It's something of an afterthought...

Wendy's
Originally uploaded by jaceman4

Wendy's was always considered that "other" fast-food burger place growing up. Maybe it's just me, but my family only ever really debated over whether to go to McDonald's or Burger King for fast food, with the occasional Taco Bell craving thrown in there, however, whenever it came to fast food burgers it was always McDonald's or Burger King. Not to knock on Wendy's but honestly other than the commercials with Dave Thomas in it, I really didn't know a whole lot about the franchise besides it selling burgers. I remember my uncle saying he liked it more than McDonald's or Burger King after having it a bit during a cross-country drive.

Anyways, when I did start going to Wendy's more (but not often) in college, it was more for the cool stuff on the 99 cent menu. You just get four things on there and it was a pretty good meal. I think part of me didn't have a great impression of Wendy's because I had a friend who commented that in the commercials the square patties were always depicted as "edges-to-the-bun" whereas in actuality it was "corners-to-the-bun". My most recent experience showed me something in the middle, the corners (though there were only really 3 of them, so it wasn't really a square) were a little past the bun but the edges weren't quite there yet either.

About the burger itself, I don't know that the burgers are significantly different aside from the number of patties and what goes on them. In terms of the patties, I thought they were decent, but in all honesty, a little on the flavorless side. I was trying to think of something to comment about in regards to the meat while I was eating it, and I honestly couldn't really figure out what exactly was going on inside of my mouth. It tasted like... stuff... Really, I have no other words for it. The packaging has a little label on it that says "Always Fresh Never Frozen" or something along those lines, and I can see how that's true, but honestly where it applied really was just the fixings.

I felt that the lettuce, tomatoes, and onions were pretty fresh, and honestly, I was looking forward to finding them more in my burger than the burger itself, since that's where a lot of the flavors were. In terms of the condiments I thought it was pretty unnoticeable, not really subtle, just not really there. I can't honestly say I remember there being ketchup, mustard, or mayo on my burger, except for the fact that I think I remember seeing it of all things. The bun is a kind of a kaiser bun kind of thing, I thought it was good, a nice change from the kind of normal mushier enriched white-bread bun. Overall, not a bad burger, but it's so nondescript and unremarkable that it's pretty much... well, I guess I kind of think of it as just "another fast-food chain" like I used to, the only difference is that I don't think of McDonald's and Burger King first.

Rating of the Burger:
Meat: C
Bun: B
Fixings: B+
Condiments: C
Sides: C+
Price: $0.99-$8
Overall Grade: C+
Recommended Burger: 1/4 Pound Single