# Worst Fast Food Menu Gimmick Item You Ever Tried? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2017, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701 "2017-05-02T08:08:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Fredescu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/73ab20/32.png) [@Fredescu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fredescu)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/41 "2017-05-03T02:54:45Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Pizza Hut has a couple I can think of. First, the “Twisted Crust” pizza. The meeting must’ve gone something like, “I know! Let’s convince people to pay _more_ for a pizza that’s mostly bread!” Much harrumphing no doubt ensued. > > And talk about crimes against pizza: [what the hell is this thing?](https://consumerist.com/2013/09/18/pizza-huts-cheeseburger-stuffed-crust-menace-spreads-to-united-kingdom/) And a ketchup dipping sauce as well! I’m not sure if it was in other countries too, but in Australia the sequel to the cheeseburger crust pizza was a meat pie crust pizza: [Pizza Hut Just Launched A Four'N Twenty Meat Pie Pizza](https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2015/05/pizza-hut-has-just-launched-a-meat-pie-pizza/) ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/42 "2017-05-03T03:04:15Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Pizza Hut has a couple I can think of. That one with the hot dogs in the crust was execrable. The concept wasn’t all that terrible, but the execution was abysmal. They used the cheapest, greasiest, nastiest hot dogs they could possibly have found for their crust. So rather than getting a little bite of pleasant hot dog, we got a bite of some kind of liquid-smoked grease, fillers and mystery meat. It was almost like they’d used vienna sausages that were heated enough to render their fat, except that I suspect that hot vienna sausages would have been preferable. ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/43 "2017-05-03T03:16:26Z")
I had a pot roast sandwich at Arby’s that was vile. I believe it had ranch sauce AND cheese. On pot roast. It was completely disgusting. I have no idea how it could have made it past a taste-test. I was seduced by the pot roast, but in the end my heart was broken. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/44 "2017-05-03T05:08:16Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > Remember when Burger King tried to get in on the White Castle business by offering tiny burgers? I think they were called “Burger Buddies” and might have actually been relaunched with a new name a couple years after that. They were terrible, although I like White Castle more than the average person, so maybe I was biased. I liked the Burger Buddies! Maybe there’s an inverse relationship between liking White Castle and liking Burger Buddies, because the one time I ever tried White Castle burgers, my digestive system and I had a long and unpleasant conversation. Never again. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/45 "2017-05-03T06:34:56Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Burger King’s Whopperito: Had all the taste & consistency of a Whopper that had been regurgitated by someone. Disgusting. Stole my idea. That thing was awful. I agree that I liked the naked chicken chalupa and await its return. BK’s fries aren’t bad right now, but not as good as they used to be. But they’re certainly better than the “Satisfries” they had about three years ago. Same with Wendy’s fries - they’re _okay_ now, but I really miss their old ones (circa 2005 or so?) Those were amazing and up there with classic McD’s fries in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/46 "2017-05-03T08:40:01Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > A few years ago “Jack in the Box” tried their hand at deli sandwiches. Yes, a burger place thought ham and cheese sandwiches on bread was going to be the new hit thing. They were your basic sandwiches you could literally make at home with no gimmicks but they cost $5 by themselves. I think very shortly afterwards they tried to get people hooked on them so they had an in-store promotion where if you bought any sandwich you got another free so that’s how I tired it. Very basic sandwich with about three layers of ham and cheese and grilled bread, even at basically half-price it was still a rip-off. I managed a Jack in the Box at the time and I, for one, _loved_ the deli trio sandwich. It became my lunchtime standard for awhile, and it certainly sold well enough. It was certainly easier to deal with than the “pannido” sandwiches it was an upgraded version of - you had all the same ingredients, but instead of putting them on grilled bread, they had to be rolled up like a cigar and stuff into a baguette that was about a foot long and about as wide as an Olive Garden breadstick. Those things were a pain to make, especially when they introduced a breakfast version where we had to chop the fried eggs and sausages in half and try to shove them into that thing. If you wanna talk about truly awful gimmick LTOs that Jack had, my nod would have to go to the “taco nachos”. Someone upstairs apparently decided that the tacos, which are a crime against Mexican food in and of themselves, would be even better if we chopped them into three pieces, arranged them in a circle in a bowl, and poured about half a pound of nacho cheese sauce on top of them, and sold them for twice as much as a regular order of tacos. That one didn’t last long. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/47 "2017-05-03T09:27:51Z")
