Working My Way Through The Works: Gotta Be KD

A popular gimmick for food blogs is to eat and review every item on a restaurant's menu. This blog is no exception. These are the observations I've had while eating my way through the burger menu of The Works, a Canadian burger restaurant with locations across Ottawa and Ontario.

The WORKS (900 Watters Road))
Burger Description:"Kraft Dinner & cheddar"
($19.34)

September 20, 2022

Kraft Dinner is bullshit. The macaroni pie my mom would make for Sunday dinners spoiled KD for me forever. I assume the only reason people eat it is that it's cheap and they don't know how to make a proper cheese sauce. When I finally tried the stuff in the blue and yellow box, I never understood its appeal. I don't care what Barenaked Ladies say, "If I Had A Million Dollars" I wouldn't eat that crap ever again. I will admit, seeing all that orange gooeyness on my burger patty made me hope that I would at least get a lot of cheese flavour in my first bite. But the low expectations I had for this meal were quickly met. It didn't taste any cheesier than if I had ordered a regular cheeseburger. Biting into the hamburger, the macaroni added a weird mouthfeel that I was not a fan off. I tried some of the pasta separately. It was like flavourless orange packing foam. As with actual Kraft Dinner, the only way to eat this was with lots of ketchup. Paying almost $20 for something with Kraft mac and cheese on it is ridiculous - the best part of this lunch was the French fries. I get that it's not practical or realistic to expect something a Sicilian grandmother would have made from a burger joint but even using good-tasting macaroni and cheese seems like a mistake to me as a hamburger topping. This is easily the worse hamburger I've eaten so far from the Works. Recommended only for pregnant women with very specific cravings.

1 out of 5 stars

The Need To Know Classic That Is: Chicken Parmesan

Whether you call it chicken parmesan or chicken parmigiana, one thing is for certain - it is not an Italian dish. Its inspiration, the combination of parmigiana di melanzane, a dish using fried eggplant slices and tomato sauce, and a cotoletta, a breaded veal cutlet normally served without sauce or cheese, can be found on any Italian menu. As immigrants from Italy started to settle in the U.S. in the 1950s, the combination of breaded chicken breast covered in tomato sauce and cheese began appearing in restaurants and homes. With the recipe below, you will have a dish that is great on its own, used in a sandwich or with a side of, or on top of pasta. 

Ingredients

2 large boneless chicken breasts
450 g mozzarella, parmesan, or provolone cheese, sliced thick
226 g panko bread crumbs
6 eggs, beaten
extra virgin olive oil
your favourite tomato sauce

1. Preheat your oven's broiler. Put the bread crumbs in a large bowl next to the bowl your beaten eggs are in.
2. Butterfly the chicken breast, then pound it as thin as you can with a meat tenderizer (covering the meat in plastic wrap, and slamming your heaviest pan on it will also work) on a flat surface.
3. Dip the chicken into the egg, then into the panko. Press down on the bread crumbs, making sure the breast is completely covered. Repeat and place the meat on a plate for 15 -20 minutes. Do the same process for the other piece of chicken.
4. Heat up 2.5 mL of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat - don't let the oil get too hot. Fry each chicken breast separately on one side for 5-7 minutes or until the edges turn a dark golden brown. As it cooks, baste the top of the meat with some of the oil in the pan. Flip the chicken breast when its bottom is sufficiently browned, and fry the other side.
5. While the chicken cooks spread some tomato sauce on a baking sheet. When the meat is ready, place it on the sauce, then add more sauce down the middle of the chicken breast. Top the meat with the cheese.
6. Place the baking sheet in the oven and broil everything for about 5 minutes until the cheese is well browned and bubbling.