Andrew Zimmern, the unexpected fast food staple, hasn’t tried it yet
If there’s anyone who can brazenly bite the eyeballs off a fish or chew cheese like a champ, it’s Andrew Zimmern. As the longtime host of the Food Network show “Bizarre Foods,” the celebrity chef has tasted hundreds of unique dishes around the world, many of which rarely appear on menus in the United States. But while the New York native never hesitates to try new things, there remains one type of cuisine he has yet to fully explore. As strange as it may seem, the world-famous foodie is a fish out of water when it comes to fast food.
In an exclusive interview with Tasting Table, Zimmern explained that he’s removed more chain restaurants from his list to combat this culinary hotspot. Recent social media posts confirm his efforts, showing the chef digging into fast food favorites for his followers. “Well, I love food — and I’m not a food snob — but I was a little surprised at how great (Wendy’s) Frosty was,” he told Tasting Table.
But don’t let its latest foray with the Frosty fool you: It still has a long way to go, especially when it comes to a magical McDonald’s menu item. Chicken McNugget is about as American as apple pie, but Zimmern admits he hasn’t yet tasted its crunchy delight.
Read more: Restaurant foods that always taste better than what you make at home
Zimmern doesn’t have a chicken, but he’s afraid of McNuggets
For Andrew Zimmern, few foods can compare to the savory goodness of fried chicken. Besides ordering chicken at his favorite restaurants, like Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami, Florida, he has a secret ingredient to enhance the flavor of the dish at home. As adventurous as Zimmern is as an eater, however, he still has a long way to go if he wants to construct a ranking of his favorite nuggets. His experience with fast food chicken is rather limited, starting with Raising Cane’s. “I ate at Cane’s, which people think of as fast food, right? But they only serve chicken tenders. There’s nothing else on the menu,” says -he. “I like Cane’s, and people tell me it’s fast food. So I’ve eaten there, but I’ve never had a Chicken McNugget.”
When asked why he’s never tried a McNugget, the “Bizarre Foods” host had a simple explanation. “I’m scared,” Zimmern said. Still, he’s not a total stranger to the iconic McDonald’s treat, declaring, “I saw them and I broke one.” According to Zimmern, some items on the menu – from McNuggets to Hardee’s roast beef sandwiches – don’t seem very appetizing to him. That said, the chef isn’t completely ruling out the idea of a McNugget taste test in the future. In fact, he tells Tasting Table that this might be next on his list of fast food dishes to try.
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