> [@Cornelius\_Tuggerson](#): > > Hardee’s used to serve this double quater pounder topped with bacon + steak and cheese. I have partaken of them on a couple of occasions. I am a first generation immigrant you see. It was part of my attempt to integrate better into my new homeland. It was pretty good for a physical manifestation of a heart attack. Tasted like animal suffering with a hint of freedom. But even back in those reckless days I didn’t feel comfortable driving for a little bit after eating one, the grease coma that came with it was much too strong. Definitely best of the worst as gimmicks go. A 4-star post. I’m stealing some of the phrases for my occasional restaurant review in the geezer section of the midweek rag that nobody reads. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/48 "2017-05-03T16:43:43Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I managed a Jack in the Box at the time and I, for one, _loved_ the deli trio sandwich. It became my lunchtime standard for awhile, and it certainly sold well enough. It was certainly easier to deal with than the “pannido” sandwiches it was an upgraded version of - you had all the same ingredients, but instead of putting them on grilled bread, they had to be rolled up like a cigar and stuff into a baguette that was about a foot long and about as wide as an Olive Garden breadstick. Those things were a pain to make, especially when they introduced a breakfast version where we had to chop the fried eggs and sausages in half and try to shove them into that thing. > > If you wanna talk about truly awful gimmick LTOs that Jack had, my nod would have to go to the “taco nachos”. Someone upstairs apparently decided that the tacos, which are a crime against Mexican food in and of themselves, would be even better if we chopped them into three pieces, arranged them in a circle in a bowl, and poured about half a pound of nacho cheese sauce on top of them, and sold them for twice as much as a regular order of tacos. That one didn’t last long. You know, Jack in the Box doesn’t get enough credit for doing the Taco Bell “Let’s throw anything onto the menu” thing well before Taco Bell did it. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/49 "2017-05-03T17:18:27Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Not a gimmick, since I’m pretty sure it became permanent, but when Burger King changed their fries years ago they lost me as a customer. … Same here, it’s like they added concentrated French Fry Flavor Extract ™ to the fryer or something. A strange buttery flavor reminiscent of movie theater popcorn butter. Blech. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/50 "2017-05-03T21:38:20Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > Same here, it’s like they added concentrated French Fry Flavor Extract ™ to the fryer or something. I seem to recall that was pretty much what they did, unless I’m misremembering. (Looking online, I’m thinking of the revamp back in '98. Apparently there was another one about four years ago that I was unaware of. And it ['98 revamp] involved spraying the fries with something before cooking them, so not stuff in the oil.) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/51 "2017-05-03T23:16:08Z")
> [@GargoyleWB](#): > > Same here, it’s like they added concentrated French Fry Flavor Extract ™ to the fryer or something. A strange buttery flavor reminiscent of movie theater popcorn butter. Blech. ☹ My younger sibs worked at an independent movie theater when they were much younger. This theater used real butter on their popcorn, not butter-flavored oil, and more than once, customers would come back and ask, “What’s this stuff all over my popcorn?” :smack: Does anyone remember when Pizza Hut had the Priazzo in the mid 1980s? I worked there at the time, and they were GOOD! > **[I Didn't Imagine It! The Pizza Hut Priazzo Pizza Was a Real Thing](https://hot1047.com/i-didnt-imagine-it-the-pizza-hut-priazzo-was-real/)** > > For the longest time I thought that I'd imagined the existence of this pizza, but thanks to the internet, I found that I wasn't crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/52 "2017-05-03T23:55:25Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > Is it required to have tried the item in question? I wasn’t brave (or stupid) enough to try what KFC offered here in the Philippines - the KFC Double Down Dog, which is a hot dog wrapped in a bun made out of fried chicken fillet. [Pass.](http://sploid.gizmodo.com/kfcs-double-down-hot-dog-is-a-sausage-wrapped-in-a-frie-1681922035) LOL, from your link 😃 "\*\*\*Its a dick sandwich. It’s a steamy dick wrapped in fried “chicken”. If you want steamy slimy dick chicken, then go for it. Own it. But don’t try to pass it off as food. This is why America.\*\*\*" ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/53 "2017-05-04T01:06:43Z")
