REVIEW: Arby’s Americana Roast Beef Sandwich

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I don’t eat at Arby’s often, but I have to admit there’s a reason it’s known for its Classic Roast Beef Sandwiches. The texture and flavor of the beef are so perfect that I will joyfully eat the sandwiches plain, and I always loved it when my parents would bring home a bag of them. And I say that as someone who generally goes for meatless or poultry options.

For the summer, Arby’s has brought us the Americana Roast Beef Sandwich, which includes seven elements: roast beef, red onion, sesame seed bun, American cheese, tomato, shredded lettuce, and burger sauce. I assume they call it “Americana” because those are classic toppings for an all-American cheeseburger.

I shouldn’t need to explain the vegetables to you (although if you’re a regular reader of a junk-food site, maybe I do). No one eats American cheese expecting it to be a gourmet experience, and this cheese was no different.

As for the burger sauce, if you had offered me a sample of it on its own and asked me if I wanted it on my sandwich, I probably would have said no. It has a tanginess, probably from mayo and mustard, that wasn’t that appealing to me by itself.

Although I was underwhelmed by the cheese and the sauce on their own, I quite enjoyed the sandwich as a whole. The cheese and the sauce provide the right texture and keep the sandwich from getting too dry, and the flavors work well with each other. The vegetables bring a welcome freshness. You’re probably not going to Arby’s if you’re looking for something that tastes and feels fresh, but I appreciated the veggies here. And the roast beef is exactly what you would hope and expect from Arby’s. The bun, as usual, is a benign but passable vehicle for the other elements.

I actually had one of these before I committed to reviewing it, so I went back for another one. And after I ordered my sandwich, the cashier told me there was a deal for two for seven dollars. I might have to go back and get that deal for lunch and dinner one day. So it’s good enough for me to want to eat it more than once!

Is the Americana sandwich better than the Classic? I wouldn’t say so, but it is a refreshing variation.

Purchased Price: $5.19
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 493 calories, 221 calories from fat, 25 grams of fat, 10 grams of saturated fat, 1 gram of trans fat, 70 milligrams of cholesterol, 1459 grams of sodium, 43 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 10 grams of sugar, and 27 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Popeyes Classic Bacon & Cheese Chicken Sandwich

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Will you ever catch a rainbow? Will you ever get within whispering distance of Taylor Swift? Will you ever watch everything available on Netflix? Does adding bacon and cheese make Popeyes’ already great chicken sandwich even better?

The answer to all of these questions is no.

Popeyes’ new Classic Bacon & Cheese Chicken Sandwich combines the chain’s original Chicken Sandwich (with barrel-cured pickle slices, mayo, and buttery toasted brioche buns) with a few bacon slices and some Havarti cheese. Oh, and to make the others on the menu feel included, bacon and cheese are also available on all Popeyes Chicken Sandwich varieties, even the returning Blackened version (which is now a permanent item).

I’ve never had bacon from Popeyes, but after peeling a small rogue piece off the bun and tasting it, I have to say that it was the most memorable piece of fast food bacon I’ve ever had. It was smoky, meaty, salty, and slightly crispy. Unfortunately, most of the flavor characteristics get lost when eating it with the rest of the sandwich. There’s a hint of smokiness, but the bacon’s texture is more noticeable than its flavor.

While the bacon doesn’t provide much taste, the Havarti is pretty much like a ghost, opaque and flavorless. I don’t know how Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man do it. Even when eating the cheese on its own, I couldn’t detect any flavor. Although, if it did have some, I imagine it would be hard for the mild tasting cheese to compete with the mayo, pickles, and the chicken’s Cajun spices.

With that said, I’m not in any way, shape, or form saying this sandwich is terrible. It’s just not worth the premium. It still pretty much tastes like Popeyes’ Classic Chicken Sandwich, and biting into it confirms that Popeyes’ offering continues to be my favorite fast food chicken sandwich. There’s a very slight smokiness from the bacon, but that doesn’t make this better than the original and it’s not enough to convince me to repurchase it. If I want a Popeyes sandwich that tastes like the chain’s Classic Chicken Sandwich, I’d just buy the original, which is also a dollar cheaper.

Purchased Price: $7.99*
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 830 calories, 53 grams of fat, 19 grams of saturated fat, 1.5 grams of trans fat, 120 milligrams of cholesterol, 1875 milligrams of sodium, 51 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 8 grams of sugar, and 36 grams of protein.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.

REVIEW: Wendy’s Canned Chili

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Fast food sneaks into the grocery store with varying degrees of success. Taco Bell’s range of products, from shells to sauces, are mostly fine. Arby’s frozen curly fries? Awful. In olden times, before I got sober, it was pretty hard to beat White Castle’s frozen cheeseburgers after a night spent over-imbibing. (The real thing would be the preferable choice, obviously, but we haven’t had them in my market for a couple of decades now.)

I’ve never been a regular consumer of Wendy’s chili. I’ve had it a few times on top of a potato, sure, but it’s never anything I’ve specifically set out to consume. But now that it’s available in canned form, I felt like I needed to have both. And that I should taste them side-by-side. Blindfolded, in fact, to see if I could tell which was which.

Is a blindfolded taste test a little elaborate for a can of chili? No. No, it’s not.

The first one I tried was thick and meaty. There were plenty of beans and a moderate amount of seasoning. It was salty, but not unbearably so. There were no discernible chunks of tomato, but the base was plenty tomato-y with a slight tang. If you’re into heat, this one won’t do much for you; I’ve received kisses from my grandmother that were spicier than this.

The next chili was much thinner than the first. Soupy, even. The meat chunks were few and far between. There were large, acidic pieces of stewed tomato. The base was sweet with just a little hint of heat. Despite nearly everything else being entirely different, the beans were identical to the beans in the first bowl.

