REVIEW: Wendy’s Spicy Bacon & Blue Chicken Sandwich

/ / Reviews / 5 Comments

Wendy's Spicy Bacon & Blue Chicken Sandwich

There is no mention of the Bacon & Blue anywhere on the Wendy’s website, Twitter feed, or Facebook fan page. I had to go back to my local Wendy’s the morning after eating this sandwich just to make sure I hadn’t dreamt up the whole thing. I even considered going back the next morning, too, in case I had made up the sandwich in a dream within a dream like my life was some kind of fatass version of Inception, but I decided against it because I didn’t want my ex-wife showing up and stabbing Juno and this review not making any goddamn sense at all after a while.

Don’t worry though, your buddy who took a philosophy course freshman year will gladly explain how you just don’t get it and that this review is, like, totally brilliant.

Anyway, I guess Wendy’s is test-marketing the Bacon & Blue Chicken Sandwich in the Boston area, and I couldn’t be more delighted.

Wendy's Spicy Bacon & Blue Chicken Sandwich Sign

The recipe is simple enough. They’ve added Applewood smoked bacon, crumbled blue cheese, and a slice of Swiss to the original Spicy Chicken Sandwich, which was already my favorite non-Chik-fil-A fast food chicken sandwich. For those of you who’ve never had it, the SCS contains a heavily-breaded, moderately-spiced chicken filet on a Kaiser roll with lettuce, tomato, and mayo. According to Wikipedia, the SCS itself started out as a promotional sandwich but was brought back full-time by popular demand, which I can only hope will be the fate of the Bacon & Blue.

As you can see from the picture, the bacon is pretty impressive-looking, with enough heft and crispiness to distort the angle of what should otherwise be a flat top bun. It was impressive-tasting as well, especially compared to what I’ve generally come to expect from fast food places (inclusive of Wendy’s… I can’t remember the last time I had a good Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger). The bacon was an excellent addition in terms of both texture and taste, as it struck a great balance between chewy and crunchy and contributed a noticeable sweetness to the sandwich.

Wendy's Spicy Bacon & Blue Chicken Sandwich Bleu Cheese

The blue cheese was surprisingly plentiful and not all that poorly distributed. Its tanginess played really well with the spices of the chicken filet, and there wasn’t a single bite that was overwhelmingly rich. My one small complaint would be that I wish the blue cheese had been better melted by the heat of the chicken, but I suppose it’s partially my own fault for taking my to-go bag and immediately stepping out into 10 degree weather for the four-block walk home. Or more macroscopically, it’s my own fault for living in the gray winter nightmare that is New England. But then again if I didn’t live here I wouldn’t have been able to try this sandwich and write this review. WHOA, did I just blow your mind, CHRISTOPHER NOLAN-STYLE? I can’t tell if this joke is working or not, so maybe WE JUST NEED TO GO DEEPER…into discussing the rest of the sandwich.

The chicken filet was sufficiently flavorful and juicy, and the roll, lettuce, and tomatoes all seemed reasonably fresh. On the downside, there was slightly too much mayo, and the slice of Swiss cheese was so useless that I had actually forgotten its presence prior to re-examining my photos of the sandwich. I also need to bring up the price. I have no idea how expensive blue cheese is, but $5.99 for a fast food sandwich feels a bit pricey. You could get 30 Wendy’s chicken nuggets for that money!

Still, if Wendy’s decides to roll out the Bacon & Blue Chicken Sandwich nationwide, you should absolutely try it. As for me, I’ll be returning to Wendy’s once more this week. If it turns out the test-marketing is still happening and I’m not in fatass Inception, I will definitely be getting this sandwich again.

(Nutrition Facts – Not available.)

Item: Wendy’s Spicy Bacon & Blue Chicken Sandwich
Price: $5.99 sandwich, $7.29 small combo
Size: N/A
Purchased at: Wendy’s
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Bacon was chewy, crispy, and hefty. Blue cheese was plentiful and tasty. Filet was sufficiently flavorful and juicy. Wendy’s chicken nuggets. Christopher Nolan not getting a “Best Director” nod at the Oscars.
Cons: Pretty expensive for a fast food sandwich. Swiss cheese was useless. Too much mayo. Blue cheese not really melted. New England winters. No Chik-fil-A in Boston. Your buddy who took a freshman year philosophy course. Living in the fatass version of Inception. My apparent vendetta against Christopher Nolan when I actually liked Inception.

