The Impulsive Buy

REVIEW: Wendy’s Spicy Sriracha Chicken Sandwich

December 23, 2016August 25, 2023 Tiffany 5 Comments

Jack and Wendy went to the levee to fetch a pail of water in preparation for her new spicy innovations. Jack fell down and broke his crown because Wendy’s Spicy Sriracha Chicken Sandwich blew away his expectations.

That’s how the nursery rhyme should be updated because Wendy’s take on sriracha is impressive. My complaint with most fast food “spicy chicken” is that it’s never actually spicy. Wendy’s takes the pedal to the medal – quite possibly in a Lexus Sriracha IS – and delivers. It’ll make any O.G. Huy Fong Sriracha fan tear up.

They say you eat with your eyes first and Wendy’s nailed it with the vibrant but non-off-putting colors – the orange/red palette with the sriracha-infused bun, golden chicken breast, red onion, fresh green spring mix in a bright red box was working for me. Maybe there was some food psychology at work there.

I was also impressed by the size and poundage of the sandwich. Wendy’s didn’t skimp on the ingredients. There was a large piece of breaded chicken overflowing from the bun, a solid layer of spring mix and an appropriate amount of bacon.

The first thing I did was taste-test the bacon because soggy and stringy bacon can ruin a sandwich. Crispy? Check! The thick-cut bacon was a thing of beauty. I then proceeded to devour the sandwich. The breading itself was already a little bit spicy so I was enjoying the heat. On my third bite, I got to the sriracha aioli in all its glory and boy was it packing heat! As a balance to all the heat on heat on heat, I appreciated the red onion. It not only added a brightness to the sandwich – visually and taste-wise – but it also added a pleasant textural crunch.

About half way through, my nose started to run a little bit from the heat; the sriracha taste bud onslaught was in full force. Each sniffle exponentially increased my love for this sandwich. I loved the “afterglow” as well; my mouth had a pleasant spicy tingle after each bite. Related to the hefty size and poundage, every bite had the perfect ratio of chicken, spring mix, red onion, sriracha aioli, and bacon.

If I had to nitpick, I couldn’t taste the sriracha jack cheese at all. It was completely overpowered by the spice in the chicken breading as well as the sriracha aioli. I also don’t think the sriracha-infused bun added anything. It was a soft bun, but nothing about it seemed sriracha-infused because there was no heat to it. Also, the more I stared at the orange-colored bun, the odder I thought an orange-colored bun was.

Regardless, I didn’t mean to eat the entire thing but I did because it was so dang good.

(Nutrition Facts – 670 calories, 35 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 110 milligrams of cholesterol, 1690 milligrams of sodium, 51 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of sugar, 2 grams of fiber, and 39 grams of protein.)

Purchased Price: $5.39
Size: N/A
Rating: 9 out of 10
Pros: Wendy’s packs heat and makes any O.G. Huy Fong Sriracha fan proud! Crispy thick-cut bacon is a thing of beauty. Red onion works well. Pleasant spicy tingle after each bite.
Cons: Sriracha jack cheese and sriracha-infused bun didn’t really taste like anything.

SPOTTED ON SHELVES – 12/23/2016

December 23, 2016March 7, 2023 Marvo 4 Comments

Here are some interesting new and limited edition products found on store shelves by us and your fellow readers. If you’ve tried any of the products, share your thoughts about them in the comments.

Tillamook Special Batch Monster Cookie and Oregon Strawberry Lemonade Ice Creams

The Monster Cookie Ice Cream features cookie dough ice cream with peanut butter swirls, crispy oats, chocolate flakes, and candy-coated chocolate. The Oregon Strawberry Lemonade is made up of lemonade ice cream with chunks of real, sweet Oregon strawberries. (Spotted by Carla at Safeway.)

House Foods Go Umami Baked Tofu Bar (Hickory Smoke, Orange Teriyaki, and Savory)

Go Umami! Go to your probably tiny vegan section at your local grocery store to find these! (Spotted by Carla at Safeway.)

