The Coffee Club - St Lukes - Auckland

Toasted Sandwich with bacon cheese and tomato sauce.
Cost: $6 to $7

The bread was white. I was asked which bread I preferred which was
good. The bread was toasted well but in buttered which made it too dry
and the crusts hard. You definately need to have a drink on hand for
fear of choking or inhaling crumbs.

The cheese was a little stringy, which was nice, but rather void of
flavour. It too seemed dry, if that us possible. Most melted cheeses
will give a little moistness to a dish, and this baffled me, it was
the consistency of melted chewing gum.

The bacon too, seemed to be de- greased. Was is blotted before it was
served? And how they managed to leech the flavour out of the bacon as
well as cook it without browning it in the least, had me scratching my
head.

The only thing that stopped this toastie from being as dry as a desert
storm was the catering grade tomato sauce. It saved the day, but not
the toastie.

This was the most inoffensive, uninspired, tasteless toastie to date.
Even the way it was cut into four little triangles and arranged on the
plate, screamed "pensioners are our target market!".

Rating - 1 out of 5 bacon rashers

Sent from my iPhone

T.B.T.R NOTICE

There has been a lack of posts due to the available opportunites to test bacon toasties.
I will be posting again at the first available opportunity.
Please stay tuned.....

Thank you for following this blog.

CONSISTENCY TEST - MC DONALD'S

This test was conducted at the same "restaurant" at the same time of day, over four days.
The purpose of the test was to see how consistent the taste, preparation and presentation was, from a company that has no variation in it's process or product other than the human element.
They become eligible for The Bacon Toastie Review as the samples consist of the basic elements of bacon and bread.

TASTE
The results showed that there is a slight difference in taste between the samples. The systems in place to prepare the ingredients and the ingredients themselves make it possible to create a product that you can expect to taste the same every time. Yet the act of making the product is yeilding different taste results from sample to sample.

PREPARATION
All four samples were free of egg shell and had the egg cooked to the same consistency. The only thing that effects the taste is the temperature. If the egg is placed off centre, it becomes cold quicker. There is not much praise that can be given to a cold fried egg. Sample 1 was the worst example.
There was slight variation in the toasting of the muffin, some were browned a little more, which, when done right, can give a slight crispness to the sample that the bacon nearly always lacks. Sample 2 had the best toasted muffin.
The bacon is always cooked in advance, as are the eggs. The eggs do not suffer as much as the bacon does from this process. The bacon is rarely to never browned or crispy. Being stored for use in heated drawers, it tends to dry out a little. This makes it in the worst case a bit tough or stringy. Mostly however, your bacon will be fresh and tender. In some samples, the bacon was folded. This leaves very bland patches of mainly egg and cheese. Sample 4 was guilty of this. Sample 2 had the freshest and most crispy bacon.
The cheese is unexpectedly, greatly effected by preparation. Their unmelted cheese tastes much stronger if not melted, and the cold, rubbery texture can create an unpleasant contrast to the rest of the sample. Sample 3 had the best placed cheese.

PRESENTATION
This test was conducted as soon as the sample was unwrapped. It was also the second most fun part of conducting the test. The strange thing that came of the test was that on less busy or hectic days, the presentation was worse. Busier days seemed to have the employees "in the zone" and the samples were put together with better alignment and care. Sample 1 was done on the quietest day I visited. I was the only one at the front counter placing an order - and almost got my egg "on the side". Sample 2 was the busiest day, and was overall the best of the samples. There was some tension amongst the staff on the day of sample 4 - and as you can see - it came out upside down!

OVERVIEW
For the price (only when purchased as a meal) it is an affordable, hole-filler. If you are in a rush and light on funds, it is on the money. If you are a bacon snob, or highly regard presentation and taste, do not attempt this challenge as it may offend.
The consistency test clearly showed that it is the human element that makes or breaks the system. You can always be guaranteed of consistent ingredients, but how they are put together and taste, is a gamble you have to be willing to take.