NEWS: MiO Turns Boring, Flavorless Clear Water Into Slightly Less Boring, Flavored Colored Water

/ / Spotted on Shelves / 1 Comment

Turning water into something other than water hasn’t only been done by Jesus, it’s been done by Crystal Light, Gatorade, Kool-Aid, and Tang. The problem with these mixes is that they come in powder form, which means I’m either going to have to deal with tearing off the tops of little packets or possibly choke on a cloud of fruity powder that rises out of a container of Kool-Aid I accidentally dropped and then opened before everything inside could settle.

But, soon, we’ll have another choice to turn plain old water into flavored plain old water with Kraft’s MiO. Unlike the previous mixes I mentioned, MiO isn’t a powder mix, it’s a liquid water enhancer. Or a liquid flavor concentrate, if you will.

All it takes is few droplets from MiO’s pocket-friendly water droplet-shaped container to turn Mother Nature’s tears into flavored Mother Nature’s tears. Or if you’re like me with a bottle of chocolate syrup and a glass of milk, you can put as much of it as you want in your water. MiO has zero calories and no artificial flavor, but it does contain artificial colors, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives.

MiO will launch nationwide on March 7 and come in six flavors: berry pomegranate, fruit punch, mango peach, peach tea, sweet tea, and strawberry watermelon. It will retail for $3.99 and one bottle can make 24 8-ounce servings.

NEWS: Ben & Jerry’s Continues To Prove They’re Nothing But A Bunch Of Fun-Loving Hippies With Their Bonnaroo Buzz Ice Cream

/ / Spotted on Shelves

Bonnaroo '08 183

Bonnaroo Buzz was originally a flavor only available at Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops, but, recently, they’ve packed all that coffee and malt ice cream, toffee chunk, and whiskey caramel swirl goodness into a pint sized container you can buy at your local grocery store.

The ice cream is named after the annual Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee. (Side note: My future first child, whether it’s a boy or girl, will also be named after the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, since Bonnaroo sounds like a great uni-sex name.) Just like Bonnaroo Buzz ice cream combines a variety of flavors, the Bonnaroo event brings together musicians from a variety of genres, like rock, hip-hop, jazz, country, folk, gospel, and reggae. Sadly, Bonnaroo Buzz ice cream won’t let you experience the sounds, sun, sweat, stank and skunkweed smoke at the Bonnaroo Festival.

A half cup of Bonnaroo Buzz has 280 calories, 14 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 115 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 25 grams of sugar, and 4 grams of protein.

NEWS: Experience Hard Versions of Your Favorite Soft Baked Goods With Rold Gold’s Bakery-Inspired Pretzel Flavors

/ / Spotted on Shelves

Bagels

When I worked in an office setting, soft baked goods were consumed on a regular basis at the mandatory morning work meeting. You’d think the carbohydrates in the baked goods would give me the energy to power through the mandatory morning work meeting that I felt was completely unproductive, but they did the opposite. I guess eating a Costco chocolate muffin the size of my head would put most to sleep.

Although I don’t work in an office setting anymore, I wonder if I would’ve been able to stay awake in those meeting and not repeat over and over in my head “This is a waste of time” with Rold Gold’s Bakery-Inspired Pretzels, which take the flavors from our favorite soft baked goods and encapsulates them in a hard pretzel form.

The new line of Rold Gold pretzels come in three baked goods-flavored varieties:

Cheesy Garlic – Pretzel nuggets with cheddar and garlic.

Cinnamon Raisin – Pretzel twists with the flavor of raisins and cinnamon sugar.

Everything Bagel – Pretzel rings with sesame and poppy seeds, garlic, and onions.

A one-ounce serving of the Cheesy Garlic has 110 calories, 2 grams of fat, 390 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar and 2 grams of protein. The Everything Bagel has 120 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 1 gram of monounsaturated fat, 390 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar and 3 grams of protein. Finally, the Cinnamon Raisin contains 110 calories, 2 grams of fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 290 milligrams of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein. All three varieties have no artificial flavors, preservatives, MSG, or trans fat.

Source: Frito Lay Snacks Blog

REVIEW: Quiznos Prime Rib on Garlic Bread Sandwich

/ / Reviews / 15 Comments

Quiznos Prime Rib on Garlic Bread

There are few things more appealing to a man than the prospect of a well-made sandwich.  An extra hour of sleep.  A come hither look from his wife or girlfriend, or casual female friend, or that woman who winked at him in a bar on June 18, 2003, who may or may not have had something in her eye.  A YouTube video of monkeys smoking and throwing poop.  Ladies, take a lesson. If you want your man to do something, be it overthrowing your brother or finally taking down those Christmas lights (plus light-up dreidel and menorah), be waiting in his bed with smoky eyes, a video of monkeys fighting, and a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich.  It worked for Cleopatra and it will work for you.

