Not that I’m a huge Wendy’s fan, but they are close to work so I probably end up eating there every other week or so. It’s decent, as fast food goes, I guess.
I heard on a Marketplace podcast, of all places, a short little note indicating that Wendy’s had a “new burger”. So off I went, with boss, to lunch.
Hm, I was surprised. I expected it to be a “special” item. But looking at the menu, ALL the burgers (the old single, double and triple) seem to be in this new “Dave’s Hot 'N Juicy” format. So I ordered a double.
/drumroll
It was OK. Probably what I would say about it is this: If they were attempting to match exactly the taste of a McD’s Quarter-Pounder with Cheese, they’ve done it. I don’t know if it’s an improvement, but it is different from the classic Wendy’s burger. I did like that it moved away from the classic Wendy’s “hot burger patty + cold lettuce, onion and tomato = lukewarm mess” formula. But on the other hand - can they distinguish themselves among their fast-food competitors by copying McDonald’s? (Although, granted, the new patties at Wendy’s are thicker than the QP patties, though again they taste exactly the same.)
Ugh. Wendy’s food quality has been heading steadily downhill for the last 15 years or so, particularly after Dave’s death. Their burgers were still at least palatable. If they’ve moved closer to McDonald’s, there goes the last reason to still go there. Too bad. They used to be really good when I was a teenager.
I’ve never had a burger from Wendy’s. What was the difference between them and the other fast food places supposed to be? Flamed broiledness? Cause that seems like a *good *thing. Are they still square (cause that always seemed like an *odd *thing)?
I’m only here to protest the suggestion that anything McDonald’s sells can be classified as food. It would be more accurate, I think, to name it pseudo-organic, quasi-nutritive simulations of food with long-term toxicity.
It had red onions that were bitter and overpowering. The pickles had been changed to some kind of pale garlic flavored mess. The meat was bland and had a cardboardy texture. It was nothing at all like the classic Wendy’s burger and I won’t be going back.
The gimmick at Wendy’s was that the burgers were always “fresh, never frozen”. They had ads of bland frozen burgers slamming on a griddle like barbell weights (for their competitors) contrasted with their own sizzling beefy burgers.
Oh, and this doesn’t affect me at all because I don’t think I’ve ever had a burger at Wendy’s. I usually only go there for Frosties, and if I have to get a meal there I’ll get the Spicy Chicken sandwich combo.
I haven’t tried them. I do quite like their new fries. Big improvement. I enjoy their chicken sandwiches. The nuggets seem to vary widely. They are pretty good, soft and juicy, if you get them fresh, but if they sit around for any length of time they become tasteless rocks.
God, I think I almost forgot that Wendy’s sells hamburgers. The Spicy Chicken has been my standard order there for ages. Maybe I’ll make an exception next time I go just to see if there’s any fuss to be made.
I went to Wendy’s today and there didn’t appear to be any difference from the same burgers they’ve always had. Is this just a regional rollout at this point?
I’m not sure I can describe it quite right. It’s basically just that their patties taste like, well, meat. Not special Angus meat. Not flame broiled. And not whatever it is that McDonald’s does to the flavor. It’s not quite like a hamburger made from scratch, but pretty close.
And the squareness allows them to cook more meat at once. It maximizes surface area. Think about it: A grill is a rectangle or square. Of course you can fit larger squares than circles on it.
Oh, and I don’t understand how anyone can like their new fries. The amount of salt on them is ridiculous. Newsflash: sea salt is in larger chunks and thus doesn’t integrate with the food. The salt is all on the surface, and leaves the fries with no flavor while giving you a very salty tongue.
The only things I buy at Wendy’s are the Baconator and Frosties. I’ll give the new burgers a try this weekend, both in Baconator and regular burger forms.
We just had Wendy’s the other day, and were commenting that their burgers suck compared to “the old days.” But mine tasted the same as whatever they’ve been serving for the last however-many years.
The new fries are leagues beyond the old, pasty ones, however.
I’d also like to go on record as saying I love Wendy’s new fries. They’re thicker and softer than the shoestrings McDonald’s sells, but not soft to the point of sogginess. They’re also made skins-on, like the fries Jack in the Box used to have until they “improved” the recipe last year and decided to knock off McDonald’s recipe.
Other than Five Guys, Wendy’s had the best burgers around, even now. And their fries were always the best of the thee majors (again, not up to Five Guys). The change to the fries was neither an improvement nor a step back, but I don’t find a burger with yellow industrial sludge on it particularly appealing – and now they’ve added more of it.
It’s probably still better than McDonald’s or Burger King (who went from top burger and good fries to third-rate burger and the worst fries around).
Godawful. In fact, I submitted a complaint through their website last week about the new burgers. Wendy’s has basically spent a year trying to remove everything I like about their restaurant.
Good Fries -> Sea-Salt Natural-Cut fries. Bleh.
Thin, larger salted beef patty with flavor -> bland hockey puck. (though still square.)
White onions -> Red onions. Meh.
Pickles -> Lightly vinegared cucumber chips from Satan’s asshole.
The pickles were the last straw. What used to be my favorite hamburger is now my least favorite.