Tag: Wendy’s

When I eat chicken nuggets, either from Wendy’s or another fast food chain, I tend to eat them without any sauce. That delectable fried chicken flavor is enough for me, and I don’t need to muddy it up with many other flavors. Hear that, all you kids with your fancy nugget-dipping sauces? Get off my lawn! (Wait, actually, come back and mow my lawn. Please? I’m begging you.)

Now Wendy’s has laughed in my face by putting out a whole line of nuggets that are absolutely drenched in sauces. And, of course, they come with extra dipping sauces, so you can have some sauce in your sauce. Naturally, I was skeptical but intrigued by this opportunity to see how the other half lives.

There are four main varieties, but technically, there are seven: The Honey BBQ, Buffalo, and Garlic Parm all come in spicy or not-spicy versions, depending on whether they are prepared with Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Nuggets as the base product. To me, the non-spicy version represents the default version, so that’s what I went with. The Spicy Ghost Pepper Nuggs, however, are only made in the spicy variety because a Ghost Pepper-branded food that isn’t spicy makes no sense.

As I’ve noticed with other fried chicken products, like Pizza Hut’s WingStreet boneless wings, the sauce application is a little bit haphazard. Some pieces were absolutely drenched in sauce, while others only had a little spotting of it. You can rectify this by using your nugget as a little sponge to soak up the sauce on the bottom of the plastic tray, which sometimes works.

The Saucy Nuggs come with Ranch and Blue Cheese dipping sauces, as you would expect. Even though I typically skip this option, I did try the Nuggs with them this time for the sake of being thorough. I know. My commitment to chicken-based journalism knows no bounds.

On the whole, I was impressed with Wendy’s latest offering.

Honey BBQ

This uses a textbook-standard honey barbecue sauce on the sweeter end of the spectrum. They are perfectly fine but not remarkable in any way. It makes for a good blank canvas if you’re really planning on going to town on the ranch and blue cheese.

Buffalo

The perfect level of mild spice that mixes well with the dipping sauces, and the classic pairing of Buffalo sauce with blue cheese is a winner. This is exactly how spicy I like my food, and I would definitely order these again. These made me a little nostalgic for the brief time I actually lived in Buffalo when I didn’t eat the wings nearly as often as I should have.

Garlic Parm

The big surprise of the lot. The garlic and parmesan flavors are clearly discernible, but neither is overpowering; it’s a surprisingly delicate flavor. The texture is also different from the other nuggets, more closely resembling a nice, crunchy piece of real fried chicken, greasy but in the best way. Either the ranch or the blue cheese will obliterate the subtle flavor, so be sure to have these naked. The question with these is not whether I will order them again, but “How long will they be on the menu? Please say it’s the whole summer!”

Spicy Ghost Pepper

The wildcard: Just how spicy were these going to be? I was timid, so I took my GP nugg with a healthy dollop of blue cheese to balance out the heavy spicing. Even with the cooling agent of the dipping sauce, the heat in the back of my throat from just one of these things was nearly more than I could handle. Fortunately, my husband is one of those people who asks for the maximum spice level when we go out for curry, so he was able to field this one for me and eat the rest of them. He said they were great and that these, and the Garlic Parm, were the ones he would definitely order again.

So, all in all, it was a rather good outing for our intrepid redhead, who I would say has been on a roll lately…except for the new Triple Berry Frosty. Hey, even Babe Ruth didn’t hit a home run every time he stepped up to the plate.

Size: 10 piece orders (40 pieces total)
Purchased Price: $5.79 each
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Honey BBQ), 8 out of 10 (Buffalo), 10 out of 10 (Garlic Parm), and Husband Approval out of 10 (Ghost Pepper)
Nutrition Facts: Honey BBQ – 590 calories, 29 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 80 mg of cholesterol, 1450 mg of sodium, 56 grams total carbohydrate, 2 grams dietary fiber, 30 grams total sugars, and 25 grams of protein. Buffalo – 530 calories, 36 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 80 mg of cholesterol, 2800 mg of sodium, 26 grams total carbohydrate, 2 grams dietary fiber, 1 gram total sugar, and 25 grams of protein. Garlic Parm – 940 calories, 80 grams total fat, 17 grams of saturated fat, 1.5 grams of trans fat, 80mg of cholesterol, 1610 mg of sodium, 29 grams total carbohydrate, 2 grams dietary fiber,1 gram total sugars, and 27 grams of protein. Ghost Pepper – 900 calories, 17 grams of total fat, 16 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 95 mg of cholesterol, 2060 mg of sodium, 30 grams of total carbohydrate, 2 grams of dietary fiber, and 27 grams of protein.

