Easter Lunch

Upon arrival at Krystal yesterday I made my way quickly to the counter. I had noticed no signs inside or outside about the new Krystal Freezes, so I was a bit nervous. (More on that is a moment) I did however notice a sign sitting in the middle of the counter. Each word produced a small giddy little squeal as I read them from top to bottom:Chili (squeal) Cheese(squeal) Ranch(squeal) Fries(squeal)Oh yes. Krystal has taken 3 of my favorite things ever and piled them on top of their delicious fries. You may recall my remark last week about the Topping Rule. Anything can be made better with an addition of one of a short list of items. At the time I listed Chili, Cheese, Chocolate, and Gravy. How I forgot Ranch I have no idea. Heck the sign on the counter could have said "old ceiling tiles with ranch" and I'd probably have gone for it. By the time I got to the bottom of the sign, I believe I was already on my back on the floor with my left leg kicking the air. Obviously I knew what I was getting. So I placed my order. Feeling nostalgic I went with the #1 add cheese and ketchup, up sized my coke, and added chili, cheese, and ranch to my fries. I took my number and grabbed a seat. Soon my order was delivered to me in all its glory:Of course this is just your regular old chili cheese fries. (As if you could ever call that "regular") Then they give you a ranch dressing packet from the salad. (Yes, Krystal has salads!) I quickly ripped into the ranch, poured it on and got to work.While I love ranch so very much, I really am not fond of warm ranch, so I devoured all of my fries first so as not to have to deal with warm ranch on my hot fries. At least that's the excuse I am going with. If I'd had another fork I would have been two fisting those fries. Only the fact that there were other customers at the table next to me, and roughly 3 feet from me kept me from just using my hands. Oh those fries were good. But what was I to do with the rest of this ranch dressing?Duh! Go back to the counter, get 2 Chiks and a Milkquake. Ranch goes on the Chiks, Chiks go in my mouth, chased by the MilkQuake. The Easter Bunny ain't got nothing on Krystal! Keep your Peeps, I'll take the Chiks! Now let me address the whole Krystal Freeze thing and the "BrainFreeze Challenge." The Krystal in Murrell's Inlet is a franchise store. For those that didn't know, MOST of the Krystals out there are owned by the Krystal Company. There are some that are privately owned/franchised. These franchise stores are sort of the "renegade" stores. They don't always do exactly hat Krystal does. This gives them the freedom to do the Ranch Chili Cheese Fries and other exciting things. They also have some combo meals I haven't seen anywhere else. The other side of the coin, though, is that they don't always carry the items that come out of Krystal HQ. I spoke with the manager of the store briefly about the freezes. He was at first surprised that I knew about them. Then he noticed I was wearing my brown "Krystal" t-shirt. (I didn't even realize I was wearing it.) He asked if I worked for Krystal. I pointed to the pictures of the two KLHOF members on the wall and told him I was also a member, number 22. He then wanted all the details on when I was inducted, where I was from and whereI now lived. He also agreed that Wilmington is a pretty big town not to have a Krystal. I told him "In due time." Anyway, he said they were thinking about the Krystal Freezes, but had not decided yet if they would carry them. They really wanted to see how they did at other stores before they committed to them. On the one hand I can't imagine a FROZEN fruity beverage wouldn't sell this spring and summer in Myrtle Beach. But then there's bound to be lots of seasonal snow cone, slushie, and icee vendors out there who could provide a larger flavor selection, and perhaps a cheaper price. I think if Krystal could push the fact that their are made with REAL sugar, they could lock up a section of the market no one else could access. But then I'm not the one in charge so I don't get to make the decisions. I simply told him I'd be back in a month or so and hoped he'd have them in at that time. He thanked me, shook my hand, and I was on my way. So the brain freeze challenge is on hold. Well my part of it anyway. The next time I can get to a Krystal that has them I will dig in. Currently it looks like I may be back in Macon the end of March, and I may stop by my old stomping grounds to freeze my skull. I guess, like in Murrell's Inlet, we'll just have to wait and see.