Fast Food Pairings

Filed in archive Food and Wine on July 14, 2007

I love pairing food and wine. When I'm doing it for other people, I take it very seriously, but when I'm doing it for myself, I make it more of a game and try to have fun with it. Friends and I have even gone so far as to toss out completely random foods and challenge the rest of us to pair a wine with the fictional meal. For example, what would you drink with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich served with BBQ potato chips on the side? (Yes, I realize how geeky it is, but hey - it's fun!)

With this in mind, I had to laugh when I came across an article that gives some wine reccomendations for salads that you can buy at popular Fast Food Restaurants!

From The Sentinal Online:

Burger King Tendercrisp Garden Salad

Juicy, breaded, all-white tender-crisp chicken, cool vegetables, Parmesan cheese, crispy crouton and Ken's Creamy Caesar Dressing.

Wine Jeff recommends: "This classic Caesar salad is packed with potent flavors including garlic and anchovies and Parmesan, so it takes a wine with lots of acidity to refresh the palate. Stick to the Italian theme and choose something like a Zardetto Prosecco Brut available in all stores for $14.89. It offers nice citrus and melon fruit and the lively acidity and bubbles of this sparkling wine serve to cleanse the palate with scrubbing bubbles."

Subway Club Salad

Combines roast beef, turkey breast, ham, chopped iceberg lettuce, baby spinach, red onions, tomatoes, cucumber slices, green pepper strips, black olive slices, and carrots, topped with your choice of dressing.

Wine Jeff recommends: "With several more subtle proteins and the Mediterranean flavor of black olives this salad calls for a dry rose. Red Bicyclette Rose, from the south of France, is available in all stores for $9.99 and offers lively, refreshing acidity, flavors of summer fruit like strawberry and watermelon, and finishes bone dry."

Be sure to head over to the site for more! This article reminds me that above all, wine should be enjoyed and it should be fun. Do you have any favorite fast food (or junk food) wine pairings? I'd love to hear them!