It’s been a little over two months, so it’s time for a new Frosty flavor.

It took forever for Wendy’s to expand from chocolate to vanilla, and now the window between new Frosties is about as short as a theatrical movie landing on your favorite overpriced streaming service.

Save the movie theaters!

Anyway, it’s been exactly two years since Wendy’s hit us with a Strawberry Frosty. I reviewed it then, and wasn’t blown away. I believe I said at the time, and don’t look this up, “This isn’t terrible, but I need more berries! They should’ve added blackberry and raspberry! Also, the Boston Celtics are going to win the 2024 NBA title.”

I’m not saying I’m clairvoyant, but I think someone at Wendy’s Inc. saw my review, and that’s where the seedling for a Triple Berry Frosty was born. Let me just do some math here – Strawberry. Blackberry. Raspberry. Yup. That’s three, alright. When you combine said berries, you get a nice lavender color, and that’s basically the highlight.

I couldn’t help but notice that it just looked like soft ice cream. It was missing the bits of ice that I expect from a Wendy’s Frosty. That is the small distinction I always make between Frosties and ice cream, smoothies, shakes, etc. I need the tiny flecks of ice crystals for at least a few spoonfuls. They were basically absent here. I was starting to think this was just gonna be Strawberry redux, and I was basically right.

I instantly assumed this had blueberries in it. I tasted a slight medicinal blueberry flavor with a dry “Tums” finish. I’m still kinda shocked that blueberries aren’t one of the three berries.

I didn’t really distinguish any of the other berries because, in the end, this tastes like literally any “mixed berry” yogurt you’ve ever had minus the yogurt “tang.” Essentially, what I’m saying is this Frosty lacks culture!

You might think, “It’s just a berry smoothie,” but it’s not, and I think that hurts it. I wish it was. This flavor profile in an ice cream-like form doesn’t really work that well.

Actually, it doesn’t work as a Wendy’s menu item. To bring it back to the movies, this flavor feels like a giant tonal shift in the Wendy’s script.

On its own, it’s decent, but with food, it just clashed. I’ve never really felt that way about previous Frosties, not even the Orange Dreamsicle. Drinking something “mixed berry yogurt” flavored didn’t compliment my fatty Wendy’s food at all.

Triple Berry just didn’t pop for me. I think it’s time to abandon berries entirely… ya know, except the best berry – banana. We better get a Banana Frosty at some point. If Wendy’s insists on keeping berries on the menu, allow me the obligatory mention of my topping idea – Wendy’s Blendies. I’ll toss some strawberries in my Chocolate Frosty. Why not? What are we waiting for?

Bury Triple Berry. It’s forgettable and ultimately skippable. See you in two months for the next one.

Purchased Price: $2.19
Size: Small
Purchased at: Wendy’s
Rating: 4 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 320 calories, 8 grams of fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 30 mg of cholesterol, 270 milligrams of sodium, 53 grams of total carbohydrates, 46 grams of sugars, 0 grams of fiber, 9 grams of protein.

This is how I imagine the inevitable ad for Wendy’s new Orange Dreamsicle Frosty is gonna go:

Kathryn – “Ever since Wendy’s introduced the new Orange Dreamsicle Frosty, Tyler has been dreaming up some new squad names.”

Tyler – “Hey Willie, since nothing rhymes with ‘orange,’ we should be the ‘Cream Team.'”

Then Willie just Jim Halperts to the camera and continues helping a customer.

Toby – “What about me? I wanna be on the Cream Team. It’s my CREAM DREAM! Haven’t you guys ever had a cream drea–”

Willie – “DON’T say it again.”

Then Toby awkwardly eats an Orange Dreamsicle Frosty before you realize you’re watching the DVR and can fast-forward through the rest of the commercials.

Tell me you don’t want an Orange Dreamsicle Frosty now! I had one, and it’s good!

Wendy’s is killing it with their Frosties lately. Vanilla was a winner, naturally. I really liked the Pumpkin Spice, and I gave Peppermint a 10! The only newer flavor I didn’t love was Strawberry. I thought it needed to be sweeter.

Well, sweetness is where the Orange Dreamsicle Frosty excels. I’m sure you’re familiar with Good Humor. You’re not getting any of that from my review, but you’ve probably had a Good Humor Creamsicle at some point in your life. I think Wendy’s has improved on that iconic flavor.

