specialties and sandwiches, combination platters and a large selection of
Greek and Mediterranean-themed dinners. There is a small selection of children’s
dishes, pastas with meatballs or chicken in red or feta sauce. There is also a
large selection of wines to choose from.
It was a lunch visit and our attention was directed at the pita
specialties and sandwiches section; there are a lot of things to choose from.
Aunt Effie ordered the Baked Ham and Turkey Breast Toasted Oven Sandwich.
($8.50 Toasted Oven Sandwiches with Greek Salad - Choose pita, sub roll, whole wheat
or rye bread with melted provolone cheese) She chose the pita bread. It was
similar to what she ordered on her first visit and she wanted to try it again.
When served, the sandwich and salad is a large plate of intimidating
proportion. Over the course of a relaxed lunch she was able to eat all of her
meal saying that it was very good.
 |
| Meatball Parmesan on Sub Roll With Greek Salad |
Uncle Gil ordered the Baked Ham Toasted Oven Sandwich. ($8.50
Toasted Oven Sandwiches with Greek Salad - Choose pita, sub roll, whole wheat
or rye bread with melted provolone cheese) He chose the rye bread. There were
nice thick slices of toasted rye bread with ample sliced ham filling. With the
salad it was a very ample meal that he was able to finish handily. He did enjoy
the meal.
Janis ordered the Meatball Parmesan Toasted Parmesan
Sandwich. ($8.50 Toasted Parmesan Sandwiches with Greek Salad – On pita or sub
roll with our homemade sauce topped with melted provolone cheese and parmesan
cheese) She chose the sun roll. It was a large sandwich with a half-dozen large
meatballs in a thick marinara-style sauce with lots of melted cheese. With the
salad on the side it was a large lunch. Surprisingly, she finished her
sandwich; there was no need for a doggie bag this day! She said she enjoyed her
meal very much.
 |
| Chicken Gyro With Greek Salad |
I ordered a gyro, Chicken Breast Strips on Pita ($8.50 Pita
Bread Specialties with Greek Salad – wrapped with tomatoes, red onions, feta
cheese and Zaziki (sic) Dip on the side) It was a well filled sandwich. The
edges of the pita bread were just able to meet. There was lots of chicken,
tomato and onion inside. It was flavorful; the chicken was well seasoned and
succulent. The tomato was flavorful, red, firm and nicely ripe. The tzatziki
sauce was cool, mild and refreshing. There was just enough of it but I would
have preferred a bit more. I could have asked more I’m sure (the staff was
attentive and eager to please) but I would have liked a bit more of the
tzatziki instead of rationing it.
The salad was a mix of crisp salad greens, cherry tomatoes, slices
of cucumber, red onion, a Greek olive and a pepperoncini. It was topped with an
in-house signature dressing. Actually, the salad was very good; neither I nor
my companions had any difficulty in finishing our salad portions. I did,
however, find it curious that so little or misdirected effort was made in the
plating of the salad. True, someone plated the lettuce greens and from
containers allotted the requisite tomatoes, cucumber slices and then added the
dressing. It just had the appearance of being plopped on the plate and not neatly
plated as the picture of a Greek salad in their menu would infer. It tasted
just fine it just looked a bit unkempt. All in all, though, I thoroughly
enjoyed my meal and mentally posted it as a place to return for another chicken
gyro.
As for my companions, how was their dining experience? Janis
is not what I would call an ethnic food person. In some ways the dietary
choices are very limited. I would not before this day have considered that she
would have ventured into a Greek restaurant not knowing what lurked inside.
However, after today, The Greek Village is on a slowly expanding list of places
to go out and enjoy a meal. That certainly is a compliment to The Greek
Village. Perhaps, though, the best summary of our culinary voyage to the Mediterranean
would be to show you Uncle Gilbert’s plate.Labels: chicken, Greek, gyro, ham, parmesan, pita, provolone, salad, tzatziki, village, zaziki
¶ 1:00 AM 0 Comments
