PIZZA!

Ok, we finally tried the Pizza since Tim’s took away my son’s favorite meal item, the Grilled Cheese sandwich. He tried the Bacon everything and then the chicken parm a few days later. I tested bites of each. So, they don’t totally suck. I must confess I only tried a bite of the bacon one the next day – I wont comment on the cardboard nature of the flatbread crust as I understand it should be eaten hot and fresh. I was kind of blown away by the $9 price tag though. I estimate the size of these pizzas as being roughly 1 1/2 times that of a slice of Pizza you could get from any pizza place – the ready made ones which are usually from a large or X-large size pizza. Pizza store slices usually go for about $3 – 4. So two of those would get you more pizza for less money. And with a proper dough crust, I think they would be more filling as well. The baon one seemed quite sparse for toppings – probably a judgement call on the part of whoever is building it – or is there a pathetically small scoop the Tim’s person uses to measure out the bacon bits? Knowing RBI and their penny pinching ways – probably. The chicken parm one smelled parmy smelly – I don’t think the cheese quality is fresh italian parmesan, but it was tasty enough. The bread was actually good when hot and fresh, soft and chewy.

I just don’t get Tim’s trying to do foods they should leave alone. Potato wedges should be deep fried – are they still available? They aren’t as bad as the so called hash browns (Tim’s breakfast offerings are just lousy) – but they are lame. Pizzas should be made with dough, and there seems to be good reasons why pizza stores specialize in it. Not sure where Tim’s gets sauce and various other ingredients for their pizzas – probably best to remain a mystery. Finally, these new baked pastry offerings just look awful. I have tried the Savoury ones – the goo in the middle is pretty scary. I have not tried either the Twist pastries or the newer Pinwheels – they both look appetizing and expensive for what you get. The whole Bowl offerings line looks to be an attempt at providing a healthier alternative – I would settle for some decent whole wheat an/or multigrain breads offering – now that the ‘panini’ bread is gone, it looks like a white flour festival in the vast majority of baked goods.

Quick update – wedges are now ‘Sea salt wedges’ and have been given a jagged cut shape – presumably to try and produce more crispness which will never be realized with a baked treatment. I will continue to get my breakfasts from McD’s – whole eggs and deep fried hash browns make a Tims breakfast seem limp and soggy in comparison.

Double Trouble @ Drive Through

Just the other day I used the app to order a coffee and muffin. When I drove up to the ordering box, I was asked for my order number – if you have read any of the preceding posts, you know I find this just a little annoying…. So after the verbal dance where I state my name several times, spell it, explain it by using it in context… We finally agree that I am who I say I am and have an order in the queue – I am informed that the chocolate chip muffy I ordered is unavailable. Meh, I will take a fruit explosion instead – no problem. Except when I get to the pickup window I am informed I must pay 20 cents more for the substitute. I have long grown resigned to products being out of stock despite the app allowing me to order them, and pay for a nonexistent item…The graceful way of handling these circumstances is to offer me a similar product, or even a small upgrade – I.e. A ‘special’ muffin instead of ‘classic’. This was a first – never before have I been asked to pay the difference. I told the girl (in all fairness I think she must have been quite new to the job….) that she could either give me a fruit explosion instead of my chocolate chip or refund me for the muffin I already paid for. She checked with someone more experienced who immediately grabbed the Fruit muffin in its bag and handed it to me. Why does this have to be reinvented? Should inexperienced workers be handling the order window and payments? Even for Tims, this was exceptional – They managed to annoy me twice in a single transaction.