Truman Talk Radio Episode 6

In this week's episode of Truman Talk Radio, Ben and I talk the end of the Royals' competitive season, discuss Sam Mellinger's tanking plan, and debate whether steroid suers should be allowed in the baseball Hall Of Fame.

Check back next week where we'll preview next year's college football season with a special guest.

https://soundcloud.com/user-579396271/episode-6-rip-royals

Also make sure to hit us up at our mailbag with sports related questions or comments: TTRMailbag@gmail.com

Truman Talk Radio Episode 5

In episode 5 of Truman Talk Radio, Ben and I talk Chris Sale's hatred of throwback jerseys and whether Johnny Cueto should have been invited to the White House with the Royals.

https://soundcloud.com/user-579396271/episode-5-throwback-jerseys-and-white-house-visits

Hit us up at our mailbag TTRMailbag@gmail.com with any questions or comments you'd like to see us discuss on the air.

Coming soon: The NFL All-Suspension Team

Fast Food Reviews: Taco Bell

Kicking off my food review series with the controversial Mexican establishment, Taco Bell.

Click here to read over the basics of my new series, Fast Food Reviews

Everybody seems to have an opinion of Taco Bell, from those who swear by its frequent new items to those who condemn the place as a sad reflection of American society. However, coming in to this review,  it was important that we remove any bias from our minds and focus on the task at hand.

I was joined on this day by my friend Grayson (@Steele_GG). Both of us have been to Taco Bell many times, but on this occasion we went to a different restaurant than usual to avoid familiarity.

Before even stepping foot in the restaurant, we pre-planned what our order would be using Taco Bell's online menu, totaling almost $24.

In covering all sections of the menu,  we ordered at least one item from every subset besides the limited time offers and breakfast options, the former because they are temporary and the latter because the window of time had passed.

For Adam:
Doritos Locos Taco ($1.49)
7-Layer Burrito ($2.49)
Quesarito ($2.59)
Beefy Fritos Burrito ($1.00)

For Grayson:
Crunchy Taco ($1.19)
Bean Burrito ($1.29)
Loaded Potato Griller ($1.49)
Cheese Quesadilla ($2.49)
Spicy Potato Soft Taco ($1.00)

To Share:
Cinnabon Delights, 4 pack ($1.49)
Cheesy Nachos ($1.39)

Total: $24.13

The scene just after ordering. Taco Bell staff went into overtime preparing this order.

Worth noting before we get into the item reviews that I am transcribing Grayson's thoughts straight from the notes sheet, whereas I am expounding upon my own notes after the fact, so my own reviews may be slightly longer.

Individual Item Reviews:

Doritos Locos Taco (Adam)
Everybody remembers the high-profile introduction of this item a few years ago. Since then, the item has more or less faded into being a regular part of the menu, and the taste follows suit.
The Doritos aspect is curiously understated to me, not tasting much different from the regular crunchy taco, which is incidentally 30 cents cheaper. If you order the Doritos taco, you're looking for the classic Doritos flavor and powdery aftermath, period. Taco Bells incantation does not deliver on that front, but the classic taco taste of the Bell is all there.

Crunchy Taco (Grayson)
"A mess of mainly cheese and lettuce; I see nothing else. I'm impatient, and meat isn't delivered until I delve deep into the interior of the taco, and the item, only barely holds on to its structural integrity. this is an egregious effort to what is supposed to be a Taco Bell original and stand by recipe"

7-Layer Burrito (Adam)
Although the burrito most likely housed seven different layers of ingredient, upon inspection all I could see was lettuce, tomato, and sour cream. Eating the item confirmed this, as the burrito was suspiciously low on actual meat, cheese, or any other main ingredient. As this was consistent with Grayson's assessment of the crunchy taco, I can't help but wonder if this is part of Taco Bell's M.O. - masking a lack of substance with filler.

Bean Burrito (Grayson)
"As far as bean burritos go this one is good. The consistency bugs me somewhat, it's a bit pasty and mushy with a random vegetable crunch, which I think is supposed to be pepper. Overall a decent take on a difficult item."

Quesarito (Adam)
Another once-hot new item that has now become a staple of the menu, i was excited to try the Quesarito. However, I must say that I was disappointed in the aftermath. At $2.59, one would expect this item to be greater in either magnitude or taste from Taco Bell's notorious cheaper items, but the Quesarito didn't wow me in this way. Aside from not distinguishing itself, the Quesarito features a disastrous combo that will be touched on later - cheese and rice.

Loaded Potato Griller (Grayson)
"Well wrapped, warm, and nicely toasted. Good aesthetic, quite a bit of cheese. Only complaint is that there is not enough potato."

