I went to Wendy’s today for lunch. I saw an ad talking about their new side dish options, including a baked sweet potato, so I figured I’d give it a go. Nothing much really to say about that. It was as advertised.
But I ordered a chicken sandwich, and was standing around waiting for it, and they brought out the sandwich wrapped in the paper package but open topped, and then sitting in a half box where the sandwich was on end. WTF?
I didn’t realize that was my order at first. I’m not used to a sandwich being presented on end. In a half box.
Not only that, but the bagsat the Shake Shack are basically chimneys letting the heat rise right out as you’re walking back to the office with your delicious cheeseburgers. Seriously, their burgers are exposed to the open air when you walk out! Pure insanity!
The worst part of the new changes at Wendy’s is that they replaced the mustard on their burgers with mayo. Now when I order I have to say “no cheese, no tomato, no mayo, add mustard.” It’d almost be faster to make it myself.
They also cook the meat differently; they don’t squeeze it on the grill so it comes out thicker and less dense. Perceived thickness is also why they serve it on its side.
I can see why you might wrap it like that for in the store eating, as opposed to “to go”. For to go, you need to wrap it completely.
I can see using plain paper over the foil paper. The foil paper is probably better for conserving heat, but again that is less important for in store dining. Also, the plain paper is cheaper, but also, the plain paper is actually recycleable (though I doubt it gets recycled).
I know Quiznos changed their in store paper to a half sheet of plain paper over the Quizno’s logo’d full sheets for to go orders for that reason. Reduce packaging, make things more recycleable. It says so in their advertising.
I guess I can kinda see standing the sandwich up as long as it is wrapped to hold it together. That’s one of the tricky parts of sandwich handling, the picking up and putting down. And which side goes down? I normally put the bottom of the bun on bottom, but then when I pick up I have to scoop upward. Alternately, lay it over on the top and it rolls over and rolls back up. But then the sandwich is sitting on the “top”. Or I suppose I could eat the sandwich upside down. gasp
I’ve had the burgers and fries. Not crazy about the fries-- they’re crinkle cuts; not a big fan of the crinkles. I’ve never had a shake there, but the concoctions on the menu sound delicious. The burgers are phenomenal, phenomenal, phenomenal. Better than Five Guys, imo. I’ve only been to the one in DC, fwiw.
The burgers are godly. As a Californian, In n Out was my #1 choice for quick burgers, even ahead of the over-rated Five Guys. But damn, Shake Shack kicks the shit out of everyone. Their meat quality is simply amazing, and their bun technology is beyond brilliant, preventing shit from falling out the back.
It’s basically worth a trip to the east coast just for Shake Shack. And I like the fires too, though they’re not quite as mind-blowingly amazing.
This is really a matter of opinion. On a griddle (heavy, flat metal/iron surface with no place for the juices to escape), I like the smashing/squeezing technique for 1/4 lb burgers and under. For me, the wonderful part of those griddle, small patty fast food style burgers is the crispy edges with plenty of caramelization/Maillard browning on it, which the excess juices facilitate. This is the only style of burger I like at the higher levels of doneness.
A burger cooked on the grill, though, squeezing it just pushes the juice and fat into the fire. There’s nothing to be gained by doing that.
