GrubGrade

For those familiar with upstate New York and its illustrious and bountiful culinary traditions, the following probably will seem cliché and repetitive for you. I apologize in advance if this is the case, but for those outside the sphere of Sabres hockey, Lake Effect snow, and the insanely annoying toll booths on “the 90,” the fact that the ubiquitous chicken wing fails to capture the complexity of the Buffalo food scene may never have occurred to you. Myself the son of two expatriate Buffalonians, I’ve long known about the lore of Buffalo’s “other” specialty food item, the delicious yet ever elusive “Beef on Weck” Sandwich.

Perfection; On a Salty, German Roll, that is

While I’ve enjoyed many other regional beef sandwiches during my existence – notably Baltimore’s “pit” style beef – Buffalo’s Beef on Weck remains my favorite. So what is it, you ask, and what makes it so special? (more…)

Back in early March, Arby’s new line of sandwiches tempted me enough to venture out and try all three.  Dubbed the “Roastburger”, Arby’s famous roast beef now had a new position in the fast food universe as a sandwich with an identity crisis.  Essentially, the Roastburger is basically just a more dressed up version of the typical plain jane roast beef sandwich and the original three (All-American, Bacon and Cheddar, Bacon and Bleu reviewed) came with some mixed results.  I’m happy to report that the latest in the Roastburger family is the best of the bunch.  Introducing the BBQ Bacon Cheddar Roastburger from Arby’s.

The BBQ Bacon Cheddar Roastburger features oven-roasted, thinly sliced roast beef, cheddar cheese, bacon, crispy fried onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles, and BBQ sauce on a toasted specialty roll. With the inclusion of BBQ sauce, Arby’s is calling it the “Official Sandwich of Summer”.  If you’ve been following my food reviews for the past 10 months or so (on FFC and GrubGrade), you may have noticed my near obsession with Western-style burgers.  Throw some BBQ sauce and onion rings on a burger or sandwich and I’ll throw on my cowboy hat and bib.  With the latest Roastburger, I’m venturing into new territory with never before having a Western-style roast beef sandwich. (more…)

Reminder: Today is Arby’s Wednesday FREEbies Day.  As we all know, Arby’s is primarily known for their Roast Beef Sandwich, although they have been expanding their menu lately (New! Fajita Flatbread  Melts,  Arby’s New Expanded Menu).   If you haven’t already had the sandwich that made Arby’s famous, today would be a good day to try one on the house.  All you have to do is purchase a drink and you get a Regular Roast Beef Sandwich for free.

Roy Rogers doesn’t seem to get as much respect as some of the other fast food chains out there.  Probably because they are more localized in the Maryland/Virginia and a few scattered around the Northeast part of the country.  The truth is, they have some tasty offerings that deserve to be noticed.  They serve quality food at competitive prices.  We recently featured some pictures of their Gold Rush Chicken Sandwich, (which, by the way, is the best sandwich ever), however, one of the other sandwiches that they are known for is their Original Roast Beef Sandwich.

The Roy Rogers Roast Beef Sandwich is a simple sandwich.  It is basically sliced roast beef on a soft bun.  I have had this sandwich several times and the only complaint is that the consistency of the meat changes.  For the most part the meat is tender and juicy, but at times, it may be chewy and a little more fatty.  This is due to the fact that they use “real” roast beef rather than processed like other restaurants.  If getting it “to go”, I usually order a “fixins” cup (fresh lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles) and a pack of mayo just in case the sandwich is a little on the dry side, which does happen on occasion.  If I am eating in, I’ll create my masterpiece myself at the “fixins” bar.  Definitely an advantage over Arby’s right there.

I really like it when the juices from the meat absorb into the roll.  With that going on, the condiments aren’t really needed as much.   It’s nice to just savor the sandwich as is and take in the flavors of the roast beef.  As with most sandwiches, you do have the option to add a slice of American cheese.  I chose not to this time, to cut down on the fat and calories.  As big as this sandwich is, weighing 192g, its a good alternative for a healthier meal choice.  This sandwich only has 320 calories and 10 grams of fat.  Add a side salad or fresh fruit cup and you have a pretty healthy lunch.  Sure, new products will come and go (read our Roy Rogers BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich review), but items that take up residence on the Roy Rogers menu board stay up there for a reason.  The customers keep buying them and it helps that there’s not a lot of fast food roast beef choices to choose from.  If you’re near a Roy’s, it’s worth a try.

• Pros: Real roast beef has a good flavor.  Pretty hearty sandwich for the price.  Healthier sandwich option.
• Cons: Inconsistency in the quality of the beef regarding fat and dryness.

Taste:  8.75/10

Value:  7.00/10

Grubbing on the Go:  9.00/10

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GrubGrade:  8.50/10  (Very Good)

(Overall GrubGrade is not an average)

Price:  $4.19

RoyRogersRestaurants.com

Nutrition Facts – Original Roast Beef Sandwich

Calories – 320

Total Fat – 10 grams

Saturated Fat – 3 grams

Cholesterol – 62 milligrams

Sodium – 875 milligrams

Carbs – 29 grams

Fiber – 3 grams

Protein – 31 grams

Last week Arby’s gave away free FruiTea.  That was just the beginning of the giveaways.  Arby’s will have a free item every Wednesday for the entire summer.  Tomorrow, May 13th, you can get a free Roastburger (read our review) with a drink purchase.  Some free items to expect include the regular roast beef sandwich, chocolate malt swirl shake and the Roast Chicken Club (read our review) among others.