Beefy Fritos Burrito (Adam)
Even before coming into the restaurant for this review, I knew for the most part that the Beefy Fritos Burrito was one of my favorites. From the low price of $1 to the perfect mix of meat, rice, and Fritos, there's frankly nothing I would change if given the opportunity. This is one of the best items on the menu.

Cheese Quesadilla (Grayson)
"Soggy, cheesy mess. Cheese got on my hand as I pulled it out of the condensation-soaked wrapper. Spice isn't enough to taste good it's just an annoyance. It's a cheesy mess that doesn't sit well in my mouth."

This goes back to what i noted earlier - Taco Bell's cheese in a colder melted form is terrible. When heated, as in a burrito or taco, I have no complaints, but when it appears in this quesadilla or in the flatbread steak sandwich, it is exactly as described above.

Cinnabon Delights (Both)
Grayson: "Wonderful. Sugary, sweet, and a nice change of pace. Great treat, and the creamy middle is fantastic."

Adam: I'll  admit I wasn't expecting much from a seemingly basic cinnamon treat, especially from a Taco Bell, but like Grayson I was pleasantly surprised. The Cinnabon Delights may very well be the best dessert item I've ever had at any fast food place. Just the right temperature, and the creamy middle is perfect. Couldn't recommend more.

Spicy Potato Soft Taco (Grayson)
"Well wrapped, warm, nicely toasted - good aesthetic. Quite a bit of cheese, perhaps not enough potato."

Cheesy Nachos (Both)
Grayson: "Plain but good. Addictive, the cheese is enjoyable. A definite step above Chipotle's over salted competition."

Adam: These are much like what one would get at a baseball game. I don't know if a different type of cheese is being used, but it tastes much different (and much better) than what was used in other cheesy items.

Gradecards

Ambience

Adam (6/10): I've never really enjoyed Taco Bell's environment for whatever reason. The lighting was dim, perhaps trying to create the illusion of an upscale cantina. In my opinion, fast food places should cater to those who frequent them, and that is not being done at Taco Bell. However, I do have to give credit to the mainly clean and uncrowded interior.

Grayson (9/10): "Lighting was spectacular, art on the walls was lively and inviting. Floor clean."

Service

Adam (7/10)

I  gave points off for inattentiveness at the counter, but overall I am a fan of Taco Bell's associates. The experience is minimalistic and there's no pleasantries to be exchanged - perfect for fast food.

Grayson (6/10)

"Cashier was nice, but I had to wait even with no line."

Price

Adam (8/10)

Taco Bell has an array of cheaper items to be ordered a la carte, and price is often not an issue. The only problem is occasionally items are not as filling as one would like.

Grayson (7/10)

Entrees

Grayson (3/10)

Adam (7/10)

Grayson and I disagree substantially on this category. To me, the combination of beef, meat and cheese is, for  the most part, done well by Taco Bell. If this combo distastes you, then this restaurant probably isn't for you. There's certainly room for improvement  but I have no major qualms.

Sides

Grayson (9/10)

Adam (8/10)

Although Taco Bell's sides are a little underwhelming in their selection, their quality obviously impressed Grayson and I. We've mentioned how good the nachos and Cinnabon Delights were, and i have no reason to believe that any of the other items (larger nachos, cheese roll-up, cinnamon twists) would be any different.

Aesthetic

Grayson (5/10)

Adam (4/10)

Although this is a rough patch for the establishment, there's not much one can do with fast food burritos to make them look overly appealing. In Taco Bell's case, burritos are hard to distinguish from one another and are all presented in the same bland, white packaging.

Nutrition

Grayson (5/10)

Adam (4/10)

The good: many of Taco Bell's main dishes have very similar ingredients and ingredient ratios, nutrition is fairly consistent across the board. The bad: those ratios are not great. As we are judging against fellow fast food restaurants, the grading curve isn't as steep as it could be, but taco Bell still does not rank favorably, more in terms of overall well-being following consumption than proteins, fats, and carbs.

Drink Selection

Grayson (6/10)

Adam (9/10)

I believe Grayson scored this category a bit low because he prefers Coke to Pepsi, whereas Taco Bell has the latter. I myself am more of a Pepsi guy, but my high score in this category goes beyond that. To my knowledge, Taco Bell is the only joint to  serve Mountain Dew Baja Blast, and in my opinion, that's the only draw the place needs. It's not the widest selection, but for limited specialties, Taco Bell is your stop. 

Drive Through

Grayson (4/10)

Adam (6/10)

This section was based off of prior experiences,  so I can't quite get a read for Grayson's low score in this category. From my past visits, I can say that even though the restaurant is rarely crowded, the drive through has consistently had some curiously long wait times. Other than that, I've had no problems with any other aspect of the Taco Bell drive through.

