{"id":20912,"date":"2016-12-02T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-02T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/?p=20912"},"modified":"2023-08-25T20:35:53","modified_gmt":"2023-08-26T06:35:53","slug":"review-wendys-taco-salad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2016\/12\/02\/review-wendys-taco-salad\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: Wendy\u2019s Taco Salad"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Wendy's<\/a><\/p>\n

I am firmly a child of the 90\u2019s. If you don\u2019t believe me, take a walk around my childhood home, where you\u2019ll see way too many Lifetouch grade school portraits of me with hair moussed up to the heavens (thanks Mom).<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong, though \u2013 the 90\u2019s were a blast. I fondly remember spending weekends developing recipes with my younger sister\u2019s Fisher Price plastic kitchen to feed to my collection of Mighty Morphin\u2019 Power Rangers action figures (the Megazord was a picky eater).<\/p>\n

And now, it seems like the 90\u2019s nostalgia has caught on with everyone else, because there\u2019s been no shortage of remakes over the past couple of years. From Fuller House<\/em> to French Toast Crunch, everyone wants a piece of the action, no matter how horrible the reboot may be.<\/p>\n

Take Wendy\u2019s Taco Salad, for example. America\u2019s second-favorite redhead (after Ronald, of course), has apparently caved into the demands of their \u201cloyal taco salad fans\u201d (their words, not mine), and brought back this classic dish for millennial mouths to try. <\/p>\n

Now, before I get any angry letters from fast food historians, yes, Wendy\u2019s did originally release the Taco Salad in the 80\u2019s, but since they\u2019re solely marketing this from a 90\u2019s perspective, I thought it appropriate to lace up my L.A. Lights to head on over and sample it for myself.<\/p>\n

Like any other fast food salad, Wendy\u2019s Taco Salad is built on a bed of iceberg and romaine lettuce. The bed in this example is clearly a California King, because this salad is overwhelmed with lettuce. It\u2019s as if Wendy\u2019s forgot that there were supposed to be other toppings on this salad and went crazy with the bags of salad mix. <\/p>\n

\"Wendy's<\/a><\/p>\n

On top of the lettuce extravaganza, Wendy\u2019s has placed a smattering of diced tomatoes and shredded cheddar cheese. I must have visited on the cook\u2019s first day, because the pieces of tomato I received were all from the edges, and lacked any juice or flavor. Similarly disappointing, the cheese was heavily processed, and had a firm mouthfeel. <\/p>\n

Along with the aforementioned mattress o\u2019 lettuce, Wendy\u2019s provides a selection of toppings to accompany the salad. These toppings \u2013 chili, tortilla chips, \u201csignature salsa,\u201d and light sour cream \u2013 come on the side, a sort of \u201ctaco kit\u201d to allow you to garnish your salad as you please. <\/p>\n

In true TIB fashion, I went all in on the toppings. While I appreciate the customization opportunity, the minuscule bowl Wendy\u2019s provided made it difficult to mix everything together. The tortilla chips were humorously oversized for the salad, and lacked a distinctive salty kick. Their partner in crime, Wendy\u2019s \u201csignature salsa,\u201d was equally as upsetting, as its sour notes overwhelmed any discernible tomato flavor. <\/p>\n

\"Wendy's<\/a><\/p>\n

The standout here was the chili \u2013 while suspect in origin, its strong tomato and cumin flavor brought some much needed zest to the salad. In fact, the chili really brings the only semblance of flavor to the salad, as it\u2019s not served with any dressing. If you don\u2019t conserve your chili wisely, the salad turns into a real slog to eat.<\/p>\n

While I appreciate their play for nostalgia, Wendy\u2019s Taco Salad should go the way of Hammer Pants. You shouldn\u2019t touch this.<\/p>\n

(Nutrition Facts – 660 calories, 290 calories from fat, 32 grams of fat, 13 grams of saturated fat, 1 grams of trans fat, 85 milligrams of cholesterol, 1820 milligrams of sodium, 63 grams of carbohydrates, 18 grams of sugar, and 32 grams of protein.)<\/small><\/p>\n

Purchased Price:<\/b> $5.99
\nSize:<\/b> Full-size salad
\nRating:<\/b> 2 out of 10
\nPros:<\/b> Having an excuse to break out my Pogs. Flavorful chili. Jamming out to fast food training videos.
\nCons:<\/b> Reminding my mom that mousse exists. Ridiculous amounts of roughage. Sour salsa.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am firmly a child of the 90\u2019s. If you don\u2019t believe me, take a walk around my childhood home, where you\u2019ll see way too many Lifetouch grade school portraits of me with hair moussed up to the heavens (thanks Mom). Don\u2019t get me wrong, though \u2013 the 90\u2019s were a blast. I fondly remember […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1440],"tags":[1477,1526],"class_list":["post-20912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-fast-food","tag-wendys"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11995,"url":"https:\/\/www.theimpulsivebuy.com\/wordpress\/2012\/04\/24\/news-wendys-now-offers-mac-cheese-baked-sweet-potato-and-chili-cheese-fries-as-signature-sides\/","url_meta":{"origin":20912,"position":0},"title":"NEWS: Wendy’s Now Offers Mac & Cheese, Baked Sweet Potato, and Chili Cheese Fries As Signature Sides","author":"Marvo","date":"April 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Update: Click here to read out Wendy's Signature Sides review Wendy's is now offering three new Signature Sides to their menu: Macaroni & Cheese, Chili Cheese Fries, and Baked Sweet Potato. 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