GrubGrade

All this talk about Chick-fil-A’s new Spicy Chicken Sandwich has seriously launched me into a fried chicken feeding frenzy. But for as good as I think Chick-fil-A’s new sandwich is, my fast food dining options are often limited to the dollar menu. Needless to say, Chick-fil-A remains an only “some of the time” treat for me. So, looking to get my spicy chicken fix for an insanely low price, I checked out my local Burger King to sample the Spicy Chick’n Crisp Sandwich.

A crispy chicken filet topped with garden-fresh iceberg lettuce and creamy mayo, all sandwiched in a fresh sesame seed bun. It’s got just the right amount of spicy kick.

I had actually never gotten the Spicy Chick’n Crisp Sandwich at BK before last Tuesday, but I have always had a soft spot for their crown shape chicken tenders. To be perfectly honest, I had been planning on grabbing a Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Filet sandwich that morning, but when I saw that the Wendy’s sandwich was an awkwardly priced $4.19, I figured I might as well walk across the street and play the “build a dollar menu meal” game at BK. (more…)

I was out and about the other day and decided to stop by McDonald’s for dinner.  I usually go for something off of their dollar menu, but sometimes I’ll get a grilled chicken snack wrap or the Premium Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich.  While sitting in the drive-thru scanning the menu, I noticed something new: The McBistro Chicken Sandwich.

I was surprised that McDonald’s came out with yet another chicken sandwich and thought to myself, “What could be so different between the McBistro Chicken Sandwich and the Premium Chicken Sandwiches?”. (more…)

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t get too wrapped up in the burger wars. It’s not that I don’t like hamburgers, it’s just that I’ve always been more of a chicken kinda guy. Even when I was younger, I almost exclusively ordered chicken nuggets/fingers while eating at fast food places, much to the amazement of my good friend Luke, who always got a cheeseburger.

With that kind of allegiance to our fowl-feathered friends, you can imagine my excitement when Ryan introduced us to the new Carl’s Jr. Parmesan Chicken Sandwich in a food news post last week. As a bigtime fan of Italian food in addition to chicken fingers, this seemed like a must try item for me, especially considering that after years of living on the East Coast, I finally lived close enough to a Carl’s Jr. to try one.

The sandwich is described as such:

The Parmesan Chicken Sandwich features a breaded chicken fillet topped with melted cheese, smothered in authentic marinara sauce, on top of a sesame seed bun.

Before I get too far into the review, I want to mention the EXTREME HARDSHIP which I went through in procuring this item. My University is about two miles from the local Carl’s Jr, and when I went to check it out last week, the restaurant was being renovated. I tried again on Tuesday, trudging the two miles in a freezing Utah morning in which a snow/hail/sleet mixture pelted me relentlessly. Thank God for the sandwich’s 570 calories and 20 grams of fat, because quite frankly I think I would have frozen to death on my walk back had this been one of those “healthy” menu items.

While the sandwich come standard with a sesame seed bun, I actually ordered it on wheat, mostly on account of my “go for whole grains” mentality. Looking back, this may have been a mistake, as the chicken to bun to sauce ratio more or less pointed in the direction of epic fail for the bun. To the sandwich’s credit, they don’t skimp on marinara sauce, with both the bottom and top of the bun getting a generous portion. The sauce itself is dominated by a sweet flavor — perhaps a little too sweet to be ‘authentic’ — but it does have flavorful seasoning and a nice Italian herb mixture mixed in. I thought it was the dominant taste in the sandwich, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. As for the chicken, it started out as a nice and crispy patty. I really liked the breading and the strong flavor of black pepper. The problem was that as the sandwich sat on my plate, the patty got progressively soggier. Still, the flavor remained strong, and it served as a fine compliment to the sweet sauce.

Now, onto the third component of the chicken parmesan; the cheese. Too be frank, I’m not sure what kind of cheese it is exactly. Obviously I wasn’t expecting fresh buffalo mozzarella or shaved Parmesan, but the cheese came across as only average. It did have a slight flavor (it actually tasted like processed American cheese more than anything else) and didn’t detract from the sandwich, but at the same time I felt like it didn’t add anything, which kind of defeats the purpose of chicken parmesan. It also took a long time to melt on top of my warm sandwich, an annoyance for me because of how freaking starving I was by the time I finally ordered.