So needless to say, I was looking forward to Quiznos’ Prime Rib on Garlic Bread sandwich.  I don’t frequent Quiznos often because there’s only one nearby and they’re a bit on the pricier side, but I’ve always enjoyed their food when I’ve eaten there, and how can you go wrong with prime rib and garlic bread? Admittedly I was expecting it to be made with actual garlic bread, which I still maintain would be awesome.  Instead it’s regular bread with garlic aioli sauce liberally (depending on your server) spread across it.  This has the effect of giving the sandwich a garlic smell, and the flavor of the sauce is definitely in the garlic family, but not as bold or in-your-face as pure garlic.  More refined, if that makes any sense, a smoother garlic taste, like if you’re used to drinking IPAs and someone slides you a wheat beer.

Apologies to any non-alcoholics who don’t get that reference.

Note that it also comes with lettuce and tomato. They’re not pictured because Drew does not do healthy things.  Hilariously, as soon as I pulled out my camera to take the photographs, the woman who prepared the sandwich came over like eight times to make sure it tasted good and wasn€™t too burnt.  My fault, I guess, for not wearing a sign saying “I AM NOT A QUIZNOS CORPORATE SPY SENT TO EVALUATE YOUR SANDWICH-MAKING SKILLS, I AM A LOWLY FOOD BLOGGER WHO WILL NOT BE DISCLOSING YOUR SPECIFIC LOCATION.”  I still have a lot to learn, I€™m afraid.

Quiznos Prime Rib on Garlic Bread Innards

The amount of prime rib in the sandwich is what I would describe as perfectly adequate.  (Unlike the sodium, which is impressively obscene.)  At no point did I find myself biting down on nothing but
bread, like a teenager finding out his date’s bra is filled with Kleenex; but neither was I ever pleasantly surprised by the sheer quantity, like realizing she’s been wearing a sports bra all evening. You might be able to finagle a little extra meat if you’re more attractive than I am, or if you throw in a little hip shake or some free tickets to the gun show.  Still, what was there was flavorful, and they didn’t skimp on the cheese.  

The bread was, of course, toasted and made for a nice contrast with the creamy garlic sauce.  The edges got a little blackened, as you can see; I don’t mind a little char myself, but be on the lookout if you’re not okay with that.  I’ll offer that the sauce could maybe have been spread out a bit better — in some bites it overpowered the prime rib flavor, in others I could barely taste it — but again, that’s more attributable to your individual sandwich preparer.  (No, I will not call them “artists” until they use my tax dollars to create something that A) doesn’t look like anything, and B) is colossally ugly.  Veggie subs don’t count.)

Overall, the garlic sauce manages to complement the meat and cheese nicely to create a good sandwich. I’d like to give it a higher score, but that price is just ludicrous for the size of what you’re getting. I know Quiznos brands itself as the “high end” fast food sub joint, but while the sandwich WAS tasty and I’m presuming the meat was taken from only the most pampered, humanely euthanized cows, there is absolutely no way you should be paying $5.49 plus tax for a 6-inch sandwich.  (It’s also available in medium and large sizes, which undoubtedly come with paperwork for the mortgages necessary to buy them.) I reserve the right to change that score if I spontaneously start dropping gold nuggets in my boxers tomorrow, but until then, this is a yummy sandwich that I would suggest you let someone else buy for you.

(Nutrition Facts — 1 small sandwich — 560 calories, 245 calories from fat, 27.5 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of artificial trans fat, 0.5 grams of natural trans fat, 85 milligrams of
cholesterol, 1820 milligrams of sodium, 43 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 5 grams of sugar, and 32 grams of protein.)

Item: Quiznos Prime Rib on Garlic Bread Sandwich
Price: $5.49
Size: Small sandwich
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Tasty garlic aioli sauce suitable replacement for garlic bread.  Made quickly.  Pleasant, non-overpowering smell.  Visually appealing when bread is closed.  Reasonable amount of meat.  Sports bras.  Attentive servers.
Cons: Given the price, apparently made with truffles and lobster. Sodium explosion.  Not actual garlic bread.  Reasonable amount of meat… if it was a $3 sandwich.  Burns easily.  Paranoid servers.

Scroll to Top