I love buttery soft pretzels. Sonic has their new pretzel sticks, they are good but you only get one for $1.99. So it's not an order of sticks, plural, just be warned.

You just gave me an adea.

Buy a bag of soft pretzels. Slice one sideways and slightly scoop it out. Warm it up, butter the inside, sprinkle in graded sharp cheddar (extra sharp cheddar for me) then throw it under the broiler for 30 seconds.

Crack a beer, eat the first one, while making another . . . butter, cheese, bacon pretzel scooper!

Alton Brown's recipe for soft pretzels is very easy and they are tasty

I have also had occasion to notice that the food they serve looks very little like how it is depicted in their TV ads.

I used to really like the WaWa soft pretzels, but it seems that they changed suppliers and the new ones have about two or three granules of salt per pretzel. They look nothing at all like this in real life:

Love me some pretzels, especially with some nacho cheese.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
I used to really like the WaWa soft pretzels, but it seems that they changed suppliers and the new ones have about two or three granules of salt per pretzel. They look nothing at all like this in real life:

The salt usually comes in a separate envelope. The "baker" decides how much to use. Otherwise it all falls off on the 2500 mile journey, not to mention the box being thrown half a dozen times, ymmv.

Sonic Drive-In?

Glad the you have a good one. The Sonic restaurants that I've been to would only serve that pretzel smashed flat and cold. Between general illiteracy and text messaging on the part of the wanna-be 15$/hour rocket surgeons, the cheese sauce would not be included.

quote:

Originally posted by reflex/deflex 64:

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
I used to really like the WaWa soft pretzels, but it seems that they changed suppliers and the new ones have about two or three granules of salt per pretzel.

The salt usually comes in a separate envelope. The "baker" decides how much to use. Otherwise it all falls off on the 2500 mile journey, not to mention the box being thrown half a dozen times, ymmv.

When WaWa first opened in this area, the soft pretzels were great. They looked pretty much like the ones in the photo.

Then after a while, the quality fell apart. They were overbaked, tough, and almost "naked" in terms of salt. You could count the salt granules on a pretzel without running out of fingers.

I asked about the change and was told that the original good ones were baked at a remote location and shipped in. The MBA bean counters decided that it was more cost effective to have them baked locally. Maybe they saved a penny or two, but the quality took a nose dive and they lost a lot of sales. I did the "contact us" thing, and my comments fell on deaf ears.

Sounds about right. Saving so much money they don't even need the product any longer.

I have a few friends in the restaurant supply industry. They relate all kinds of stories like yours, chains that change recipes and suppliers in an effort to reduce prices or hold the line on increases. The 10% savings results in losing that edge that made them unique and worth the cost.