Yeah, this bugged me. I like ketchup & mustard on my burgers. I was surprised and disappointed to be surprised by Mayo yesterday, not knowing they had changed the recipe.
It’s just a hamburger.
I very, very seldom eat nationally advertised fast food anymore but when I do, my first choice is Wendy’s. My standard order is chili with onions, no cheese and a plain baked potato. The chili at Wendy’s is really quite well done but now having read this thread, I’m worried that it may be negatively affected by the new burger patties.
How so? It sounds like people are saying it’s more the condiments that have changed. I would think the meat as it’s used for chili would be the same. I hope so anyway. Chili + spud = yummy, cheap lunch.
Burn the witch!
Had one today because this thread made me curious. Not nearly as good as I remembered*, with crappy toppings being the worst offender.
*who knows if my memory is accurate. I last had a Wendy’s burger years ago, so it’s anyone’s guess how well I can tell the difference.
The mention of so much Wendy’s and Five Guys in the same thread really caught my attention. I’ve always asserted that Wendy’s was the closest mega-chain analog to 5G. That is, of all the cheaper places to get a burger, Wendy’s shared the most with Five Guys in terms of taste profile and texture. Maybe it’s the way the beef is cooked, maybe it’s the particular cheese. But I’ve always thought that if you close your eyes and bite into a 5G burger, you get this sense of “this is what a Wendy’s burger wants to be when it grows up”. A Five Guys burger doesn’t seem like an oversized sandwich from Burger King or McDonalds, but it does compare a little to Wendy’s.
Now Wendy’s has changed their burgers. They look like they’re going after Five Guys visually, and “Hot 'n Juicy” makes it sound like it should be even more 5G-ish. But strangely enough, they’ve actually drifted farther away in terms of taste. The beef got blander, the cheese doesn’t stand out properly in the flavor profile…theys’ fucked up the burgers the same way they fucked up the fries last year. The new burger tastes like what I imagine Wendy’s in a foreign country would be like, where they get everything properly reminiscent but not quite right. And so now, we’re left with a burger market where Five Guys has out-Wendy’ed Wendy’s
I still say none of it matters as long as there’s Smashburger.
Thank Og you keeled over on to the enter key.
Thanks for the trenchant insight.
Joe
Hmm, I gotta weigh in on 5G
I tried 5G for the first time about a month ago. I was SERIOUSLY underwhelmed. Not that great, IMO. Everything may be fresh, but it’s bland fresh. I had the same reaction the first time I tried In-N-Out the last time I was in Vegas.
If you want a good upscale fast-food burger, go to Smashburger or Meatheads. Much better, IMO.
Back to Wendy’s - I don’t know if they are rolling it out in waves. I thought it was a national roll-out. But I can say definitively - the burger (both in the patty and the dressing) is different. I second the complaint above about no mustard - I love mustard, they should’ve kept that standard.
I believe the changes to the Wendy’s burger are;
Buttered, toasted bun
Full-Fat Mayo
No mustard
red onion
cheese stored at slightly warmer, yet still refrigerated, temperature so it melts better when put on the beef patty
Different pickle formulation
beef patty only pressed on the grill 3X, old burgers were 6X or more, meat in the new burger is looser and more crumbly
I tried one a few days ago, and overall, I’d rate it a “Meh”, nothing special, I don’t like them buttering the bun or full fat mayo, besides, I’m one of those weird types who likes mustard (and ketchup, and relish, and lettuce, and tomato…) on my burger, I usually have them hold the mayo to make the burger marginally less unhealthy, but I can’t make them un-butter and un-toast the bun, and I usually have them hold the onions as well
overall, not impressed, I do like their grilled chicken sandwich though…
With full fat mayo and a buttered roll, it seems like Wendy’s is trying to imitate Burger “Free Defibrilator with every burger” King’s penchant for making unhealthy food and trying to kill their customer base 
…wonder which of the Big Three will take the next “logical” step and simply bread and deep-fry the entire burger and just get it over with, maybe offer a free cup of delicious fryolator oil with each purchase, you know, as a “dipping sauce”…
And this is just a SDMB thread - your point would be?
I was under the impression that the hamburger patties were changed. All the more reason I should check it out.
Yeah. My jokes fail a lot.
Sometimes I don’t want to pay $7.00+ for a quick burger and fries. Or wait 15+ minutes to get it.
Why post this?
I still haven’t tried one of the burgers. I guess on the weekend, Mrs. Mahaloth and I will try to find a buy one get one free coupon and get a single.
They taste the same. But then I liked their old burgers so…
So the pickles are now engarlicenated?
Isn’t that the same basic ploy Dominoes used to make their pizza taste better?
Okay I had one. My opinion may be skewed because even though I asked for no Mayo and Tomatoes, apparently in New Wendy’s speak that means “Douse that burger with that shit.”
So, my conclusion: it tasted pretty much the same. The meat was a little saltier than I remember it being and tasted a little more “McDonald’s-y” but otherwise pretty much the same.
Had one today.
Seems the same. I would not have noticed the change if it had not been indicated to me.