There’s a part of me that begs for an answer to this question: has Wendy’s ever attempted a barbecue-style chicken sandwich?

I know it’s attempted a mighty tasty barbecue burger in the past; I reviewed it right here a couple of months ago. But, as I purchased my Wendy’s Barbecue Chicken Sandwich and carried it to my seat, I definitely felt as if the Mandela Effect had taken hold of my memories; I just wasn’t “for sure” about it anymore.

I remember thinking how much I truly enjoyed the barbecue burger, especially Wendy’s dedication to the perfection of a delicious faux-BBQ sauce. It’s usually the one roadblock many fast food eateries hit when trying to perfect their monthly specials. Well, it was only a matter of time before Wendy’s spread it lovingly across its wealth of chicken — if it hasn’t before.

There are three chicken choices are — homestyle, spicy, or grilled. I chose a grilled fillet, for moderation’s sake, of course. With the added slice of Muenster cheese, crispy fried onions, and three perfect pickles, I feel the sandwich would be a triumph, but with a full dollop of Wendy’s Kansas City-style (their words) barbecue sauce, it becomes more of a testament to taste.

As the lifeblood of this sandwich, the barbecue sauce filled every divergent nook and complacent cranny delectably, taking over the sandwich and reinforcing the flavor, especially, of the chicken and, strangely enough, the typical Wendy’s bread. The sweet and spicy components are wonderful bedfellows, whispering tantalizing nothings into the chicken’s ear.

Meanwhile, the bedeviled fried onions do their jobs as mere pawns in this tasty game of complete control.

But the true surprise is the aforementioned Muenster; who thinks to put a somewhat out-of-the-mainstream cheese on something like this? While the barbecue sauce takes over most of the menu item, this pungent cheese manages to rise above it all. It strengthens the sandwich in such a way that it truly causes the eater to take a bite, then a step back, and then ask those in charge why isn’t this cheese involved in more sandwiches as of late?

While there is a part of me that would love to give it a ten, sadly, the Wendy’s Barbecue Sandwich, with its wholly unique flavor, is a bit too shrunken for me to justify a whole $5.49 for a single serving, especially in a country like America. It very much becomes a taste vs. value fight of personal responsibility that we must all go through at least once in our lives.

So I guess I’ll give it a nine, ese. Cómpralo ya!

Purchased Price: $5.49
Size: N/A
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 650 calories, 26 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 80 milligrams of cholesterol, 1580 milligrams of sodium, 69 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 14 grams of sugar, and 34 grams of protein.

Folks, you may have saw some sauces, but you ain’t NEVER saw a sauce like S’awesome Sauce!

Or perhaps you have, it’s not exactly new. Wendy’s has been hyping the condiment up for a few years now by tossing it on burgers and even adding it to its lineup of dipping sauces.

So, while I’ve tried it with some chicken tenders, I’ve never tried it on a chicken sandwich until now.

The options for the S’awesome Bacon Chicken Sandwich were Grilled, Homestyle or Spicy. Usually, I’m a Spicy Chicken guy, but I didn’t wanna risk that interference with the “S’awesome Sauce experience,” which I’m now considering calling my opposite of “s’awesome” garage band. We play horrendous ska.

I decided to go neutral and ordered Homestyle. Ya know, “Homestyle,” just like Mom never made.

Look, if you like Wendy’s standard fare, this sandwich is for you.

S’awesome Sauce is a legit tasty condiment. It’s a tangy concoction that lands somewhere between ketchup and BBQ on the sauce spectrum, and it has a nice little bit of kick. I don’t get much “smoke” as it’s advertised, but the bacon may have stepped on that element.

Wendy’s has always done chicken right, and it’s one of the few fast food joints that usually gives you a nice crisp strip of bacon (at least in my experiences), so you can bank on the proteins being on point. As a bonus, they use the Applewood Smoked Bacon, so that always gives a sandwich a bit more flavor and prestige.

The Muenster Cheese was surprisingly my favorite part as I don’t think any other cheese would have complemented this as well. American, Cheddar, or something like Pepper jack would have clashed. The right cheese choice goes a long way.

They call the bun, “premium,” but it’s just glossy? That bugged me a bit. If you’re gonna promote a new, pretty expensive sandwich that is basically a bunch of standard menu items cobbled together, at least offer it on a specialty bun.

Which brings me to my ultimate unfair disappointment with this sandwich; it reminds me juuuust enough of the Pretzel Pub Chicken Sandwich from a few years ago despite the different sauce. That’s on the Wendy’s Mount Rushmore, and I miss it dearly. I wish the chain still had the pretzel buns because it would have been great on the S’awesome Bacon Chicken.

I gotta reiterate – this is a pretty expensive fast food meal, but when something is on the “Made to Crave” menu, I guess that’s expected. What was I gonna do, NOT get fries and a drink? I didn’t do the math, but I feel like ordering a Homestyle chicken sandwich with bacon and asking for some S’awesome sauce may cut your bill by a dollar or two. Don’t quote me on that probably made-up “menu hack.”

I’d say this is definitely worth a buy, but I can’t help thinking the previously released S’awesome Bacon Cheeseburger may have been better overall.

Purchased Price: $9.91 for a small meal
Size: N/A
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 670 calories, 39 grams of fat, 34 grams of saturated fat, 110 milligrams of cholesterol, 1520 milligrams of sodium, 54 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 38 grams of protein.