I’ve tried 2 of the 3 new Signature Crafted build your own burger (or grilled chicken or fried chicken) meals at Mcdonalds. The barbecue bacon one was pretty good but the dijon bacon one wasn’t. Guess I still have to try the guac one, but it doesn’t matter too much if the burger under the toppings isn’t anything special. It’s long bothered me that McDonalds didn’t really do toppings on burgers, and, yes, I was a fan of the Arch Deluxe. I liked the burrito taco thing at Taco Bell, but maybe I mostly liked the $1.49 price tag since fast food meals have crept up into the $7-15 price range (and most basic “sandwiches” are $4-5 and up). Also tried the KFC Zinger. Was nothing special, like Wendy’s spicy chicken but much cheaper. Though it’s supposed to be fresh and hand breaded at KFC and not frozen. Also if you opt to pay 99 cents less for your meal they give you a cookie. I guess I don’t know if any of this things count as gimmicks or just specials. I think the McDs thing with building a sandwich and them bringing it to your table is a gimmick for them any way. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/54 "2017-05-04T20:34:13Z")
I saw the advertisements for the Burger King Mac 'n Cheetos, and it looked vile enough that I never bothered ordering it. Lemme tell you a menu item that I _miss:_ Broccoli and cheese baked potatoes at Wendy’s. Yummmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/55 "2017-05-04T23:50:59Z")
On second thought, the undisputed worst thing ever at a fast food restaurant was Wendy’s Boneless Wings which I believe were created at the time to compete with McDoanld’s Mighty Wings. “Boneless Wings” in total quotation marks, because they were literally their normal chicken nuggets drenched in your choice of buffalo, teriyaki, and BBQ sauce, and were $4 for an order of 8 “boneless wings”. For that price you could have gotten 20 chicken nuggets and just drenched them in the little sauce packets they give you at the restaurant. It should have been illegal to call them boneless wings. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/56 "2017-05-05T00:01:04Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Just the KFC Double Down, for me. I do have to give them credit for originality on this one. Granted, the menus of almost all fast food chains are predicated on combining a limited number of ingredients in ways that make them seem like distinctive products (Taco Bell is the famous cliche example, but really, they all do it). Someone was really thinking outside the box at KFC that day. And it has surprisingly stuck around. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/57 "2017-05-05T00:11:22Z")
The KFC Double Down, God forgive me. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/58 "2017-05-05T00:15:09Z")
I just got a ‘grilled’ hot dog from Burger King. I was very anticipatory about it, Burger King usually has some pretty good stuff. OMFG it was the worst shit I’ve ever consumed. First of all, it was _tiny_, it was as skinny as a candy cane and barely filled out the bun. On top of that, it was rubbery as hell and just tasted like shit. So if anyone is thinking about getting a hot dog from BK: **don’t**. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/59 "2017-05-05T00:28:33Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Does anyone remember when Pizza Hut had the Priazzo in the mid 1980s? I worked there at the time, and they were GOOD! > > [I Didn't Imagine It! The Pizza Hut Priazzo Pizza Was a Real Thing](http://hot1047.com/i-didnt-imagine-it-the-pizza-hut-priazzo-was-real/) I remember those, we used to get the Napoli all the time. Good stuff! ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2017, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701/60 "2017-05-05T02:36:10Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Hey, I liked the Arch DeLuxe! > > I remember when Burger King had table service in the early 1990s. That didn’t last long either. I remember the Burger King table service. I seem to remember that they had had popcorn for you until your food was brought to your table. And tablecloths. Back to 2017 - I didn’t really care for McDonald’s Signature Crafted chicken/bacon sandwich. Like many of Hardees’ larger sandwiches, it was sodium overload. I agree with Ambivalid’s view of BK hot dogs. The chili-dog wasn’t any better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fast-food-menu-gimmick-item-you-ever-tried/785701.md?page=4)