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Perry Mason and the case of the Bacon & Cheese Angus burger

Nichole here. My family’s favorite pastime is eating. Our second-favorite? Talking about things we have eaten. (As you likely could have guessed judging by the content of this blog.) My brother has a particular fondness for cheeseburgers. I tried to get him to start a cheeseburger-review site, but he wasn’t ready for that level of commitment. And so we bring you Cheeseburger de Jure, in which my brother eats cheeseburgers and tells us about them. He’s come up with a nifty and rather complex rating system. His first review is of McDonalds’ Bacon and Cheese Angus burger. I would’ve expected nothing less from a guy who spent his formative years working at said fast-food joint. Now let’s turn things over to my favorite famished barrister, Perry Mason.

Cheeseburger de JureHello Butterscotch Sundae Readers!

To make Cheeseburger de Jure work, we’ll need a rating system. The “Scale of 1-10” is boring, so I think we should invent a new system, by which we rate burgers by comparing the best alternative food item we’d rather eat. So, the scale, from worst to best, is:

  • (i) Ravioli from a can
  • (ii) Nachos from 7-eleven
  • (iii) anything from KFC or Taco Bell (whichever you hate more)
  • (iv) frozen pizza
  • (v) anything from Applebees
  • (vi) a decent lasagna
  • (vii) homemade chicken pot pie
  • (viii) thanksgiving dinner
  • (ix) Sizzling Rice Soup from Forbidden City in Saginaw, Mi (trust me, you’d rather eat this)
  • (x) my wife’s turtle cheesecake
  • With that out of the way, let’s get to the burger rating. On your plate is the McDonalds’ Angus Bacon & Cheese burger. McDonalds misses the mark on this one by making it more about the toppings than the cow. Admittedly, the toppings are wonderful. McDonalds uses higher-quality pickles, cheese and bacon on this burger than on its other offerings, and they try hard to step this one up and help make the burger look like it might not have come from a fast food joint. The presentation really is a step above. But no topping — and I mean no topping — can rescue this burger from a lack of flavor, juiciness or the guilt arising from the absurd caloric content.

    So, where does this burger rate? I’d rather eat a frozen pizza.

    McDonalds' Angus Bacon and Cheese Burger
    Images

    No. 11 was ‘Yes Dear’

    All of my regular TV shows have ended for the season, and we’re facing down the summertime TV wasteland. If you don’t have an interest in bachelorettes or big brothers, you’re out of luck. So I was trying to decide what this year’s Netflix summer series would be — two years ago it was “Battlestar Galactica,” and last year it was “Deadwood” — and it got me thinking about my favorite shows of years past. Here, in no particular order, are my 10 Favorite TV Shows:
    Rockford's TV shows

    The Rockford Files.”

    It’s got a great central character who typifies the detached observer anti-hero. He kind of wanders through LA in the ’70s — he’s a good guy with some bad habits, but all in all he genuinely wants to help people despite their past transgressions. He’s smart, he’s funny, and the shows were well-written. Rockford also had great jackets. And one of the best theme songs that any TV show has ever had.

    Friday Night Lights.”

    A thinly veiled sports show that’s really about human interaction and relationships and the difficulties between coach and student, husband and wife, mothers and sons, fathers and daughters. It doesn’t pull any punches. What the show does so well is peel back the layers and get to how little the game means and how much the people do. Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose. I think Coach Taylor believes that, whether they win games or not. And that’s what makes him a real coach.

    The X-Files.”

    The sci-fi show that took science fiction from the realms of uber-nerdiness and gave it a more mainstream face without sacrificing good writing and good storytelling. The truth is out there.

    Seinfeld.”

    There’s no show that I run lines from more frequently than “Seinfeld.”

    Doctor Who.”

    I have watched “Doctor Who” since I was 7 years old. Tom Baker was the Doctor I grew up with (on Saturdays at 2 o’clock). It’s the show that made me feel it was OK to be a little bit geeky.

    Freaks and Geeks.”

    The best show about not fitting in in high school that ever was made.

    Deadwood.”

    The highest of drama set in the frontier west. It was literally Shakespearean in its dialogue and tragedy.

    Lost.”

    The most frustrating show that I have ever put up with watching. We’ll call it equal parts frustration and, at times, perfection.

    Battlestar Galactica.”

    This took sci-fi and changed it again. It was a show about relationships and sacrifice and identity. What good sci-fi should be is allegorical, and that’s what it was. If it’s just about monsters and ‘splosions, it’s bunk.

    The Outer Limits.”

    I remember watching the reruns when I was a kid, and it was very impactful. The stories were very jarring and slightly off-kilter. The images were just very powerful, especially for the time they were produced. And it had some very memorable episodes.