Fast Food Friday

Recent fast food marketing from KFC, Wendy's and Subway gave the GWG an idea—try out new products from these restaurants to see how they stack up. Over the course of two days, the GWG tested some of the newest items in the quick service market—most notably the Double Down Sandwich at KFC featuring fried chicken breasts in place of a bun. Click here for pictures of our fast food feast.

The venture began with "Fast Food Friday," a lunch consisting of the Double Down, Wendy’s new fresh cut fries, and for dessert, a milkshake from Cook Out (nothing new but necessary to complete the meal). To fit this into a slightly exaggerated lunch hour we headed to Hillsborough Rd.—a fast food mecca where all 3 stops are within a block of each other (although lunch traffic made even this short distance hard to navigate).

We went in with a bit of a strategy—first we headed to Cook Out to grab milkshakes because the location did not have seating. Both sides of the double drive-thru lane were backed up but moving quickly giving us plenty of time to consider our options (41 flavors!)—we got one banana pudding shake and one with Reese's cups (we later came to find that this portion of our meal contained the most fat and calories). Cook Out couldn't mess up a milkshake and these two were no exception providing a nice sweet flavor to wash down all the salt we were about to consume.

Next we hit Wendy's to try the fresh cut fries as seen on TV—from first glance they appeared to be about the same as before but with some potato skin left on the edges. After giving them a try, we confirmed our first impression—they taste the same as always and we aren't sure we would have realized the change if we hadn't seen the commercials.

Finally we made it to the main course—the KFC Double Down—bacon, Monterey Jack & pepper jack cheese, and Colonel's Sauce sandwiched between two pieces of fried, boneless chicken filets (also available grilled but why go healthy at a time like this?). For a $5 sandwich, it was a little smaller than expected but it turned out to be more than enough. The main challenge was figuring out how to handle this meat monstrosity that leaves nothing between you and the grease—it is served in a sleeve that is probably best used as a grease glove.

As far as flavor goes, if you like KFC you will most likely enjoy the sandwich—the seasoning of the chicken was the standout flavor with the other ingredients complementing the filets and compounding the calories. After a few bites you notice a processed after taste and you can start to guess that the sodium content exceeds the daily limit. It was fun to try this carnivore's concoction but we agreed that it is mostly a gimmick that probably won't stay around long.

The following Monday, GWG met up before work to try Subway’s new breakfast offerings. The light and fresh value breakfast was a great way to start the work week. We ordered a Western Egg White Muffin Melt (ham, egg, cheese, pepper and onion on an English muffin—we opted for turkey) and the Steak, Egg and Cheese on flatbread. Each sandwich was pleasing as a breakfast item but lacked a kick. A small dish of salsa, a chipotle sauce or jalapenos would have made the sandwiches more memorable. Although the amount of flavor was not out of this world, the value and freshness of the meal made us each suggest returning for other pre-work meals.

Fast food isn't our first choice but as GWG we thought we'd get our hands greasy for "the sake of the blog."