Firsts

A quick post on two important firsts yesterday.

First up was the “Twinkie”, a product I’d heard a lot about on American TV programmes when I was growing up. I’d always been curious about the oddly-named snack. I remember being particularly curious since characters would often talk about Twinkies without actually eating them, so beyond the name I had no real concept of what one was. I think, and I may be wrong, that they’re kind of a byword for a crappy snack, the type of thing people know they shouldn’t really have, but they do anyway (so most American snack and fast foods then).

This is what a twinkie looks like:

You may also be familiar with the product if you’ve recently seen the Woody Harrelson film “Zombieland”, since Harrelson’s character is on a post-apocalyptic quest for Twinkies. To be honest, I’m not really sure why. It wasn’t exactly bad, but it was one of the most fake-tasting foods I’ve ever had. Perhaps it would be good on the bottom of a trifle, but as a straight-up snack, it was strangely displeasing. Suffice to say, should I survive a zombie-led armageddon, it won’t be the snack I’ll be breaking into a 7-11 for.

Next!

Unwisely I teamed the Twinkie first with another first, later that same day.  This time the KFC Doubledown. Oh yes! The new fast food sensation. I had my eye on one of these since they made a bit of a splash when they launched a few months ago. For those unfamiliar, a picture is worth a thousand words, see below:

Now take a close look at the above, because this is touted as a sandwich. But what’s missing? That’s right, the bun. The fried chicken is the bun, and the filling is bacon, melted cheese and the Colonel’s “special sauce”. It’s a revolution! Despite the stomach cramps later that evening, I have to say it was one tasty sandw…whatever it is, it was tasty. Only in America!

It’s not just me that thinks this; “My first bite of KFC’s Double Down made me question why I ever used bread for sandwiches.” For Joel Stein’s take on the Doubledown, click here .

Richard