I got my sandwich for $2.99 as a single because of a coupon, but if you ask me it may be a little pricey for the $3.99 regular billing, especially considering the only moderate size. I think Carl’s Jr. is onto something here though, and wish more fast food restaurants would try to incorporate Italian flavor into their menu items. The meat is well seasoned and flavorful, and it works great with the sweet marinara sauce. The problems, however, are there. A more “artisan” type bun (like a Ciabatta) could really make the sandwich something special, while a higher and more authentic standard of cheese would really make this a “can’t miss” menu item. For now, I’ll consider the tasty sanwich a good start and a work in progress, but I would like to see Carl’s Jr. address some of these textural and quality issues in the near future.

• Pros: Large, flavorful chicken patty with crisp exterior and moist interior. Does well to compliment sweet basil and tomato flavor of marinara sauce, which is plentiful. Can’t really knock a classic combination of Italian food in a fast food form. Enough energy to keep me alive in this frigid Utah fall winter.
• Cons: Patty and sauce combination overwhelms helpless bun. Very messy. Needs a fancy Italian bun, like Ciabatta. Cheese could be more authentic. Need to synthesize timing of melted cheese to non-soggy chickeness.

Taste:  8.50/1 0

Value:  6.50/10

Grubbing on the Go:  5.25/10

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GrubGrade: 7.75/10 (Good)

(Overall GrubGrade is not an average)

Price:  $3.99 as single ($2.99 with coupon)

CarlsJr.com

Nutrition – Parmesan Chicken Sandwich

Serving Size: 262 g

Calories: 570

Calories from Fat: 180

Total Fat: 20 g

Saturated Fat: 6 g

Cholesterol: 50 mg

Sodium: 1810 mg

Carbs: 63 g

Fiber: 4 g

Sugars: 9 g

Protein: 34 g

Fast food places are constantly trying out new items to try to beat out their competitor.  Here at GrubGrade, we try to bring you those new items, but we also want to remember some of the classics.  McDonald’s is no exception to this as they’ve added four chicken sandwiches through the years to add to the original, the $1.00 McChicken Sandwich.

The McChicken is described by McDonald’s as:

Golden, crispy chicken with lettuce, mayonnaise dressing on a toasted bun.

I have to admit, that is has been years since I have had a McChicken sandwich.  I would rather choose one of the grilled chicken sandwiches, like the Premium Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich, rather than one that is breaded.  It’s sometimes tough to pass up a chicken sandwich for just a dollar so I had to revisit this Dollar Menu staple.  I was expecting the same bland tasting sandwich of the past.  That was not to be.  It appears that the sandwich was introduced in 1980, but didn’t quite hit home so they replaced it with the Chicken McNuggets.  When they decided to re-introduce the sandwich, they decided to add a little bite to it.  So, not knowing this bit of information, I was in for quite a surprise as I bit into this sandwich.  One word description:  Pepper. I had to make sure my drink was handy the entire time I was eating this sandwich.  Anyone else get this sort of result?

The good news is that this sandwich, as I mentioned before, is on the Dollar Menu.  And it is worth every penny of that dollar.  It’s pretty tough to be super critical of a sandwich for a dollar. The McChicken comes on your typical McDonald’s bun, thankfully fresh and soft but not really toasted as described by McD’s.  The chicken patty is all white meat, but is a little on the dry side.  McD’s adds some shredded lettuce, which is a little wilted, and mayonnaise which helps with the dryness of the chicken.   As with most McDonald’s menu items with mayo, they usually pour it on too thick…ask them to go light on it.  The McChicken is not only easy on your budget, it’s also not too horrible on nutrition.  With only 360 cal and 16 grams of fat, it can be classified as one of the healthier options.

If you are hungry, and on a tight budget you can get an entire meal for $3.00 plus tax. Grab yourself a McChicken, small fry and large sweet tea-they are all on the Dollar Menu.  Just don’t go expecting anything exceptional.  I trust you readers enough to understand where this type of item sits with me.  It’s a passable, quick option for some spare change.  Taste-wise it’s almost average but sits in the land of mediocrity.  Definitely worth the occasional dollar splurge.

