Taste Test

Wendy's Menu: Premium Fish Fillet Reviewed

by Erik R. Trinidad, Posted Mar 11th 2011 @ 1:00PM

Wendy's Premium Fish Fillet Sandwich Photo: Erik R. Trinidad

It's that time of year again, the 40-day Christian season of Lent, a time when fast food restaurants ramp up their seafood menu selections to capitalize on religious dogma -- hell, even KFC plays up their Fish Snacker. The rules of the season mandate that no meat is to be eaten on Fridays -- vegetarians need not change their eating habits -- but to the observant carnivorous fast foodie, this usually means replacing those burgers and fries with fish and chips. Wendy's heeds this call, and has jumped back on the bandwagon this year, offering a Premium Fish Fillet sandwich to fill this religious niche. Here's how it rates:

The Claims: Wendy's Premium Fish Fillet is 100% North Pacific cod breaded with panko crumbs, served in a bun with a leaf of lettuce and tartar sauce (500 calories). A slice of American cheese is optional (for an additional 40 calories).

The Price: $3.99 for the sandwich, plus an extra 30 cents if you want cheese. Add their natural-cut fries to make it a "fish 'n chips" combo with a drink for $5.99. (Prices may vary at participating locations.)

Filed under: Taste Test, Fast Food

Sonic's Menu: New Hot Dogs Reviewed

COMMENTS 64

by Erik R. Trinidad, Posted Mar 7th 2011 @ 11:00AM

Sonic's Premium toppings hot dogs Photo: Erik R. Trinidad

Nathan's and Wienerschnitzel have dominated the fast food chain hot dog arena for years, but now Sonic, America's Drive-In, has stepped up their game with the introduction of four new premium hot dogs -- and you don't even have to leave your car for them. Here's how they rate:

The Claims: The frankfurters in Sonic's new lineup all start with a grilled, all-beef hot dog inside a "soft, warm bakery bun," and are each differentiated by their fixings: the All-American Dog has ketchup, mustard, relish, and chopped raw onions (386 calories); the Chili Cheese Coney is topped with chili and shredded cheddar cheese (420 calories); the New York Dog has spicy mustard, grilled onions, and sauerkraut (352 calories); and the Chicago Dog is topped with a pickle spear, relish, tomatoes, hot peppers, chopped raw onions, celery salt, and mustard, with poppy seeds on the bun (435 calories).

The Price: Each hot dog sells for the introductory price of $1.99, at participating locations.

Read our review after the jump.

Filed under: Taste Test, Fast Food

Domino's Pizza: New Chicken Reviewed

COMMENTS 5

by Erik R. Trinidad, Posted Mar 4th 2011 @ 2:00PM

Domino's Chicken wings Photo: Erik R. Trinidad

Now that folks at Domino's Pizza are finished revamping their pizza recipe, they've turned their attention to their chicken offerings, introducing new Boneless Chicken (basically nuggets), and a reboot of their Chicken Wings. Here's how they rate:

The Claims: Domino's new Boneless Chicken is "lightly breaded with savory herbs, made with 100% white breast meat." The revamped wings are "now tastier than ever. Sauced with your choice of Hot, New Sweet Mango Habanero or BBQ Sauce." The Boneless Chicken can be "customized" with those same three sauces for dipping, in addition to the standards, Ranch or Blue Cheese dressing.

The Price: Boneless Chicken comes in 8-, 14-, or 40-piece combos, at $6.99 (410 calories), $10.99 (710 calories), or $29.99 (2030 calories), respectively. The new wings also come in eight, fourteen, or forty, for the same prices. (580-680 calories, 1010-1200 calories, 2890-3420 calories, respectively.)