So, two very different chilis allow me to say this: if you dislike Wendy’s chili, you might still like the canned version. Conversely, if you love Wendy’s version, don’t necessarily expect to love the canned variety, too. You might, you might not.

But the moment you’re all waiting for — which chili was which? The first chili — the meaty, seasoned one that I enjoyed quite a bit — was the canned version. The runny bland one was the ACTUAL Wendy’s chili.

Is this a shocking revelation? Perhaps not. Handmade chili from a human Wendy’s person is liable to vary in quality; AI chili made by a robot and canned by a machine is bound to be more formulaically standard. But this isn’t a bad thing. I’d definitely buy the canned chili again, but the other one? I feel no such compulsion.

Purchased Price: $4.42
Size: 15 oz can
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (per 1 cup) 280 calories, 12 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 0.5 grams of trans fat, 65 milligrams of cholesterol, 1040 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 7 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar (2 grams of added sugar), and 17 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Wendy’s Ghost Pepper Ranch Chicken Sandwich

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Before every fast food chain and its brother started making chicken sandwiches that were actually good, Wendy’s had it figured out. It had the logistics of a solid chicken breast fillet and a spicy version essentially perfected, at least by drive-thru standards.

A few years ago, it introduced a Ghost Pepper Ranch dipping sauce, but this is the first time that sauce has graced a chicken sandwich (unless you were savvy enough to do it yourself), and it’s now being joined by several other layers of heat and flavor. The much-loved spicy chicken breast is topped with ghost pepper-infused American cheese, ghost pepper and ranch-seasoned crispy onions, lettuce, tomato, and ghost pepper ranch sauce.

My first impression of this sandwich, both times I tried it, was that it looked exceptionally well put together. The buns were glossy and not squashed, the cheese nicely melted, the mostly unnecessary vegetable toppings fresh looking, the fried onions abundant and still crispy, the chicken breast devoid of any weirdness, and everything properly sauced with a little extra spilling out onto the wrapper for good measure. Ghosts can be tricky things though, so let’s not get caught up in appearances. Sure, it looks good and innocent enough, but how does it taste?

I’m happy to report it tastes as good as it looks! It probably isn’t as spicy as the moniker sets you up for, but I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. This isn’t a demon sandwich; it’s more of a gentle haunting, and did we really expect anything more from Wendy’s? The heat never smacks you in the face, nor does it linger long. It’s pleasantly spicy and might make you want to sip your drink, but if you happened to eat it in the absence of any beverages, it wouldn’t leave you with your mouth on fire.

Since my sandwiches were evenly sauced, it wasn’t easy to try the ghost pepper cheese on its own, but from the small unsauced portion I got, I did think the cheese was flavorful and not your standard American. There’s a generous portion of onions that also aren’t particularly spicy, but they are crunchy, zesty, and a welcome addition. I have nothing against ranch, but it isn’t something that typically calls to me. It’s not my preferred dipping sauce or even salad dressing, but I really enjoyed this version. It has a nice buttermilk taste, and the ghost pepper plus extra herbs take it in a more interesting direction.

For as many times as “ghost pepper” is mentioned in the description, I could see people being disappointed in this if they wanted serious spice. If you temper your expectations and if you’re a fan of Wendy’s spicy chicken, consider this a very solid, kicked up version that won’t give you nightmares.

Purchased Price: $6.89
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 690 calories, 35 grams of total fat, 8 grams of saturated fat, 0.27 grams of trans fat, 90 milligrams of cholesterol, 1650 milligrams of sodium, 61 grams of total carbohydrates, 3 gram of dietary fiber, 7 grams of total sugars, and 32 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Taco Bell Steak Chile Verde Fries

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Taco Bell’s new Steak Chile Verde Fries has dumped on it many of the toppings we’ve seen on ALMOST EVERY SINGLE LOADED FRIES the chain has dumped onto the world — nacho cheese sauce, reduced fat sour cream, and three cheese blend. But what’s new, along with the Chile Verde Sauce, is something else I don’t recall ever being on one of Taco Bell’s loaded fries — Fiesta Strips.

(Waiting for the internet to correct me.)

I’m going to bring up the crunchy red chip strips before I even discuss the headlining sauce because I believe it’s a simple ingredient that should join the nacho cheese sauce, reduced fat sour cream, and three cheese blend on ALMOST EVERY SINGLE LOADED FRIES from now on. They provide little flavor but add a crunchy texture that no Seasoned Fries could ever achieve. Plus, they would make any loaded fries kind of feel like nachos at the same time.

Although, I’m less excited for them in the burrito version of this product because, as we’ve learned with other burritos that have had them, the chip strips are less fiesta and more feeble when encased in a flour tortilla with gloopy sauces and hot ingredients.

As for the new Chile Verde Sauce, it’s definitely verde and, without question, has chiles. Taco Bell says the sauce incorporates jalapeño, lime, and zesty herbs. The person who made my order didn’t incorporate much of the sauce onto it, so I didn’t get to enjoy it with most bites. When I could taste it, I noticed a pleasant peppery and slightly citrusy flavor, and it had a mild kick that didn’t take away from the condiment’s flavor. But beyond the sauce, it has the same flavors as previous menu items featuring Seasoned Fries and steak, which is still quite good without the green topping.

Overall, Taco Bell’s Steak Chile Verde Fries are another good limited time offryring from the chain. Its sauce is tasty enough that I’d like to experience it with other menu items in the future. Also, I’d like Fiesta Strips for all future loaded fries.

Purchased Price: $6.29*
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 550 calories, 34 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 1220 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar (including less than 1 gram of added sugar), and 15 grams of protein.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.

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