Rating overall - 1.5 rashers of bacon

Disclaimer.
This was an independent test, not sponsored, not for any commercial purpose. The comments given are personal and for personal use only. I am not responsible for any experience you may have with similar products.

Curzola II - St Lukes - Auckland - New Zealand - 16th May 2010

For the purpose of consistency or variation, there will be reviews at the same location.

Bacon egg and cheese toastie.

$6.90

Here the sandwiches are cooked completely on a hot plate. This toasts the bread in a unique manner. Done well the bread is not too crunchy or doughy. Today is was done well. Buttered both sides.

This time the cheese was melted more and had drizzles onto the hot plate during preparation, making some of the edges delightfully crispy. Still a bland, affordable cheese though.

There was only one egg (Curzola usually use two) which was a relief as they can over do it sometimes. It was well done with no runny bits.

The bacon portion was adequate and satisfactory. Nothing special to mention.

When I opened the toastie to put my tomato sauce in I noticed they had put pepper in without asking. I never have pepper, but as it seemed rather mild I did not mention it to them. They had never done that before....

Rating - 2.5 out of 5 rashers of bacon.

Curzola - St Lukes - Auckland - 14th May 2010

Bacon and cheese toasted sandwich.

$5.90

Standard white bread toasted and buttered both sides. Done very well, no greasy drip toast melts in your mouth.

Cheese is processed pre sliced cheese. Very little flavour, just there as glue to keep the sandwich together.

The sauce they use is only catering quality, so I request sachets of their brand name sauce and put it in the sandwich myself.

Bacon is a thick sliced rasher style. Very generous portion. More than some places give when you ask for extra bacon. A great combination of crispy edges and tender meat.

Overall a good all round toastie for a good price. You get quantity and sacrifice slightly on the quality, but it is good enough to keep going back for.

Rating - 3.5 Rashers of bacon

The Bacon Toastie Review - to go!

This is the start of something beautiful. Reviews will now be sent with pics directly from the table to you!
Thank you bacon fans everywhere.

Bobs Weigh - Queenstown - New Zealand - May 2010 - "The Bacon Toastie Review"

Bobs Weigh - Queenstown - New Zealand

Bacon, Egg, Cheese Toastie.
Cost $9.50
I asked for extra bacon - unsure of extra cost.

Served on wholemeal loaf bread that was buttered after toasting.
Made so the bread and crusts could be eaten with a knife and fork.
Bread may not have stood up to eating by hand.

Tasty cheese with a full, strong flavour was used.
Cheese had been melted prior to closing the sandwich which allowed the cheese to ooze a little - very nice, making it easy to smear with a knife back onto the sandwich.

Egg was well done - nothing notable.

Bacon seemed to be honey cured rasher bacon. Well done and very crispy. Though I asked for extra bacon, the portion in the toastie was less than I would expect from a normal serving at best. Because it was so crunchy and full of flavour, it did compensate, but not meet my expectations.

I asked for ketchup in the sandwich but tomato sauce was served it on the side.

Rating - 3.5 out of 5 rashers of bacon.

Cafe 111 - Queenstown - New Zealand - Saturday 8th May 2010 "The Bacon Toastie Review"

Cafe 111 - Queenstown - New Zealand
Called the "Bacon Buttie" - why was not apparent.
Cost $7.00 for bacon and cheese or $9.00 with egg.

Served on what looked like slices from a wholemeal roll. Too thickly sliced which made it difficult to eat and gave it bread overkill. Far too much crust to get around.

Cheese was grated and put in as the sandwich was made. This means only some of the cheese softened and the rest fell out when you moved it. Cheese tasted rather bland for tasty.

Egg was well done - no notable comments.

Bacon was well done with crunchy accents, but a little stringy in places. Good percentage of rasher bacon used.

Only tomato sauce available - no ketchup.
Asked for it in the sandwich but was told it would be served on the side.

Rating - 2 out of 5 rashers of bacon