"new fast food" news and stories

New Fast-Food Items Hit Menus Nationwide

by Jennifer Lawinski, Posted Mar 17th 2010 @ 4:00PM

If you're looking for something fresh and exciting the next time you stop by a Starbucks or roll through a drive-through, fast-food restaurants are offering a handful of new menu items to help draw in new customers and give old customers a taste of something different.

McDonald's is test-marketing a new "customized" chicken sandwich with a French twist. The McBistro Chicken Sandwich can be either grilled or fried, comes on a whole-grain "bakery style" roll, and then you choose whether you'd like to top it with bacon, white cheddar cheese, tomato and a sauce (chipotle barbecue, honey mustard, buttermilk ranch), the Baltimore Sun reported. Customers pay less for if they forgo the bacon or cheese.

The customized sandwiches are being tried out in Omaha, Albuquerque, and the greater Baltimore area.

Filed under: Fast Food

Fast Food Reviews

COMMENTS 5

by Slashfood Editor, Posted Sep 1st 2009 @ 4:33PM

We review the latest fast-food offerings, tasting the best (and worst) of the drive-thru so you don't get stuck eating a dud.

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Fast Food Reviews

KFC Original Doublicious
Grade: C+
Nutritional Info (small): 23 grams fat, 470 calories
Our testers said: "This is a much better combo -- the saltiness of the fried chicken balances out the sweet bread." "I'd much rather have the sandwich with the Colonel's Sauce rather than the honey mustard BBQ." "While the bun itself does not taste good, it is soft and fresh -- like it just came out of the oven, which is surprising for a fast-food establishment."

Fast Food Reviews

KFC Grilled Doublicious
Grade: D
Nutritional Info: 11 grams fat, 360 calories
Our testers said: "If you blindfolded me and didn't tell me what I was eating, I would have said this was a hot dog." "The combination of the honey mustard and the sweet Hawaiian bun was overwhelming, way too sweet." "I couldn't tell whether I was tasting the cheese or the sauce." "I'd much rather splurge on the calories and fat and eat the fried version."

Fast Food Reviews

Wendy's Spicy Chicken Caesar Salad
Grade: --
Nutritional Info: 49 grams fat, 740 calories
What's in it: Romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, shaved Asiago cheese, French bread croutons, Wendy's spicy chicken with a lemon garlic Caesar dressing.
Our testers said: We can't officially give this salad a grade because Wendy's forgot to put the salad dressing in our bag. However, we can say that the garlic croutons with sea salt, black pepper and garlic were absolutely delicious. And with Wendy's classic spicy chicken filet on top, we believe this salad has potential. We look forward to going back and trying this one again (with the dressing this time).

Fast Food Reviews

Wendy's BLT Cobb Salad
Grade: B
Nutritional Info: 47 grams fat, 670 calories
What's in it: Spring salad greens, two strips of Applewood Smoked Bacon, tomatoes, blue cheese, chopped egg, warm grilled chicken with a creamy avocado ranch dressing.
Our testers said: "Of course I'm going to like this one, it's full of fat and calories!" "The bacon was surprisingly good -- didn't have that chemical aftertaste most fast-food establishments can't avoid." "The combination of the chopped eggs, chicken and blue cheese went perfectly with a really light ranch dressing (which is hard to come by)."

Fast Food Reviews

Wendy's Baja Salad
Grade: D
Nutritional Info: 47 grams fat, 740 calories
What's in it: Spring salad greens, cheddar and pepper-jack cheeses, guacamole, Pico de Gallo, tortilla strips, Wendy's chili with a creamy red jalapeno dressing.
Our testers said: "Some people really like Wendy's chili, I don't, therefore this salad just didn't do it for me." "I found that the chili watered down the greens, which got lost underneath a heap of beef and avocado." "The only thing I liked about this salad was the refreshing Pico de Gallo, which there wasn't enough of."

Fast Food Reviews

Wendy's Apple Pecan Chicken Salad
Grade: C
Nutritional Info: 27 grams fat, 580 calories
What's in it: Spring salad greens, blue cheese, Granny Smith and sweet red apples, roasted pecans, dried cranberries, warm grilled chicken with a pomegranate vinaigrette dressing.
Our testers said: "I really wanted to like this salad, but it just didn't come together for me." "The combination of apples, cranberries AND pomegranate was overwhelming -- the salad was too sweet and the chicken got lost." "I would have loved this with just the apples, chicken, blue cheese and a simple vinaigrette."

Fast Food Reviews

Friendly's Grilled Cheese BurgerMelt
Grade: B+
Nutritional Info: 1500 calories, 97 grams fat, 2090 mgs sodium
Our testers said: The grilled cheese "buns" were buttery, oozing with just the right amount of cheese and just the right amount of greasiness. True, the burger could have been more plump and juicy but it was the right amount of beef to balance out the two grilled cheese sandwiches. The only thing we'd do differently is skip the lettuce. Watery, shredded lettuce did not pair well with the grilled cheese.

Fast Food Reviews

Dunkin' Donuts Blue Raspberry Coolatta
Grade: C
Nutritional Info (small): 0 grams fat, 260 calories
Our testers said: "I would like it to be sweeter." "It's more tangy than sweet." "This would be perfect spiked with vodka." "Considering the scary blue syrup, this wasn't as sweet as I thought it was going to be, however, it does smell a little like cough syrup."

Fast Food Reviews

Wendy's Chipotle Boneless Wings
Grade: C
Nutritional Info: 20 grams fat, 500 calories
Our testers said: "Too sweet for something that's supposed to be spicy." "Tastes more like the orange chicken you'd get at Panda Express than chipotle peppers." "The breading could be more crisp -- these wings are too soggy." "Not that these aren't fattening enough, but I'd like to dip them into blue cheese."

Fast Food Reviews

A.1. Steakhouse XT
Grade: C+
Burger connoisseurs will be disappointed with this behemoth patty. The texture of the meat resembled meatloaf (and not in a good way) -- it was over-handled, overly compacted and flavorless. Crunchy (not soggy) fried onions sort of made up for the bland beef. The A.1. Steak Sauce mixed with mayo was way too sweet for our testers, however. The bottom of the cornmeal-dusted bun really isn't up to the task of supporting the weight of the patty and quickly becomes an obsolete, mushy mess.

While our obsession for crunchy fried onions was satisfied, we won't be ordering another anytime soon -- we'll stick with the original Whopper.

Fast Food Reviews

Filed under: Taste Test, Fast Food