Thanks to Arby’s, hump day just got a little better.  Stay tuned to GrubGrade for Arby’s free food reminders.

The Arby’s menu is expanding with some brand new items such as the recently-reviewed Roast Chicken Club Sandwich.  Arby’s looks to improve upon their roast beef sandwiches with a new burger-like offering.  Anything to take a bite out of the competition.  Claiming to be the “burger done better“, introducing the Roastburger from Arby’s.

There are 3 choices of the Roastburger to kick-off the debut: the All-American, Bacon and Cheddar and the Bacon and Bleu (check out the pic of the box above for a hint of what Roastburgers may be coming later…BBQ Bacon, BBQ Bacon Cheddar and Jalapeno BBQ Bacon).  First impressions with all 3: the Roastburger was a decent sized sandwich with a nice helping of sliced, lean roast beef.  The bun was also a pleasant surprise.  It’s not the limp bun I’m used to with Arby’s sandwiches.  This bun was a higher quality, sturdy specialty roll that was soft and fresh.  Good thing Arby’s made the switch with this bigger bun because it’s needed to support the heftier helping of roast beef. 

• The All-American Roastburger consists of oven-roasted roast beef, lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion, ketchup, mustard and a special sauce.  Thoughts:  Plentiful, tasty, lean roast beef.  Nice bun.  Pickles and mustard didn’t work with this sandwich.  Fresh, ripe tomato was a nice touch.  Would benefit from some “Horsey” sauce (horseradish) instead of ketchup/mustard/pickles.  I guess the ketchup/mustard/pickles makes it more like a hamburger, but it doesn’t work as well as I’d hoped.  My second favorite of the 3.

• The Bacon and Cheddar Roastburger is oven-roasted roast beef, a couple slices of pepper bacon, a slice of cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato and raw onion.  Thoughts:  The lean roast beef is piled high.  Great pepper bacon but only 2 slices.  Sharp cheddar cheese goes well with the pepper bacon.  I recommend BBQ sauce with this sandwich.  My favorite of the 3.

• The Bacon and Bleu Roastburger has oven-roasted roast beef, pepper bacon, bleu cheese spread, lettuce, tomato and onion.  Thoughts:  The thinly sliced roast beef is very lean and flavorful.  I’m not a big fan of the bleu cheese spread.  If you are big into bleu cheese, maybe you should give it a shot.  I’m not adverse to bleu cheese spread, but in this sandwich, I didn’t like it.  My least favorite of the 3.

I have a feeling that the Bacon and Bleu Roastburger will be the least popular of the 3 Roastburgers.  It was my least favorite.  With that being said, I do think the Roastburgers are a well executed new menu item at Arby’s.  I would recommend you to make a few alterations to each Roastburger depending on your tastes.  I had all 3 sandwiches as they are.  Overall, at $3.79 for the sandwich alone and $5.79 for the combo, the Roastburger is filling enough to be a pretty good value.

• Pros- Very good sandwich bun.  Roast beef is lean and plentiful.  Fresh lettuce, tomato, onion.  Tasty bacon.
• Cons- Not all the ingredients work well together, I recommend you customize.  

Taste: 8.50/10

Value: 7.75/10

Grubbing on the Go: 7.00/10

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GrubGrade: 7.25/10  All-American (Decent)

GrubGrade: 8.75/10  Bacon and Cheddar (Very Good)

GrubGrade: 5.75/10  Bacon and Bleu (Mediocre)

(Overall GrubGrade is not an average)

Price: $3.79

Arbys.com

Nutrition Facts – All-American Roastburger

Calories – 420
Calories from Fat – 170
Total Fat – 18 grams
Saturated Fat – 6 grams
Trans Fat – 1 gram
Cholesterol – 40 milligrams
Sodium – 1390 milligrams
Carbs – 46 grams
Dietary Fiber – 2 grams
Sugar – 9 grams
Protein – 19 grams

Nutrition Facts – Bacon and Cheddar Roastburger

Calories -440
Calories from Fat -160
Total Fat – 18 grams
Saturated Fat – 8 grams
Trans Fat – 1 gram
Cholesterol – 55 milligrams
Sodium – 1450 milligrams
Carbs – 44 grams
Dietary Fiber – 2 grams
Sugar – 7 grams
Protein – 24 grams

Nutrition Facts – Bacon and Bleu Roastburger

Calories -470
Calories from Fat -210
Total Fat – 23 grams
Saturated Fat – 8 grams
Trans Fat – 1 gram
Cholesterol – 50 milligrams
Sodium – 1400 milligrams
Carbohydrates – 44 grams
Dietary Fiber – 2 grams
Sugar – 8 grams
Protein – 22 grams