What took me so long?

When I was a kid, my grandparents lived in a town which had two fast-food restaurants: Dairy Queen and Hardee's. Whenever I would visit, my grandfather would let me tag along when he went to the cattle auctions. We would always stop at Hardee's on our way home. My grandfather loved Hardee's hamburgers. He got me to likin' 'em too, and for years my go-to place for a quick hamburger was Hardee's.

When Hardee's made their famous switch to "thickburgers" and the like, the CEO of the company took to the airwaves and announced that Hardee's was changing its menu because corporate bigwigs realized their burgers "weren't very good." I sent 'em a letter and told 'em that their our-burgers-suck-so-we-have-to-make-a-change ads were an insult to every person who'd been going out of their way to visit Hardee's ... like me. I told 'em I wouldn't be trading with them any more -- as my grandfather used to say.

Hardee's sent me a bunch of free coupons along with a letter telling me that if I decided to trade with 'em again, I'd like what I saw, er, tasted. I chucked 'em and said to myself, "Thanks, but no thanks." I vowed I'd never darken Hardee's door again. It was a silly vow, I know, but my principles were at stake. The old hamburgers were good enough for my grandfather, and they were good enough for me. And, by God, I wasn't going back.

Well, I did go back. I had to undergo - endure - some painful oral surgery, I ate nothing but chicken broth and a few yolk-free egg noodles for almost five days. Sitting at my desk one day last week, completely famished, I decided that what I needed was a hamburger. And fast. So I stopped at the Hardee's near my office on my way home. (The fact that I had a coupon (!) kind of helped me decide to stop at the restaurant with the big yellow star on its facade.)

Here's what I got ...


That there's a Hardee's Six-Dollar Thickburger, and it might just be the best fast-food hamburger a man who's gotta eat can eat -- even though Hardee's goes a bit crazy with the mustard and ketchup (see above pic).

The burger itself was thick and juicy, and it was dusted with just enough salt and pepper to make it oh-so-tasty. You gotta have mad respect for a fast-food joint that uses red onions, and Hardee's does just that. And I loved the fact that Hardee's uses thick slices of sweet pickles on its big burgers. (Joltin' Django loves him some some sweet pickles.)

I guess what I'm tryin' to say is this: Hardee's Six-Dollar Thickburger is the best fast-food burger around. Period.

Oh, and I'm not boycottin' Hardee's no more. Indeed.