Bathrooms

Grayson (9/10)

Adam (7/10)

Both Grayson and I were pleasantly surprised upon inspection of the bathrooms; they were clean and well-lit with not a leaky faucet to be found. The issues I had were 1) the bathroom was a bit too small for a large crowd, and 2) the floor was wet, which does show that it is maintained regularly, but is not desirable. Obviously no commentary on the women's bathroom can be provided.

Final thoughts

Overall Grade

Adam: 66/100

Grayson: 54/100

One Word To Describe Your Experience

Grayson: Adequate

Adam: Polarizing

That does it for Taco Bell, I'll be back soon with the next installment in this series. Leave suggestions or questions in the comments below.

Introducing Fast Food Reviews

Food critics have long been a staple of American culture, but for the most part, they report only on the upper-scale establishments that only a fraction of Americans may frequent. For the average consumer, information and unbiased grading of a large majority of eateries is clearly lacking. Here's where I come in.

Introducing Fast Food Reviews, a series where I, along with a guest, will be reviewing the cuisine at the establishments that matter - America’s fast food joints. We will document and rate the entire process, and order enough to get a glimpse of the entire menu.

Grading will be done on a 100 point scale, with 10 categories scored 1-10, as seen below:

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Ambiance
Service
Price
Entrees
Sides
Aesthetic
Nutrition
Drink Selection
Drive Through
Bathrooms

Ambiance refers to the overall feel and atmosphere of the restaurant, how the seating is constructed, and the cleanliness of the establishment.

Service quite simply evaluates the assistance the patron is given by the employees of said restaurant. Points off for impatience or, on the other end of the spectrum, counter abandonment.

Price, being self-explanatory, refers to the affordability of the common menu items; how much food, in both volume and calories, on gets for their money.

Entrees grades the taste of the main menu items, that, depending on the restaurant, could be burgers, sandwiches, burritos, or whatever a place may specialize in.

Sides, much like the previous category, grades taste of the secondary menu items, such as fries or chips.

Aesthetic is the underrated quality of presentation, not of the restaurant but of the food itself. Ideally, items should be consistent with their appearance on the menu.

Nutrition is very likely the least important category when looking at fast food, but it's still important to note what kind of hole the consumer is digging themselves into.

Drink Selection focuses on variety, not particular tastes. No points off for Coke vs. Pepsi, and a Coca-Cola freestyle is an automatic 9+.

Drive Through rates the entire process of the classic American drive-thru, from the wait times to the handoff of food.

Bathrooms may be the most underappreciated aspect of fast food joints, and a clean one goes a long way towards securing a good customer experience.

It's important to note that we are judging each restaurant against other fast food places, not other more expensive and "higher-quality" places. My purpose is to provide a reliable guide for the consumer on the go.

On each visit, I and my co-host will fill out a rubric, ending up with a score out of 100. We will also take notes on our experience that will be transcribed in the review.

Any suggestions for restaurants or elements of review can be directed in the comments below.

Previous Reviews:

Taco Bell

Lets Make July Not-So-Terrible

For almost all intents and purposes, July is a pretty great month, full of warm weather, no school, pool parties, and the only actual summer holiday. However, for the sports fan, July truly represents the dog days of summer, housing the bleakest slate of sports imaginable. Gone are the high-stakes tension of the NBA playoffs, the star-studded NBA draft is past, and the NFL seems much too far away. The only salvation for the sports fan (not counting soccer) is Major League Baseball, which unfortunately is entering its driest period, smack-dab in the middle of the season. Fans of terrible teams are beginning to lose interest and patrons of the more successful franchises are growing tired of less-consequential midsummer games, pining for the tense moments playoff contention brings.

There’s absolutely no reason that July should be so barren, so I’ve taken it upon myself to explore possible solutions to this predicament, ranging from the plausible and realistic to the outlandish and radical.

Baseball

As the only major sport (sorry again, soccer) in action over the summer, baseball shoots itself in thee foot by scheduling its calendar so poorly. At the beginning of its season, when optimism, attendance, and fan interest peak, the mainstream sports public is engrossed with the NBA playoffs. Late in the baseball season, during the stretch run and playoffs, football is starting to pick up momentum and only the loyal baseball demographic pays attention in earnest.

Clearly, there is a huge void in the television market that baseball would do well to try and fill, but in its current state, July baseball is simply not driving traffic. Perhaps the best fix would be one that turns July baseball into something meaningful, so it would seem that a change in the baseball scheduling needs to take place. Shortening the lengthy 162-game season, even just to the previous slate of 154 games would eliminate late October playoff contests and allow for the completion of the regular season in mid-September, before the NFL takes off, rather than early October by which point football has taken center stage.

However, this change is extremely unlikely, for a number of reasons that expose a number of faults within the sport’s governing body itself. Most obviously, there is no reason, if the past is to be any indication, to believe that the majority owners of baseball would ever approve a move that would cut their revenue without receiving anything tangible upfront in return. Baseball has long been a sport unwelcoming to change, a trait one can mostly attribute to its older and “stiffer” audience.

