Fast Food Friday : Wendy’s

It was another Fast Food Friday, last Friday. Okay, I’m a little slow on the blog at times. This time we visited everyone’s favorite braided, red-headed, freckled faced girl. No, not Pippi Longstocking. Wendy. Okay, let’s get on with the critique.

First Impression
It’s the standard Wendy’s from the outside. Pretty much what was expected. But that’s good. It’s consistent and comforting.

Big Red

Ordering/Signage
Once again we have an menu that’s hidden while in line. But Wendy’s is at least aware of this problem and has lined the line with not only the latest specials but also displays the combos prominently.

Good job Wendy. Good job.

When you get to the register the menu is easy to read and they hit you in the face with more combo details right on the back of the drink machine. Additionally they show the new frosty choices available. It’s a bit confusing what the differences are but you get the idea. And everyone, when you get a moment. Say hi to Mr. Frosty for me. Click it. Trust me.

Say hi to Mr. Frosty for me.

Atmosphere
It was a little drab. Maybe I expect too much but the dining area was just a box with some bad western touches on the edges. The area was just formless, it lacked structure. Posters were literally taped on the walls. See below.

It is too much to ask for a booth, a pole, something that gives the place a little structure. That's all I'm asking for. C'mon

The Eating

Really not that devasting, sigh…

Okay, now this is the important part. We don’t eat a fast food place for the stellar ambiance. We eat for the great food. Right? I dove right in and got the Baconator. I’ve long avoided that burger for many rational and some irrational reasons. But someone had to do it. I was a little surprised and a little disappointed. It wasn’t quite as gross as I thought it would be. When you eat something with “ATOR” at the end of it’s name you expect to get your ass kicked, and that’s okay. But my ass was not kicked and that made me a little sad.

The rest of the group had this to say about the offerings, they write better, see for yourself;

Spicy Chicken Sandwich – “was good enough, although the spices gave it a weird after-taste. Also, I think the tomato slice on it was bad.”

Fish Filet Sandwich – “substantial size, tasted good, but loaded with mayo, expected more lettuce, but was pretty limp instead…fish was flaky and white, but more breading that I expected – overall, would order again but without mayo or cheese”, “The fish sandwich wasn’t bad. Not soggy or greasy. Not too fishy, but not so bland there was no fish taste either. It had a lot of bright orange cheese on it. I would have preferred it with no cheese, but it was still okay.” “A bit bland but it was a decent size and satisfying. Though, as usual, Wendy’s feels the need to to add too much mayo on every sandwich. It was good, but made it a bit messy to eat.”

Homestyle Chicken Style Sandwich - “Soggy, semi-crispy, mayo filled chicken sandwich with a sad piece of lettuce and gooey tomato slice”

Mandarin Orange Chicken Salad - “For fast food it wasn’t bad. The container made it easy to eat the salad without dropping it all over my lap. The dressing was good and the packet opened easily and let me control how much dressing to put on the salad. The lettuce was romaine, not just bland iceberg.”

Chicken Wrap -  “It was one single piece of chicken (not pieces cut up) covered in mayo. Not very good, and the single hunk of chicken was weird – a wrap needs blended flavors so each bite is a bit of everything, not a mouthful of chicken one bite, lettuce the next, then empty tortilla, etc. The wrap didn’t stay closed when I set it down – it sort of flopped open.”

Baked Potato – “was supposed to be overflowing with Cheddar & Bacon, instead was a small naked Baked Potato that I needed to slather butter and sour cream on,” This was a mistake, it’s easy enough to fry a potato but a good baked potato can be a challenge. Really lacked flavor except for the bacon topping.”

Chili – “Nice flavor, good spicy kick… Too many beans for my liking”

Fries - “The fries were fine (of course, ate them all) but were slightly under-cooked”, “same quality as other Wendy’s fries, excellent portion size, good fries” (Kid’s meal), “could’ve been cooked longer, a little soggy,” “Generic tasteless fast food fries. For some reason I can always taste a chemical-like aftertaste when I eat bad fast food fries. Not as bad as McDonald’s, but close. Gratuitous Ketchup required!”

Conclusion

Wendy’s treated us well. It should be mentioned that the staff was great. We had a huge complex order and though they did make a mistake they were really fast about fixing it and determined to make it all right.

This was the best quote from the group,
“I definitely did enjoy my meal overall, but I never shook that feeling afterward like I had eaten a meal of food candy.”

So is Wendy the red-headed step child of the fast food establishment? I think not. She could use a bit of a face lift but what she’s cooking is pretty good. The consensus is that she gets’ a 6 or 7 out of 10. I think that’s good and she can hold her head up moderately high.