Steveats: Wendy’s new chicken makes a better salad

Debuting a new, semi-regular feature! I tryout questionable food items so that you don’t have to in… Steveats. (Note: Title developed in about 10 seconds of brainstorming.)

The best praise I can give to Wendy’s new grilled chicken sandwich is that it makes for a decent salad. They throw a bunch of arugula or baby spinach in the bun, along with a tomato and a special sauce, and that aspect is pretty delicious! Their website describes it as a “spring mix” with smoky honey mustard. The bun is also tasty, since it’s a (re-heated) toasted bun with grains and what not.

Unfortunately, the sandwich comes with chicken, although this might be a generous description of whatever the meat product actually is. It’s shockingly rubbery, which is the kind of thing I’d expect more from McDonald’s or Roy Rogers or 7-Eleven than Wendy’s. Stuff like their crispy chicken sandwich, chicken wraps and homestyle chicken sandwich obviously have a fry batter, but they all tasty juicier and fresher than the grilled chicken sandwich I got.

Because there was a thick salad on my bun, it was hard for me to really analyze the sandwich. I imagine it would have been even more disappointing if I had. Thankfully, they’re having a $5 meal special on the sandwich because it’s new, because I would have been disappointed if it was one of the oddly high-priced normal Wendy’s combos.

As they’ve phased out the value menu and 4-for-$4 at some locations, Wendy’s has tumbled down my fast food rankings, even lower than Burger King. If it’s around $9 for a burger, fries and a drink, I’d rather just pay an extra buck or two and go to a place like Moe’s, Five Guys, Chipotle or Cilantro, to name the places I see regularly in my Rhode Island travels. I’m usually going for quality or cheapness when I’m in my “I’m too lazy to cook” moods, and right now Wendy’s doesn’t really hit either niche.

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Steveats: Wendy’s Bacon Mozzarella Burger (with tons of lettuce)

Debuting a new, semi-regular feature! I tryout questionable food items so that you don’t have to in… Steveats. (Note: Title developed in about 10 seconds of brainstorming.)

One “advantage” of modern day fast food burgers is that you get a free salad with each one, seemingly. By this, I mean that the workers pile way too god damn much lettuce on the things.

The picture on this entry for the Wendy’s Bacon Mozzarella burger are AFTER I already picked off and ate a good amount of the lettuce. I’m not sure why this is the new modus operandi for fast food burger prep – I think it makes the burger look smaller, and it’s like they have something to hide.

And let me be clear, for one of the first times for this feature, Wendy’s has nothing to hide. The Bacon Mozzarella burger IS pretty tasty, with its thicker bun (garlic Brioche, according to their literature) and the feature ingredient of mozzarella. Both were pretty tasty, especially as compared to other fast food efforts and their own gooey and soggy Jalapneo Fresco chicken sandwich, a past Steveats target.

Unasked for salad aside, this is a tasty burger. Of course, it’s still horrible for you – 620 calories! – and overpriced at about $4.50. For that much, I’d rather have the equivalent three McDoubles or four Rodeo burgers. But if you’re looking for just one really good burger, by fast food standards, then the Wendy’s Bacon Mozzarella burger is currently the reigning king. (Note: I’m only referring to the Big Three national fast food chains here – Wendy’s, McDonald’s and BK.)

Want to support Steve’s blogging? Then purchase something via the Amazon clickthru link for Your Parents Basement, Steve’s other project! If you have a request for a future Steveats, leave it in the comments on here or on my Facebook. To check out some of the past Steveats, go here!

Steveats: The Gas Station Hot Dogs

Cheese dog, steak and cheese taquito.

Debuting a new, semi-regular feature! I tryout questionable food items so that you don’t have to in… Steveats. (Note: Title developed in about 10 seconds of brainstorming.)

I started out this feature with a relatively simple item – the Burger King hot dog. At the time, I noted that it wasn’t really all that different than a gas station hot dog, except that it cost almost double, since gas station hot dogs are typically $2.50 or $3 for a pair.

Some people reacted in surprise, because they were unaware that those hot dogs were actually edible. I think I first became curious about how they tasted because I wasn’t ever allowed to get one as a kid, and because they seem like they would be the most disgusting food item of all-time. I also have a habit of liking to grab a snack while at the gas station, with a past obsession being peach rings.

Steak and cheese taquito.

Let me reassure you with today’s entry – They absolutely are edible, or at least as edible as any hot dog, even the weird varieties. Although, it’s most likely that this is the case because the hot dog is the cockroach of the meat world, or the Twinkie, if you will, given that they have similar shapes. After the nuclear holocaust of Fallout becomes reality, the only edible meat will be hot dogs.

Anyway! I mostly eat like a grown-up nowadays, except for this feature. But on the rare days I’m feeling peckish and don’t want a fast food burger, the gas station hot dog is my second or third choice, after a sandwich from various places. Cumberland Farms is usually my vendor, and it’s where these wieners come from, but 7-Eleven has OK dogs as well.

For the purposes of this entry, I picked two kind of weird hot dogs – the cheese-infused dog, and a steak-and-cheese taquito thing. The latter, you might notice, is not actually a hot dog, but it is on those heating rollers, so I definitely think it still counts. The taquito is kind of mushy, but it did taste of steak and cheese. I wouldn’t get it again, but it was fine for the price. At Cumby’s, that was two for $2. (Note: I used a bun for it, because it looked super greasy.)

Disappointing cheese dog.

The cheese dog was slightly disappointing. The cheese wasn’t all that good, and such small portions! (As the classic saying goes.) Again, it was still plenty good enough to eat, but I’d just opt for the normal hot dogs next time.

The normal dogs are your best option when it comes to the gas station meat – don’t get ensnared by the bells and whistles of the “special” flavors. This is a bit of a golden age for gas station food in general though, as both Cumberland Farms and 7-Eleven are seemingly in an arms race when it comes to offering pairings of hot dogs, pizza and soda for less and less money. Again, pretty much all of it is edible, and at least comparable to the more hyped bargain fast food (Subway’s “sandwiches,” Wendy’s and McDonald’s not-actually-a-dollar menu).

If you have a request for a future Steveats, leave it in the comments on here or on my Facebook. To check out some of the past Steveats, go here!