Filed under: Taste Test, Fast Food

Arby's Menu: Angus Three Cheese & Bacon Sandwich Reviewed

COMMENTS 38

by Erik R. Trinidad, Posted Mar 3rd 2011 @ 2:30PM

Arby's Menu Angus Three Cheese and Bacon sandwich Photo: Erik R. Trinidad

Arby's is known for their roast beef sandwiches, and now, like other chains before them, they are jumping on the Angus beef bandwagon -- that breed of cattle whose name has become associated with leaner, tastier, and higher-quality meat. This is good news for the carnivores out there, especially since the Angus beef is sliced and piled into a sandwich with bacon and three types of cheese. Here's how Arby's new Angus Three Cheese & Bacon sandwich rates:

The Claims: The Angus Three Cheese & Bacon sandwich contains USDA Choice Black Angus beef, slow-roasted with a rub of garlic and onions, sliced fresh in the store, and piled onto an Italian roll. The roast beef is draped with slices of Swiss cheese, and topped with shredded cheddar, a Parmesan peppercorn ranch sauce, and thick-cut, pepper-spiced bacon. (660 calories sans condiments)

The Price: $4.99.

Filed under: Taste Test, Fast Food

Ruby Tuesday Menu: Best Premium Burgers

COMMENTS 38

by Nanette Maxim, Posted Mar 3rd 2011 @ 12:00PM

Ruby Tuesday menu winners, Premium Beef Burgers Photo: Elizabeth Hait, AOL

In our search for the best of the best of fast-casual restaurant menus, we've sampled Applebee's Appetizers and Outback Steakhouse Favorites. We've given you our picks for TGI Friday's Sizzling Skillets, and Red Lobster Shrimp. Now we figured it was time to put some all-American burgers to the test, courtesy of Ruby Tuesday.

Menu Overview
We dug into all six of Ruby Tuesday's handcrafted premium beef burgers (we're saving the Veggie, Turkey, and Crab premium burgers for another taste test). Triple Prime burgers are a blend of ground tenderloin, sirloin, and ribeye, and are offered plain, with Cheddar cheese, and with Cheddar and applewood-smoked bacon. We also test-drove the Boston Blue (with blue cheese, onion rings, and barbecue sauce), the Smokehouse Burger (Cheddar, bacon, onion rings, and barbecue sauce), and the Alpine Swiss (with Swiss cheese and baby portabello mushrooms). All burgers come with lettuce, tomato, and garlic-mayo toppings, are served on a potato bun, and with a side of pleasantly crisp and well-salted "endless fries." Yes, spud lovers, it's fries till you pull the trigger. (We ordered all burgers cooked to medium doneness.)

See our winner, runner-up, and loser after the jump.

Filed under: Taste Test, Chain Stores / Restaurants

Ben & Jerry's 'Late Night Snack' Ice Cream Reviewed

COMMENTS 22

by Erik R. Trinidad, Posted Mar 3rd 2011 @ 11:00AM

Ben & Jerry's new flavor with Jimmy Fallon Photo: Erik R. Trinidad

The battle for late-night supremacy now moves to the ice-cream aisle. On the heels of Stephen Colbert's "AmeriCone Dream" comes a new late-night funnyman-inspired ice cream flavor from Ben & Jerry's. That's right; in conjunction with the two-year anniversary of SNL alum Jimmy Fallon taking over Conan O'Brien's NBC post at Late Night, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have created "Late Night Snack," a premium ice cream complete with Fallon's mug on the lid. Here's how it rates:

The Claims: Ben & Jerry's Late Night Snack is vanilla bean ice cream with a salty caramel swirl and fudge-covered potato chip clusters.