• Pros: Decent sized chicken patty.  Fresh Bun.  Great value for a dollar.
• Cons: Too peppery for my tastebuds.  Lettuce could’ve been fresher.  Chicken patty a little dry.  Overly doused in mayo.

Taste:  5.75/10

Value:  8.00/10

Grubbing on the Go:  7.50/10

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GrubGrade:  5.75/10  (Mediocre)

(Overall GrubGrade is not an average)

Price:  $1.00

McDonalds.com

Nutrition Facts – McChicken Sandwich

Calories – 360

Total Fat – 16 grams

Saturated Fat – 3 grams

Cholesterol – 35 milligrams

Sodium – 830 milligrams

Carbs – 40 grams

Dietary Fiber – 2 grams

Sugars – 5 grams

Protein – 14 grams

Don’t forget…today is Labor Day and from 10:30am to closing you can get a Free Original Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich just for wearing a sports logo.  So throw on that jersey, hat, t-shirt…whatever and grab some free grub at Chick-fil-A.  Am I the only one who has tried the Spicy version?

What do you do when you want a sandwich but have no bread?  How about using some fried chicken for bread…That’s exactly what you get with the KFC Double Down.  You take bacon, Pepper Jack cheese, Swiss cheese and Colonel’s Sauce and put all that in between 2 Original Recipe chicken filets.  Food blog Food Geekery discovered this sandwich last month and now I’m on the hunt to actually find one.  UPDATE: It’s nationwide so I tried both versions and here’s my review.

via Food Geekery

It’s called the “Double Down” because there’s 2 of everything…2 slices of cheese, 2 strips of bacon and 2 pieces of chicken.

Late last year, Burger King came out with the Angry Whopper.  As everyone probably knows, it was a spicier Whopper with a few extra ingredients added in.  It was only a matter of time before “Angry” was put in front of a chicken sandwich.  So here it is, the Burger King Angry Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich.

The “Angry” brand takeover of the Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich is a bold step for Burger King and they describe the fiery sandwich like this:

Tender, premium breaded white meat chicken filet topped with sizzling bacon, Pepper Jack cheese, deliciously spicy jalapenos, angry onions and our signature angry sauce. It’s a TENDERCRISP® with a kick.

Just to recap, they list six ingredients, but they leave out the mayo, lettuce, tomato, and bun.  So if you’re counting the bun, there is ten ingredients in this sandwich!  There is quite a bit to like about the sandwich, but there is also quite a bit that wasn’t so great.  Let’s go into more detail as to what worked and what didn’t.

What worked:  Chicken was great!  It was nice and crispy, and wasn’t dry.  With so much going on with this sandwich I was pleased that I could also taste the chicken.  Although there was quite a bit of mayo on the sandwich, the mixture of mayo and Angry sauce made an interesting combination, one that I would enjoy having again.  The tomatoes were quite fresh tasting, and the crispy onions were flavorful and a great crunchy addition to the sandwich.

What didn’t work: Where’s the heat?  This sandwich is supposed to be on fire!  I am one who can tolerate quite a bit of heat, but come on… this sandwich barely registered any heat at all.  This thing needs a bit more anger to it.  We’ve discussed several times before about Burger King bacon lacking flavor so I had to point this out…I did not notice the bacon until I actually looked at the sandwich! The pepper jack cheese flavor was lacking as well.  While the tomatoes tasted great, there were too many.  Two slices fell out of the sandwich.  Perhaps one large slice would be better.  This sandwich is very messy, from mayo oozing out to tomatoes falling out… get your napkins ready.

I could barely hold onto the sandwich without ingredients falling out!

It’s a tough call on the GrubGrade score because the sandwich is supposed to have heat, but lacks any.  However, there were ingredients that went well together (mayo, angry sauce, chicken, crispy onions).  I’d hate to give it an ‘average’ or below because I did enjoy some of the flavors.  I’d say try this one over the Angry Whopper for the simple fact that the main ingredient in the Tendercrisp is much more flavorful and noticeable compared to the burger.  Make fun of me all you want, but this was the first sandwich in a long time where I didn’t know if I would be able to finish it.  There are so many ingredients and flavors, and sadly some of them do fail to make an impact.  Overall, Burger King has an decent sandwich here, but it’s not for those with smaller stomachs or people really looking for a ton of heat.