Chobani Flip Pistachio Paradise Greek Yogurt

It would truly be a pistachio paradise if, instead of vanilla cookies and dried cranberries, it had these cran-pistachio cookies from Betty Crocker. This photo caption was not brought to you by Betty Crocker. (Spotted by Chris B at ShopRite.)

Pacific Coast Selections Sriracha Kettle Chips

Another store brand sriracha chips. (Spotted by Geoffrey at Save Mart.)

General Mills Lucky Charms Cereal with Mixed-Up Marshmallows

I’d like to see General Mills come out with a Lucky Charms cereal with cereal pieces shaped like the marshmallows and visa versa. (Spotted by Robbie at Tom Thumb.)

Thank you to all the photo contributors! If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you do so, you might see your picture in our next Spotted on Shelves post.

2016 SEASON OF GIVING (DAY 10): $5 Burger King Gift Card

December 23, 2016January 7, 2021 Marvo 123 Comments

Burger King had an amazing year, if by “amazing year” means a bunch of products that made folks say “WTF” or odd enough that they ended up being mentioned during your local news because they needed to fill 15-30 seconds. Here’s a list of the most interesting products from the fast food chain this year:

March 2016 – Angriest Whopper with a red bun
April 2016 – Chicken Fries Rings
May 2016 – Whopper Dog
June 2016 – Mac n Cheetos
August 2016 – Whopperrito
September 2016 – Cheetos Chicken Fries

RULES:

To enter this prize drawing for a $5 Burger King Gift Card, leave a comment with THIS post. You can write whatever you want, but please don’t forget to fill out the email field because we’ll be emailing the randomly selected winner for his or her mailing address.

We will stop accepting entries on December 24, 2016 at 12:00 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time (2:00 a.m. Pacific, 5:00 a.m. Eastern). Only one comment allowed per person, and it’s only open to U.S. residents 18 years old or older.

Good luck!

FINE PRINT: The Impulsive Buy promises your email address will not be used to send you emails about hair care products made from aloe vera. The Impulsive Buy also promises your mailing address will not be used to send you empty USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes. Bribes will not be accepted. The Impulsive Buy will not be responsible for lost mail or damaged mail.

FAST FOOD NEWS: Taco Bell Double Stacked Tacos

December 22, 2016January 7, 2021 Marvo 6 Comments

Taco Bell Double Stacked Tacos

Taco Bell’s newest offerings you can pay for with the loose change in your car’s nooks and crannies are the new Double Stacked Tacos.

They’re similar to the Double Decker Taco in that they have both a crunchy shell and soft tortilla. But instead of refried beans sandwiched between the two, there’s melted cheese and a sauce.

The Double Stacked Tacos are available in three flavors: Nacho Crunch, Cool Habanero, and Spicy Sweet.

Nacho Crunch features seasoned beef, lettuce, cheese, red tortilla strips, and nacho cheese sauce. It has 380 calories, 170 calories from fat, 19 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 650 milligrams of sodium, 39 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 13 grams of protein.

Cool Habanero features seasoned beef, lettuce, cheese, reduced fat sour cream, and habanero sauce. Its nutrition facts are 350 calories, 180 calories from fat, 20 grams of fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 630 milligrams of sodium, 30 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and 13 grams of protein.

Spicy Sweet features seasoned beef, lettuce, cheese, habanero sauce, and sweet chili sauce. It has 340 calories 160 calories from fat, 18 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 640 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, and 12 grams of protein.

If you’ve tried any of them, let us know what you think of it in the comments.

(Image via Taco Bell’s Facebook page)

SPOTTED ON SHELVES: Trader Joe’s Crunchy Cinnamon Squares Cereal

December 22, 2016March 7, 2023 Marvo 6 Comments

Cinnamon Joe’st Crunch Cereal? (Spotted by Sylvia at Trader Joe’s.)

If you’re out shopping and see an interesting new product on the shelf, snap a picture of it, and send us an email ([email protected]) with where you found it and “Spotted” in the subject line. Or reply to us (@theimpulsivebuy) on Twitter with the photo, where you spotted it, and the hashtag #spotted. If you’ve tried the product, share your thoughts about it in the comments.

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