Filed under: Taste Test, New Products, Chain Stores / Restaurants

Dunkin' Donuts New Big 'N Toasty Sandwich Reviewed

COMMENTS 18

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Feb 28th 2011 @ 1:00PM

Dunkin Donuts new breakfast sandwich, Big and Toasty Photo: Sarah De Heer, AOL

This morning, Dunkin' Donuts introduced their biggest breakfast sandwich yet: The Big 'N Toasty. According to John Costello, Chief Global Customer and Marketing Officer at Dunkin' Brands, the Big 'N Toasty Breakfast Sandwich is targeted at those who need more than a bowl of cereal in the morning. "At Dunkin' Donuts, we realize that people on-the-go at times crave heartier foods to start their day," he says. "With the Big 'N Toasty Breakfast Sandwich, Dunkin' Donuts can satisfy even the biggest appetites with a fulfilling, portable breakfast at an affordable price," he said. Here's how it rates:

The Claims: The Big "N Toasty Breakfast Sandwich features two peppered fried eggs, four slices of cherrywood smoked bacon and a slice of American cheese, all packed between two thick slices of Texas toast -- the first sandwich to feature this thick-sliced bread.

The Price: $3.29 (prices may vary depending on location.)

Filed under: Taste Test, Fast Food

Red Lobster Menu: Best Shrimp Dishes

COMMENTS 133

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Feb 17th 2011 @ 3:00PM

Red Lobster menu, shrimp dishes Photo: Elizabeth Hait, AOL

Our fast-casual, best of the menu culinary trek continues: First it was Applebee's for appetizers, then Outback Steakhouse for Outback Favorites, then TGI Friday's for Sizzling Skillets. Our most recent adventure was at Red Lobster, to find out which was their best shrimp dish.

Menu Overview: There are 5 main courses in the "Shrimp" section, including Walt's Favorite Shrimp (breaded butterflied shrimp), Crunchy Popcorn Shrimp (fried breaded bite-size shrimp), Shrimp Linguine Alfredo (shrimp in garlic-parmesan cream sauce served over linguine), Parrot Isle Jumbo Coconut Shrimp (fried coconut-breaded butterflied shrimp with a "piña colada" sauce) and Shrimp Your Way (you choose a 2- or 3-item combination plate -- shrimp scampi available in this dish).

Find out our Shrimp Winner, Runner-up, and Loser after the jump.

Filed under: Taste Test, Chain Stores / Restaurants

Best Valentine's Day Chocolates

COMMENTS 15

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Feb 9th 2011 @ 5:00PM

Photo: Elizabeth Hait, AOL

We've been taste-testing chocolates for quite some time (a tough job, but someone has to do it), and several years ago, we put Valentine's Day boxed chocolates to a test for the best. But since then, so much has changed -- there are new chocolatiers, and recent chocolate trends have led to new chocolate combinations. We knew it was time to update our gallery.

After tasting more than 45 different boxes, we've created six categories: Best box for kids, best drug-store box, best box for men, best box for caramel lovers, most beautiful creations and overall best box.

After the jump, click through our gallery of best boxed chocolates and see which chocolates won our hearts (and will win yours).

Filed under: Taste Test, Holidays

Wendy's Asiago Ranch Chicken Club Reviewed

COMMENTS 9

by Erik R. Trinidad, Posted Feb 9th 2011 @ 11:00AM

Wendy's Asiago Ranch Chicken Club Photo: Erik R. Trinidad

Wendy's has quite a reputation to maintain when it announces a new menu item. They have to not only live up to their current marketing slogan, "You know when it's real," by using the freshest ingredients that a national mega-chain can be supplied, but they must also strive to sustain their "recipe of quality" -- a formula which has earned them top honors in Zagat's Fast Food Survey for the past two years. Enter the new Asiago Ranch Chicken Club, the self-proclaimed "bold new take on chicken that's anything but boring." Here's how it rates:

The Claims: The Asiago Ranch Chicken Club sandwich comes in three variations of chicken -- Grilled, Homestyle, or Spicy – each topped with strips of applewood-smoked bacon, a slice of Asiago cheese, ranch dressing, lettuce, and sliced tomatoes. (470-660 calories, depending on the style of chicken)

The Price: $5.19 each. (Manhattan, NY; prices may vary depending on location.)

Filed under: Taste Test, Fast Food