Friday, December 10, 2010

Wendy's Goes "Natural" and a GIVEAWAY!


A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program with an opportunity to try a new fast food product that has been causing quite the hype.  

Wendy's has recently upgraded their fries to include more natural ingredients, indicating that the addition of fresh cut Russet Potatoes and Sea Salt will turn any non-believer into a french fry fanatic. 
Now, I am not one to turn down a review opportunity; however, I do hold a slightly biased opinion because I have not had a fast food french fry in over 5 years, so my comparison would not be fully legit. With that being said, I enlisted the help of my good friend Brian, who happens to be one of the most acute and observant people I know.  Brian is an excellent food critic and I entrusted him with this task without any hesitation. 

So without further ado, take it away Brain! 



   Visually, Wendy's has raised their game by giving their fries the fresher appearance of Boardwalk fries.  They look quite appealing

nestled all snug in their official Wendy's fry sleeve; however, closer
examination reveals that these are not the thicker and longer fries cut
from actual potatoes - they are still standard-sized fast food fries,

granted with the skins left on them.



Now having said that, it isn't a particularly bad thing.  These fries
provide a crispness that you generally don't find in Boardwalk fries -
and in my eyes, "crispy" is almost as important as "tasty" when it comes
to French fries!

My issue with the Wendy's fries of old was that basically you could
separate them into two categories: short, extremely crispy ones and
long, mushy ones.  It just always seemed to work out this way.

These fries, almost down to the very last one, had a very pleasant
crispy exterior which covered the same sort of processed potato that we
are used to eating at fast-food restaurants.  And remember, like I said:
that isn't bad at all!  Our fries were nice and hot too, which is a
great thing when they have the task of complimenting a nice big burger.
Nothing is worse than cold, mushy fries!


The switch to sea-salt seems to have prompted the restaurant to be a bit
freer with the salt shaker, and I give that a big thumbs up!  I always
felt that I had to add salt on my own to Wendy's fries and I would say
that's no longer the case.

I think Dave Thomas would be pleased with this new initiative from his
beloved restaurant chain - I know I'm happy about it.  In my opinion,
these new fries raise Wendy's to the top of the fast food game - with
only names like 5 Guys and Boardwalk fries ahead of them.




Thanks Brian for that detailed review. 

Have you tried Wendy's new Natural Fries yet?  Would you like to try them for yourself? 

Now is your chance! 

Wendy's has offered to give one of my readers a $10 gift card to try these fries and some other Wendy's famous treats.  Frosty anyone? 

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite way to eat fries.  For me, it's drenched in salt and vinegar and dipped in copious amounts of ketchup. 

I will randomly select a winner on Wednesday, December 15th. 

Good luck! 

**Disclaimer: I received the above mentioned products as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program. 

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31 comments:

  1. No way! I had no idea this happened! I never liked wendy's fries because they were so mushy. I bet I'd enjoy them now. I RARELY eat fast food...but I think this would be worthwhile :) I love my fries with a boat of ketchup

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  2. Oh wow, I haven't been to Wendy's in over 10 years. Those fries look great, though! My favorite way to eat them is similar to yours... ketchup and sea salt. Yum!

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  3. I like to dip them in honey mustard.

    mami2jcn at gmail dot com

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  4. Oh wow Lauren where did you find such a handsome food critic? We can all only hope he shows up more in future blogs!

    I have tried these new fries and agree with Brian, they are much better than the old ones. I enjoy dipping my Wendy's fries in their famous frosty creating a wonderful sweet and salty flavor explosion!

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  5. A little bit of salt and dipped in barbeque sauce. I used to do that when I worked at Bugaboo. I also do this weird thing where I fold the soft fries in half and then dip them. Yum! :-P

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  6. Yelena! You are the BEST!!!

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  7. Very interesting, I will have to try them. Usually I'm the complete opposite, in fact when I saw that Wendy's was going all natural, I wanted to swear their fries off completely. You're 100% right, crispy is just as important as flavor and I thought that was going to be gone forever. As I also like dipping my french fries in honey mustard. I'm the type of person who would eat something that said "Now with more saturated fat!" before I would eat something labeled "Now with reduced fat!" But honestly, looks like I'll be going to Wendy's for lunch one of these days.

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  8. I hate eating fries by myself. My favorite way to eat is is to share it with my kids.

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  9. I just tried these the other night, ours didn't have nearly enough salt but they were much crispier than the old fries and thats a + in my book! I only had a couple (stolen from a friend lol) but def better than the latter.

    When I do indulge in fries I usually dip them in the sauces mostly provided for nuggets, like honey mustard or sweet n sour sauce :)

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  10. I love Wendy's fries dipped in a Wendy's Frosty!! No ketchup for this girl...ice cream all the way!

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  11. umm, this is kind of gross-but I prefer fries with mayo-but I defend my statement by saying that I haven't had fast food in 10 years-I always make my own fries!

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  12. ha - i just saw the comm'l for this and was wanting to try them! i like fries straight up. plain! and if there must be dipping, ketchup!

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  13. I LOVE wendys new fries. SOooo good. Hands down though, eating these little guys with a frosty is God's gift to mankind :)

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  14. that's nuts! i never knew :) i'm really glad fast food places are making some kind of effort to incorporate nutrition into their menus! xo.

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  15. i literally just saw a commercial for these on tv! the sea salt intrigued me :) i love my fries drenched in ketchup and salt!

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  16. Definitely the classic ketchup route for moi! :P

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  17. I love them dipped in soft serve. :-)

    You should try fries too, Lauren. They are fantastic. Esp Popeye's and McD's ones.

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  18. on a sandwich and or smothered with homemade honey mustard (mine's better).... and with garlic, salt, and pepper

    askouras at gmail dot com

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  19. I dip my fries in ketchup or honey mustard. I just bought new Hunt's ketchup without high fructose corn syrup...about time, right? I am glad some of these companies are getting with the program.

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  20. I had not even heard of that change. There's only one way to eat wendy's fries and it's dipped in a chocolate frosty. Stange yes, and tasty yes. The rare, very rare time I eat fast food it is one treat I do love.

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  21. Wow, I had no idea about the change. I would love to try them just with ketchup! Thanks for hosting this!

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  22. I'm interested to try these fries!! I can only eat fries with tons and tons of ketchup! If I don't have ketchup, then I won't eat the fry! Haha. Not sure which I like more, the fry or the ketchup!!

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  23. I dip mine in mayo.

    Totally the norm in Germany and France. haha.

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  24. I love my french fries with honey mustard or barbecue sauce! :-)

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  25. I had no idea that this happened. I never eat fast food but love fries with lots of ketchup. I might actually have to give them a try now.

    xo

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  26. I personally thought their old fries were quite soggy, and gross. My hubby LOVES the new ones, and I think they are tasty too. However, my favorite fries are actually sweet potato ones with a little bit of ranch. :)

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  27. In a sandwich!! I know, crazy right??

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  28. I like to dip them in a honey mustard barbecue combo!!

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  29. This is going to sound gross but I love dipping fries in mayo! I don't do it often but I love when I do. Yum! :)

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  30. HOW did i miss this! fries dipped in frosty=nothing short of amazing!

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