Arby’s is one of those places I continually forget still exists, like Radio Shack, The Disney Store, Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood.
Maybe it’s because Arby’s isn’t like other fast food places. They don’t inundate me with weird Burger King ads from advertising superpower Crispin Porter + Bogusky or McDonald’s commercials that make it seem cool to eat saturated fat and sodium. But every so often Arby’s comes up with a product that slaps me across the face and jogs my memory of them. Their new Bacon Cheddar Roastburger was the hand that bitchslapped some recollection into me.
The Bacon Cheddar Roastburger is made up of thinly sliced, oven roasted beef, pepper bacon, a slice of cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and red onions in between a special roll. I’m not too sure what’s so special about the roll, but it might be that fact that it contains trans fat, as you can see in the image below.
Something else that’s disturbing about the Arby’s Bacon Cheddar Roastburger is the use of “chargrilled seasoning,” which you can see in the image above. I think it should get a chargrilled flavor from chargrilling, but apparently there’s an easier way to get it.
I enjoy Arby’s Beef ‘n Cheddar and the Bacon Cheddar Roastburger is basically a Beef ‘n Cheddar with vegetables, bacon, a higher price and, according to my computer’s spellcheck, a made up compound word. Unfortunately I don’t think it comes close to tasting as delicious as a Beef ‘n Cheddar. It was a decent size and had an ample amount of roasted beef, but it was bland and dry.
It didn’t come with a sauce, so I guess it depended on that chargrilled seasoning for flavor. Thank Buddha for Arby and Horsey Sauces, which made finishing the Arby’s Bacon Cheddar Roastburger much easier.
(Nutrition Facts – 1 burger – 442 calories, 18 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 1 grams of trans fat, 57 milligrams of cholesterol, 1427 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbs, 1 gram of dietary fiber, 6 grams of sugar and 23 grams of protein.)
(Note: The folks at Grub Grade reviewed all three Roastburger varieties. Here’s a review of the All-American Roastburger. And here’s another review for the Bacon Cheddar Roastburger.)
Item: Arby’s Bacon Cheddar Roastburger
Price: $6.97 (combo meal)
Size: Regular meal
Purchased at: Arby’s
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Decent sized burger. Lots of roasted beef. Contains vegetables. Arby Sauce and Horsey Sauce. Arby’s doesn’t have irritating commercials like other fast food joints.
Cons: Bland and dry. Disappointing. No sauce. High in sodium. Contains trans fat. Being bitchslapped by a burger.