• Pros:  Tasty, crisp chicken.  Nice flavor to the Angry sauce and mayo mixed.  Fresh tomatoes.  Crispy onions.  Huge sandwich.
• Cons: Underwhelming heat.  Subpar BK Bacon.  Cheese lacked flavor.  Messy.  Some ingredients get lost.  1030 calories and 61 grams of fat.

Taste: 7.75/10

Value:  8.00/10

Grubbing on the Go:  4.00/10

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GrubGrade: 7.25/10  (Decent)

(Overall GrubGrade is not an average)

Price: $4.89 for sandwich, $6.89 for combo

BurgerKing.com

Nutrition Facts – Angry Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich

Calories – 1030

Fat – 61 grams

Saturated Fat – 14 grams

Sodium – 2670 milligrams

Carbs – 82 grams

Cholesterol – 105 milligrams

Sugar – 15 grams

Protein – 40 grams

As you have probably noticed, we are big fans of Chick-fil-A here at GrubGrade.   When it comes to the classic chicken sandwich or nuggets they are tough to beat.  In my opinion, there is one chicken sandwich that Chick-fil-A cannot top.  A true marvel in the quick-serve universe…the Gold Rush Chicken Sandwich from Roy Rogers.  I was introduced to this sandwich not that long ago by Ryan, but the sandwich has been on the menu since the early 1990s. In my opinion, this is the standard bearer for all fast food chicken sandwiches.

The Gold Rush sandwich is a fried chicken patty topped with Monterey Jack Cheese, bacon and a golden ”BBQ” sauce. (more…)

We all know that eating healthier is all about choices. Of course we also know that fast food restaurants offer a grilled version of their chicken sandwiches to fill that spot for someone looking for a lower fat/cal sandwich.  I previously reviewed the Chargrilled Chicken Club from Chick-fil-A and the Premium Grilled Chicken Club from McDonald’s and we received several interesting comments about them.  One comment included a question regarding if anyone had tried other fast food grilled chicken sandwiches and how they compare in the hierarchy of grilled chicken.  That inspired me to try some of the other sandwiches out there.  So today we bring you the Ultimate Chicken Grill Sandwich from Wendy’s to add to the growing list.

I tried this sandwich a few weeks ago, and decided to get it again recently to see how it held up to my first impressions.  This grilled chicken sandwich will hold its own compared to the other sandwiches I have tried. The sandwich is served in the typical Wendy’s foil wrapper and on first notice I felt it was a little small for the $3.99 price but seemed typical to Wendy’s prices.  You will definitely need a side to go along with it if you have a hearty appetite.

Described by Wendy’s as ” Tender grilled whole chicken breast fillet with a delicious honey mustard sauce and crisp fresh toppings”, and the description is spot on.  The bun was soft and fresh and did it’s job containing the ingredients.  It wasn’t as heavy as the wheat buns from the other sandwiches.   As with most Wendy’s sandwiches, the lettuce was fresh, however, both times, the tomato was a little on the soft side.  The grilled chicken breast was tender and juicy and larger than the bun.  It had just the right amount of seasonings to give it a nice flavor.  It practically melted in my mouth.  The honey mustard was a nice addition, subtle and tasty.

This nutritional value of this sandwich compared to the competition:

1. The Premium Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich from McDonald’s – 226g with 420 cal/10g of fat.
2. The Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich from Chick-fil-A – 220g with 260cal/3g of fat.
3. The Ultimate Chicken Grill Sandwich –  211g with 320cal/7 g of fat.

Of course, you can adjust the calories and fat by “personalizing” your sandwich, also with the option of making this into a chicken club by adding cheese and bacon.

