We all have moments of weakness. Be it a late night after too many cocktails at the bar or just a casual drive home from work to a house with an empty refrigerator, fast food is sometimes acceptable.
Earlier this year, Burger King took an unprecedented step, adding hot dogs—yes hot dogs—to their menu. I decided to give them a try along with two other new fast food menu items.
Asiago Ranch Chicken Club, Wendy’s ($4.69)
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Wendy’s and I have had a long-standing relationship. As a kid, I always held their burgers up to a different standard. After all, who doesn’t prefer “never frozen beef” to your garden-variety fast food beef?
The Asiago Ranch Chicken Club is one of the newer additions to the Wendy’s menu. The sandwich is actually really flavorsome. I opted for the spicy sandwich (the other options are homestyle, plain fried chicken, or grilled). The sandwich is topped with thick-cut applewood smoked bacon, Asiago cheese, creamy ranch sauce, lettuce, and hand-sliced tomatoes.
The ranch sauce played off of the spicy fried chicken really nicely and the toppings did appear really fresh. Still, I couldn’t get over one simple thing: this chicken sandwich tasted just like all of the other chicken sandwiches on the menu. I’ve previously had the spicy chicken sandwich, and bacon aside, this seemed really similar.
Quesalupa, Taco Bell ($2.99)
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There are certain fast items that hold a special place in my heart. While I’ve moved on to bigger and better food in most aspects of my life, Taco Bell was the sole fast food item that was served on my college campus in Connecticut. The chicken quesadilla reminds me of drinking on the lawn and pulling all-nighters.
Unfortunately, the brand new Quesalupa from Taco Bell won’t be joining that nostalgic class anytime soon.
It’s essentially an oversized taco with one major difference. They stuffed pepper jack cheese into the shell (didn’t Pizza Hut do this already?). So, it’s a super cheesy taco filled with all of the ingredients you’d expect. Beef, tomatoes, lettuce and yes, more cheese. Unless you’re really, really, really into pepper jack cheese, I’d skip the Quesalupa altogether.
Hot Dogs, Burger King ($1.99)
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The way I think about fast food often relates to levels. You have a burger from Burger King. Then a burger from a place like Five Guys. Then you have a burger at a restaurant or a burger that you grill at home. I assumed the same logic would hold up for hot dogs. Lucky for me, this wasn’t entirely correct about this.
After the first bite, I thought to myself, well okay, that’s what a hot dog tastes like. It wasn’t really all that good but it certainly wasn’t all that bad. In fact, to the surprise of many non-fast food eaters, it just tasted like a hot dog.
The toppings were also very classic. One was topped with chili and cheese while the other had a copious load of sauerkraut, onions, ketchup, and mustard. We’ll call that one the condiment party. Both were tasty although to be honest, if you cover a piece of bread in chili and cheese I’m likely to find it tasty.
If you’re looking for a solid, run-of-the-mill hot dog, the new flame-grilled hot dogs will satisfy.
