TresSugar

Up Next For Wendy's: Boneless Chicken Wings

YumSugar — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 05:50:20 -0700

Hoping to boost this year's sales - and prove that it's still "waaaay better than fast food" - fast food chain Wendy's has announced plans to unveil a new menu item, boneless chicken wings, later this month. The boneless wings - which will compete head to head with KFC's new Kentucky Grilled Chicken - come in three different flavors: Sweet & Spicy Asian, Honey BBQ, and Bold Buffalo. "Our new Boneless Wings are as far as it gets from fast food," Ken Calwell, Wendy's chief marketing officer, said. "Sweet & Spicy Asian wings are something you'd find at an upscale restaurant."

The new item will set you back $3.99 for seven to nine wings (depending on weight), and will be available in a combo meal for $5.69. Since I'm a buffalo wing fiend, I'll definitely check these out - although I'm skeptical about the idea of them being "upscale restaurant" fare. Still, with McDonald's doing froufrou coffee drinks and Burger King barbecuing ribs, the fast food climate seems to be changing. Do fast food's newest items interest you?

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McDonald's and Wendy's Move Toward Cage-Free Eggs

YumSugar — Wed, 27 May 2009 09:00:13 -0700

It's still debatable whether America's in the midst of a food revolution, but a growing number of the country's biggest corporations are focused on promoting natural and local ingredients.

Late last week, McDonald's announced it will take part in a study in conjunction with animal welfare groups, academics, and egg suppliers that compares battery cage-dwelling hens to free-range hens. The following day, Wendy's proclaimed that two percent of its egg purchases will now come from cage-free hens. The response from the animal rights community has been mixed. Although the Humane Society called Wendy's decision "a modest but meaningful step in the right direction," it also maintains McDonald's is only conducting the study to delay reforms in its farming practices.

Both Wendy's and McDonald's have been under fire for failing to change their practices after many other competing chains, such as Burger King, Quizno's, Hardee's, and Denny's, have already converted to using eggs from non-caged hens.

I'm happy to hear that both chains are making a concerted effort to look into free-range eggs - although it's disappointing that only five percent of eggs in North America come from free-range hens. Do you find yourself hopeful or skeptical about the chains' efforts to go cage-free?

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Hoping to Heat Up Sales, Chains Turn to Jalapeno Burgers

YumSugar — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:00:01 -0800

Last month, we got acquainted with Burger King's Angry Whopper, a spicy take on the chain's bestselling burger. But as it turns out, the highly anticipated, spicy-hot sandwich available for a limited time only isn't quite as unique as it might seem. Restaurant chains across the country have enhanced their menus with jalapeno-laden specials, hoping consumers' fiery appetites will lead to sizzling sales at the cash register.

In addition to the Angry Whopper, which is available in stores through the end of March, casual chain Red Robin recently unveiled its new Burnin' Love Burger, which includes, among other things, pepper-jack cheese, salsa, and fried jalapenos. Because good things can't last forever, the spicy creation is only around through April 5. Fast-food spicy burgers are nothing new, last year Wendy's aimed for something similar with its Spicy Baconator, a twist on its highly successful Baconator sandwich that included pepper-jack cheese, chipotle ranch sauce, and - what else? - jalapenos. The Spicy Baconator was available across all Wendy's locations in the US, but only for about a month.

Have you noticed any other restaurant chains with peppery new sandwich offerings? Do you think the fact that they're all seemingly limited-edition items makes them more coveted?

Flashback: Wendy's Training Video

GiggleSugar — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 09:00:00 -0800

This almost makes me want to go back to the '80s to work at Wendy's fast food restaurant. Apparently, on your first day, a rapping apparition comes out of the microwave sporting white shades, a sparkly polo shirt and a supah-dupah fly attitude about how "The reason you have to press/is when the meat hits the grill it starts to shrink!" Even the beef patties get in on the rapping action!

Ain't That the Tooth?

GiggleSugar — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:00:00 -0800

Some people have a sweet tooth, but this dude has a ranch tooth. How can he tell? Because he's constantly being followed by a giant tooth wearing a cowboy hat. You know, like on the ranch. When he gets a craving for Wendy's Monterey Ranch sandwiches, up pops that tooth, saying "ranch" at inopportune moments. ("Ranch! Ranch!") That's how it feels when I get a craving for cheese. ("Cheese! Cheese!")

Wendy's Baconator: Just How Bad Is It?

FitSugar — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:00:00 -0700

The Baconator is not a new villain for Batman to battle, but simply: six strips of hickory smoked bacon piled high atop two quarter pound beef patties, topped with two slices of American cheese, mayo, and ketchup. This super burger is a creation of Wendy's, who claims to make "waaaay better fast food."

I know fast food can't always be avoided, but should you go out of your healthy way to avoid Wendy's Baconator? Take this quiz to find out.

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Arby's Finds the Beef at Wendy's

YumSugar — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:28:39 -0700

Fast-food chain Arby's has been wooing Wendy's for nearly a year, and it looks like it's finally paid off. The courtship ended with Arby's parent company Triac buying Wendy's for a $2.34 billion all-stock deal. The outcome has created the nation's third largest fast-food chain. There is talk of keeping them run independently, but there's been no official word.

So what does Wendy think about all this? (If you don't know, Wendy was the nickname for founder Dave Thomas's daughter Melinda Lou.) It doesn't sound like she's happy at all. Her sister, Pam Thomas Farber, said:

She's feeling horrible. She just is devastated. It's a very sad day for Wendy's, and our family. We just didn't think this would be the outcome.

I can imagine why the family is so bummed. Dave Thomas was the face of the company for so long, it must be awkward to see it all fall apart. So tell me, do you care about this? If your Wendy's becomes an Arby's, will it matter to you?

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Flashback: Wendy's Training Music Vid

GiggleSugar — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 09:31:30 -0800

The '80s marked the launch and rise of MTV, so it's no surprise that Wendy's used a music video to train their new employees back in the day. The vid is surprisingly informative, despite the distraction of singing meat patties and the use of a spatula as an electric guitar. The rapping is awful-ly good, but why is this charbroiled bozo wearing sequins in the kitchen? Now that's unforgivable.

Headline: Shooting at Florida Wendy's, Two Dead

CitizenSugar — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 10:24:29 -0800

In West Palm Beach, Fla., this morning, a gunman opened fire in a Wendy's restaurant, killing one person and injuring at least three others before killing himself.

A female off-duty police officer was in the area during the time of the shooting, and it's not yet clear if she was injured. There is no word yet as to the motive behind the incident.

NAARP Protests Wendy's Logo

GiggleSugar — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 00:02:00 -0700

Improv Everywhere thought it would be funny to gather a gang of redheads, call them the National Association for the Advancement of Red-Haired People, and protest the Wendy's logo. Their stance was that the freakish looking little girl in the logo ("Wendy") unfairly depicts red-headed people as always freckled with chalky white complexions and funny pig tails. Ughh, guys...this isn't discrimination. I believe this is Dave Thomas's daughter you're dissing. Nice work.