The grilled chicken sandwiches are becoming a regular thing for me at fast food places.  Eliminate the mayo and put honey mustard in its place and you have a healthier sandwich.  This sandwich would also be a good candidate to eat on the go as the minimal amount of honey mustard makes it much less messy than its counter-parts.  If you haven’t tried it, I suggest you do.  We’ll do our best to continue giving our impressions on all the grilled chicken sandwiches so eventually we see who comes out on top.  Burger King, you’re next…

• Pros: Good sized, tasty chicken breast.  Fresh soft roll.  Healthy sandwich.  Not bad for grubbing on the go.
• Cons: Not for hefty eaters, very light sandwich.  Tomatoes not as fresh as I’d like on my recent two visits.  $3.99 was a tad steep for the size.

Taste:   7.50/10

Value:  5.75/10

Grubbing on the Go:  8.25/10

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GrubGrade:   6.75/10 (Average)

(Overall GrubGrade is not an average)

Price:  $3.99

Wendys.com

Nutrition:

Calories – 320

Total Fat – 7 grams

Saturated Fat – 1.5 grams

Carbs – 36 grams

Cholesterol – 70 milligrams

Sodium – 950 milligrams

Sugars – 8 grams

Dietary Fiber – 2 grams

Protein – 28 grams

A fast food restaurant’s value menu is a good opportunity to sample a few things at once.  Never quite the center of attention, value menu items are normally mixed and matched because you can essentially build a $3 or $4 meal with a few choices.  Recently I had to match my Wendy’s Double Stack burger with a true value menu item at Wendy’s, the 99¢ Crispy Chicken Sandwich.

As I mentioned in my review of the Double Stack, I have no luck actually finding a Wendy’s restaurant that actually sells the burger for less than $1.49.  Don’t get me wrong, it still tastes good, but each bite was a reminder of how obvious corners are being cut at Wendy’s and how inconsistent I have found their menu prices to be.  I see Double Stack ads showing it as 99¢, but I never find it for that price…and I’ve mentioned this before, the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger has shrunk enough to be laughable (screw you 3conomics).  The Crispy Chicken Sandwich on the other hand is a reliable and true 99¢ item, and its worth every penny.  From the Wendy’s website menu, the sandwich is a tender, breaded chicken patty topped with crisp lettuce and creamy mayo done Wendy’s way-fresh and delicious.  

I’m a big fan of the overall freshness of Wendy’s foods.  Yeah, this is only one persons opinion but in my experience, I’ve never had issues with freshness.  While the prices may not be consistent, the familiar taste is.  The Crispy Chicken Sandwich has a decent sized (for the 99¢ price tag) chicken patty that is indeed tender and doesn’t have an overwhelming breading.  Sometimes, smaller chicken patties have a tendency to be dried out, but this one was just fine.  To help out the overall package, the standard lettuce and mayo are included.  I love that the lettuce looks like it was just plucked from lettuce head.  Always crisp, cool and odd-shaped spilling out of the sandwich.  It’s a great change from, ahem…BK’s consistently limp, sad lettuce.  The lettuce at Wendy’s never gets lost and actually compliments every burger or chicken sandwich I’ve had.  Another thing that is consistently pretty good at Wendy’s is the fresh soft buns they use.  Almost like potato rolls.

Look at that flawless bun. Even in pictures it looks fresh and soft.

Overall, the Wendy’s Crispy Chicken Sandwich should be a consistent grubbing option on the Wendy’s value menu.  It doesn’t wow you with anything, but it doesn’t really need it.  It’s simple and tasty and the only thing missing is a 99¢ spicy version to rival Burger King’s Spicy Chick’n Crisp Sandwich.

• Pros- Yes it’s really 99¢.  Simple.  Fresh lettuce.  Tasty.  Consistent.
• Cons- No spicy value menu version.

Taste:  8.50/10

Value:  9.50/10

Grubbing on the Go:  8.75/10

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GrubGrade:  8.50/10  (Very Good)

(Overall GrubGrade is not an average)

Price:  99 cents 

Nutrition Facts – Crispy Chicken Sandwich

Calories – 360

Total Fat – 18 grams

Saturated Fat – 3.5 grams

Carbs – 36 grams

Cholesterol – 30 milligrams

Sodium – 710 milligrams

Sugars – 4 grams

Dietary Fiber – 2 grams

Protein – 15 grams