With change unlikely to come and content-hungry fans unwilling to sit through a dull July game in its current state, it’s clear that baseball is shooting itself in the foot in a major way by not better catering their product to the mass markets. For those of us looking for better action, baseball represents nothing more than a last-resort measure. Let’s move on.

Settle For Summer League

Following the usually electric NBA finals, most die-hard NBA fans lapse into a depression due to a lack of game-like action. However, fans can watch their team’s newest young prospects play just weeks after being drafted at the various incantations of NBA Summer League, which runs through Orlando, Utah,  and Las Vegas during the month of July.

To someone who has never seen one of these games, the assumption may be that they are chock-full of missed shots, poor teamwork, low crowd support, and a prevailing air of immaturity, and to a degree, that perception is exactly right.

But for the fan who is able to look past the growing pains, summer league can be home to some truly great moments. This year, the Lakers and 76ers faced off in what can only be described as an instant classic, featuring two monster dunks, down to the wire action, and a buzzer-beater (with subsequent interview fiasco) from D’Angelo Russell.

                                    

In every single summer league game, there is the potential that you are watching a future star, and who wouldn’t want the bragging rights of having seen LeBron, Steph, or KD play in an NBA game before the mass public?

In terms of appeal,  the Las Vegas Summer League reigns supreme over its brethren, as it hosts more teams and takes place in an actual arena, rather than the Magic or Jazz’s practice courts.

The NBA also boosted their Summer League appeal by streaming the games free on WatchEspn, rather than selling the games as a package as in previous years.

Crossover Sport Extravaganza

With athletes from our most popular sports on vacation during the summer months, this time seems ripe for a proposal I’ve been pushing for years now. We often marvel at the peak displays of athleticism stars like LeBron James and Cam Newton showcase during games, and this wonderment often comes with speculation. From forecasting Lebron James’ potential NFL career to seeing former basketball players such as Jimmy Graham and Antonio Gates go from playing college basketball to starring in the NFL, we love to think about the outcome should our stars transcend the boundaries of their sport.  

I can’t remember any event of this type during my lifetime, but my research brought up a television show called “Superstars” which, beginning in the 1970’s, hosted a series of inter-sport competitions between athletes of all sports, eventually declaring a winner.

While sore egos and “brand protection” were likely to blame for the show’s cancellation, our best athletes going head to head during their offseason would be electric programming - at the very least, an upgrade over the current state of July Athletics. Who wouldn’t want to see Von Miller squaring up Cam Newton on the basketball court, or LeBron and Dwyane Wade facing Carmelo and Chris Paul on a game of ping pong?

Admittedly, this will never happen, but the concept is an interesting one to consider and implement in part to our own consumption of sport.

We Might Have To Watch Soccer

If baseball refuses to change and other options either aren’t realistic or appealing enough, rest assured America has a back up plan, a veritable “break glass in case of extreme boredom” event. Major League Soccer’s regular season, much like baseball’s, runs from March to October, so there are games not only in July, but through the whole summer.

In addition to the America’s take on the beautiful game, football, is played across the world in international tournaments that in other countries, constitute the marquee sporting event of the summer. This year, both the European championships and Copa America took place, with the Olympics and more soccer on the way in August. For its niche supporters in America, soccer may already be a constant of content during the summer, but it clearly may not be for everyone.

There Are Two Esports Championships in July

*sigh*

Coming into this proposal, I felt sure that there was some way to procure some classic sports entertainment in the dry month of July, but after reviewing the possible options and proposals, the outlook is disheartening.

The only realistic options available to sports fans seem to be matters of compromise, a notion that seems ludicrous in an age of ever-increasing customizability, and outside-the-box proposals are far-fetched at best.

As this July comes to a close, the collective sports community has 11 months to workshop a solution, and from the way things look, it may take someone smarter than me to do it.

Truman Talk Radio Episode 4

In this week's episode of Truman Talk Radio, Ben and I discuss the MLB All-Star Game, the sale and steroid problems of the UFC, and a heated debate ensues over the merits of several activities as sports.

https://soundcloud.com/user-579396271/episode-4-golf-is-a-sport

Make sure to hit us up at our mailbag: TTRMailbag@gmail.com with any questions or comments you'd like to see read on the air.

Truman Talk Radio Episode 3

In this week's episode of Truman Talk Radio, Ben leaves me alone to discuss a dry slate of sports in the dog days of summer. Topics include Tim Duncan's retirement, Dwyane Wade, and the MLB All-Star Game.

https://soundcloud.com/user-579396271/episode-3-a-solo-show-in-dry-july

Make sure to hit us up at our mailbag: TTRMailbag@gmail.com with any questions or comments you'd like to see read on the air.