Ditto Culver’s for me.
Wendy’s always had the best burger of the national franchises. 5 guys tastes similar, but a little bit better. I have not had a Wendy’s burger in over a year though. If they are worse, I have not experienced it.
I also tried one on Friday after reading this thread (Wendy’s has got to love us). My first impression was that it was not much different. I did miss the mustard. I liked the red onion because I like the taste of onion but I don’t want large quantities so the balance of the sharper taste of the red onion, but less of it than before was a plus. The pickles… I could tell something was different but couldn’t quite put my finger on it so I pulled one off. It tasted like a Bread and Butter chip to me… I prefer dill, but since I couldn’t really nail it until I tasted it separately I have to say it is about the same as the old burger. I really didn’t notice any significant difference in the patty or the bun.
I read an article on this elsewhere, and supposedly next year they will change the Chicken Sandwiches. This could kill my opinion of them since their spicy chicken sandwich is as good as it gets in my book.
Had one today and absolutely hated it. It looked like they used the “old” patties for the kids burgers. So maybe they will have those for the double stacks. If not, I am afraid that I will not have a reason to go there anymore. Which truly saddens me.
I had one of their new burgers today too and it was not as good as the old ones were. Not horrible, but just not quite as tasty. I usually alternate between their burgers and the spicy chicken sandwiches when I visit, but will probably mostly only get the chicken in the future. I hope they don’t change it! The fries are still good, although the ones I got were certainly not seasoned with sea salt.
I haven’t even tried their new fries yet. Though I keep meaning to.
I had a double the other day and it was exactly the same, mustard and everything. Is it just the single burgers or something? Maybe a regional thing?
I support this message. Seriously though I know I’ve written this before but I’ve tried 3 different 5 guys and was totally underwhelmed as well. The first one over cooked everything, turning the burger into leather and the fries into salted crackers. The second one at least got the burger kind of right but it was just a burger, nothing remarkable. The fries were of course basically raw. Oh yum yum, raw potatoes. The third was yet another unremarkable burger and soggy fries. (Admittedly not as raw as the second one.) I did try to go to the second one another time but turns out when I went their grill was broken and they couldn’t cook anything. (I guess they’ve only got one grill which is a little hard to believe but oh well, it saved me $7)
Seriously, when I want a good fast food burger I’d go to Flamer’s but they closed the nearest one unfortunately. (Chili’s has a decent burger but you pretty much have to eat it at the restaurant.)
Since the single I got yesterday had red onions, I presume it was one of the new and improved(?) models. It also had mustard and — contrary to my expectations — only a moderate amount of mayonnaise.
Aside from the change in onions, probably the biggest difference I noticed was the toasted bun. Although it wasn’t exactly what I would normally consider “toasted,” it did a respectable job of keeping the condiments from soaking in and making the sandwich a semi-inedible mess.
Not exactly a glowing endorsement, but certainly not the Gehenna-spawned atrocity I was half-expecting.
Asked for single, catsup, tomato, red onion and lettuce and a medium fries - hold the pickle hold the mayo.
Well, the texture of the patty was noticeably different, a bit dry but flavor was about the same. I liked the bun but it wasn’t really toasted crunchy, more like lightly heated. I liked the red onion, and the whole lettuce [I hate shredded lettuce on a burger] and I like the sea salted fries.
I would buy it again, though to be honest this was the first fast food I have had in almost 4 months.
As luck has it, I was at Wendy’s a few days ago. I thought they just forgot to put mustard on it. Didn’t know the lack of tasty mustard was intentional. Boo.
So when did this overhaul take place, exactly? I went to Wendy’s maybe two months ago, and the entire experience left much to be desired. One, it looked like I’d walked into a war zone of some sort. I doubt anything had been painted, cleaned or repaired since 1987. Now I know, it’s a fast food joint. What am I expecting – ambiance? No, of course not, but Jesus Christ, this place looked like it had been deliberately forsaken by god. But I got over that because I was hungry and had about three seconds to eat. I ordered what they described as a burger and some fries (the fries having been apparently deep-fried in liquid salt) and choked down some sad burger made begrudgingly by someone who spends every moment of his life focusing on how thoroughly he despises the job. I could honestly taste the hate.
shredded lettuce is the devil!!!
I’m going to check it out. Since I only get meat and cheese, some of the changes might not be apparent.
The last three times I’ve gone to Wendy’s (different ones on the highway), I’ve gotten completely random toppings; not at all what I ordered.
Used to be good hamburgers, but not now.
Q) What’s it all about, Alfie?
A) Well, it’s all about market share!
McDonald’s crushing Wendy’s, Burger King, all others
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
*”McDonald’s may soon account for more than half the fast-food hamburgers sold in America for the first time.
The Golden Arches, whose menu has spread beyond burgers to include more than 100 items, tacos to oatmeal, on its menu, is gaining market share while Burger King, Wendy’s and other chains lose customers. …"
*
To help insure fresh food, I always go the ‘special order route’ when ordering at a fast food joint.
A good example is fries without salt:
• A fresh batch
• More fries
• No salt
I feel exactly the same way. In fact I had a spicy chicken tonight and I DID notice the bun tasted better…I like their burgers ok but I always go back to their spicy chicken sandwich.
Tried a Wendy’s burger yesterday for the first time in a long time. (I usually get the spicy chicken these days.)
The burger was godawful. Wendy’s used to have good (and BIG) burgers-- juicy and delicious. The burger I got yesterday was indistinguishable from any other fast food burger. Low-grade crap. Also very small. The patty looked almost as small as a Krystal or White Castle burger.
That was my last Wendy’s hamburger, I reckon. I will stick with the spicy chicken. Although they’ve already started screwing around with the chicken, making it smaller. I’d hate to give up on Wendy’s (for a long time, it was one of the few decent fast food places) but they are forcing me in that direction.
My friend talked me into going there yesterday at the end of a road trip. Since I was completely engrossed in trying to beat the final level of the iPhone game Army of Darkness Defense, I absentmindedly mumbled my consent. I hadn’t eaten there in years.
My experience mirrored Spoke’s almost exactly; I got a grilled chicken, and the bun was thin and wimpy, the chicken rather tasteless, with one perfunctory ear of lettuce and a thin coating of Mystery Sauce. But what really shocked me were the fries-I recall Wendy’s fries being big and chunky, but these were thin and liberally coated with that awful “seasoning” so many places put on them anymore. Isn’t there a law (related to Network Decay and Magazine Decay) which states that any product will over time become indistinguishible from the competition? The Law of Creative Entropy or something? I honestly don’t know why fast food places seem so eager to copy each other-you’d think they’d get more business by differentiating themselves instead as viable alternatives (some do I guess).
If anyone else is interested but you don’t want to waste the moneyI signed up for their email list and they just sent me two free burger coupons (with small fry purchase of course).