They nailed the balance of orange and vanilla here. The orange is vibrant and candylike but not citrusy or sour. It’s very pronounced on the nose, but it soon melds with the really soft vanilla flavor that chases it. It’s just the right level of sweetness, definitely less cloying than the ice cream bar that inspired it.

There’s also something about these two flavors that works so well with the Frosty texture. I’ve gone over it before – it’s not a shake, it’s not ice cream, it’s just an icy grainy concoction that lives somewhere in the middle. I don’t know how they do it, but even the temperature is perfect. I took a big spoonful and then a couple swigs and never even worried about potential brain freeze.

I got a Dave’s Double for $2 because of a March Madness promotion in the app and compensated by only getting a Junior Frosty. I wish I got a medium instead and opted for a $1 Dave’s Single. Either way, it’s a great pairing.

So yeah, this is an ideal flavor to usher in the spring. Next time you’re in the mood for ice cream, a shake, or an ice cream and shake-adjacent modern marvel of food science, just go to Wendy’s.

I’m already bummed this won’t be a permanent menu item. While I clearly love these seasonal Frosties, I need more than two options at a time. I’m not telling Wendy’s to retrofit all of their restaurants with a 10-tap Frosty machine… no, actually I am. Do that, Wendy. I want a full range of Frosty flavors at my disposal at all times, and don’t forget the Wendy’s Blendies™.

Purchased Price: $1.29
Size: Junior
Rating: 9 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 200 calories, 5 grams of fat, 0 gram of trans fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 20 mg of cholesterol, 100 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of total carbohydrates, 31 grams of sugars, 0 grams of fiber, and 5 grams of protein.

“It’s bigger than I thought it would be,” my girlfriend said, starting down at my lap. But before you get any weird ideas, we were leaving the Wendy’s drive thru, and she was referring to the new breakfast burrito I’d recently procured. And to be fair, she was right.

While Wendy’s entry into the crowded world of breakfast burritos isn’t necessarily akin to the infant-sized behemoth you might find on a working person’s local food truck, it is close to twice the size of a McDonald’s burrito, and maybe 25% larger than oh, say, Sonic’s. (I’ve never had a Burger King breakfast burrito, provided they sell one, and it’s been a decade or more since I had Hardee’s version, so I can’t speak to that one, either.)

Unlike its closest fast food competitors — and really, unlike most other breakfast burritos in general — Wendy’s sets itself apart in a few ways. First, it’s using two “fresh cracked eggs.” Think “fried” egg instead of the scrambled you typically find in most burritos. If you’re into that sort of thing, you’ll love this; personally, I found myself missing the consistent bite provided by the scrambled kind.

Second, it’s including its “seasoned breakfast potatoes” in the mix. If you haven’t had the chain’s answer to the standard hash brown, you might be pleasantly surprised. The right amount of seasoned, the right amount of externally crispy, and the right amount of internally fluffy, these wedge-like tubers fill up space within the burrito normally occupied by scrambled egg. Without them — due to the flat nature of the fried eggs — this burrito would be quite thin.

And finally, Wendy’s is setting itself apart by employing a “Swiss cheese sauce.” The idea of a Swiss cheese sauce is pretty intriguing, don’t get me wrong, but I was hard-pressed to notice it in the mix. All I really noticed from a cheese perspective was the American. It did what American cheese always does — it got melty and gooey and served its purpose well.

Same goes for the bacon. Wendy’s uses “Applewood smoked” bacon, which are oven-baked. Wendy’s bacon is pretty good, if you’ve never had it. It comes across as less genetically engineered than McDonald’s, and thicker than Burger King’s. Wendy’s claims there are six strips in the burrito, but that wasn’t my experience. Either their strips are an inch long or they’re fudging the numbers, but I don’t know that I believe mine had anything close to that number.

It’s also worth noting that Wendy’s is including a Cholula hot sauce packet with your burrito. I’m not normally a “hot/taco/picante sauce on my burrito” kinda guy, but I tried it for the sake of science, and predictably, it didn’t really do much to elevate my experience. If you’re a Cholula on your breakfast burrito person, though, this is a thoughtful inclusion.

While this burrito was fine, I’d only eat one again if I found myself requiring a fast-food breakfast and there was nary a McDonald’s in sight. It wasn’t good enough to make me seek out another one, and when it comes to a new product, that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement.

Purchased Price: $4.99
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 700 calories, 40 grams of fat, 16 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 2210 milligrams of sodium, 53 grams of total carbohydrates, 4 grams of sugar, 2 grams of fiber, and 32 grams of protein.