ORIENT GARDEN and STEAK-N-SHAKE!

Ugh! The past few months have just been mind-boggling. An unexpected death in the family, illness in the family, and family, have had our schedules all off kilter. With havoc reigning in our lives we've been seesawing between fast food and my ever trusty crockpot. The cooling weather has had my soup recipes in serious rotation!

The fast food has been the usual fare; McDonald's - grilled chicken ranch salad for me, double fish sandwiches for him; Taco Bell - soft tacos for us both; and Bojangles - all things fried chicken! We did, however, manage to throw in two new fast food joints into the mix.

The first was recommended to us. Orient Garden is located in Durham, North Carolina. They do quick Chinese and have a decent lunch menu. We've eaten here a few times and 60% of the time Big Daddy has always gotten the better meal. His usual order is the General Tso's Chicken. I tend to mix it up, Orange Beef, Chicken with Broccoli, Pepper Steak, etc. On average, his chicken is always good. When I order it, not so much. The first time the sauce was burnt and the second time it tasted like the chicken had been recycled. I think they just like him more than they like me. I've taken to letting him order the chicken for me if that's what I want to eat.

Is it our favorite Chinese joint? Not even close. Will we eat there again? Yeah, I'm fairly certain we will. Do we recommend it? Without a doubt. Fast, great portions, decent atmosphere and when necessary, it just works.

The second fast food place we tried for the first time was Steak N Shake. I'll be honest, after the first time I only went back for the milkshakes. They make a mean milkshake and I like the fries. I am not a fan of their burgers or their hotdogs. They are open 24-hours but they need to stress that it's only the drive-through that's actually open. They'll let you inside, but more times than not there is no staff. Usually there is just one manager playing server, cook, sous chef, and drive-through window guy by his lonesome. Sadly, he's not very good at either.

The meat tastes overly processed to me, the texture more filler than beef. I've now tried two different burgers and one hotdog and if I ever find need to go back again I'll just stick to the milkshake and fries. Big Daddy's tastes are not as discerning as mine. Ignore the side eye he's giving me! But he didn't mind the food. For him it works if you're in a pinch and hungry. I need to lose weight anyway so I'd sooner pass than eat here again.